Judge Dredd Megazine 260 - 24 July 07

Cover by Peter Doherty

MC: At first glance I thought ‘nothing special, really’, but on further analysis, there’s a lot going on here. We’ve got Dredd (always a good idea for a Judge Dredd Megazine cover) looking stoic and taking up the foreground of the shot, we’ve got Vienna over to the side, marginalised, looking affectionately and with admiration at Dredd but with a body language that stresses her disappointment at their relationship, and you’ve got Dolman in the background in a mug-shot style pose, giving away the storyline, but it’s actually his genetic background that is imprisoning him, rather than an iso-cube. When I’ve really looked at this, I have to say, a truly spectacularly structured cover and a credit to Peter Doherty to do so much with one shot. Genius, and a cover of the year contender.  

Night School Script: John Wagner Art: Peter Doherty Letters:Peter Doherty

Dolman gets the third degree...

Synopsis: On his way back from a course, Dolman (another Dredd clone) witnesses a murder. He is attacked and defends himself, but one of the muggers is killed after Dolman hits his head against a wall. Vienna, who he was staying with, calls in Dredd for help when he doesn't return from his course - and Dredd finds out he's under arrest for murder. The interrogating judge, McGinn, believes that Dolman killed the perp on purpose and presents his case to Dredd. Dredd later tells Vienna that he can't interfere - as it would be nepotism. However, Vienna retorts with "you killed your own clone-brother - who's going to accuse you of nepotism?" Dredd later meets with McGinn again, telling him that it's the training that caused the murder, and warns him that he'd overturn the case on appeal if it came to him. Dolman is released...

MC: This picks up where the cover leaves off, with a wonderful tale furthering the (often neglected) Dredd family story. This harkens back to the Dredd story Blood & Duty in which Dredd chooses the latter.

Here, however, we see the ongoing ‘mellowing’ of Dredd with him giving further fuel to the ‘maybe the law isn’t always right’ argument developing post-Origins. The standout moment is the penultimate page where we look down a stair well at Dredd as Vienna reminds him that “you killed your own clone brother – who’s going to accuse you of nepotism?’. It’s not often Dredd is drawn at such an angle to make him look small, or vulnerable (as a person, rather than in comparison to some giant monster), but this is one of those occasions, and it’s all the better for it.

I loved this story, and it’s one of the few occasions I’ve reread something as soon as I’ve finished it. I really think a Dredd strip will have to go some way to bettering this any time soon. It’s tighter than ‘Mutants’ has been so far, and is leaps ahead of Origins. Superb. 

Big Robots - Part 3 Script: Alan Grant Art: Dave Taylor Letters: Ellie De Ville

Anderson discovers the evil plan...

Synopsis: Karel Capek block stops walking as soon as it appears that the judges are about to open fire on it. Anderson visits the architect, Findhorn Gask, currently in cryogenic suspension and discovers that, after being heavily taxed by the judges, built his cityblocks as robots who were programmed to attack the city. his assistant killed him before he could put his plan in motion, but now Karel Capek and 6 of the other 29 blocks are coming to life. Anderson sentences him to death and switches off his life support. Anderson heads out on the streets to try and stop the carnage...

MC: Ok, so this has been stuck with a bad scheduling, and yes it’s not a bad strip per se, but a large section of the city comes alive and starts kicking the stomm out of the plain old static buildings, and I’m supposed to believe that this wouldn’t be mentioned somewhere in a Dredd story? I’m not buying it. You just get the feeling that the reset button will get pushed and all of this will go away. Although I’d settle for not having to look at the double page spread again. Lets just say ‘sky: too busy’ and leave it at that, shall we? 

Blood of Satanus 3 - The Tenth Circle 4: Hungry Jacko Script: Pat Mills Art: Hicklenton Letters: Simon Bowland

Dear, oh dear...

Synopsis: Dredd and the judges head into the first circle of hell where they meet a huge bloated beast called the "hungry jacko". Dredd destroys it by zipping its mouth up and letting it choke on its on vomit. The 2000AD Review editor can't believe just he had to write that...

MC: Was it Alan Barnes who said ‘Blood of Satanus 2 was a success. So much so that we’re doing book 3?’. What he seemingly meant was ‘we’re doing book 3, but I’m leaving and this is my punishment for all of you for giving me a hard time mwahahahahaha’. This is like some joke strip that got through. I bet you that if I’d submitted this it would have been rejected faster than Wally West on his way to the bathroom the morning after a particularly spicy curry. I don’t like this and I want it to stop. 

Before They Wuz Dead - Part 3 Script: Simon Spurrier Art: Steve Roberts Letters: Ellie De Ville

Creating family tensions...

Synopsis: While the rest of the Angel gang is wreaking havoc in a nearby town, and taking hostages the writer tries to turn Link to his cause my making him feel left out. The gang uses the hostages to test the defenses on the Gila Munja mound while Pa is in town suggesting that the Cursed Earth gangs join up to retrieve the prize. Meanwhile, Link is asleep and the writer tries to escape, but is poisoned by the returning Fink Angel...

MC: After a particularly strong first episode this has weakened somewhat, but remains of a particularly high quality. I don’t always agree with Simon Spurrier’s shoehorning in of a first person perspective narration, but it just about works here, and the prospect of some hardcore Fink action keeps me waiting for next month. And after all these years, a rat in a bowler hat is still an instant crowd pleaser.  

Reprint: The Godfish
Interrogation: Carl Critchlow
History of Horror Comics
New Comics
Small Press - Freak Show
Dredd Files
New Movies

MC: An interesting small press with shades of Dom Reardon in the art and a non Dredd reprint I’d never read before add value to the ‘comic’ section of the meg, while the articles on British Horror Comics and the second wave of British creators ‘invading’ American comics are a nice read, although I’m not convinced Grant Morrison & Garth Ennis, given focus by the pictures in the article, weren’t part of the first invasion, and perhaps the cover of Gutsville would’ve been more appropriate?.

A Carl Critchlow interview, some more Dredd files (surely redundant now the Case Files books are out?) and the film reviews finish this off, leaving the Megazine feeling very good value for money indeed, although with nearly 20 pages of features not comics I’m not sure what exactly I’m buying any more. But such is life. 

MC: Worth £2.99 just for Dredd, which is just as well because there’s only that & Angel Gang of the new material really worth reading.

Best story: Dredd, given that it’ll probably end up best story of the year for me.