Jack Point aka "the Simping Detective" is a character in the comic Judge Dredd Megazine

Judge Dredd Megazine

Judge Dredd: The Megazine is a monthly British comic magazine, launched in October 1990. It is a sister publication to 2000 AD. Its name is a play on words, formed from "magazine" and Dredd's locale Mega-City One.-Content:...

, a spin-off from 2000 AD

2000 AD (comic)

2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...

. He was created by Simon Spurrier

Simon Spurrier

Simon Spurrier is a British comics writer, who has previously worked as a cook, a bookseller and an art director for the BBC.Getting his start in comics with the British small press, he went on to write his own series for 2000 AD, like Lobster Random, Bec & Kawl, The Simping Detective and Harry...

 and Frazer Irving

Frazer Irving

Frazer Irving is a British comic book artist known for the 2000 AD series Necronauts. Irving studied art at the University of Portsmouth, England, after which he took various temporary jobs in London...

.

He was originally a Mega-City One

Mega-City One

Mega-City One is a huge fictional city-state covering much of what is now the Eastern United States in the Judge Dredd comic book series. The exact boundaries of the city depend on which artist has drawn the story...

 Judge

Judge (2000 AD)

Judge is a title held by several significant characters in the Judge Dredd series, which appears in the British comics 2000 AD and Judge Dredd Megazine...

 but took to working undercover, with his cover story being he was dismissed as a Judge for excessive use of force to become a private detective. He works in Sector 13 (Known as Angeltown), a notoriously corrupt sector of Mega-City One run by the mysterious Boss, and is well-known for his distinctive speech patterns and high perversity as well as his preference for whiskey (particularly Jack Daniels

Jack Daniel's

Jack Daniel's is a brand of sour mash Tennessee whiskey that is among the world's best-selling liquors. It is known for its square bottles and black label. As of November, 2007, one blogger was claiming that it was the best-selling whiskey in the world. It is produced in Lynchburg, Tennessee by...

).

Fictional character biography

His first major case involved investigating the Crystal Blue drug, which led him into a conspiracy involving the corrupt new Sector Chief Daveez, a nun-run school for troubled juves (who were producing the drug), and the vicious alien predators known as the Raptaurs, whom the drug is manufactured from. He just barely managed to destroy all the Raptaurs and adopted the offspring of one - dubbed Cliq - as a pet and back-up. He has since been involved in several cases alongside and conflicting with fellow PI Galen DeMarco

Galen DeMarco

Galen DeMarco is a fictional character in the world of Judge Dredd. She is a former street judge who first appeared in the Judge Dredd storyline "The Pit" in 2000 AD #970.-Biography:...

, as well as investigating a new incarnation of the mass-murdering Hunters Club. He made an ally and crush in the mysterious PVC-clad Miss Ann Thropé, who helped him on several cases; it turned out she was manipulating him to kill Cliq & gain a nest of new Raptaurs as a result. She is currently trying to get him to quit the force and join her team of ex-Judge mercenaries.

Name

The nickname the "Simping Detective" comes from his habit of wearing clown accoutrements like a rubber nose and bow tie

Bow tie

The bow tie is a type of men's necktie. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar in a symmetrical manner such that the two opposite ends form loops. Ready-tied bow ties are available, in which the distinctive bow is sewn into shape and the band around the neck incorporates a clip....

 - in the fictional universe of Judge Dredd, "Simping" is slang for dressing like a fool or simpleton. It is also a play on The Singing Detective

The Singing Detective

The Singing Detective is a BBC television miniseries written by Dennis Potter, which stars Michael Gambon, and was directed by Jon Amiel. The six episodes were "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It"....

. The name 'Jack Point' itself comes from the character of the same name from the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta 'The Yeomen of the Guard

The Yeomen of the Guard

The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888, and ran for 423 performances...

,' who is a wandering jester.

Quotes

• "The Simping Detective has established itself as a dyed-in-the-wool, stone-cold classic" - Alan Barnes
  Alan Barnes (writer)
  Alan Barnes is a British writer and editor, particularly noted for work in the field of cult film and television.-Biography:Barnes served as the editor of Judge Dredd Megazine from 2001 until December 2005, during which time the title saw a considerable increase in the number of new strip pages. ...
  
  , editor, Judge Dredd Megazine.

Characters

Characters who have appeared in the series include:

• Jack Point himself
• Judge Dredd
  Judge Dredd
  Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
  
  
• Judge DeMarco
• Raptaur - Jack has had two Raptaurs, Cliq and Larf.
• Sector Chief Daveez - Jack's corrupt boss. Since the strip Marauder has established another judge in Daveez's job, his fate is presently unknown.
• Miss Anne Thrope - A mysterious ex-Judge turned mercenary, trying to recruit Jack
• SJS Judge Kovacs - Investigating Jack for procedural indiscretions
• "The Boss" - An unseen criminal mastermind who runs "The Firm", the main criminal organisation in Angeltown

Appearances

• The Simping Detective (by Simon Spurrier
  Simon Spurrier
  Simon Spurrier is a British comics writer, who has previously worked as a cook, a bookseller and an art director for the BBC.Getting his start in comics with the British small press, he went on to write his own series for 2000 AD, like Lobster Random, Bec & Kawl, The Simping Detective and Harry...
  
   and Frazer Irving
  Frazer Irving
  Frazer Irving is a British comic book artist known for the 2000 AD series Necronauts. Irving studied art at the University of Portsmouth, England, after which he took various temporary jobs in London...
  
  , trade paperback
  Trade paperback (comics)
  In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
  
  , 144 pages, September 2007, ISBN 1905437447) collects:
  • Mega-City Noir: "Gumshoe" (in Judge Dredd Megazine
    Judge Dredd Megazine
    Judge Dredd: The Megazine is a monthly British comic magazine, launched in October 1990. It is a sister publication to 2000 AD. Its name is a play on words, formed from "magazine" and Dredd's locale Mega-City One.-Content:...
    
    #220, 2004)
  • The Simping Detective:
    • "Crystal Blue" (in Judge Dredd Megazine #221-223, 2004)
    • "Innocence: A Broad" (in Judge Dredd Megazine #224-226, 2004)
    • "Dorks of War" (in Judge Dredd Megazine #227, 2004)
    • "Playing Futsie" (in Judge Dredd Megazine #234-236, 2005)
    • "Fifteen" (in Judge Dredd Megazine #237, 2005)
    • "Petty Crimes" (in Judge Dredd Megazine #238-239, 2005)
    • "No Body, No How" (in Judge Dredd Megazine #253-257, 2006/7)

External links

• Interview with Frazer Irving