Judge Dredd

Well I finished those comic collections and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Each had its own set of merits. First, Judge Dredd.

In case you don't know Judge Dredd was black and white until some time in 1987; Complete Case Files 04 sees a years worth of strips pencilled and penned between 1980 and 1981 (2102-2103 in Dredd's life time). I'm actually reading these volumes out of sequence because while I own the first two, I'm relying on the excellent Norfolk County Library system for the others.

The story lines are excellent--both John Wagner (who along with artist Carlos Ezquerra created Dredd) and writing partner Alan Grant are on good form. The strips are a mix of the extended saga The Judge Child which begins the volume and the urban satires that comprise the soul of the series and the rest of the volume. There are memorable villains like the Angel Gang, the Fink and Captain Skank on one hand and figures of fun like the uglies who are a great compliment to the fatties of Mega-City One. The strength of this volume's writing comes from introducing strong characters like Chopper in the story "Un-American Graffiti," extending Dredd's heroic repetoire to space opera in The Judge Child and doubling down on the heart of the series: the streets of Mega-City One.

The art is classic black and white Dredd: good line with anatomy that is significantly improved compared to the first strips. If you're used to colour strips it could be a bit of a change, shading is all achieved with hatching and Ben-Day dots. The black on white high-contrast presentation suits the pulpiness of the material while the good composition enacts the story lines well.

While this is a great collection, I might go with the recommendations set out in Paul Gravett's wonderful 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die and suggest you seek out collections like The Apocalypse War (black and white) and America (colour). As the contributor in 1001 explains, America is a good starting point for a new reader as it explicates the removal of the American dream of political freedom from Mega-City One. The Apocalypse War and its lead-in story "Block Mania" are collected together and a great exhibition  of Dredd's world from his perspective. They're also marvellously destructive. Incidentally, the storyline "Nuclear Skank" in this volume begins the set-up for The Apocalypse War.