#Judge Dredd The Judge Child Quest

[browsethestacks]

Judge Dredd: The Judge Child Quest (1984)

Art by Brian Bolland

[all-action-all-picture]

The Judge Dredd: The Judge Child Quest mobile given away with 2000AD featuring Judge Dredd progs 179 and 180, 1980. Art by Brian Bolland. Rebellion.

[pulpsandcomics2]

Judge Dredd: The Judge Child Quest   #3     October 1984    cover by Brian Boland

[comicarthistory]

Judge Dredd The Judge Child Quest #4 cover. 1984. Art by Brian Bolland.

[judgeanon]

What are some of your favorite Judge Dredd runs and why?

The thing about Dredd is that there’s not really “runs” in the same way as an American comic has them. It’s easier for me to talk about stories, writers, or maybe eras. That said, my absolute favorite Dredd writer bar none is John Wagner. now There’s three main eras of Wagner to me:

- Everything from Judge Death to Necropolis: the classic Wagner period, aided by Alan Grant. A wonderful tapestry of classic high concept perfectly-paced sci-fi action that slowly but surely grows more mature and starts dealing with heavier stuff and how it affects Dredd and his setting. Highlights are the Judge Child Quest, the Apocalypse War, City of the Damned, Oz and the Democracy storylines leading up to Necropolis.

- Wagner’s mid-90s return to the strip: after leaving Dredd in the dubiously capable hands of Garth Ennis and later the not capable at all hands of Millar and Morrison, Wagner came back with a salvo of long and short stories that more or less wrote the blueprint for the next step in the series’ storytelling. Highlights are Wilderlands and the Doomsday Scenario, but most importantly, The Pit.

- Everything from Origins to Day of Chaos: Wagner’s other magnum opus, just as good and in some places even better than his classic years. Expertly-crafted stories of deep character development and lasting changes not just to the material setting itself but to its thematic core itself. This entire run is one huge highlight to me, a masterclass in overarching plots and character development.

Overall, I’d say if it was Wagner’s name on it, there’s a 99% chance that it’ll be great. And even the remaining 1% is readable enough.

[originallonemagpie]

2020 Book Log #5 - The Judge Child by John Wagner, Alan Grant, et al

A 2013 reprint of the Judge Child Quest from 2000AD’s Judge Dredd, in this case in an  A3 sized paperback, in which the reprinted comics pages take  up about the middle two-thirds of the A3 book page – which means it’s about at the limit for my eyes to read without a magnifier…

Still, it’s a good set of classic Judge Dredd, with plenty of spaghetti western style action as Dredd hunts for the the child prohesied to guide Mega City One through a future disaster. There’s great villainy from the Angel gang, and also the debut appearance of franchise regular Hershey.

The art is supplied by Ron Smith – always my favourite Dredd penman – Brian Bolland, and Mike McMahon. The story’s a recognised classic f the franchise, and it still holds up. A nice – if somewhat eye-straining – blast from the past.

[wildewood]

2000AD and Tornado Prog 155: Join the V.C.s... Vape a space-invader today!

2000AD and Tornado Prog 155: Join the V.C.s… Vape a space-invader today!

This prog we have a Cam Kennedy V.C.s cover, showing the star-troopers and V.C.s in hand-to-hand combat while spacewalking.

Tharg’s Nerve Centre starts off with another plug for the Judge Child Quest (Judge Dredd won’t be appearing in this prog though) and a trail for a special competition next prog. Reader’s contributions include a call from Robert Nott to join Comic Fandom (yes, it was…

[rufusdayglo]

Quick Judge Dredd sketch for my buddy Mark in his 2000ad sketchbook! This is form the Judge Child Quest story! #2000AD #JudgeDredd #judgechild #rufusdayglo #comicbook #comics #Sketch #originalart #illustratorsoninstagram #scifi #sciencefiction https://www.instagram.com/p/BxepTmmhwuW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=pfcg7idaae4k

[thisiscomics]

And the amazing opening pages keep coming.

There are great insights into the artistic strengths of each ‘Art Robot’ in terms of what they portray (or, at the very least, what the editors must have seen as their strengths) and how the scope of ‘The Judge Child’ allowed this variety without impacting the story. The very nature of the quest storyline allowed regular changes of scenery and shifts of genre- action, sci-fi, horror, and so on.

While Bolland’s opening image in part 1 was the Judge Child himself, all clean lines and clear cut shapes, emphasising him as Mega City One’s cherubic saviour, Mike McMahon would be assigned a chapter featuring characters like Murd The Oppressor, and his medievally styled planet of Necros. This features more grotesques and monsters than some other chapters, and you can see in this image how large areas of black, and a lot of detailed linework, are used to portray scenes that feel much more supernatural than other chapters, and convey a much more horrific tone for the story than that initial Judge Child image evoked at the Quest’s beginning.

The story makes a virtue of artistic rotation by attempting to match the story to the artist, well aware that the epic length of the story makes it impossible for one artist to produce the whole tale on a weekly schedule (lead times being minimal for all parties involved), and making storytelling decisions that make the artistic changes seem natural, rather than necessary fill-ins with resulting inconsistencies in portrayals.

I wonder if it was assignments like this that marked McMahon for a story like Slaine, which certainly has a lot of aesthetic similarities in terms of the hero’s enemies...

From “Judge Dredd: The Judge Child Part 15″, by John Wagner, Alan Grant & Mike McMahon, in 2000AD prog 170

[0starkafterdark]

Mega-City Law - Judge Child Quest 13: I am a Natural Hazard! (Complete Case Files Volume 4: Prog 169)

Mega-City Law – Judge Child Quest 13: I am a Natural Hazard! (Complete Case Files Volume 4: Prog 169)

  MEGA-CITY LAW – JUDGE CHILD QUEST 13: I AM A NATURAL HAZARD! 

(COMPLETE CASE FILES VOLUME 4: PROG 169)

  Judge Dredd pulls off an Iwo Jima moment in the war between the alien Lurgans and Gallipardans. As much as I love the iconic pose of US Marines raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Second World War, I have to admit it might be even more awesome…

[fungi59765976-blog]

The Big Idea

DRIVEN TO SUCCEED: THE BIG IDEA.

AN INTENSE DESIRE TO IMPROVE, THRIVE, and, RISE ABOVE. A LOVE STORY ABOUT THE PROSECUTION OF John Driver, and the mystery mincer machine.

By

The OUTLAW John Driver

November 5, 2018

WWW.LUBRX.blogspot.com

NOVEMBER 07, 2018

dissemble

[dih-sem-buhl]

verb

1. to conceal one's true motives, thoughts, etc., by some pretense; speak or act hypocritically.

2. to give a false or misleading appearance to; conceal the truth or real nature of: to dissemble one's incompetence in business.

