Review- JUDGE DREDD: THE COMPLETE CASE FILES VOL. 11

JUDGE DREDD: THE COMPLETE CASE FILES VOL. 11 (2000 AD, First Printing, October, 2008; Softcover)

Collects the Judge Dredd stories from 2000 A.D. #523-570 (cover dates May 23, 1987- April 16, 1988)

Writers: John Wagner and Alan Grant

Artists: Brett Ewins, John Ridgway, Cliff Robinson, Robin Smith, Mike Collins, John Higgins, Liam McCormack Sharp, Steve Dillon, Barry Kitson, Jim Baike, Garry Leach, Will Simpson, Dave Elliot, and Brendan McCarthy

It all started for me with an Anthrax song and then the 2012 movie Dredd. That is what prompted my mad quest to procure every single Complete Case Files as well as the Restricted Case Files books in the winter of 2012-13 . Over the past few years I've slowly been reading these books and have realized that I may never finish reading them all.

The writing is solid throughout, with continuity that is as tight as a drum. It's the artwork which swerves all over the road here, from brilliant to what I politely call “deadline art”. Cliff Robinson's artwork is head and shoulders above the rest of the pack here. Judge Dredd was a weekly strip, and there was a rotating crop of artists in order to make the going to press deadline. As a weekly reader this probably didn't matter, but when reading a huge swath of issues in a row like you do with this book it can be jarring from one story to the next.

The highlight of this book is the 26 part epic, Oz, where former champion skysurfer Chopper makes a prison break. Jug McKenzie has been the champion for the two years since Chopper has been in prison and was talking a lot of smack, which caught Chopper's attention. With nothing to lose, Chopper hops on a skyboard and goes on a harrowing journey across the ocean to Australia to compete in Supersurf 10. Some of the arcs in this book were about as fun to read as chewing chalk, but this one was a real page turner that kept me awake until I finished it.

Dredd's a good character and a good concept, but in my case a little goes a long way. There is a sameness to it all, even when they switch gears and Dredd is fighting rats, mutant alligators or martial artists. Dredd is great when I am in a certain frame of mind. The problem for me is that this frame of mind is becoming less and less frequent right now.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials of physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

These books are wider than standard trade paperbacks. The material reprinted here is presented in a smaller size than it was in the original publications.

There is a cover gallery in the back of the book which features only nine of the twenty one covers that Judge Dredd appeared on out of the issues collected in this book.

Linework and Color restoration: This book is printed in black and white, which is becoming a problem as the full color (or colour, since this is British) double page spreads are now an every issue occurrence. Those are scanned and printed in black and white, resulting in a grayscale mess. Starting with the next Volume I noticed that they have switched to a full color, glossy paper format for this line of books. The first two pages out of each six-eight page story in this book are a murky grayscale abomination with gutter loss.

Paper stock: Uncoated paper stock. The paper used in the European printed versions (like my copy here) feels odd to the touch. I can't quite explain it.

Binding: Sewn binding. There is an annoying amount of gutter loss across the double page spreads, with the word balloons getting sucked right down the middle.

Cardstock cover notes: Super thick cardstock covers with a matte coating that is sufficiently resistant to scuffing.

Review- ROGUE TROOPER: TALES OF NU-EARTH VOL. 3

ROGUE TROOPER: TALES OF NU-EARTH VOL. 3 (2000 AD, First UK Printing, 2012; Softcover)

Collects the Rogue Trooper stories from 2000 A.D. #410-419, 422-426, 428-432, 444-449, 520-531, 567-572, 574, 575, 589, 598-600, 602, 603, 2000 A.D. Annual 1986, 1987, 2000 A.D. Sci-Fi Special 1982-1984, 1986, 1988, 2000 A.D. Winter Special 1989, and Dice Man #3, 5 (cover dates March 23, 1985- Winter, 1989)

Writers: Gerry Finley-Day, Steve Macmanus, Simon Geller, Peter Milligan, Steve Dillon, Pat Mills, and Grant Morrison

Artists: Jose Ortiz, Steve Dillon, Boluda, Chris Weston, Eric Bradbury, Brett Ewins, Cam Kennedy, Mike Collins, and Will Simpson

These continuing adventures of Rogue Trooper and his biochipped comrades, Bagman, Helm, and Gunnar, seem to spin their wheels while continuing to entertain. Rogue's quest to get his fallen biochipped comrades regened into new bodies brings him back to Milli-Com, when peace talks between the Norts and Southers are interrupted by a third party.

