Judge Dredd #1

Mega City One’s #1 hard as nails Judge is back in an all-new ongoing series, bringing justice to the criminal scum as judge, jury & executioner all rolled into one. This issue features two double fisted & boot stomping tales of pure high octane Judge action & violence, as Dredd unleashes his precious lawgiver with maximum carnage. You pumped yet? You better be!

The Lawyers

Written by Duane Swierczynski (Birds of Prey Vol. 1 : Trouble In Mind, Fun & Games, Point & Shoot), illustrated by Nelson Daniel & Paul Gulacy (Six From Sirius, Batman : Prey). Judge Dredd created by John Wagner & Carlos Ezquerra. Cover by . Published by IDW.

The Trial

Hell yeah! After months of waiting, much anticipation and having a blast with the Dredd movie (the Urban one, not the Stallone one), Judge Dredd is back in his own monthly comic. The last movie was simply an appetiser and now I’m ready for the main course baby! If you’re unfamiliar with Judge Dredd (shame on you), here’s a brief history of the character. Created by John Wagner & Carlos Ezquerra and published by 2000 A.D. in the late 70’s, the protagonist is part of a futuristic police force known as Judges, these Judges wage a war on crime in a city called Mega City One, where millions of people are crammed in huge housing buildings known as mega blocks. More people in a city means more crime and the Judges don’t mess around and if a perp is busted, they’ll arrest him, judge him & sentence him to a prison cell known as iso cubes or worse… an execution. No trial, no courtroom, no appeal, they are the law! To this day, it’s the most popular comic sold in Britain, Dredd has appeared in numerous titles, reprints, has teamed up with Batman & was turned into 2 movies. He has been illustrated & drawn by several iconic people in the comic book industry such as Simon Bisley, Brian Bolland & Dave Gibbons just to name a few.

Writer Duane Swierczynski knows a thing or two about crime fiction, having written several novels about criminal activity, he seems like the right choice for this new series. The first story is titled “Ripe”, it’s about a source tree known as the Paradise Machine, which produces an unlimited supply of genetically enhanced fruit for the citizens. On this particular day, one of the service robots that serves millions of people every day, malfunctions and poisons the fruit causing them to explode and project toxic goop everywhere, breaking windows at the local mall. This creates a panic, rioting & looting and soon enough the Judges arrive to begin sentencing. Boo-Ya! Illustrator Nelson Daniel’s cartoony style is perfect for this series, with his extra large shoulder pads & menacing helmet, Dredd looks 8 feet tall and ready to pass judgment. This is the better of both stories.

The second story is called “Protection Racket”, it’s about a business owner who tries to protect his store from looters, but with murder in his heart, he goes a little too far. That’s okay, because the court is in session! Illustrator Paul Gulacy’s art is completely unrecognizable here and unfortunately doesn’t really do Judge Dredd justice (no pun intended), but that doesn’t fade me because I’m so jazzed about this new series. The cover has several variants and are by a handful of woderful illustrators like Zach Howard, Jim Starlin & Whilce Portacio. I couldn’t decide which ones were my favourite & which ones to post for this review, so I posted them all! Enjoy.

The Verdict

The verdict’s in and ladies & gentlemen… It’s guilty. IDW is guilty for bringing back a kick ass character with a chiselled chin & a gigantic chip on his shoulder. Judge Dredd is guilty for being a fascist bully/arsehole with a gun & a badge. And finally, I’m guilty for loving every second, every image &  every panel of it. The sentence is an addiction to a new monthly series for life. Court’s adjourned. My iso cube’s waiting, gotta go.