♠️ THE GLOBAL GAMING ARENA AND ITS THEATER. ♠️

#1. PROXIMITY IS THE ONE THING I CAN PROVE THE ARGUMENT THAT MOB AND GARCIA COMMITED A PLETHORA OF XIVIL MALICIOUS SCAMS AS FREELANCERS DIRECTED UNDER SECUROTY CONTRACTS.

https://1drv.ms/w/s!AsqklJ_F_8cygXKwzwT5beJMh4Rg

“Way to go Scooby, now let Velma lick my box, before she has to get to work at TSA.” -Mystery Machine

“It takes an IDiOT to solve this and come up with the BIG IDEA.” -COS

SPUNK SPIRIT. LOVE FORCE. (sounds painful)

Chapter one: The DATE SCAM was to FIX the location of the TARGET, and to… LOVE. LOVE WITHOUT RESPECT be ones toxic and will result in DOMESTIC violence. LOVE understands LOVE, it needs NO talking . Let’s examine the mind of a woman that is on CYBER DATING, and assume she is NOT a FREELANCER….an over weight mother of two as she puts it. No friends and a Stalker named Randy.

If you Love a girl, it is better to fight for her happiness, rather than leave her in sake of her happiness. LiSa and I are in LOVE since we met on POF in June 23, 2016.(see

“Now you’re messing with my emotions.” – Fat Kid and cake.

LOVE can Cure. And, LOVE can Kill. The SPUNK SPIRIT LOVE FORCE, LLC. Is the Rhetorical use of the word, as the name of the empty-shelled LLC operated by Garcia, to have an account to be compensated for harassing, and investigating a Target, and the name of the DATE SCAM.

I mean, wtf does a woman need cyber dating for anyway? I’m pretty sure they can get a date anyway, anytime, with any guy. And, a blueprinted funnel close scripted dialogue, worth a coffee date follow through closer. Fishy. So, you gotta be already for anything with a female like that. Even for an idiot like John Driver, that should send a red flag up. First, instinct is she is a witch. Driver recognized the mental conditioning, and the seemingly desperate and immature desire to hurl herself out of a moving vehicle if it meant he was “dumping” her. The drive was adding up to an excessive amount of gas, wear and tare on the vehicle, to drive to Egypt, every other day to make a connection, and empty the balls, enjoy a bee Jay sesh, and that was it.

Relationships are difficult to nurture and they don’t happen just because the perp checked the box. Then to expect the same results from the past relationships, never adapting or learning new skills of communication, ultimately ending in a toxic, and insane hot mess of drama.

If a domestic spy has learned more about you, than you know about yourself, they can manipulate and direct the tone of the population, I mean the relationship.

The pornstar wife, the worried old lady, the struggling mom, the spoiled child of a controlling mother, and a nasty, drunk that says things like, “your gonna go broke just like all the rest of the guys I DATED.”

I was beginning to believe that all women have several personalities, and it may be true. Until you encounter a professional mind fucker, and a Heart EaTER. It’s almost like a spell or a hex was cast, or like she was reading his mind, and they just hit it off like Romeo and Juliet. Then, it turn into, “I think he is mentally ill. I’m scared.” What was, I’m worried about you. When are you coming back. And, do you love only me? I require a connection, and monogamy.

Now, playing that against a secret relationship, that she knows Dunaway, and Dunaway knows SACKETT, totally explains the shit eating snicker on the rice Patty face of the village scam artist, DUNAWAYS mom. What a dinger. Eventually, as a fighter, observation of the little slips added up to a conclusion that is not desired. You mean I’m being played, and if I raise up the point I don’t laid. I’m all in at this point, and I felt the punchline, just didn’t realize it was a toe punch kick to the dick and taint when I was bending over, cleaning the kitchen floor, unable to relate that doing things to make her happy, makes me happy, but, she is a Prostitute. She will jack you off on her tits anyway in your car, weather you perform with kindness, or a vulgcrassity. If she always comes at him with kindness, manners and no swearing, she is flawlessly able to bluff that she is honest and trustworthy. A deception and a skill. In the same sense that, Driver can inflict pain, even snap bones, like tailbones, aka coccyx, leaving zero trace, with a cool head, and a denial, has an incredible sense of credibility, when the police ask her a question and she lies to them.

The word LOVE is like a cluster firework bomb. When it goes off, you really do not know what to expect. The color, the amount of distance the flames spread, and in any direction. It’s very rarely controlled, and done in a laboratory setting. Love e is violent, and Love is not peaceful. It’s a hostile situation you are getting yourself into, so, since her ability to bleed the meat sword is inevitably used like currency, the skill of fucking her to within an inch of her life is the only chance a man’s got of controlling her, even if he makes less of an income than her. It’s every woman’s dream. Man handler her, but, don’t be caveman, be respectful and sweet to her.

At the scheduled time of fixing his location so the punk haters can confront, ambush and rope him in a street theater, she will disappear with a rational response of the kids this and that. You can’t argue kindness, and she has him tricked out anyway. Denial is her skill to avoid a confrontation like the last one, because, now, she is conditioned to take the pean, get the neck message, get the fish tanks cleaned, and the man-shit daily that is this awesome guy that she sometimes was just tolerating, and laughing at, not with, always an Over inflated sense of her self, and her joint bank account with her parents. Parents retired from Los Angeles County Personnel and in 100K $ club, or, SECRET SOCIETY OF WELL TO DO'S. These are the fucking assholes that are always in a confrontation with a neighbor, always in a litigation case over petty shit like stamp thievery, and always quick to judge other races, and expect to be fucked by a loser, or, don’t encourage him, he will kill your son. For reals. I met that grandma grey wrinkled sack of elephant skin bag of bones with a faint whiff of cancer growing within her wicked body, only one brief encounter, and she has judged me entirely, oh wow….. Liars get cancer, Howard Stern taught us that fact.

Chapter two: NEVER TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. Due Diligence and the obsessive quest to obtain information, and the sick fucks that use Domestic Spying to master-bate, mimic, and hate on an unsuspecting citizen, an individual referred to only as TARGET, MARC, LOSER, or, John MACHINE Lober

“If you give up now, this will all be over.”- Sr.

Chapter three: PERJURY

“You have lost all credibility.” -OC Judge, written on request for civil harassment restraining order against Micheal Owen Bradley.

I do not give a fuck, yes, zero times ten FUCKS to GIve about our judicial system. Our officers of the court are the judge and jury. They are respected by myself . Judge Dredd is not just a movie, and militarized PULICE, with the ability to read thoughts, intentions, and charge a citizen on an “implied” threat of a crime is intense. It must be avoided and resisted, as long as possible, but, a situation will demand participation from the nation, the citizens that haven’t moved their wealth into south America banks ten years in preparation for the toppling of the house of cards, and became a citizen of another country, like a punk ass bitch. “If I had six days to live, I would spend it defending MY country.” Insisted Jim Kelly with a general Patton DVD on loop in the background.

