Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 17

I was quite harsh on Garth Ennis’s writing when I reviewed the previous volume. In this, he seems to be grasping Dredd and his world rather more substantially. It’s worth noting here that I think that this is one of the great comic creations, a memorable central character in a complex world that offers immense possibilities for all kinds of action, adventure, comedy and satire. The series would be kind of unacceptable without that final element, without the sense that the government on show is not being offered as a wholly good thing, but in fact it’s the thrill power that stays with me. I totally loved the start of the 20th and final part of the “mega-epic” (actually about as long as the average American “arc” these days, but far more action-packed) ‘Judgement Day’. All is lost – billions have died, the monstrous necromancer is victorious, and Dredd is down and out. The captions as he becomes conscious as the finale begins read as follows: “Beyond honour, there is duty… Beyond duty, obsession… And beyond obsession, insanity. Beyond that, there is only JUDGE DREDD.” This is how I like Dredd – I enjoyed that nearly as much as his half-dead march back to the possessed city in ‘Necropolis’. Otherwise, it does feel a bit too similar to that, but at least a Garth Ennis epic Dredd story feels as if it can stand up with other long stories by the earlier writers.

The art is good on it, too, except it is shared by three artists, and it would have been good if someone had coordinated them better for continuity – the battle armour especially changes totally when the artists change, and that’s by no means the only such discontinuity. Still, I like two of the artists, and they represent the new and old: Ezquerra is reliably gritty and grimly funny, and Dean Ormston (I’m pretty sure – many of these stories, including all of his, are uncredited) is the best painter they had turned up by then, with some strong, dramatic images. I’m less sure about Peter Doherty (not that one), though he does give us some excellent faces.

Actually this is the most consistently good volume artistically in a long while: I am always very pleased to see some Ian Gibson, Steve Dillon does well, and Sean Phillips does an excellent job on the story straight after ‘Judgement Day’, ‘The Marshall’. There is no art in here I disliked, which is unusual.

These missing credits bug me – with a £20 cover price, I think we are entitled to expect to know who wrote and drew every story. I’m guessing the Megazine is the main offender here, but they could easily add text underneath or at the start or end of the volume. I’d like to know who wrote the ‘Texas City Sting’ story – I see its wit and sense of fun as more Wagner, but I’d be sorry to not count it to Ennis’s credit if it was his: I’ve not seen a fun or satirical Dredd story by him so far, and I do think those are vital for balance. Though actually that story is entirely mistimed here – a lighthearted jaunt outside Mega-City One is followed by a grim story dealing with the troubles there after the billions of deaths from ‘Judgement Day’, and that order makes no sense, even if they were published that way round.

Still, quibbles aside, I am entirely glad I bought this – my interest had been ebbing with the slimmer volumes and higher prices, but this has very much reignited my enthusiasm for the series.