Comics - Judge Dredd: Origins

SCI-FI THRILLER

For fans of Judge Dredd (the iconic comic version, that is, not the duff Stallone movie parody) and of classic British action comics in general, this book has it all. Originally published in serial format within the pages of 2000AD over the last six months, it tells the long-promised origin of the character and his world, as imagined by his creators.

Kicking off with the search for Dredd’s clone father Fargo across the radioactive Cursed Earth of future America, we encounter crazed mutants, unfriendly townships and the last President of the United States along the way. Politically-weighted flashbacks show America declare war on the world, and the Judges - the police force of the future - seize power. Wagner’s expertly-balanced plotting and Ezquerra’s bright but grittily magnificent art are a dramatic joy as usual, with just the right amounts of suspense, glib weirdness, social comment and barbaric action to ensure Origins ranks alongside other classic Dredd epics like The Apocalypse War and Necropolis.

(David Pollock)