Dreadful Dredd
The other day I came across the 1996 Judge Dredd Action Special. And oh my God is it amongst the very worst of all 2000 AD-related things I own. Just as the Daily Star Dredd managed to be the perfect distilled essence of all (or at least, nearly all) of why Judge Dredd is a world-famous comic strip, so this is the imperfect essence of why stories about tough neo-fascist future cops are few and far between.
I think this was the last hurrah of the short-lived 'Judge Dredd: Lawman of the Future' series that tied in with the film, and was aimed at younger children. Based on this reading experience, I am never going to seek out those particular back issues.
There are some reasonably big name writers involved in the special - Alan Megazine Barnes gives us a Wacky Races spoof with Spikes Harvey Rotten, Simon Transformers Furman has fun with Fink Angel and some Cursed Earth rats (it's the shortest and least worst story) and Robbie Dante Morrison gives us yet another Angel Gang run amuk in the City story. They're aided by a bunch of artists I'd barely heard of but who were all quite good, and all a little bit McMahon-y. Not good enough to be a saving grace, mind. I couldn't say why it turned out so horribly, but it did. Look, here's an example of how to suck the genius out of the Judge concept:
You've got Dredd looking OTT tough but spouting ludicrosities. And Hershey being so liberal it's as if she was a well, I don't know, but certainly not a goddamned Mega City Judge.
Rather than post any more scans from the comic, I need to unleash a 2000 AD 'The Pain' special, charting the course of my reactions to this evil tripe...
ps at least this comic knows it's for young children. So it's still better than drokking Crusade.
I think this was the last hurrah of the short-lived 'Judge Dredd: Lawman of the Future' series that tied in with the film, and was aimed at younger children. Based on this reading experience, I am never going to seek out those particular back issues.
There are some reasonably big name writers involved in the special - Alan Megazine Barnes gives us a Wacky Races spoof with Spikes Harvey Rotten, Simon Transformers Furman has fun with Fink Angel and some Cursed Earth rats (it's the shortest and least worst story) and Robbie Dante Morrison gives us yet another Angel Gang run amuk in the City story. They're aided by a bunch of artists I'd barely heard of but who were all quite good, and all a little bit McMahon-y. Not good enough to be a saving grace, mind. I couldn't say why it turned out so horribly, but it did. Look, here's an example of how to suck the genius out of the Judge concept:
You've got Dredd looking OTT tough but spouting ludicrosities. And Hershey being so liberal it's as if she was a well, I don't know, but certainly not a goddamned Mega City Judge.
Rather than post any more scans from the comic, I need to unleash a 2000 AD 'The Pain' special, charting the course of my reactions to this evil tripe...
ps at least this comic knows it's for young children. So it's still better than drokking Crusade.
posted by alexf at 07:36
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