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Judge Dredd (IDW) #1

Judge Dredd Volume 1

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In the 22nd century, crime runs rampant in Mega-City One, home to over 400-million citizens, robots, criminals, and lunatics. The only line of defense between anarchy and chaos are... the Judges. And Judge Dredd is the toughest of them all. All new stories plus an introduction by John Wagner!

120 pages, Paperback

First published April 23, 2013

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226 people want to read

About the author

Duane Swierczynski

523 books912 followers
Duane Swierczynski is an American crime writer who has written a number of non-fiction books, novels and also writes for comic books.

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5 stars
152 (20%)
4 stars
273 (37%)
3 stars
240 (32%)
2 stars
50 (6%)
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14 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
Profile Image for Chad.
10.1k reviews1,045 followers
May 11, 2021
A solid but quick restart to Judge Dredd for American audiences. I like that Duane S. keeps to smaller stories while still threading a larger story through the background of bots misbehaving even though they aren't supposed to be capable of it. The art is decent.
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,196 followers
November 29, 2018
I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Remember that Dredd movie everyone went crazy over in like 2010? I didn't love it.

I know. You're in shock now. The internet loves it. The people love it. How dare I? HOW DARE I!?!?!? But really, I found the whole thing just okay. Sure, some of the action scenes were intense and really cool but the plot? Or lack of plot I should say. Anyway, it was just okay. So I figured I'd try the comic, see if it fared better. I know it's a long running series but figured I'd try a more recent version of Judge Dredd. I like Duane a lot on his Cable series and surprised I enjoyed his X series as a crazy slasher hero comic. So how did Dredd do?

Well this book is really a bunch of stories connecting slowly. It's a world building book that throws you into a futuristic ghetto and we get to see how the judges interact with the people but also how people live with robots. Each story, ranging from a few pages about robbery, to robots going rogue, to people kidnapping families, all link mostly because they have a Judge or two in the book. It feels very villain of the week storylines.

Good: I actually really liked the one about the robbery and the robot betraying the human. When get treated like shit you get to turn on the owner. Very cool. I also thought the ending started to pick up steam and we got a central story.

Bad: Some of the art is bad. Like I couldn't tell what was happening. I also thought the Judges lacked personalities so couldn't get attached to anyone. This also felt like I should know the world before jumping in.

Oevrall, this was a decent look into the world of Judge Dredd. I dunno if I'll come back to it but it was cool to see it for a bit. A 3 out of 5.
Profile Image for Sam Quixote.
4,764 reviews13.4k followers
May 12, 2013
Grud on a greenie! It’s old stoney-face, Judge Joe Dredd! Mr Happy! Good ol’ JD!

Yup, Dredd is back, well, kind of - here in the U of K he’s never gone far but in the US of Ay? He’s not nearly the fixture he is to literally dozens of readers in Blighty. So IDW decided to relaunch the character in the US with the DC/Marvel approach of trade paperbacks of which this is the first.

Duane Swierczynski is the writer of all the strips here - and before I go any further, I’m not going to type his unpronounceable surname every time so I’m going to call him Chip here on in, alright? Cool.

It’s been a while since I read a Judge Dredd comic. Back when I was 12-13 years old, it’s all I’d read as I had a 2000AD addiction, and while the mag had lots of great stories (Slaine, Strontium Dog, ABC Warriors, Rogue Trooper, Vector 13, etc), it was drokkin’ JD we all loved.

So how was the reunion, you ask? Not bad. He’s still as fascistic as I remember - Chip gets that right - and the stories are as bonkers as ever. In this opening book the droids are rebelling for some reason and causing havoc on Mega City One where the billions of citizens rely upon the droids for their every basic need. There’s organ theft, murders galore... it’s how I remembered Mega City One being.

But the stories here never really rise above mediocre. There’s an ok crime story which is a literal version of Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me where an unaware judge contains the psychic essence of a corrupt murdering judge thought to be dead. The main story is about a clones and kidnapping and features a new character, Judge Tarjay, being framed.

I’ll say this for Chip - I like how he’s building Dredd’s world through each story. We’re not told through boring exposition or a narrative piece of how Mega City One came to be or what a lawgiver is and does, and all the minutiae - we get straight into the stories. And some of the shorter stories like the one about the man-killing woman, features a mind-wipe drug that’s the key to that story - then later on in another story, we see it used again but we already know what it’s for and the story doesn’t explain it’s use. It’s smart storytelling.

