2000AD Prog 334 Judge Dredd Requiem for a Heavyweight Part 4

It consumes everything it sees,
Devours all it can,
To some degree, it dwells within
The heart of every man’ From ‘Gluttony’ by Mark Spencer

So, way before Adam Richman and the hit show Man V Food, there was Abdominal Arnie Stodgman. Arnie was the Roger Bannister of his day, the first one to really stretch the elasticated waistband, the guy that ate THE TON...!
Requiem for a Heavyweight isn’t one of those Sandwich Filler short stories, nor is it to be simply dismissed as a mere aperitif to the later blockbusters that would grace the pages of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic.
Requiem has it all.
Its a story about having a BIG dream, a clear vision and sense of purpose. Its about strength of character, determination, overcoming obstacles and laying it all on the line.
You see, Arnie had the 27th Heavyweight Eating Championship of the world cold. He could have settled for victory and the crown by doing just enough. He could have eaten a relatively small piece of food to finish things off and win. But that wasn’t Arnie’s way. Greatness called.
With a cry of ‘I said...Gimme the Pie’ Arnie smashed through the Heavyweight Eating equivalent of the 4 minute mile and things would never be the same again. Sadly, it proved too much and Arnie paid the ultimate price.

So this is a brilliant depiction of the World Heavyweight Eating Championship. Look at those feeding tubes measuring and dispatching food to the contestants, the sweat on their brows, the enormity of their girths, the number of chins on display and the fat running down their jowls.

Drink in its enormity, chow down on its originality and drool at its deliciousness.

For me “requiem’ was more than just a fatty story....its poetry.