First off, I need to say a big thank you to Clarence for this one. This was an amazing opportunity and I am thankful that you asked for me to do it. I really appreciate it man! It took me 6 hours, but I did it!! I read it all!! On to the review!!
Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 05 is a collection that covers issues 208-270 of the popular British magazine, 2000 AD. It is an extreme pleasure to finally be able to read these issues in a pure black and white format. Don’t get me wrong. I love my 2000 AD books as they are. But the pages have yellowed and they are in magazine form. It’s great to finally be able to read all of Dredd’s adventures in a serialized format.
On first glance, I didn’t quite understand the covers’ image. Why was Dredd wearing this different helmet? I didn’t know, so I was even more excited to read and find out the answer.
See the press release for Complete Case File 05!
Upon opening the book, I found the quality of the stories has only been highlighted by this collection. For those not being able to buy a 2000 AD book and read a ‘‘Judge Dredd’’ story before, here is your chance. This archive contains stories by writers John Wagner (aka, T.B. Grover) and Alan Grant. Two extremely well versed “Dredd-noughts”. They have brought so much to the ‘Judge Dredd’ mythology, and continue too as well.
John Wagner, being a co-creator of ‘Judge Dredd’, had exceled in keeping the character close to his roots, while always letting writers expand his horizons. No one is beyond the reach of Mega-City One’s ‘Judge Dredd’. And the perps in these pages are proof!
As always, the art is a beautiful black-and-white and brilliantly illustrated in this archive by Mike McMahon, Ron Smith, Brian Bolland, Ian Gibson (aka, Emberton), Steve Dillon, Colin Wilson, Barry Mitchell, John Cooper and Carlos Ezquerra (Co-Creator of ‘Judge Dredd’). These gentlemen have constantly excelled in keeping the art of ‘Judge Dredd’ dark and detailed. They all bring their own style to the mix, but keep the feeling the same. In an epic like this, consistency is a GREAT feeling for a book.
When I first read ‘Judge Dredd’, the first story I ever read was drawn by Brian Bolland. This archive contains his earlier works with ‘Judge Dredd’ and the stories with the Four Dark judges (Judge Death, Judge Fear, Judge Mortis and Judge Fire) are stories EVERY ‘Judge Dredd’ fan must read. They are extremely exciting and both John Wagner and Brian Bolland have outdone themselves with this 5 part series. The return of Judge Anderson is only part of the goods waiting for you in this arc!
Another story that stuck out to me, as I had only read part 8 in my magazine, was ‘The Apocalypse War’. This was a 25 issue arc. UH-MAZING!!! I did NOT see the ending coming and it kept me on my toes the entire time. I wish I got to read this arc before because it is completely different from any other arc I’ve read. I have LOVED reading this story and would pay the money for this one alone. The fact that it comes with all these other amazing stories is a HUGE plus in my book. Plus you now know why Dredd is wearing that helmet on the cover. Question, answered!
Out of all the stories that have been republished, I can honestly say there wasn’t one I didn’t find some way to relate to. If you love the mythology, then this is definitely a series for you to pick up. And at $20, you are NOT going to find more “bang” (he,he) for your buck!
Sentencing? GUILTY!!! Of being an awesome buy and must have for any Dredd-head.