Why I like her: How could you not like her? She's funny, she's sweet and she offers good advice. She also appeals to me thanks to a life-long obsession with Egyptian imagery, especially ankhs (I have one tattooed on my arm), and let's face it, what comic-book-reading girl hasn't copied the swirly makeup?
Judge Dredd
Character: Judge Dredd is one of the most popular characters (and longest lasting) from the slightly mad British comic magazine “2000 AD”. In a post-apocalyptic world, Joe Dredd is one of the Judges, an elite force that runs Mega City One (which covers most of the east side of America). The Judges act as police, judge, jury and executioner, their decision is final and their word is the law. They ride massive motorbikes called “Lawmasters” (which have AI, canons and obey the Judges' commands implicitly) and guns called “Lawgivers” (encrypted so that only one Judge can use them, and firing a vast number of projectiles on command). Dredd is the most famous and feared of these Judges (he's actually a clone of the Chief Judge, although his face is never seen in the strip, he might even be deformed). Confused? Good.
Welcome to the world of the Mega-Cities; totalitarian, violent states but full of stories laced with satire and black and topical humour. Dredd himself is a bludgeoning, relentless creature, with little compassion and a penchant for shouting “I am the law!” at people. Dredd's heyday, for me, was the 1980s, which not only saw the comic's satirical edge taking on Thatcherites and yuppies as well as adding two of the title's best recurring villains: the mutant cyborg Mean Machine Angel (who has a dial on his forehead to control his emotions, ranging from “Surly” to “Brutal”) and Judge Death, a Judge-like creature from a parallel dimension who believes that, since only living things commit crimes that life itself is a crime. Dredd remains 2000AD's most popular and bankable character.
Alternate versions, mass media and pop culture: Despite a dreadful (pun not intended) film adaptation in 1995, starring Sylvester Stallone as Dredd, the character has continued to do well for himself outside of 2000AD. There are now Dredd roleplaying games, videogames, boardgames and audiobooks. There have also been different versions within the comics, including one aimed at younger readers and a DC comics version. Dredd has also appeared in numerous cross-over comics pitting him against the Xenomorph aliens from the “Alien” film franchise, the Predator, Lobo and Batman. In pop-culture, he's received a large number of celebrity fans from bands such as the Human League, Anthrax and the Manic Street Preachers, to individuals such as Simon Pegg, Terry Pratchett and Lemmy.
Why I like him: He's just so horrible he becomes cool. He's the embodiment of a terrifying totalitarian state and he has a big gun, by rights he should be a villain! Dredd strips are great fun for their invented slang and sneaky humour, I suppose in a way, Dredd himself is the “straight man” for the world he lives in.
Nightcrawler a.k.a Kurt Wagner
Character: A curious-looking mutant with teleportation powers, Kurt is an occasional member of the X-Men, Marvel's futuristic team of mutant humans. Unlike some of the X-Men, Kurt's mutation was obvious from birth: he has blue, slightly furry skin; three-fingered hands and feet; yellow eyes; and a prehensile pointed tail. He is highly agile, an expert swordsman and can teleport over short distances. As for lineage, it was eventually revealed that Kurt was the son of mutant terrorist Raven Darkholm (better known as Mystique) and the warlord Azrael (not to be confused with the “Batman” character of the same name). So far, so much like an ordinary X-hero. What makes Nightcrawler an unusual and interesting character is the mixture of contradictory characteristics and ironic traits. Despite his demonic appearance, Kurt is a devout Catholic and ideally wants to be a priest, although his life as a superhero gets in the way of that. He is also effortlessly heroic, styling himself on Errol Flyn, and has a knack for sly humour and practical jokes. Originally written as a tragic character whose life is made difficult by his appearance, he has since become more content and more comfortable with what he is (and no longer using the holographic device he once used to disguise himself). Now his only tragedy is the choice between his vocation as a superhero and his vocation as a priest. As a deeply spiritual character, Kurt has a certain sort of peace about him unusual in comic books, which makes him a very friendly and open creature, particularly good friends with Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat of the X-Men) and the notoriously difficult Wolverine.
Just found out that the Death movie is properly underway: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_Me
Hurrah!