“Oh? Because that is a bitch ass threat, and I think you are a pussy, because I fight to defend this country everyday, for 50 years. I will die on my feet, no matter the odds against me, and I will win. You. You’re fucked because you have diabetic feet. The most important body part for retirement. How the hell are ya gonna do anything with those, you fake ass fuck?” If you can’t overwhelm the enemy because he has information he is not disclosing, confidential, probate and stolen personal information, then humiliate, and impose your self confidence upon him, and his clearly lesser athletic abilities. The rage was building in his fat grey head as the interrogation proceeded, and I read this little boy-man like a book. Kelly snapped when I disclosed the occupancy agreements violations and the fraud. I was on point for him to present a firearm at all times, especially if he was out of my eyeballing, then back. I even asked him,”wheres your gun general Fatton?” It has been suggested that I do not play well with others. What is your definition of “well?” I can relate. Can YOU?

Chapter four: COPS ARE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES.

“You will never see justice. Just stay away.” – Threat Assessment Detective, Long Beach City Police Department.

“You WILL see justice in this matter, Lober. I am NOT recommending a 242pc. It was self defense. You simply struck him before he struck you.” -Riverside County Sheriff, Deputy M. Moore.

I never realized that a cop has such an enormous amount of authorization that he has the power to arrest, or use deadly force, but, inversely, he is the GATORS bitch puppet. It’s a LOV3 hate relationship with these fuck head Gators. A marine and a street cop walk into a bar. The Gator and the Detective duck under it, avoid injury, do all the drugs, fuck ALL the sluts, and drive the coolest cars, like Magnum PI. The cops get an honorable burial.

The cops want to so intensely to tell on these scumbags, and fuck up the lying Gator, but, will not because they are aware of the scandalous-ness abilities at FUCKERY they are capable of. Considering NCIS level FUCKERY, o ha e a perspective of why I put his life on danger by dropping the name bomb with an enhanced twist of embellish theory. How about sitting in a Safeway parking lot, 2:30am, tossing out del taco trash, when the beat cop lirks up behind you and adjusts his batman utility belt,” is this your trash?”

“Good morning Officer. Any idea where the hell Deputy Moore is? I’ve been waiting here for an hour to do the follow up Investigation with him and I’ll pick up the trash too.”

“What’s the investigation about?”-inquiring cops mind wants to know.

“I can’t tell you that, silly. It’s an investigation.” I pronounced.

“okay, we’ll pick the trash and stay outta trouble. Bye.”-Just like that.

Chapter five: DATE SCAM AND THE SPUNK SPIRIT LOVE FORCE, LLC.

DUNAWAY/SHACKETT. “OH, FUXK. THEY KNOW EACH OTHER THE ENTIRE TIME. THAT MEANS, OH MY GOD, THAT MEANS….”

Owner occupancy/ FHA/ HUD/ AND MORTGAGE AFFINITY type FRAUD by VIETNAM VETERANS/Private Investigators

LES LINKOGLE, WILLIE AURTHER “SALAS” RAMIREZ, PATRICK D MCNEAL, AND MARIO D GARCIA, M44, OF MENIFEE, CA. 27207 KEPLER STREET, are suspected of defrauding the SECRATARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS of millions of dollars, by flipping HUD/ FHA LOANS, by opening empty shelled llc's to act as their own bank, violating occupancy agreements, and, possible identity theft, while, creating an enormous syndacite think tank.

Other participants in the scheme are: HEATHER DAWN ZABEL, F, MICHEAL OWEN BRADLEY, KATHLEEN M JACOBS, Marie M Dunaway, Charlie and Lois Weir, LARRY LEMONT LINKOGLE, AND, BRIAN DEEGAN. There are several hundred more individuals Nationwide included in the comprehensive reports. I can provide a glimpse of what I actually know, from a COMPREHENSIVE PERSONAL REPORT I received from a licensed Private investigator.

Willie SALAS RAMIREZ lays out a blueprint from his criminal and civil record, by first being sued by THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS for forcible entry detainer. There were additional civil judgements , speeding tickets, and disruption. Willie was a Vietnam vet.

Willie then opened an empty shell LLC for his first purchase of a HUD property and became his own mortgage banker with THE SEC OF VET AFFA, and DEPT OF VET AFFAIRS. Flipped it to a buyer and collected the FHA loan.

The individuals are utilizing these properties to Target civilian citizens apparently for a USDOJ.GOV/COPS PROGRAM. I am aware of this only because of the tactics they have attacked me with for the past 16 months on 27185 KEPLER STREET, MENIFEE, CA. Lisa Traudt and I are members of the newsletter. IN a summary report, these individuals attempt to obtain a civil citation in lieu of an arrest of a target, to exploit the targets possessions, and, obliterated his finances and or life. The malicious act of FALSE FLAG incidents to create a false reality and give a Looney energy that is rationalized by reasonable person.

MORTGAGE FRAUD

Larry Lemont Linkogle comprehensive, Metal Mulisha Deathsquad, Briar Rose Winery, Temecula,CA.

https://1drv.ms/b/s!Al2TLfT5Fx75klD4aTaXW1IGXqxq

https://1drv.ms/b/s!Al2TLfT5Fx75kk_YE03YrRx95S0l

Spunk spirit LLC./ SPUNK SPIRIT LOVE FORCE

https://1drv.ms/b/s!Al2TLfT5Fx75kksTlLzxoVEpPh4C

Michael Owen Bradley, Adams Ave., Costa Mesa, CA.

[all-action-all-picture]

An ad for 2000AD featuring Judge Dredd prog 179, dated 27 September 1980. Back in the days when a mobile was either something you sat in at school or hung from your bedroom ceiling. Rebellion.

[pulpsandcomics2]

Judge Dredd: The Judge Child Quest     1984    cover by Brian Bolland

[rob-blog1234]

WEEKEND TV HOT FILM PICKS!

Check out my guide to the top films on TV this weekend, the best of the rest and what to avoid at all costs. Enjoy!

LATE FRIDAY 10th NOVEMBER

HOT PICKS!

Film4 @ 2100         Predestination (2014) ****

If you like your Sci-Fi clever, complex, thought provoking, packed with mystery and utterly rewarding at each and every turn then get this time travel, paradox filled beast of a underrated film on your watch list tonight. Hit record you’ll want to watch it again.

QUEST @ 2200         The Omen (1976) *****

The original Omen film is by far the best of the Omen films and quite underrated. Regardless of its age it still fills me with dread with its combination of iconic creepy music and the mysterious dead eyes of Damien. Its success lies in the unseen and the implied, a trait that horror movies of today seem to have forgotten with all the unnecessary gratuitous violence and gore that fill the majority of recent horror offerings.

The story follows a wealthy couple that have struggled for many years to have a child and after a successful pregnancy term they are faced with the stillbirth of their son. Robert Thorn fears for his wife’s sanity and he agrees, unbeknownst to his wife, to take a new-born child whose mother died in childbirth and pretend it is their own. As time goes by a host of mysterious accidents plague the family.

Gregory Peck, who has a lot to thank for the success of this film, plays Robert Thorn. He brought the film into mainstream audiences on its release due to his success and fame. That’s not to say his performance here is anything but great either. He drives the film forward and is a great choice for the main character. We follow Thorn as he begins to realise the terrifying truth about his “acquired” son.