Unknown to all, it is really a race of aliens who want to conquer Nu-Earth. The aliens approach Rogue with the promise of ending war for all time. All that he has to do is eliminate 34 key figures and peace will follow, or so they promise him. After fulfilling several of the hits his quest takes him to the ancient planet Earth, where he learns the truth in a slapdash way. What had been a huge sprawling epic seems to stop abruptly, and it seems an inorganic way to end what should have been a big bang of an ending. Oh well.

The writing is good and the artwork is solid, especially Jose Ortiz and Chris Weston's. This is fast paced, action packed stuff low on the search for literary credibility and high on fun. Comic books try too hard to be taken seriously nowadays. Not everything has to be sophisticated “adult literature”.

I thought that the Choose Your Own Adventure style stories at the end of the book were a lot of fun, especially the ones which require you to roll a die and use the score to determine where you are going. Neat stuff. This volume kinds of wraps things up well enough and would be a fine stopping point. There is a fourth volume in this line which is aging to perfection in my backlog as we speak. I hope to read it someday.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- The only covers that are included are 2000 A.D. #410, 422, 429, 568, 574, 598, 602, all in full color.

Linework and Color restoration: The black and white material looks sharp. The color material was scanned from original comics and looks decent.

Paper stock: Matte coated stock. Many people prefer an uncoated stock for black and white material but a coated stock will hold the blacks better. As long as it has little to no sheen it is more enjoyable to me. Your mileage may vary.

Binding: Sewn binding on softcover makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Cardstock cover notes: Matte finish with a dry feel to it. It is easily scuffed even when handled carefully. 

Review- ROGUE TROOPER: TALES OF NU-EARTH VOL. 1

ROGUE TROOPER: TALES OF NU-EARTH VOL. 1 (2000 AD, Second Printing, April, 2011; Softcover)

Collects the Rogue Trooper stories from 2000 A.D. Nos. 228-232, 234-243, 246-258, 260-262, 265-301, 303-317, and 2000 A.D. Annual 1983, 1984 (cover dates September 5, 1981- May 21, 1983)

Writers: Gerry Finley-Day and Alan Moore

Artists: Dave Gibbons, Cam Kennedy, Brett Ewins, Colin Wilson, Mike Dorey, and Eric Bradbury

Rogue Trooper is a G.I., or Genetic Infantryman, a sort of super-soldier modified to withstand the harsh toxic environments of Nu-Earth without a breathing apparatus. Mankind relocated to this new Earth but their chemical warfare in the Nu Earth future war polluted the atmosphere. The G.I.'s entire personality transfers to a biochip at the time of their death, and these biochips can be installed in various hardware. When Rogue's comrades are killed in combat he inserts them in his helmet (Helm), his gun (Gunnar), and his bag (Bagman). They can speak and retain their entire personality and serve as the supporting cast. 

It is really interesting to see how influential these British comics were on American comics. The third party narrative is used sparingly, mostly as a plotline recap since this was a weekly strip, with the rest of the story being entirely dialogue driven. Compare this to American comic books of similar vintage and you will see what I mean. Nowadays this is par for the course, but British comics are where that style started.

While this was consistently enjoyable throughout 400-odd pages, The Fort Neuro arc was my favorite. I love how the one base, the Napoleonic Complex, pretended to be from France. Dave Gibbons (later of Watchmen fame) was the original artist for the series, and Alan Moore writes the story from the 2000 A.D. Annual 1984. Cam Kennedy is nearly as good an artist as Gibbons. This is good stuff that holds up remarkably well 30-odd years after it's original publication.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

Buy ROGUE TROOPER: TALES OF NU-EARTH VOL. 1 TP at InStockTrades!

