Comic Review: Judge Dredd Lawman of the Future - Issue 22

I knew going into this I wasn’t going to get an award-winning series, but damn did the quality die quickly as it was coming to a close. The cover has me fearing the worst is yet to come. It looks like I drew it! It's disappointing that even the staff had given up by this point. The title page even has the cheesetastic line: Dredd Zapped! Wow, they couldn't even be bothered to write something a bit more fun?

Inside is no better gone are the three stories of Dredd goodness. Instead, it is replaced by two tales that get extra pages instead. The first is Warlock, a 12-page feature and then Invasion (Part 2), comprised of 10 pages. It's nice to see a format change, but realistically this screams more of trying to tie up stories in time for the final issue. But maybe that is the pessimist in me coming out to play.

Warlock - A serial killer is loose in sector 77 with six deaths under their belts. It is up to Judges, Dredd and Hershey, to discover who is sucking the life out of Mega-City 1 citizens. Soon, the trail leads them to a businessman with a weird taste in wardrobe attire. This old kook was the seventh son of a seventh son and is, in fact, a Warlock born way back in 1690. Every 70 years, he is forced to kill seven people to live for another 70 years. Looks like Judge Dredd is lucky number seven this time. It's an okay story. This really should have been Judge Anderson rather than Judge Hershey, but it has great artwork and a good pace about it. It is just a shame it took up half the magazine.

Invasion (Part 2) - The shapechanging alien horde has come to claim Mega-City 1 as their own. Having failed to stop their spy within the ranks of the Justice Department, the Judges are being overrun by computer viruses and system failures. With all forces mobilized, even the cadets are roped into the action, which turns out to be a blessing as Cadet Paxton has discovered the truth behind it all! Now it is up to Judge Dredd to save the day, but even he can't take a bullet to the chest. What is happening in this story? I have no idea where it is going. Guess I have to wait for the final issue and part three of the story.

Overall, it is an above-average issue. The artwork is the main saving grace, especially for the Warlock story. I just wish the cover artwork was better. It is so lazy it put a sour note in my mind, which I am sure affected my enjoyment. Only one issue left!