Comic Review: Judge Dredd Lawman of the Future - Issue 21
I am pushing through strong to get these issues finished this week. I hope you don't mind. I am tired of the comic’s direction and can see why it failed. We start with a weird image choice for the cover, showing a batted Judge Dredd who’s been slightly shot up. It's not a badly drawn piece, but I wouldn't say I like it as a cover piece. It fills the page too much and lacks motion and areas of focus. It's just all a bit bland. Something this comic has been struggling with of late. We discover, unsurprisingly, that we have three tales: Hotdog Run (Part 2), Invasion and Road Rage. I'm not sure how I feel going into this issue, as the last one didn't fill me with hope, but let us see, and I hope you enjoy my brutal commentary.
Hotdog Run (Part 2) - We pick up the adventure with three rookie Judges captured by mutie slavers and awaiting auction. This was all part of a plan by Judge Dredd to ambush the slavers from inside their encampment. Severely outnumbers the Judges, training soon kicks in, and the Judges can free the prisoners, but sadly, it would seem for one Rookie, the training didn't stick and they disobey Judge Dredd's command, resulting in them being blown to pieces by the muties. After completing the mission, Judge Dredd passes the two surviving Rookies, but he also passes judgment on Judge Tutor Cain. Fearing his career waning, Judge Cain elects to take the long walk and bring law to the lawless.
The story had a great ending; I was still unimpressed with the artwork, but I enjoyed the storytelling. I find it weird that they lifted Cain from Texas City and planted him in this tale.
Invasion (Part 1) - This tale follows First Strike as the Shape-Changing aliens finally begin their assault on Mega-City 1. Something is wrong with the central computer system. A virus of sorts is spreading through and overriding safety protocols. What starts as multiple car crashes slowly builds up to mass escapes from ISO-Cubes. This all seems coordinated by an alien who has masked himself as a high-ranking Tek Judge. A solid enough tale with good enough artwork, though it does look a bit dated, if I am honest. This story arc is finally getting interesting, and I hope it continues on this path. Though with only two issues left, I fear it is too late.
Road Rage - It looks like Mad Max is heading to Mega-City 1. We have a few Mel Gibson-themed parts to this tale that ultimately involve a perp going wild on the Mega-Way and destroying vehicles. Soon, Judge Dredd is on the case and quickly catches up to the perp. After a single page of action, the story is done with the perps arrested. This wasn't very interesting! Such a wrong way to end this issue, and to make matters worse, the artwork sucked. It's so bad I am not even showing a piece of artwork—disappointing ending.
As always, please comment and let me know your thoughts. There are only two issues left!
