Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 05

Finally the time to review it is here, the complete case files 05. This is the volume where Dredd becomes great and I went from a casual reader snagging the occasional volume to an obsessed madman who had to buy everything. This is the volume that made me a true fan of Dredd.

           The reason this is my choice of volume for new readers kicks off in the start with the mega-rackets, a series of short two prog arcs only connected because they seem to be addressing every day problems for judges in the mega-city instead of new grand threats, these establish a tone of mega-city well with short one note stories, (In mega-city one Candy is addictive!) they don’t need to be large scale, we get that later in the book, they just need to establish how ridiculous mega-city one is and in that they succeed. 

One note, but fun!

The only story which isn’t for new readers in this volume is Judge Death Lives! A great arc for fans of Judge Death as it ups the ante by introducing an entire team of dark Judges for Dredd to deal with, the Darkworld also gets some fleshing out here as well. The art is amazing, Brian Bolland pulled out all the stops with this one as the dark judges, this story has some of my favorite panels of all time in it, I couldn't tear my "gaze" away from this arc. Truly a winner, I just wish it lasted longer, in early Dredd I remember Death being the coolest villain around on my first read through but his story only lasted 2 progs, and then he makes a triumphant return for 4 progs, I suppose less is more though as he never overstays his welcome.  

           

In any other case file this would be the highlight

           After Death raps up we get a couple more progs, my favorite of which is the hot-dog run, Whenever Dredd is working with cadets it is bound to be a good story and this is my favorite of the stories about cadets throughout early Dredd.

Then we get to block mania, a good nine prog arc which tricks us into reading a 25 prog long apocalypse war. I consider them practically one arc because of how well they tie into each other.

The apocalypse war is many people’s favorite saga in Dredd, I don’t have a favorite arc but it is understandable why, This marks the most critical turning points in Dredd up to this point. We see what it is like for a Mega-City to go to war, a real war, not one with only five people. it has amazing art, amazing story, every time you feel that the stakes can’t get higher, somehow they do, again and again. It expertly captures the a sense of foreboding dread as it builds, from my understanding the story was even better for people who lived through the cold war but I am not among them. The only flaw, is with this volume a few of the pages art is over shaded due to the conversion from color pages to black and white, this is a problem throughout the case files until volume 12 but it is a necessary evil to collect this much Dredd into volumes. A minor complaint that rarely bugs me but with an epic such as the apocalypse war it stands out to me more.

This complete case files is near perfect for new readers too, the beginning being world building progs which stand on their own, they are often silly and fun, then the series takes a tonal shift and becomes a dark and gritty war drama with apocalypse war epic. It perfectly captures the ever changing tone of Dredd, one moment it’s a series of unconnected short parodies on cop clichés, the next it be a 34 prog interconnected epic where millions of lives are on the line and the stakes cannot get any higher. The only flaw, from a new readers perspective starting with 05 is Judge Death lives, having not been introduced to Judge Death it may be confusing but for long-time readers to see his return. Funnilly enough this story would be the highlight of any other case file but it is only icing on the cake here.

Whether you snag color or black and white this is among the best early Dredd has to offer.

For those who have the money and love apocalypse war I recommend splurging on the apocalypse war individual trade it reprints it with its original glorious color pages, This volume of course may be just a luxury but it is a nice luxury to have.

Had t squeeze in one more image because the apocalypse war is just that good

This Case files is top notch and a must have for all Dredd fans.


For US readers

For UK readers