Published PBR and A Comic Eye
Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 02
by Jacob Malewitz
Dredd is far from cliché. Maybe the 2000 AD character didn’t create the futuristic cop character, but writers like Pat Mills and John Wagner were crucial in reinventing what the medium could do with futuristic tales. Not entirely a judge, jury, and executioner, more a detective with the power of a judge. The first case files are surprising in storytelling depth, having sparks of entertainment—and plenty of fun.
“An impossible journey … through a radioactive hell … can even the judge survive?” It’s called Cursed Earth, a place, a hellish place in between Mega City One and Two, and our favorite British hero is in the mix. A disease plagues the people of Mega City Two, an ally to the Dredd’s home of Mega City One. It turns people into cannibals, monsters who feed on others. But there is a vaccine, and Dredd intends to save the people of the city. He must cross Cursed Earth on ground—an unheard of event.
Dredd gets all the cool gear, robot backups, three judges to travel with him, and a convict he considers to be the best of the bikers—and one who traversed Cursed Earth once. His name is Spikes, a two-timing criminal. There are mutants and villains, images of a changed world and a desperation to make it through. All said, the epic Cursed Earth is one of the better, early tales in the Judge Dredd world. But it’s more than just a walk through these cursed lands: It asks the right questions on what a war can do to the world, and how small people movie it. Or maybe it’s just another comic, one with plenty of imagery and timeless storytelling. Maybe.
Another quality story chronicles the madness of one Judge Cal, who takes power in Mega City One, going insane in the process, killing thousands. Dredd is faced with some tough choices in beating the madman, who, upon becoming Chief Judge, begins to kill thousands.
The artwork of Brian Bolland and Mike McMahon really sets the stories apart, ahead of their time. It is easy to see why Judge Dredd helped the scripting careers of Wagner and Mills, but just as easy for the artists. From prehistoric dinosaurs to lizard aliens, it’s all done with the right touch.
Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 02
by Jacob Malewitz
Dredd is far from cliché. Maybe the 2000 AD character didn’t create the futuristic cop character, but writers like Pat Mills and John Wagner were crucial in reinventing what the medium could do with futuristic tales. Not entirely a judge, jury, and executioner, more a detective with the power of a judge. The first case files are surprising in storytelling depth, having sparks of entertainment—and plenty of fun.
“An impossible journey … through a radioactive hell … can even the judge survive?” It’s called Cursed Earth, a place, a hellish place in between Mega City One and Two, and our favorite British hero is in the mix. A disease plagues the people of Mega City Two, an ally to the Dredd’s home of Mega City One. It turns people into cannibals, monsters who feed on others. But there is a vaccine, and Dredd intends to save the people of the city. He must cross Cursed Earth on ground—an unheard of event.
Dredd gets all the cool gear, robot backups, three judges to travel with him, and a convict he considers to be the best of the bikers—and one who traversed Cursed Earth once. His name is Spikes, a two-timing criminal. There are mutants and villains, images of a changed world and a desperation to make it through. All said, the epic Cursed Earth is one of the better, early tales in the Judge Dredd world. But it’s more than just a walk through these cursed lands: It asks the right questions on what a war can do to the world, and how small people movie it. Or maybe it’s just another comic, one with plenty of imagery and timeless storytelling. Maybe.
Another quality story chronicles the madness of one Judge Cal, who takes power in Mega City One, going insane in the process, killing thousands. Dredd is faced with some tough choices in beating the madman, who, upon becoming Chief Judge, begins to kill thousands.
The artwork of Brian Bolland and Mike McMahon really sets the stories apart, ahead of their time. It is easy to see why Judge Dredd helped the scripting careers of Wagner and Mills, but just as easy for the artists. From prehistoric dinosaurs to lizard aliens, it’s all done with the right touch.
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