After the last collection, with the upheaval of the Apocalypse War, it was to be expected that things would get back to whatever amounts to normal in Mega City One. Previous mega epics had had little lasting effect on the Big Meg - so why should a measly little nuclear war change things? But, bucking the trend, this latest collection of Dredd's classic tales did bring a few long-term changes to the Big Meg. By Case Files 6, large areas of the city are now contaminated in the radiation fallout from the war, and a number of the stories in this collection play off that.
There’s Fungus, where the former Mayor of Mega City 1 comes into contact with a nasty virus, and meets an unpleasant end. Then there's The Last Invader where a remaining Sov Agent thinks that the war’s still going on. And meets an unpleasant end. In addition to this, there are references to the war throughout and it’s pleasing to see that the writers were using these huge epics to their advantage and significant events like the Apocalypse War wouldn’t get brushed under the carpet. Indeed, the Apocalypse was continues to have rippling effects even down to contemporary Dredd tales 20 years later.
Outside of the war related events, there are a few good opportunities for Wagner and Grant’s imaginations to run wild. They particularly shine through the use of a group of Mobsters who get together every month to dream up a new scheme that will beat the judges. For instance, there’s Blobs, a new craze that turns the citizen’s faces into featureless baldies. Following that, another failed attempt that emphasises the judged fascistic tendencies – if the criminals get around the law, make up new ones quickly. Other examples are the introduction of the Judge-impersonating Jimps and culminating with the wonderful creation of the Stupid Gun – a gun which has no other purpose than to make someone imbecilic.
Each of these tales and the others like them are highly entertaining and perfect examples of Wagner and Grant making the most of the opportunities that the future setting provide them Indeed, this collection and the one that preceded it shows a level of ingenuity that’s missing from today’s Dredd writers - Wagner included. Sure, Wagner and Rennie can create a decent thriller, but it feels that Dredd has lost some of this future-gazing that made the strips so ahead of their time. It’s certainly something I’d like to see more of in the newer strips.
Elsewhere, there are a select number of Dredd mini-epics, just in case we forget that he’s supposed to be as much as a hero as he is a villain. We have the return of the Judge Child, Owen Krysler. What this story is perhaps most remembered for is the return of Mean Machine. The Angel Gang have, admittedly, had a little problem staying dead but Mean Machine always had more promise than the rest of the gang put together. Whether Wagner or Grant decided up-front to bring back one of the best-ever Dredd villains or they’d realised they’d thrown away a great opportunity – at least his resurrection from the dead makes a wee bit more sense than Pa’s own return.
Destiny’s Angels is an entertaining, if rather forgettable, story not adding a great deal to the canon – and perhaps throwing away a decent nemesis rather too easily (despite setting up the later epic, City of the Damned).
Elsewhere, we have the Executioner, a nicely handled revenge saga, Trapper Hag, an Alien bounty hunter who’s long overdue a return appearance, and the Starborn Thing. This last tale is possibly the strangest in the collection and stands out for that reason. The premise being that a strange protoplasmic entity crashes to earth and takes over humans so that it can gestate babies. There’s something just a little mad about the whole thing which is matched by the trippy visuals as the judges get closer to their quarry. Considerably different from everything that comes before it – this stands a fine closing point for this collection.
Although Case File 6 has some great contributions from Ron Smith, the star on show here is certainly Carlos Ezquerra. Coming off the epic The Apocalypse War, he seems unstoppable – creating the bulk of the episodes on show – the highest points being the return of Mean and Fink and the aforementioned Starborn Thing. He shows a level of commitment to the strip that no artist before or since has managed to meet and his work here is more than enough reason to buy the collection.
So there you have it – perhaps not up to the level of the previous tome – but still well worth your money for a series of highly entertaining Dredd tales that will keep you happy for a few nights...
Buy this book from Amazon
