201. Judge Dredd: When Judges Go Bad by John Wagner


Judge Dredd: When Judges Go Bad by John Wagner and Mark Millar. Art by Will Simpson, Chris Weston & Greg Staples (US) - (Canada)
Judge Dredd Universe

Pages: 128
Ages: 15+
Finished: Jul. 24, 2012
First Published: Jun. 19, 2012
Publisher: 2000 AD
Genre: graphic novel, science fiction
Rating: 4/5





First sentence: "His name is Mo and he lives inside Barry's head."

Publisher's Summary: "With crime being rife on the tough streets of Mega-City One, it takes a special kind of lawman to maintain order. The Justice Department produces a force which upholds the law with officers who have the power to be judge, jury and executioner. Trained from an early age at the Academy of Law, cadets are subjected to years of harsh physical training and psychological conditioning before becoming a fully-fledged Judges. But these individuals are only human and not above the law themselves, so when one of their number chooses to cross over the line, Judges like Dredd are prepared to dish out extreme justice!"


Acquired:  Received a review copy from Simon & Schuster Canada.

Reason for Reading:  Latest Judge Dredd release.

These collections of Judge Dredd graphic novels usually revolve around a writer, but this time the stories all share a common theme, Judges who have crossed over to the other side of the law.  This collection contains quite a number of short stories and a couple of longer series that went on for several issues.  I actually enjoyed all of them, though a couple were a bit cheesy, and only one I didn't enjoy and that was because of the very strange art style.  The book also contains stories from the '80s up to today, presenting an interesting look at the history of the comic itself.  The classic '80s style art is my favourite and the stories are certainly more aimed at juveniles, though they are rather violent.  As we move into the '90s the art becomes smoother, cartoonier, more obviously computer aided and the blood flows very freely.  The 2000s bring dark, adult stories with semi nudity and much violence and an accompanying dark, atmospheric art style.  Judge Dredd also gets a personality in the newer stories and his character is explored.  An all around great collection that would make a good introduction to the Dredd character.  I enjoyed all the stories, some more than others but my favourite were two that featured Judge Manners, a rogue Judge who was one nasty piece of work!

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