That said, the Tarjay thing is a bit stupid. So he sees he’s been replaced by an evil clone and instead of explaining himself to one of his fellow judges, he runs off and hides in the sewers, naked? It seems like he could’ve so easily avoided all of that. And Dredd fires at him for no real reason - back in the Killer Inside Me-type story, he never acted so rashly even in the face of overwhelming evidence. It seems strange that he would behave so differently in this story. It’s dumb storytelling.

You’re all over the stommin’ map, Chip!

Anyways, it’s a decent Dredd book - about as good as he’ll ever get. I love Dredd but there’s never been a truly amazing Dredd book. Some good collections but the famous storylines featuring the Dark Judges, the Block Wars, Dredd walking the Cursed Earth, fighting the Angel gang - they’re only just ok if I’m being honest. The stories here aren’t bad but aren’t that amazing. The art is ok but isn’t that impressive. I liked how artist Nelson Daniel was credited in the first issue as D’Aniel in tribute to the artist D’Israeli who used to draw Dredd.

I would’ve liked to have seen Dredd go a bit more crazy than he was in this book - just really cut loose and unleash hell on the perps on his beat - and it could’ve used more humour, something 2000AD was famous for, having little comedy scenes mixed in amidst the big action, but otherwise this isn’t a bad Dredd book. A decent place to start even though it doesn’t make me terribly excited about the relaunch. Good effort, Chip.
Profile Image for Logan.
1,015 reviews39 followers
November 16, 2015
Good! So shortly after the DREDD movie, IDW launched a Judge Dredd series, and its pretty good! First off the artwork is great, its cartoony style, but i think it suits judge dredd well! The Story for this first volume was pretty good too! Overall a nice voume to read for a judge dredd fan!
Profile Image for Darik.
208 reviews11 followers
July 24, 2020
An absolutely middling attempt at capturing the zany unpredictability of the British 2000 A.D. Dredd strips, with only a fraction of the wit and none of the satirical clarity. Disjointed, unsatisfying, and banal, but with some modest charms; reminds me of the 1996 Stallone movie.

Why are American writers so terrible at capturing the spirit of Judge Dredd?
Profile Image for Venus Maneater.
597 reviews34 followers
June 30, 2020
Damn this was lit. Love how in the Dredd universe his presence is always felt. The scenery is the best.
Profile Image for Julian.
Author 5 books2 followers
June 26, 2018
Not the real thing

It’s okay, I suppose, but this is at best a weak imitation of Judge Dredd. The darkness isn’t there, and judges behave like an6 other comic book characters. Dredd pops round to another judge’s ‘place’ for coffee (!). Judge Anderson is very, very blonde. It just doesn’t gel.

Do yourself a favour - get out there and start reading the Complete Dredd Case Files (32 volumes and counting).
Profile Image for Wayne McCoy.
4,227 reviews31 followers
April 28, 2013
A fun romp through Mega-City One that manages to pay decent homage to the 2000 AD series that I used to read back in the 1980s. Judge Dredd is featured as well as Judge Anderson from PSI division.

The graphic novel features the first four issues of the series by IDW. The story by Duane Swierczynski is okay and has continuity over the 4 issues, but the book does end with a cliffhanger of sorts. The art by Daniel and Gulacy is garish and violent, which is perfect for the tone of the series. Judge Dredd is as rock-jawed as ever, and justice is doled out swiftly and violently. Each main story is followed by a smaller sub-story.

It's good to see Judge Dredd back in comics, and this was dark fun.
Profile Image for Frédéric.
1,850 reviews80 followers
February 14, 2024
Decent if not amazing Dredd plot, going on for longer than this volume. Good settings, the fascist tone is right and there is this good idea of using interspersed short stories to introduce elements that’ll serve later and develop a directly related subplot.
The main plot hole is Judge Tarjay’s rather absurd reaction when confronted to spoilery stuff.

It’s quite ok but I dunno if I’m biased or what but I feel like it misses this particular british touch so peculiar to series like this one or say, Hellblazer.
Profile Image for Kam Yung Soh.
929 reviews50 followers
March 27, 2019
This is volume 1 of a series of Judge Dredd stories by IDW. The main story is about the prelude to The Big Fail, where robots and automation is apparently starting to fail around Mega City One.