The OCD zone- The only covers that are included are #228, 231, 241, and 317.

DVD-style Extras included in this book: There is an uncredited additional page at the end of the cover gallery in the back of the book.

Linework: Things look good for 95% of the book. A few pages look murky, like a few of the pages may have been scanned from printed pages instead of sourced from film. The film was altered from original publication for the 2005 192 page collections. The *footnote box refers to previous books rather than individual issues.

Paper stock: Thick uncoated stock, zero sheen under any light source.

Binding: Sewn binding, six stitches per signature.

Cardstock cover notes: Dull matte coating, easily scuffed even when handled gingerly. I strongly dislike this style of finish. 

Review- JUDGE DREDD: THE COMPLETE CASE FILES VOL. 6

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.

Buy the new US printing of JUDGE DREDD: THE COMPLETE CASE FILES VOL. 6 TP at InStockTrades!

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.

Review- JUDGE DREDD: THE COMPLETE CASE FILES VOL. 5

JUDGE DREDD: THE COMPLETE CASE FILES VOL. 5 (2000 AD, First US Printing, 2012; Softcover)

Collects the Judge Dredd stories from 2000 A.D. Nos. 208-270 (cover dates April18, 1981- June 26, 1982)

Writers: John Wagner and Alan Grant

Artists: Brian Bolland, Carlos Ezquerra, Colin Wilson, Mike McMahon, Ron Smith, Ian Gibson, Steve Dillon, Barry Mitchell, and John Cooper

I saw Dredd 3D in September of 2012 and loved it. I knew who Judge Dredd was, being an Anthrax fan in the '80s and all. Heck, I can even brag about seeing the abysmal Sylvester Stallone Judge Dredd film in the theatre. The 2012 film really grabbed me, though, so much so that I decided to do some digging to see if there were any collected editions of the character. Boy are there collected editions! There was an entire library of completist-minded phone books entitled The Complete Case Files.

I immediately set out on a mad quest to collect them all. Many of them were out of print, only pouring gasoline on my OCD completism. I must own them!, I thought. They wouldn't have gone out of print if they weren't so good that every single copy sold! The good news is that yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and Santa bought me the entire collection for Christmas 2012. The better news is that these are being reissued here in the United States by Simon & Schuster. 

For those of you who are not familiar with the character, Judge Dredd is a no-nonsense, tough as nails lawman in the future. After a nuclear war, people are grouped into habitable zones called Mega-Cities. Judge Dredd takes place in Mega-City One, which is a population centre which encompasses most of the East Coast of the United States. The Judges deal with the rampant crime of the future by being judge, jury, and executioner all in one. Their gun is called their Lawgiver, and fires six different types of bullets.

The strip is, at times, a black comedy and satire precursor to both Robocop and Futurama. It reads well in that regard and even better as a straight up action strip. The over the top violence has a cheekiness to it which is decidedly British. This is way more violent than American comic books of the day. The layout and largely narrative free nature of these stories served as an inspiration for decompressed comic books some 20 years later. Rather than learn how to use this spaced out storytelling method for maximum impact like the British did, American writers just used it to pad out story arcs to fit a trade paperback. This material was way ahead of its time and holds up extremely well over thirty years later. 

Artwork by Brian Bolland.

Being a weekly strip, there isn't much of the way in recaps in each story aside from a box or two of text. This keeps the story flowing and moving forward, making the most of the six or so pages per issue. There are a few “key” arcs in this book. Judge Death Lives!, with it's absolutely brilliant Brian Bolland artwork, is pure genius. Judge Death returns with three other judges from his dimension, Deadworld, with Judges Fear, Fire, and Mortis in tow. To end the menace once and for all, Judge Dredd and Judge Anderson journey to Deadworld, where all crime was committed by the living. All of the living were sentenced to death. For some reason this makes complete sense and makes me wonder if the machines will come to a similar conclusion once they assume dominance in our society.