The Omen is a fantastic supernatural thriller with some great scenes that horror movies of today can only hope of achieving.

Film4 @ 2300        Dredd (2012) ****

In a dark and dysfunctional future crime is at an all-time high and policed by Judges - these are judge, jury and executioner - dealing out swift and brutal justice to those flouting the law. Karl Urban plays our downturned mouthed hero - Judge Dredd - a seemingly heartless, brutal and ruthless Judge but one of the very best in the business. This is a great adaption of the comic series and with a great sense of pace, amazing visuals - namely the slow motion ultra-violent sprays of blood - and booming soundtrack this is an action movie to remember. Need a dose of Action in your weekend? Make way for Judge Dredd.

Best of the rest:

Film4 @ 1530        Ice Cold in Alex (1958) ****

ITV2 @ 2100          Knocked Up (2007) ***

Syfy @ 2100          In Time (2011) ***

TCM @ 2100         The Deer Hunter (1978) *****

Film4 @ 0050        Bound (1996) ****

Sony @ 0115        Donnie Brasco (1997) ****

***AVOID AT ALL COSTS!***

5* @ 2305 Need for Speed (2014) * AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

Officially my 94th favourite film released in 2014.

NOTE: I have seen 94 films released in 2014.

Car action trash - looking out of the window at the road for an hour will probably inspire more interest and fun.

SATURDAY 11th NOVEMBER

HOT PICKS!

Film4 @ 2310      30 Days of Night (2007) *****

This is one of my most watched Vampire films. David Slade’s 30 Days of Night is a fantastic comic book adaption. It’s a rewarding little vampire shocker set in some great locations with an effective use of colour and sound that sets a real creepy tone. It’s set in Barrow Alaska, the northernmost town in the United States. It’s the beginning of 30 days without sunlight and the towns remaining residents are about to be hunted down by a group of rather nasty vampires. The savage, brutal and ultra-violent gore in a few scenes really looks extra special against the eerie white snowy backdrop of Barrow. Look out for my favourite scene - the superb aerial flyby of the main street in the town where numerous vampires are causing carnage as blood sprays over the snow below in a variety of wicked and wonderful ways. This is a very worthy Vampire film with some of the quickest and most dangerous depictions of vampires you will ever see. There is certainly no sparkling here.

Sony @ 2315       Kick-Ass (2010) *****

A superb creation. Matthew Vaughn brings the previously little known comic book “Kick-Ass” to life on the big screen, and boy does he do a fantastic job. Kick-Ass follows the story of Dave Lizewski who’s had enough of the bullies and takes matters into his own hands - becoming the wet suit clad hero Kick-Ass. The story is detailed with some excellent links to a huge number of films and comics. We are introduced to a host of great characters each with interesting and well explored backgrounds. It’s immensely violent, insanely funny and gruesomely gory. The action sequences are elaborate, stunning and very impressive, especially the great scene in the warehouse. With a super-apt soundtrack and excellent pace keeps you interested every step of the way. Particular praise for Nicholas Cages “Big Daddy” who’s blatant nod to Adam West had me in stitches. In a genre full of pretty average Super Hero movies - Kick-Ass reigns supreme. Great stuff - watch it.

Horror @ 0040      Triangle (2009) ****

I’ve always been surprised this film didn’t get more attention. Written and Directed by Christopher Smith we see him really pull out all the stops with this far superior and more complicated story compared to his previous outing Severance. It really shows how he has grown as a film maker. This is a film very difficult to describe without giving too much away. What I can say is it’s a story of a group of 6 passengers on a yacht which capsizes when caught in a freak storm. They come across a large ocean liner and get on board. The Liner is deserted apart from a lone masked gunman… Here the story takes some very interesting turns.

What I will say is Triangle is full to the brim with twists and turns and an excellent performance from Melissa George. Triangle is really fascinating to watch and watch again. It pulls on good qualities from films like “Time Crimes” & “Memento” also with a couple of nods to “The Shining”. Overall this is a very satisfying film you will want to watch over and over and over again.

Best of the rest:

Syfy @ 1100        Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) ***

TCM @ 1255        Singin' in the Rain (1952) *****

Syfy @ 1350         Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) ****

Sony @ 1350        The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) ***

TCM @ 1500         The Cruel Sea (1953) ****

5* @ 1600             Labyrinth (1986) ****

Horror @ 2100      Dog Soldiers (2002) ****

TCM @ 2100        The Hurt Locker (2008) *****

Film4 @ 2100       The World's End (2013) ***

***AVOID AT ALL COSTS!***

C4 @ 2100 Terminator: Genisys (2015) * AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

My expectations were set really low but that just wasn't enough. This is truly an abomination. I'd rather watch T3.... and I'd rather be terminated in the most horrible of ways than watch T3 again. I'd like to slap Emilia Clarke and Old man Arnie in the face - gauntlet style - with an endoskeleton limited edition Terminator box set arm... I'm wholly disappointed - a stain on the franchise that's already on the edge of forever ruining the appreciation of the originals - and I’m now thoroughly angry just remembering it. Let's just pretend it isn't on. Deal? Deal.

I'll be back? No you better bloody not be.

SUNDAY 12th NOVEMBER

HOT PICKS!

C4 @ 1645        Men In Black (1997) *****

There’s no better way of celebrating Sunday than with an action packed Sci-Fi Comedy.  Men in Black is exactly that.  Unbeknownst to the general public a secret department of Men in Black police the goings on of aliens on earth. We are introduced to some great characters, particularly Tommy Lee Jones’ Agents K who offers Will Smith a job in the agency as Agent J. The two agents get caught up in an intergalactic terrorist plot that could destroy the Earth. Its comic book beginnings show through the direction and camera work of Barry Sonnerfeld to great effect. It is full of great CGI and special effects that were state of the art in 1997 and still hold up really well today. The script is well put together and there is some fabulous dialogue which further strengthens the relationships and chemistry between the two agents. It’s short but sweet at around 90 mins, perfect for a film that’s a bit of fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and so shouldn’t the audience. Mindless? Maybe - but it’s great action, comedy Sci-Fi escapism.

Syfy @ 0010       Akira (1988) *****

This is without a doubt one of the most revered animations in my film watching life. Akira blew me away on my first watch and made me want to get back deep into its luxurious and detailed world immediately as the credits rolled.  It’s a completely extravagant eye-gasm of luscious animation and a brain bending futuristic story that will burrow deep into your soul. Super powers, Telekinesis, war, violence, disaster, horror… this is a one of a kind and at almost 30 years old it still has an interesting, complicated yet current story to tell. So complex it is sometimes confusing – so I look forward to challenging myself once again with this awesome animation experience. I just hope it’s not dubbed – it’s always bloody dubbed.

