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Home ¦ Reviews ¦ Judge Dredd Case Files Vol 1

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What to Expect: Every single Judge Dredd story from his first appearance in 2000AD prog 2 up to Prog 60...

Review by Gavin Hanly
13th March 06

A few years ago, Marvel Comics started releasing some of its very early, and long out-of-print comics in their Essential series. These were 3 to 400 page books, printed on so-so paper in black and white, but they contained a huge amount of content - all at a very affordable price. This new format was a huge success and, with many of these comics having being unavailable for some time, it turned out that the readers didn't mind having the books in black & white as they were just happy to read the stories. DC comics finally got in on the act last year (DC comics trade publishing programme seems to be 2-3 years less advanced than Marvel's) with their Showcase collections.

And now Rebellion are getting in on the act with the first in a series of books which promise to collect all of Dredd's early work, from his very first appearance in 2000AD prog 2.

Dredd labours his point ever so slightly

Perhaps the main difference between the Judge Dredd Case Files and their American equivalents is that much of this material has actually been re-printed before. Whether it was in The Best of 2000AD, The Best of Judge Dredd, the Quality comics reprints, or even the original Titan collections, much of the content here has been aired several times already.

But it's different this time around. For the first time, these are being fully collected into really hefty books books. Think of it as the comics equivalent of collecting your favourite TV shows in complete seasons rather than released as several discs or, even worse, as an arbitrary selection of the best. The monthly Best Of's retreaded the most similar ground - but they couldn't be stacked on a bookshelf. If that sounds like it shouldn't make any difference, anyone with far too many issues of 2000AD or any comic can tell you, you eventually get to a stage where tidiness becomes a major concern.

And this book looks fab, too. Its minimalist design means the overall package won't date too much, the paper quality is still fairly good and, although it's very far short of Rebelllion's other collections, it is more than adequate given that over 300 pages of Dredd material is crammed in between the covers. It also appeals to the completist in all of us. I love the idea of having a stack of books with all the stories in chronological order. If anything, it'll make preparing for interviews a damn sight easier. In all, it's just a wonderful package from the get-go.

There are still some improvements that could be made. For instance, a little more could be done to push the contemporary tales of Dredd at the end of the book. There's an ad for the weekly, but where are the references to all the other great trades that are currently doing the rounds, such as Total War? It's great that we're appealing to the nostalgia in people, but any chance at getting these punters to by Dredd's latest adventures should be jumped on. It would also have been nice if all the covers featuring Dredd from this period were collected too - their omission doesn't make it quite as "complete" as it could have been. These are minor issues though, and don't really detract from the positive points.

Mr Subtlety arrives

No matter how often people remark that comics are a wonderful medium and that they are on an even pegging with non-illustrated literature, there really is no getting way from the fact that this is a pretty recent development. It took a while for comics to pull away from their pulpy origins, and I feel it will be a long time before the traditional establishment really forgives comics' shady past. These strips were originally published almost 30 years ago, and in many places, their age becomes quite clear.

One thing that is made much clearer by having all these stories back to back is the development of Mega City One and its judicial force. At the beginning, there's a somewhat confused nature as to what is the purpose of the judges. For instance, in the earlier stories, there's a clear presence of a police force. We're never really certain as to how this police force interacts with the judges. Slowly they are written out of the series, and by the end of this book never to be mentioned again (unless you count the DC Dredd series. Which we don't.). The same goes for the relatively small board where the badges of dead judges are pinned. After a few major crises, I guess they realised that the small board was maybe a tad optimistic.

Not even a cup of tea and a nice sit down to see if they can sort things out amicably?

In the earlier stories, Dredd also has the tendency to be something of a martyr. He has to defeat Call Me Kenneth "alone!" and has to carry his brother "alone..." - you can just imagine the other judges shaking their heads at Dredd's extraordinary self importance. Or at the alarming regularity at which he hands his badge in. And we won't even mention the huge funeral he gets Mega City to put on for him after his faked death...

Indeed, it's the character of Dredd himself that has particularly dated in these strips. He doesn't really seem tough enough, occasionally comes across as really quite whiny and doesn't really feel part of the rest of the judges. It makes you glad that Wagner has effectively aged him as the series continued as his experience and age adds something to the character that these earlier stories are lacking.

But, looking past the main character, you begin to see just what has made this series so enduring - Mega City One itself and all its inhabitants. Wagner and others seem to grasp fairly early on that the setting allows almost limitless exploration. The future crime idea alone is a goldmine - and there are some wonderful examples here. Whether it's Morris Minor thieves, Brainblooms that sing, weather crimes, dangerous game shows (way ahead of their time) and more - there's some extremely inventive ideas around being bounced around. Mix this up with the smokatorium, the robot hotel, face- changing, and you have some cracking stories on show here. That's without even mentioning the "war of the future", played as a sports game with 4 team members on each side - something which will get ditched in a few books time, as we get to the Apocalypse War.

There's a level of ingenuity in these earlier stories that I occasionally miss from contemporary Dredd. Wagner and others seems to really be enjoying themselves once the possibilities of Mega City One sink in, and this level of fun becomes quite infectious. Sure we have the grim and gritty terrorism stories these days - but can we also have a few more tales of wacky future tech?

As for the art, this collection highlights the first outings of many of the UK comic industry's greats. From the series designer Ezquerra through to Mc Mahon and Bolland, you can see their earliest works in here. Some of the work may well suffer when placed against what they are capable of today, but all of them visibly improve throughout. Gibson, in particular, turns in some stunning artwork right from the start and Bolland was always genius, it seems. McMahon can be seen to develop a unique style as we work our way through the book, and by the end and Return to Mega City you can really see this style emerge, along with those big boots. In general, throughout the book you can also see the style of the judges' uniforms gradually evolve as the artists take a little more free rein to their work, with McMahon more clearly redesigning the uniform as he goes along.

Dredd hogs the limelight again

At the end of it - this is just the start of the most complete history of Judge Dredd that we have ever seen, and with many more to come down the line, it's a great time to be a 2000AD/Judge Dredd fan.

Given the frankly bargain basement price - this is a must have, and any self discerning comics fan should seek out a copy now...

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