Publisher: 2000 AD
Writers: Ian Edginton Gordon Rennie & Emma Beeby Dan Abnett Kek-W
Artists: Dave Taylor Eoin Coveney Mark Harrison Dave Kendall
Release date: UK 16 September 2015/North America 16 October 2015
Price: UK: £2.45/USA: $2.99

 

For any other comic book publisher, Judge Dredd would be a marketing nightmare!

Think about it and then pray it never happens. Dredd has not been rebooted, restarted, re-imagined or re-imaged. There has been no ‘infinite crisis’ on Mega-City One or Two, or a Judge Dredd Of Two Worlds. The good Judge has not killed his girlfriend whilst trying to save her, got married – possibly to the same dead girlfriend but hey that’s a story line I’m claiming copyright to – and had that marriage gate-crashed by Judge Death, appearing as Dredd’s Best Man. Judge Dredd has not been assassinated and replaced by someone younger and prettier for the sake of demographics.

Much goes the same for 2000 AD, the comic book has not renumbered itself, been published as a mini-series, published alternate covers or had those covers embossed in foil. 2000 AD has not published blank pages titled the ‘Wit and Wisdom of Judge Dredd’ either; I believe 2000 AD would never go so low. And if, for a minute, some consideration were given to that, the pages would not be white but blood red anyway. Obviously.

Judge Dredd has never needed gimmicks, and here we are 1947 appearances later and Dredd is as solid a character as he has ever been and it would be hard to find another comic book character, debuting in 1977 and still around today; continuously published over four decades ago.

The first instalment of the latest Judge Dredd story, ‘Ghost Town’, continues and maintains the quality of the Dredd canon. Ian Edginton sticks to the brief, strong dialogue and an economical narrative are to be praised; a welcome change from the overwrought and often over-wordy approach of other comic book writers. The artwork from Dave Taylor holds the story together with impressive visuals and perfectly depicted faces, conveying realistic emotions. There is also a strong European influence in Taylor’s artwork, a welcome thing from the usual North American superhero style, which would hinder more than help; much as it usually does.

But this is 2000 AD and one Judge Dredd does not a comic make, there’s a magazine for that. The Haunting of Hex House: The Alienist continues to plough a particular furrow, in a seemingly traditional horror tale, with all those traditional horror trappings, served up with modern sensibilities. The writing is suitably tempered from Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby. This lack of verbal hysterics allows the artwork from Eoin Coveney all the impact and spectacle needed to make this a page-turner. Not to be ignored.

Grey Area: Contact from Dan Abnett and Mark Harrison is another mini masterpiece, gracing the pages of 2000 AD with an engaging storyline and well thought out characters. Gray Area: Contact concludes but a return will be very welcome.

To perfectly bookend 2000 AD Prog 1948, Dreams of Deadworld by Kek-W and Dave Kendall, brings Judge Fear back into the fray. There is a conundrum for the Judge Fear too, not everyone fears him. Kendall’s artwork is visceral and challenging at times, but in a positive rather than a negative way. If my eye stops over a panel, in Dreams of Deadworld, my mind is doing a double take. Kek-W gives, understandably, Judge Fear the best lines, although this does have the effect of making any adversaries Judge Fear faces, with one exception, a little too two-dimensional. But in the scheme of Dreams of Deadworld, this is a minor quibble.

2000 AD Prog 1948, buy a copy, kneel before the alter of Tharg and be thankful for the continuity of brilliance and a publisher who will not mess with a winning formula.

Thus endeth the sermon for today.

 

Reviewer: Steve Hooker