In between are related stories about a rogue Psi Judge, and a sub-plot around rich people being cloned and then being kidnapped and held for ransom. One of the kidnapped people would be Judge Tarjay, who would play a different role in a later volume in the series.
Profile Image for Christopher.
1,576 reviews43 followers
January 12, 2018
Judge Dredd, Vol. 1 is a great take on Dredd that takes Dredd into a cloning investigation that takes bizarre but cool twists! :D The story overs ground left right and centre to introduce people not in the know but at the same time really holds the pace at epic levels! :D The book has brief interludes with seemingly disconnected stories that start to tie in as the book progresses! :D This of course adds to the tone of the universe giving us introductions and insights in other characters than Dredd and the Judges! :D The working of Mega-City One are shown off excellently as well really setting the world building for future tales! :D Dredd get to do his Terminator impressions and the other Judges throughout are playing catch up that also leads to not only a tense story but the humour that flows through out! :D

The artwork is crisp and fine and really serves the script brilliantly! :D Mega-City One really shines and you get to explore hereto unknown parts that are shown in there grimy brilliance! :D The book also contains a cover collection that are simply stunning and really set the tone for the book! :D

Through out there is the trademark humour with events always having it underlying that really add to the wackiness of the story! :D The whole feel of the book is perfectly set up with characters that jump from the sewer right out of the page making for a fun filled action and character driven ride! :D

Judge Dredd, Vol. 1 is clever, witty, epic and action packed! :D Brilliant and highly recommended! :D
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Gav451.
727 reviews5 followers
August 7, 2018
The American take on Judge Dredd. The art in these comics are almost cell shaded in their look but are perfect for the Job at hand. The images are stark and highly impactive and are of a very high quality. This was a lovely book to look at.

The stories are well written and interesting, there are twists and turns. Because this was written of a slightly more adult market they are more bloody and visceral which again actually suits the subject matter very well. PSI judge anderson is utilised a lot in this novel and she should be. There is always a risk with that character however that she may become overused or too godlike in her powers taking away some of the detective elements of the story which are integral to it.

Thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable read. Well produced and tightly plotted. I’m looking forwards to the other volumes of this. It's always nice to get back to Judge Dredd and it has made we want to read some of the older collected editions I have again. He is simply a classic character.
Profile Image for Kate.
1,468 reviews62 followers
July 12, 2017
This was fun a time. I wasn't expecting some some of the humour here but no complaints here.
Profile Image for Petr.
437 reviews
January 7, 2018
Wow, just great stories that all connect together into one canvas. Different styles and art in each one of them, but I liked all with maybe one exception.
Profile Image for Nightwing04.
23 reviews
April 26, 2023
Read this after watching the Karl Urban film. Great recommendation from my friend Harry. Definitely looking forward to Vol. 2 after that cliffhanger.
Profile Image for Andrei.
474 reviews8 followers
January 31, 2022
Overview: The comic book series follows the events of the well-known 2012 film directed by Pete Travis and written by Alex Garland, which was based on the comic book by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra. The chaotic environment depicted in the film has worsened in the twenty-first century, and crime is still widespread in Mega-City One, which is home to more than 400 million inhabitants, robots, criminals, and lunatics.
Dredd fights on the sole line of defense between anarchy and chaos in this volume, partnering with characters already well-known to the public, such as the no longer unexperienced Cassandra Anderson. The events shown in the series demonstrate the dissatisfaction of some criminal organizations, which wish to take control of the city and destroy the judges.

Pros: The artwork is outstanding, and the dialogue is engaging. I believe the comic book series might be adapted into a successful television series.

Cons: Maybe it's just my imagination, but it appears that there are some continuity breaks. This isn't a criticism, but it was over in a hurry.
Profile Image for Zoë Birss.
779 reviews22 followers
May 22, 2017
Do fascists know that we are making fun of them?

It's an important question. Books like this - satirical, campy, and ridiculous - always pose a potential threat of being taken unironically by their intended victims. Or, for that matter, vehicles such as the Judge Dredd stories may mask the actual fascism of writers who don't get the joke. For an example, see how Robocop was taken over and written by Frank Miller after the first film. We didn't figure him out for decades.

This is good satire. It is also a good homage to the original Dredd comics. They share the tone and the format - short, ridiculous stories that seem unconnected, but tell a larger story together. Some stories are only a few pages long, just like Judge was when it first began.

At the end of it, though, I feel a little slimed. It may be satire. But it's still fascist, and nausea-inducing in how closely it resembles 2017 reality. I need a bit of a break from Dredd, I think.

Like all Dredd, I recommend it to leftists that like camp and sci-fi. So... leftists.
Profile Image for Simon.
1,024 reviews10 followers
November 9, 2014
Oh dear me no.