Best of the rest:

TCM @ 0705      Singin' in the Rain (1952) *****

TCM @ 0905      The Cruel Sea (1953) ****

Film4 @ 1630    Hugo (2011) ***

TCM @ 2100      The Dirty Dozen (1967) ****

[judgeanon]

A SHORT HISTORY OF FEMALE JUDGES IN JUDGE DREDD FROM 2012 TO 2015

Seemingly satisfied with having thoroughly destroyed Mega-City One and making Dredd horribly responsible for and uncharacteristically powerless during all of it, John Wagner let go of the reins of 2000AD’s flagship character after “Day of Chaos”, leaving the strip in the hands of a new crop of writers who’d waste no time in staking their territory. First with an absolute tour de force of storytelling, and later with epics of their own, filled with supporting casts either handpicked or created by themselves, these writers have carved their own place in the strip by exploring the themes and characters most interesting to each other.

Speaking of characters, the most important development of this era as far as this series is concerned is the return of Judge Hershey to the Chief Judge’s seat. Ostensibly brought back to form an interim administration while the city gets back on its feet, Hershey would end up staying far longer than anticipated, mostly on account of there being nobody else willing and able to take on the monumental responsibility. Least of all, Dredd himself. More on that… right away, actually.

(Previous posts: 1979 to 1982 - 1982 to 1986 - 1986 to 1990 - 1990 to 1993 - 1993 to 1995 - 1995 to 1998 - 1998 to 2001 - 2001 to 2004 - 2004 to 2007 - 2007 to 2009 - 2009 to 2012. Cover art by Cliff Robinson)

We hit the ground running with “Bullet to King Four”, by Al Ewing and Henry Flint (prog 1803, October 2012) a prologue to the year’s first epic. Back in the driver’s seat of a city dangling from a cliff, Chief Judge Hershey is already hard at work. During an interim council meeting that includes Dredd, Judge Stalker and new Wally Squad acting chief Judge Folger (Judge Hollister is mentioned as being MIA, her cover blown during Chaos Day), she reveals her plan to merge Justice Dept’s various units into larger divisions as a way to consolidate their beleaguered forces. She also introduces, to Dredd’s immediate disgust, a new head of Undercover Division and obvious source of future trouble: Judge Carolyn Bachmann.

Bachmann had been introduced in a Megazine story set during Tour of Duty called “The Family Man” by Ewing and Leigh Gallagher (Megs 312-313, July 2011), where she was hinted to be the secret head of Justice Dept’s Black Ops Division, introduced years ago in Si Spurrier’s “Dominoes.” An incredibly shrewd, cunning and manipulative woman, Bachmann clashed with Dredd over unsanctioned killings in the mutant townships, but he was ultimately unable to gather enough evidence to go after her in any official way. In fact, during “Bullet…”, Hershey directly references having heard Dredd’s accusations, but stands by her decision to keep Bachmann around. And then we get three of the most savage panels in the history of the strip:

Oof.

Clearly, the good old days of the Dredd/Hershey team are over. Or at least on life support. There’s definitely a lot to be said about Hershey’s words here, starting from the fact that she’s unequivocally, absolutely, 100% right. Dredd has proven, again and again, that he has extremely little patience or desire to deal with the logistical consequences of his decisions. The clearest example of this is back during “Mutants in Mega-City One”, when Dredd arm-twisted his way through the entire Council of Five, but then grew tired with all the politicking he himself started and left them to deliberate it on their own. It was Hershey’s cunning and willingness to stay the course that saved the repeal then.

And then there’s the resignation thing. This is something that Hershey’s not only had to deal with twice (first in “Total War”, then in “Mutants...”), but she was also there when Dredd did resign and eventually came back, during McGruder’s second term. She knows, arguably better than anyone alive, that Dredd is a judge and could never be anything else. What’s interesting is that this time, she doesn’t hesitate to call his bluff. While before, Hershey would’ve been more open to cooperation and second opinions, now she’s stuck doing triage for a half-dead city. And the last thing she needs is Dredd’s constant small picture problems meddling with her attempts at saving what’s left of the big picture, a responsibility that Dredd is staunchly reluctant to take as long as there’s someone else available to do it.

But although Hershey is right in her assessment of Dredd’s mindset, Dredd is likewise right in his assessment of Bachmann’s intentions. In fact, it’s even suggested at the story’s end that Hershey and Bachmann might be working together, which, given Hershey’s penchant for secret operations during her first reign, isn’t entirely unfounded from an in-universe perspective. Par for the strip’s course, nobody is entirely right. But despite the particulars of the story, the key element of “Bullet…” is how it has come to define Dredd and Hershey’s relationship for the last six-odd years.

Following such a strong start, we have “Asleep”, by Rob Williams and Mark Harrison (progs 1804-1805, idem), about a sov sleeper agent being reactivated by accident and gunning for the Chief Judge. The end result is an unabashed Hershey-in-peril scene, complete with her staring down the barrel of a gun on her knees and Dredd saving her life with some quick talking. So bit of a disappointment after the previous story, but hopefully it won’t become a trend or anything. Also of note: yet another redesigned female med-judge.

Then we get to the first epic of this new post-Wagner era, “Trifecta”. Which, in my opinion, is one of the strongest and smartest uses of 2000AD’s anthology format in storytelling since “The Dead Man”. Even in collected form it’s still not quite as interesting as it was reading it in the progs, and that’s because it is formed by three different series by three different creative teams that all started independently, and were only revealed to be different parts of a same story one third into it. Now, because I’m a stickler for the self-imposed rules of this series of articles (and certainly not because I’m a lazy bastard), I’ll focus only on the Dredd portion of it: “The Cold Deck”, by the returning team of Ewing and Flint (progs 1806-1811, October-November ‘12).

The story starts with the news that Judge Folger has been found dead in rather grisly circumstances, and to make matters worse, she’d also taken an important file from Wally Squad’s computers and erased all copies before dying -- a file so top secret, nobody knows what it is. Dredd suspects Bachmann, and Buell, former head of the SJS, agrees, further suggesting that she’ll use the scandal to prompt a reorganization, strengthen her position and eventually become Chief Judge herself. Which of course, doesn’t sit well with Dredd at all.

We’re also introduced to Judge Estrella, Bachmann’s partner in crime. A psi-judge, she spends most of the story mentally spying on Dredd on her boss’ behalf. Bachmann is not one to leave anything to chance.

Dredd tracks the file down but intentionally fails to stop it from being sold to someone off-world, where it’s revealed to be a list of every Wally Squad judge in operation. For this, Hershey summons Dredd to her office in an episode that picks right up where “Bullet...” left off, in more ways than one. Opening with Hershey having a flashback to the final pages of “The Judge Child Quest” during a budget meeting with Judge Maitland (who’s also hinted at being part of the epic’s underlying plot), she’s left alone with Dredd. The chapter, set almost entirely from Hershey’s perspective, is an exceptionally sharp bit of writing that segues flawlessly from plot to character development and then right back to plot with notable ease, comfortably aided by Flint peppering the pages with tight close-ups that convey a feeling of claustrophobic closeness between the two judges.

