JUDGE DREDD: THE COMPLETE CASE FILES VOL. 6 (2000 AD, Third Printing, 2012; Softcover)
Collects
the Judge Dredd stories from 2000
A.D.
Nos. 271-321 (cover dates July 3, 1982- June 18, 1983)
Writers:
John Wagner and Alan Grant
Artists:
Carlos Ezquerra, Ron Smith, Jose Casanovas, John Cooper, and Steve
Dillon
Fun!
That is the best way to describe the feeling that I get when I read
the tales of this tough as nails lawman of the future, Judge Dredd.
His deadpan nature and brutal dispensation of the law make this part
black comedy, part escapist fun, both weaved in with a wink and nod of
social commentary thrown in for good measure.
I enjoyed the return of the Judge Child and the Angel Gang. The Executioner is a great arc. There seem to be more serial arcs than standalone stories this time out. The writing is great and the art is solid. Ron Smith is my favorite artist in this book, although the way that he draws teeth drives me nuts. It looks like everyone has buck teeth or something.
The
way that story titles are structured (__________ Part #) has since
been aped by American comic publishers. The main difference is that
Dredd was a weekly serial that lasted six pages, whereas
Marvel or DC use it across six issues.
 |
| There is some gutter loss on a number of these double page spreads. Highly annoying. |
I wish that Rebellion/ 2000 AD would do a re-release of this stuff, with the covers included in their chapter marker spots as well as printing the pages which were originally done in color in full color. It would also be nice if they inserted the stories from the various Annuals and Specials in order of publication. As of right now they have been compiled in four The Restricted Case Files books. I know that this will likely never happen, and my wallet kind of doesn't want it to, either.
Junk
Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.
The
OCD zone- The only covers that were included in previous volumes
were the ones which had Judge Dredd on the cover. This time only two
covers were included: #284 and 307.
The
following issue covers featuring Judge Dredd on the cover are omitted
from this collection: Progs 273, 281, 286, 288, 289, 294-298, 305,
310, 313, 315, 316, and 320. Well, 320 is a toss up, since Dredd is only on a tiny square on the cover.
DVD-style
Extras included in this book: Extras? The
basics weren't even adequately covered!
Linework
and Color restoration rating: 4.25 out of 5. There are a handful
of pages that look iffy, but things by and large look good. Some of
the stories had portions which were originally published in coloUr,
and of course those look a little murkier than the rest.
Paper
rating: 5 out of 5. Heavyweight uncoated stock, can be read under
any light source with zero glare.
Binding
rating: 4.25 out of 5. Sewn binding with six stitches per
signature on a softcover? Yes please!
Cardstock
cover coating rating:
4 out of 5. Dull matte finish coating which is easily scuffed.
It's very odd they didn't do the colour pages, in colour. As they went full colour in later volumes. May have increased the price though? Must have been some reasoning behind it.
ReplyDeleteWe will be seeing a lot of this reprinted by IDW in hardcover in the Carlos Ezquerra series. So maybe the covers and colour may be restored. But I only double dipped for Bolland. Although having the Apocalypse War in one large hardcover is appealing!
Great value books though.
I have the complete run of these books, and yes, the later ones are in color (or colour). While the price point didn't increase, the page count decreases.
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