Comic Book Cats, number 32: “The Guinea Pig That Changed the Law” drawn by John Cooper, written by John Wagner, lettered by Tom Frame, from 2000 AD #126, published by IPC on 18 August 1979, reprinted with coloring by John Burns in Judge Dredd #29, published by Eagle Comics in March 1986.This installment of the long-running dystopian sci-fi action series Judge Dredd sees the future lawman encountering a talking cat, who asks for Dredd’s help in shutting down a lab that is experimenting on animals. Even though Dredd is an unyielding, hard-nosed fascist (a lot of stories actually place him in the role of unsympathetic antagonist) he shows a surprising fondness for the animals in this story. Perhaps it’s because he knows that, unlike humans, animals don’t break the law? Whatever the case, Dredd eventually shuts down the lab and pushes Mega City One to ban animal experimentation.
John Cooper worked on a wide variety of British anthology titles in a career that stretched from 1963 to 2010. He drew stories in numerous genres but specialized in war and action. Cooper was one of the earliest artists on Judge Dredd in 2000 AD, although he ultimately drew only a handful of stories featuring the character. In his later years, Cooper retired from comics and created maritime paintings. He passed away in 2015.
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