The next arc is arguably part of the third arc in this book, but I'll leave that up to the 2000 AD experts of the world to argue about. Block Mania sets the stage, with the citizens of Mega-City One engaging in, well, block wars. You see, each block in the city is a gigantic apartment complex filled with shops and whatnot. Residents often spend their entire lives in these without ever leaving them. The city is overcrowded and mostly poor, so the chemical that contaminates the water merely throws a match on gas soaked rags. There are many gags laced throughout this arc. Some of the blocks have amusing names, all of which are based on celebrities. 

The Apocalypse War is a 25 part epic. (Mild 30 year old spoilers ahead in this paragraph.) With Mega-City One in disarray and the judges spread thin from the Block Wars, now is the time for the Soviets in East-Meg One to strike. Nearly half of the population is killed from their nuclear assault. Bear in mind, this was originally published at the height of the Cold War. I can still recall growing up when the Russians were our enemies. Mutually assured destruction and all that jazz. I'll leave it up to Anthrax to some this one up for you. Taken from their song I Am The Law (1987):

When the Sovs started The Apocalypse War

Mega-City was bombed to the floor

Dredd resisted and the judges fought back

Crushed the Sovs with their counter attack

One of the recurring themes popping up in the strip is the Futsies, who suffer from Future Shock. Future Shock a sort of insanity developed by those unable to cope with the advent of technology and robots doing nearly all jobs. Cripes, we are on the verge of that here in the halfway mark of the second decade of the 21^st century, let alone in the early 22^nd century that this book takes place in. 

Carlos Ezquerra is a fan favorite. His style is a bit rougher than Bolland's but works.

So it took me just over a year to read the first five of these books. I currently have all of them, which means that I have 16 more and all 4 Restricted Case Files books. 2000 AD has plans to reissue the Daily Star strip reprint books later this year. In any case, given my current productivity reading this in and around my other reviews, you can count on seeing periodic Judge Dredd reviews until at least 2019, and that's before factoring in the forthcoming volume 22 and beyond. I'll be here doing these reviews for as long you'll be here to read them...and even if you're not I'll still be here doing them. Haha!

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Please note the review of the materials used is for the version produced for North America by Simon & Schuster.

There is no table of contents or page numbers, so you have no indication which story is from what issue unless you start counting when you read the book or refer to sites like Comic Book Database. This might not annoy some folks but it annoys the piss out of me and hampers my reading enjoyment.

Also annoying is how only the issue covers featuring Judge Dredd are collected in this book, and they are all grouped in the back. They are presented in black and white. Some of the story pages, often the first two, were originally published in color but are presented in black and white here. These 400 plus page phonebooks are like Marvel Essentials or DC Showcase Presents lines, so I will give them a pass for being in black and white. I just figured that I would mention it since the type of people that read The OCD zone find this information to be helpful.

DVD-style Extras included in this book: Extras? No. The only covers provided are for the issues where Judge Dredd was on the cover, #210, 215, 219, 221, 224, 236 (two page wraparound cover), and 262.

Linework restoration rating: 4.25 out of 5. Things look murky every now and again but are generally good. The worst thing about this book is the horrific gutter loss. Every story starts out with a two page spread, and if there are word balloons that went across the gutter then there are letters that get sucked into oblivion. Resizing the pages would have helped. These books are wider than normal trade paperbacks but the original issues were still larger than this book. The artwork is already slightly shrunk down in size.

The *Tharg Note footnote box in the final story refers to The Judge Child UK book rather than the issue number. Is it possible that they altered the files with a paste up when they compiled the issues into books for the UK market and then never fixed them? Because we totally need a comprehensive high end hardcover line with covers and certain pages all in color if that is the case...

Paper rating: 4.25 out of 5. This book has a good weight uncoated stock paper.

Binding rating: 4.25 out of 5. Perfect bound trade paperback with a nice thick band of glue.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 4.5 out of 5. This book has a slightly waxy feeling dull matte finish coating on the cardstock cover. It is sufficiently resistant to scuffing.