On one hand, we find out that Hershey was fully aware of Bachmann’s underhanded tactics, having made good use of her advice in the past, and wanted her in the Council as a way to get her out in the open and hopefully find something more solid to arrest her for. For the sake of the city, Hershey is willing to give an ambitious spymaster just enough rope to hang herself with, while Dredd would prefer to just hang her himself. But now, both Dredd and Hershey find themselves playing different games but not trusting each other enough to let the other in on them.

And on a deeper level, we get to see the differences between Hershey and Dredd’s conceptions of what it means to be Chief Judge, which is where the flashback comes in. After all, it was Dredd who refused to bring Krysler back to Mega-City One, espousing the notion that the Chief Judge had to be incorruptible. Hershey notes that Dredd idolizes the position of Chief, often leading him to stand in harsh judgment of the men and women who have taken it in the past. Indulging in a bit of armchair psychology, I feel like a lot of it has to do with Dredd’s relationship with the closest he had to a biological father: Judge Fargo, the first and best Chief Judge, against which all others have to be compared. And even if Fargo proved to be more human than it seemed, his myth and Dredd’s indoctrination have created an impossible set of standards in the latter’s mind that nobody else is able to live up to.

But Dredd has never been Chief Judge. Hershey has. Twice. If Dredd knows what the position should be, Hershey knows what it is. And she has no qualms in admitting that it comes with a hefty amount of compromise, subterfuge and even corruption. She laments the loss of her ideals, some of which we’ve been first-hand witnesses to over the years, but still proves to have the good of the city as her ultimate goal at all times. In fact, her attempt at ousting Bachmann is likened to her “victory” over Judge Edgar during her first reign. But in an even more personal level that has very little to do with the current situation, Hershey is shown to be wounded by Dredd’s lack of trust in her, when she trusted him enough to be kicked out of office for him. Dredd’s narrow focus on his vision of what the Chief Judge and the city should be makes him willfully blind to the compromises needed to fulfill it and to the sacrifices others make for believing in him. And Hershey, who has already given everything save her life for him once, is officially through taking his stomm.

And on a personal (for me) note, having such an exceedingly layered, compelling relationship between two estranged former friends without any romantic tension at all is one of the reasons I absolutely love Judge Dredd.

Things escalate pretty quickly after that. Bachmann is forced to execute her plan sooner than expected due to the Wally Squad list being a fake used to lure her out and ruin her scheme to create a shiny new Mega-City reserved for indoctrinated citizens with the assistance of an insane shark-headed (that’s not an euphemism, he literally has a shark’s head) business mogul. Her black ops troops start taking over the Hall of Justice, and she herself beats up and guns Dredd down, but he’s promptly saved by Maitland, who also kills Estrella in the process. This all sets up the stage for the last episode of the epic, the titular “Trifecta”, by Al Ewing, Simon Spurrier, Rob Williams and drawn (gorgeously) by Carl Critchlow (prog 1812, December 2012). 

With all the conspiracy and most of the character bits out of the way, the conclusion is a very two-fisted action affair that includes an honest-to-grud flashback cameo by Chief McGruder of all people, a hilariously uncomfortable one-panel reunion between Dredd and Galen DeMarco (who’d been featured in Spurrier’s portion of the story), and one of the all-time greatest Hershey panels:

So with Dredd finally fessing up to knowing about Bachmann’s plans and Hershey admitting that she underestimated their scope, all that’s left is dealing with the mastermind herself. Like any good final boss, Bachmann proceeds to beat the crap out of everyone, including lobbing a stun grenade at Hershey to get her down on all fours which is awkwardly similar to the end of “Sleeper” up there. But in the end, she gets killed from behind by Judge Smiley, a more-secret-than-secret black ops judge who’d been brought in as a countermeasure by Judge Griffin after Cal’s reign, to prevent something like that from ever happening again. Hershey is understandably upset to learn there’s been a presumed-dead spy living in the walls of the Chief Judge’s office for the last 20 years, and berates him for not coming out for any other previous crisis and Dredd for not trusting her. So although the day is saved, it wasn’t without damage, both inside and out.

To Dredd’s credit, however, he’s not a bastard to everyone in this story.

What’s especially notable about “The Cold Deck” is the sheer breadth of roles in display for its female characters. The antagonist, the main side protagonist, the sidekick, the antagonist’s sidekick, even the catalyst for the story itself are all female, plus a handful of background judges in the final chapter. In many ways, this story is the end result of all the past years of development for female judges in the strip. Women encompass all possible roles, from minor to major, from incidental to fully developed, and on both sides of the conflict. By comparison, the other two parts of the story have either no female characters (”Saudade”) or only DeMarco in a very secondary role (”Jokers to the Right”). Meanwhile, the many female characters in "The Cold Deck” are all established characters with different degrees of development, none of which were created for this story except for Estrella. And while it can be argued that it’s astonishingly easy to introduce new characters in Dredd, the fact that a major storyline can encompass such a wide variety of female characters in an organic way still speaks volumes of the people behind it.

After such a whopper story we get a chance to catch our breaths with a Judge Hughes doing sidekick duties in prog 1818’s “Witch’s Promise”, by Alan Grant and David Roach (February 2013) and then it’s right back into the fray with 1820-1822’s “Wolves”, by Michael Caroll and Andrew Currie (idem). The story concerns Dredd and Hershey’s efforts to stop a wave of violence against sov-born citizens after Chaos Day. When things come to a head, Hershey orders all citizens with roots in East-Meg to be taken to a massive internment camp, and then repatriated by the sov block in exchange for much needed food rations, a plan that Dredd is adamantly against. When the citizens refuse to be moved, Dredd proposes relocating them to Mega-City Two instead.

So we can see how Ewing’s character development threads have been picked up by Carroll: Dredd’s increasingly humanistic streak clashes with Hershey’s cold, pragmatic worldview, and in the end it’s Dredd who suggests the solution. At times it reads like a modernized version of much, much older stories where Dredd suggests a straightforward solution to a complicated situation (“Bob’s Law”, anyone?) but I’d argue that the wider context upon which it happens and the decision to let these problems become longer plotlines instead of isolated incidents all conspire to create some annoying quibbles, at least for me. But more on that later.

The story continues in “Cypher”, by Carroll and Iñaki Miranda (1824-1825, March ‘13), where Hershey and Dredd have a meeting with a soviet envoy and his bodyguard, Judge Caterina Pax, to discuss their reneging on the deal. The meeting is almost immediately broken up by a sniper who wounds Hershey and is driven off by Dredd and Pax. With the sov judge’s assistance, Dredd manages to kill the sniper, who turns out to be a cyborg hired by the envoy to kill Hershey for not quite clear reasons, and Pax expresses her desire to defect to MC-1, netting us our first new recurring female judge of this period.