Dredd for the US market is not Dredd as we know it.
Profile Image for Mhorg.
Author 12 books11 followers
April 25, 2021
terrible

I'll take the 2000 A.D. Dredd over this trash any day of the week. Terrible stories and writing with far too much comedy.
Profile Image for Brandon.
583 reviews9 followers
August 18, 2019
This book has all the potential of a good Judge Dredd run. It takes place in a Mega-City One that is crime-ridden and decaying, uses sci-fi as social commentary and is not afraid to present Dredd as a merciless and tough lawman working for a police state. The stories here are interconnected in a loose way but they all make statements on peoples dependency on tech, beauty, and our quest for empty and immediate gratification. I give a hearty thumbs up to the writer for both his insight and the quality of his work. But what really impressed me was the artwork. This is Dredd as he began all those years ago. Cartoonish, grimy and shaded in colors of decadence and decay. The pencils are a throwback to Dredds' 2000Ad roots and Mega-City One never looked more hurt or crumbling. This is how I grew up with Dredd and the city he is sworn to protect and the retro style really hit home for me. I'm looking forward to continuing with this series and it's out of control robots, kidnapped clones and decadent inhabitants of the Mega-City who will all have to answer to Dredd sooner or later I'm sure.
Profile Image for Metal Nyankos.
74 reviews15 followers
November 11, 2018
I'm not usually a fan of dystopian media - literature, film, or otherwise - but this was an enjoyable, easy-to-follow, and solid read. The world of Dredd is dark, understandably so, but this first volume isn't grim dark like a lot of earlier Dredd stories tend to be. The writing was engaging and the art was excellent. I also really liked the individual stories, as well as the overall arc for this book as it felt a lot like something you'd read in Ghost in the Shell or the world of I, Robot. If this quality of storytelling continues through subsequent volumes I could see myself becoming, if not an aficionado, than at least a big fan of Swierczynski's Dredd.
Profile Image for Nathaniel Darkish.
Author 1 book11 followers
April 8, 2019
This was my first time with Judge Dredd-- I hadn't read any of the previous iterations of the comics, nor had I seen any of the movies. It was pretty fun, and I definitely see why the character has enough of a following to have remained in the popular consciousness. These comics were pretty solid-- they gave me a pretty solid introduction to the character and the world while dropping me into it. There were some issues-- the art was pretty inconsistent, and the plot of the last bit (which looks like will be continued in vol. 2) felt very similar to the movie Memento in a way that seemed like a rip-off-- but by large I enjoyed it and am open to checking out more Judge Dredd in the future.
Profile Image for Микола.
Author 5 books31 followers
July 10, 2017
Що можна похвалити. Сюжетні закрути. Вставні історії.
Як я зрозумів із тону відгуків, для багатьох це кумедний перезапуск давно відомого (і улюбленого) персонажа. Ще це начебто сатира. Гаразд.
Фантастичні бойовики в похмурих декораціях були частиною дитинства (все одно по той бік було яскравіше), але дедалі менше викликають ностальгію.
Profile Image for Allyn Nichols.
373 reviews7 followers
February 4, 2018
Great stuff. I haven't read any Dredd or 2000AD for at least 25 years and it was really good to plough through a full length tale and half a dozen shorts. Lots more to get through thanks to good old humble bundle plus a portion of what I paid goes to a charity of my choice. Win win all round..... Unless you get on the wrong side of the judges.
Profile Image for Gabo.
49 reviews2 followers
October 6, 2019
Fans of the hardest Judge will be pleased with this collection as you ride with Joe Dredd punishing creeps, robots and a gang of sinister doctors that create doppelgangers of rich people and ask for ransoms of the original mold.

The downside is that the art inside the issue is not half as good as the one on the cover.
Profile Image for Xavier.
542 reviews6 followers
August 25, 2021
Interesting story lines. I love the cyberpunk setting. I've never read any of these before so I don't have the originals to compare to but if they're as interesting as this I might check them out. The art style changes are a bit jarring at first but still fun. It's good that Dredd himself isn't the vehicle for every story. More like the center of a wheel this universe revolves around.
Profile Image for Jeremy Walker.
91 reviews12 followers
July 6, 2017
Dredd. An interesting comic about a post apocalyptic future where the world lives in Mega Cities and crime is rampant. The police are judge, jury, and executioner.

A brutal society creates a brutal governor. Good enough story plots. Worth reading.
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