Buy JUDGE DREDD: THE COMPLETE CASE FILES VOL. 5 TP at InStockTrades!

Review- JUDGE DREDD: THE COMPLETE CASE FILES VOL. 2

JUDGE DREDD: THE COMPLETE CASE FILES VOL. 2 (2000 AD, First US Printing, 2010; Softcover)

Collects the Judge Dredd stories from 2000 A.D. Nos. 61-70, 73-76, 79-115 (cover dates April 20, 1978- June 2, 1979)

Writers: Pat Mills, John Wagner, and Chris Lowdner

Artists: Mike McMahon, Ron Smith, Dave Gibbons, Brian Bolland, Brendan McCarthy, Brett Ewins, and Gary Leach

There is a marked improvement in the storytelling and the artwork over Volume 1, the natural result of the character becoming more defined and the creators refining their craft. We hit the ground running with The Cursed Earth (Progs 61-85), a famous (infamous?) arc where Judge Dredd has to run a vaccine across the post-apocalyptic wasteland called the Cursed Earth. Mega-City Two (basically the west coast of the US) was infected by the 2T(FRU)T virus, and Dredd and a small band of helpers trek across country to save them with the antidote. They encounter mutants, dinosaurs, and an alien slave colony. 

This volume should be called the InComplete Case Files, since the stories from issues 71, 72, 77, and 78 were omitted due to copyright infringement. 2000 AD was sued by McDonald's and Burger King for 71 and 72 and Kentucky Fried Chicken for 77 and 78. That gorgeous Brian Bolland artwork, never to be reprinted again. Oh the humanity! I love the black humour and satiric nature of the title. British people weren't exactly in love with us colonists, were they? I love the British spelling of words throughout the book as well. 

In The Day the Law Died (Progs 89-108), Judge Cal conspires to take control of Mega-City One. He assassinates the Chief Judge and assumes his position. With the help of his SJS (Special Judicial Squad) and by brainwashing the rest of the Judges, he manages to pull it off. Cal is basically like Caligula of Rome, a sadistic dictator who issues insane edicts. He employs the alien Kleggs to uphold his laws. Of course Dredd frees the judges from their hypnosis and saves the day.

This series was originally published weekly in England, and the artists all rotate, resulting in an inconsistent look and feel to the title. Brian Bolland is a genius, but most of the other artists are merely competent. One thing that is interesting about this series is that it takes place in real time as opposed to no time elapsing between issues. 

Judge Dredd is all about absolutes, as hard-nosed and stubborn as they come. Robocop was clearly ripped off from this. It's sometimes hard to remember that Dredd is human, he's so badass. His Roboservsant Walter is used more sparingly here than in volume one, thankfully. As was suggested to me prior to buying these, I recommend new readers starting with this book rather than Volume 1. Unless you are a diehard OCD completist there really isn't a need for it.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Buyer beware! There are multiple printings of this book, all with different cover art and a multitude of spine variations. You have been warned...

2000 A.D. was an anthology title with multiple characters. The only covers that are included in this book are the ones featuring Judge Dredd on them, 61, 69, 74, 82, and 85. This is an OCD fail for me, but your mileage may vary.

The lack of page numbers or a detailed table of contents is maddening. You cannot tell which story is from which issue without the aid of the Internet.

Linework restoration rating: 4.5 out of 5. The linework is generally excellent but there are a few dropouts.

Paper rating: 3.75 out of 5. This book has a thick bright white uncoated stock.

Binding rating: 4 out of 5. Standard fare glued binding.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 2 out of 5. The cover has an almost non-existent coating which feels weird. I was a stockboy in my teens and early 20s, and always hated touching the Gilbey's Gin bottles because they had frosted glass. It made me ill to handle them and made the hairs on my neck stand up in a bad way. This cover has a texture that is reminiscent of that to me. It's like a Vietnam flashback, OCD style.

JUDGE DREDD: THE COMPLETE CASE FILES VOL. 2 is currently out of print, but there are plenty of Judge Dredd books available at InStockTrades!