Speaking of new recurring female judges, Psi-Judge Hamida returns in “Suicide Watch”, written by Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby, and drawn by Paul Davidson (1826-1829, April ‘13). The first Dredd story written by a woman, it features Hamida having a bit of an Anderson/Corey moment, hallucinating a chat with her dead imam over halal hot dogs and feeling the weight of all the dead citizens killed by the Chaos Bug. She links up with Dredd after having a psi-flash, and together they go on the hunt for a potential suicide cult. But things get complicated when Hamida reveals that there’s a jinn -- a supernatural entity who erases people from existence and history behind it, and then even more complicated when Dredd finds out Hamida has been a suicide risk herself since Chaos Day. Ultimately, Hamida perseveres and beats the jinn, saving both Dredd and the day in a rare case of Dredd playing sidekick.

Carroll returns with PJ Holden in tow for “The Forsaken” (1830-1835, June ‘13) which features no less than five female cadet judges, each one with full names and in one case a big secret. Lori Cassano, Madison Echavez, Cheryl Tanuma, Angela Sorvino and Jessica Paris are all part of a group of cadets left for dead after Chaos Day who, feeling abandoned by Justice Dept., made a run for it. The story is told mostly in flashback as Dolman and Dredd track each surviving member, some of which are terribly wounded, and eventually manage to find Paris, who is then revealed to be a clone from Fargo’s DNA strain, effectively making her a female Dredd. Dolman brings her back to the city, with the added complication that she’s carrying the child of one of the other survivors of the incident.

The main hook of “The Forsaken” is getting to see a group of would-be judges giving in to absolute despair, their training falling apart under the strain of an extreme situation and how they form bonds and relationships between each other. While we’ve seen female judges “give in” to their humanity more than once, it rarely comes accompanied by dereliction of duty, and this one has it en masse. Unfortunately, far as I know neither Paris nor her child have appeared again so far, so we’ve yet to see what a fully-fledged female Dredd can look like.

Up next, a Judge Lawadski meets a gory end in Rob Williams and Trevor Hairsine’s “Skulls” (1836, idem) and we check in on Judge Beeny in John Wagner and Dave Taylor’s “Wastelands” (1837-1841, July ‘13). She only makes two short cameos in here, but we find out that she’s been taking a page from Dredd’s book and keeping busy to stop herself from brooding. Interestingly enough, Dredd suggests that she take a break, noting that she’s “going to have to deal with it sometime” and that, if she really wants to change things, she’s going to have to do it “from the inside.” 

That last comment in particular is interesting, as it sets up a plotline that Wagner will eventually bring to the Megazine while also staying true to Dredd’s characterization. Dredd, like Beeny, wants Justice Dept to change, but he remains reticent to go in and do it himself. And now that Hershey’s been compromised, he’s putting all his chips on Beeny, making sure that she doesn’t burn herself or become too attached to the streets. Dredd even sugars her up a little, off-handedly noting that she’s one of their best judges. Of course, Wagner being Wagner, this is all conveyed in about eight panels and less than twelve lines of dialogue, all book-ending a completely unrelated plot. In other words, a grand study in character development economy.

Carl Critchlow comes back to art duties in the Rob Williams-written “Scavengers” (1842-1843, August ’13), which sees Dredd travel underwater to the submerged ruins of Bachmann’s new Mega-City. The story features a Judge Chen who sacrifices herself in a fight against a giant mutated squid in order to keep the mission a secret and also a rather handsome Chief Judge Hershey appearance. We have a Judge Bova in Wagner and Ben Willsher’s “Bender” (1845-1849, September ’13) and Judge Pax returns as one of the stars of Michael Carroll and Paul Davidson’s “New Tricks” (1850-1854, October ’13). After an in-depth screening, she has been allowed to join judges from several other Mega-Cities (including the son of Irish judge Joyce, from “Emerald Isle”) as part of a transfer program to pad out the city’s drained forces.

Pax is shown to be exceedingly competent from the get-go, and the story is even narrated entirely from her journals, through which we learn, among other things, that Dredd seems to have taken a slight shine to her. The main plot involves a Judge Gwendolyn Kilgore, who’s returned from taking the Long Walk into the Undercity to ask for help in taking down a mythical Troggie gang boss called the Goblin King. Fairly standard action strip fare, mostly used to showcase Pax’s skills and to introduce Joyce. But it is certainly interesting to read the former’s thoughts on Dredd and MC-1 in general.

Hershey comes back for another round of workplace awkwardness in “Prey”, by TC Eglington and Karl Richardson (1855-1857, November ’13), although she seems to have grown accustomed enough to crack jokes about it. And that leaves us right at the doorstep of the first of a three-part epic by Rob Williams and Henry Flint: “Titan”.

This first part, which ran from progs 1862 to 1869 (January-February, 2014), kicks off with the news that all contact has been lost with the judges’ penal colony in the eponymous moon of Titan. Without an army to bring any possible rebellions to heel and unwilling to destroy the whole colony before getting all the facts, Hershey sends Dredd and a team of space marines to Titan to recon the place and see what’s going on in there. But after a seriously messed up landing and a couple of betrayals, Dredd finds himself alone and at the mercy of the masterminds behind the convicts’ uprising: former Chief Judge Sinfield, and former Wally Squad Judge Aimee Nixon.

Nixon, of course, was one of the main characters of Williams’ own Low Life serial. An undercover judge on the edge, she eventually quit the department and joined the Hondo City Yakuza in a bid to save her sector from a gang war, but was brought back by her partner, Dirty Frank, and put in an iso-cube for a debriefing, her intel supposedly keeping her safe from Titan. But after Chaos Day, her and several others were shipped there anyway, breaking their deal and leaving her even more embittered and vengeful. Her appearance here is quite the surprise, but makes sense considering the creative team. As Williams’ time became more focused on the main Dredd strip, more characters from Low Life would begin appearing there in guest spots. We’d already seen a hint of that in the last epic.

Back in the plot, once she realizes who she’s got in her hands, Nixon begins negotiating with Hershey. Unlike the last revolt (“Inferno”, all the way back in part four of our retrospective) the inmates here only want to be given Titan as an independent colony. But meanwhile, Nixon has also begun torturing Dredd, trying to break him down to make the man underneath the stoneyface come to the light in hope that his desire for revenge will overcome his loyalty to the law. It’s all a bit “The Killing Joke”, as Nixon seems intent on proving that every judge, even the toughest of them all, hides a human being inside, full of human desires and emotions -- just like she had.

But ultimately, Dredd proves to be too tough a nut to crack, and even when the only survivor of the marines sabotages the colony and Aimee and co are forced to evacuate towards Enceladus, Dredd still refuses to destroy their escape ships, ruining Aimee’s plan to destroy him by making him break the law. The former judges escape, Dredd survives to fight another day, and everything works out alright… for now. Overall, “Titan” is a fairly intense start that goes to some surprising places, but it also does rely a bit too much on a foregone conclusion, which is Dredd not choosing revenge. It’s also pretty funny that this makes it two epics in a row that include a scene of a female judge antagonist arguing with Hershey over a monitor. Wonder if that will be the real trend?

