A seven-page story in "2000 AD" #460 called "Letter From a Democrat" (1986) was the first story to show readers what life under the oppressive rule of the Judges actually meant. David Bishop has since described it as "a crucial story − the politicising of Dredd." It also marked the beginning of a darker, more mature tone in the strip generally, and a tendency to show the character of Dredd in a harsher light than before. Although light-hearted and humorous stories still continued unabated, "Letter" was followed by several other stories in a similar vein, more and more illustrating Dredd's role as the agent of a fascist system. Only three weeks earlier the writers had introduced a new character, Judge Silver, as the new chief judge, who proved to be more hardline and right-wing than his predecessor (and who played a very significant role in the Democracy- and Necropolis-related stories which were to follow).