Judge Dredd unveils Nigel Farage clone 'Bilious Barrage'

Nigel Farage is to make his debut in the comic strip Judge Dredd. The Ukip leader, thinly disguised as a character called Bilious Barrage, will encounter the formidable law enforcer, Judge Dredd, in his dystopian home town of Mega-City One where a series of terrorist attacks will fuel anti-immigrant tensions.

With just weeks to go before the General Election – and Farage's pledge to reduce immigration – the decision to recast the Ukip leader as a comedy character represents a cheeky swipe at the politician.

Editors are keeping the plot details under wraps, but what's certain is that Judge Dredd: People Like Us, will not end well for Farage when the story appears in a Judge Dredd comic later this year, reports the Press Association.

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Farage is not the first politician to feature in the 2000 AD comic. Versions of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair have also been given the comic-strip treatment in the past. Its editor Matt Smith said: "2000 AD has a long tradition of taking a pop at authority, stemming from its anti-establishment punk origins back in the 1970s."

Smith added: "Whether it was Margaret Thatcher being executed on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral by the Volgans in the very first issue, or Tony Blair being lampooned as the monomaniacal superhero B.L.A.I.R. 1, or Nemesis the Warlock ruthlessly satirising organised religion, 2000 AD has always taken a pop at the powerful and the pompous and no one, not even today's politicians, are safe."

Dredd was created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, and first appeared in the second issue of the weekly science-fiction anthology 2000 AD in 1977. Its most famous character, Judge Dredd, is a policeman with the power to summarily arrest, convict, sentence, and execute criminals in the dystopian future city of Mega-City One. The name Judge Dredd has often been used in political debates to evoke authoritarian governments and police states.

The comic's story lines maintain an ironic and jaded view of the political process. The official Twitter account for Judge Dredd recently tweeted: "Elections? Grud, the citizens once elected an orangutan to be Mega-City One's mayor. Tells you everything you need to know."

It also asks the question: "When some creep's holding a knife to your throat who do you want to see riding up? Me? Or your 'elected representative'? Think about it."