Also of note: Flint seems to have some trouble keeping Hershey’s eye color consistent, since they were blue back in “The Cold Deck.” Or maybe she just has a box of contacts.

We take a breather with a Judge Sisulu side-kicking it up in “Squirm!” (Carroll and Nick Dyer, 1870-1872, February ’14) and then we’re back with Williams and Flint for prog 1873’s “Fit” (March ’14). An epilogue to “Titan”, the story has Hershey send Gerhart, an SJS judge with an axe to grind who was with Dredd during the ill-fated mission, to check on Dredd for any lasting side effects of his experience on the colony. The most interesting part of this one-off for our subject is the very last page, where Gerhart notes that, owing to her history with Dredd, Hershey is ultimately ready to follow him anywhere despite this ongoing cold war between them, which zeroes in on a particular wrinkle in their relationship. For all their mutual posturing and disagreements, ultimately both Dredd and Hershey are fueled by a strong sense of duty towards the city. But while Hershey is worried by its continued day-to-day survival, Dredd is increasingly driven by his vision of a fairer, more human society. In an overly simplified nutshell, Hershey cares about the city, but Dredd cares more about the citizens. And despite her barely being present in it, the next story is one of the strongest examples of this seemingly irreparable schism.

Running in progs 1874-1878 (April ‘14), “Mega-City Confidential” marks the return of John Wagner to the strip, accompanied by Colin MacNeil. A delightfully bleak conspiracy procedural, it ends with the reveal that Justice Department has been taking advantage of the post-Chaos Day rebuilding projects to install covert surveillance equipment in millions of homes, accumulating information that is then parsed by human operators to seek out any signs of criminal activity that may necessitate a not-so-random house search. But when one of those operators escapes and turns whistleblower, Dredd is forced to defend the secrecy of a project he himself had grave misgivings about, calling it “a rare mistake” from Hershey. And once the secret is out, public outcry forces Justice Dept to roll the project back, but not before jailing the operator and probably having the journalist responsible for the leak murdered. Light reading, this ain’t.

That sounds familiar. Also, while not named, this might be Judge Stalker.

On its own, the story works as evidence of Dredd’s growing disgust with the dehumanization inherent to the judicial system, and his own discomfort as a cog within a machinery that seems increasingly prone to falling into these excesses. As such, Hershey’s error of judgment is mostly an afterthought, but I do find it’s interesting to put it within context. The Chaos Bug attack, for example, relied heavily on privacy and subterfuge, so it’s easy to see why Hershey, who’s trying to keep a dying city alive, would be tempted to go forward with something -- anything that could prevent something like that from happening again. It’s a steep change from when Hershey was considered the most liberal of all the candidates for Chief Judge, but makes sense given her own personal development and the circumstances of her return to the position. As she’s grown older and her situation direr, she seems much more open to sacrificing the liberties she used to champion for the sake of keeping people alive. So in a way, her character development has taken on a polar opposite route to Dredd’s.

Wagner stays a little longer for “Shooters Night” (art by John McRea, 1879-1882, May ‘14), which nets us an unnamed female judge and a small Hershey cameo at the end. Then Carroll returns with Nick Percival for “Traumatown” (1883-1887, June ‘14), a story about Dredd being haunted by a near-dead Psi’s vengeful spirit that features a veritable cavalcade of female judges: Pax and Hershey guest star alongside new Psi-Judge Lewis, and there’s even a funny little cameo by a Judge Parkhouse, clearly named after long-time 2000AD letterer and unsung heroine Annie Parkhouse. After that blowout, we get a small med-judge appearance in 1890-1891’s “Student Bodies” (Wagner and Boo Cook, July ‘14) and a new crisis for Dredd and Hershey in “Cascade” (Carroll and Paul Marshall, 1894-1899, August-September ‘14) as the Lawlords, a race of brutal alien overseers whom Dredd had already faced in a previous story, attempt to take over the city. The story features a Judge Reyer who dies trying to stop the attack early on, and unfortunately, Hershey’s role in it is mostly just glowering a lot while Dredd saves the day as usual.

Up next we have the return of Judge Beeny in Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra’s “Block Judge” (1900-1909, September-November ’14), where she assists Dredd in bringing a troublesome block to heel. But although it’s great to check on her progress as a judge, there isn’t much character development to be found here, and it’d seem Beeny is on the track to becoming another Dredd sidekick template. Wagner, however, has bigger plans for her, although as mentioned before, the big turn will happen in the Megazine.

The story also has a couple of guest appearances from Hershey, as Dredd for once acts very tactfully around her, asking for her help in keeping a couple of crime lords locked up for incredibly petty crimes until they can uncover more evidence. As usual, a common enemy does seem to unite them well enough, although Hershey can’t resist calling Dredd out a little on his criticisms. But for a moment, the old team is back together, with Hershey making sure Dredd is able to do his job as effectively as possible.

Another nameless female judge shows up in Alec Worley and Leigh Gallagher’s “End of the Road” (1911, December ’14) and the year closes with a return appearance by Judge Lewis in Carroll and Karl Richardson’s “The Ghost of Christmas Present” (prog 2015, idem). And if things sound like they’re finally settling down a little, don’t worry, because our last stop of this post features the biggest return of them all...

“Dark Justice” (progs 2015-1921, January-March 2015) was famously born out of artist Greg Staples’ desire to paint a classic Dark Judges story. And although John Wagner had admitted to basically having run out of ideas for them, he was happy to go back in after seeing Staples’ test sketches. The end result is a visually stunning mini-epic with an otherwise fairly standard plot, as Dredd and Psi-Judge Anderson team-up to hunt down Judge Death and his pals onboard a deep space colony ship. Not much to say character-wise about this one, as both Dredd and Anderson seem to revert back to their early 80s action hero selves, filling the story with wisecracks and one-liners as they batter the fearsome foursome. Anderson does get to shine pretty brightly on this one, pulling Judge Fire’s spirit out of Dredd’s mind and revealing that her past experiences with Judge Death have allowed her to develop a slight immunity to his powers. In the end, the superfiends are ejected and left drifting in space while our heroes await a rescue, and there’s not really much else to say.

One thing that is noteworthy is that Staples used model and cosplayer Lauren Integra Fairbrook as his model for Anderson in “Dark Justice”. Which makes sense, considering she’s the official Anderson model for Planet Replicas and has featured in the Judge Minty and Strontium Dog: Search/Destroy fan shorts. In fact, there’s even a reference to an “Lauren Integra Cosplay Ground” in “Mask of Anarchy”, a previous Dredd story.

And as an extra bit of trivia, Planet Replicas’ official Dredd model is… Greg Staples himself.

In our next episode: two epics! Two thousand progs! And... The End?

[all-action-all-picture]

Judge Dredd in The Judge Child Quest No. 1, cover dated August 1985.

A reprint series from Eagle Comics with a new cover by Brian Bolland. Bolland excelled when he took the humourless Dredd and placed him in the most ridiculous or comical situations or surroundings.