The World of Dredd: Judge Demarco
Eric S Brown
The character of Galen Demarco first appeared in Prog # 970 of 2000 AD magazine. She is born into vast wealth and after the passing of her mother, her father realizes even though wealthy, life is nothing without purpose. This causes him to send his daughter off to the Justice Academy at a young age in the hopes that by becoming a street judge, she will find purpose.
Wanting to make her father proud, Demarco becomes one of the top judges of her class and when he dies, she is given the choice of leaving the academy and living in wealth, or staying a cadet. She elects to remain and graduates with honors. After distinguishing herself in the streets, Demarco – who is having an illicit affair with another judge – requests a transfer to “the Pit”, a dumping ground for judges who can’t hack it.
Not long after, Judge Dredd is assigned to straighten up both the Pit and the sector of Mega City One it’s located in. He takes an instant liking to Demarco and appoints her head of a squad he has assembled to end the rampant corruption in the Pit. She excels at this, proving Dredd right about her aptitude as a street judge. Dredd is pained when he learns of her affair with Judge Warren but doesn’t take her badge, feeling she deserves a second chance. Demarco breaks it off with Warren and continues to serve with distinction.
Demarco is promoted to Sector chief and Dredd finds himself working under her instead of the other way around. He has no issue with this but Demarco has fallen in love with him. Her feelings for Dredd are soon discovered by others in power and she is forced to give up being a street judge. Judge Hershey is not a fan of Demarco’s but Dredd continues to have mercy on her. Demarco, not wanting to be stripped of her rank and sent for re-education, steps down from being a judge but Dredd makes sure she is given a gun permit and arranges for her to continue to serve the law as a private investigator.
At this point, Demarco spins off into her own adventures just like Judge Anderson before her. As of today, she continues to appear in 2000 AD with her own series of stories simply entitled “Demarco, P.I.”.
