Ron Smith – one of the original golden era 2000AD greats has passed away. I never quite appreciated how deft his line work was until later but he had a hand in many classic Judge Dredd stories based around crime in Mega City One (Otto Sump, Chopper, Fatties, etc.) as well as plenty of the Judge Child saga and The Angel Gang.
Perfectly put Matthew, his line work is so detailed. I think I used to have a problem with the cleft chin he’d draw on Dredd, the floppy-ish boots and the high-arching ‘eyes’ on Dredd’s helmet he’d sometime draw but his characters were always so well realised, lots of background details, clothing and of course the graffiti in Chopper. He could do ugly so well too.
Much the same here – I didn’t appreciate his work when I was a kid, as he wasn’t one of the superstars of the first wave: he wasn’t as glossy as Bolland or Leach, wasn’t as frenetic as McMahon or Gibson.
But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to really love his work. Lovely sensuous curves and juicy imagery. And great linework and inking. He will be sorely missed.
R.I.P Ron, You gave me great visual pleasure in my younger years (2000AD) thank you sir. PS them images you put up Kev have just transported me back to my youth on a Saturday morning running to the newsagents to get 2000AD