Comic Review: Judge Dredd Complete Case Files 02 (Part 02)
Happy holidays to you all! If you are here reading this on the 25th of December, I truly appreciate you. I’m not a big Christmas holiday fan, so writing a post today seems like any other day. It also appears to be an excellent time to finish part two of the Complete Case Files 2. If you missed the first part, check out the blog post before this one. I chose to make this a two-part edition because this book contains two sagas. The First was called "The Cursed Earth,'' and this one is known as "The Day the Law Died." As you will see, it shows how corrupt the Justice System can be, and of course, only Judge Dredd can save the day. I hope you enjoy it.
You can buy it on Amazon here.
The Day the Law Died
Story: Crime and Punishment - Judge Dredd faces the Council of Five, his crime Murder! Having just returned from the Cursed Earth, Judge Dredd can't stay out of trouble for long.
Highlight: Judge Cal is the main villain in this epic saga, but he is so cool. Deputy Chief Judge and Head of the S.J.S., Judge Cal, holds a lot of power within the Justice system and is rightly feared by many Judges.
Story: Outlaw - Judge Dredd has been found guilty of murder, and his sentence is 20 years on the Titan Penal Colony. Left with no choice, Dredd hi-jacks his transport and attempts to escape and prove his innocence.
Highlight: The idea of Titan—a colony for only the scariest scum. To be able to live/work there, you have to suffer a painful reconstruction of your face. The nose and lungs were replaced with machines to help aid the criminal breath.
Story: Bring me the head of Judge Dredd - With ex-Judge Dredd on the loose, Judge Cal attempts to capture Dredd with a robot. It's the same robot Cal used to frame Dredd in the first place. After a showdown takes place, Dredd uses the robot to clear his name. Not knowing it was Cal who framed him.
Highlight: Max Normal Daddy-o! The Pinstripe freak is back, and he is helping out Dredd.
Story: The Day the Law Died - The title piece story. Chief Judge Goodman is ambushed and stabbed multiple times; by the time Dredd arrives, the Chief Judge is at death’s door. Goodman's last act is to hand Judge Dredd a badge torn from one of the attackers; all it says is "S.J.S." Judge Dredd himself then comes under attack by an assassin and is shot in the head and left for dead!
Highlight: Judge Quincy- Having somehow lost a button on his uniform (see above), Judge Quincy is forced to strip to his boxers by Chief Judge Cal. Cal sentences Quincy for breaking the dress code and forces him to carry out his duties like this for the rest of the series!
Story: The Tyrant's Grip- Cal tightens his grip on the city with Goodman now dead. He is introducing new laws and the death penalty for speaking out against him. Still recovering from his injuries, Judge Dredd is left facing the barrel of Acting Chief Judge Cal's gun. Only Judge Giant's quick thinking can save him as he faces death.
Highlight: Deputy Judge Fish- Having become Chief Judge, Cal has to choose his replacement. So, who better than his pet Goldfish?
Story: The Day the Law Died - Judge Dredd and Judge Giant are on the run, and their options are limited at best, with nowhere to go. In their new hideout, help is on hand as the Academy of Law tutors join Judge Dredd's side. The one-eyed Judge Griffin leads the tutors, and there is an overwhelming wealth of knowledge between them.
Back at Justice Central, S.J.S. Solcum comes up with a plan to save his officers from Cal's wrath, but will it work?
Highlight: Judge Glass and Percy are forced to dress in young girls’ clothes as punishment for letting Judge Dredd escape.
Story: The Day the Law Died - Cal's reign of terror continues, with more crimes becoming punishable by death. The citizens, fearing the new system, attempt to protest the Cal's rule. Cal answers their protest by brutally ending it using the S.J.S. riot Squads. Seeing that the city is on the point of rebellion, Judge Dredd and the tutors storm a broadcast station to inspire the city to rise against Cal.
Highlight: The S.J.S. - A menacing arm of the Law. It is decked out in pure black with a Silver eagle and skull motifs. These guys personify fear and are brutal when carrying out orders.
Story: The Day the Law Died - Judge Dredd, with the aid of the Tutors, storms a broadcast tower and attempts to inspire Mega-City 1 to rise against the S.J.S. and Cal. Knowing ultimately that if the citizens are to storm Justice Central, they need weapons, Dredd and Giant mount a daring raid on the Department Armory.
Highlight: Judge Cal sentences the City to Death while having a bath :)
Story: The Day the Law Died - Judge Dredd has Cal surrounded at Justice Central and demands his surrender. But Cal won't surrender, as he has one more card to play. Cal successfully beats the revolt using alien mercs and chases Judge Dredd off. Now back in control of the city, Cal continues with his plan to execute the citizens, starting with Aaron A. Aardvark.
Highlight: Kleggs- A race of reptilian Mercenaries. Led by Grampus, these cold-blooded killers fight for the joy of killing and expect payment in meat!
Story: The Day the Law Died - The executions have begun! Citizens are dying in their thousands under the watchful gaze of the Kleggs. Judge Dredd is left with no choice but to kidnap Judge Slocum and attempt to trick Cal into abandoning the executions.
Highlight: The death of Judge Fish. Using Cal's superstitions against him, Judge Dredd kills Judge Fish and frames it to look like natural causes. The time of death coincides with the first executions, making Cal believe they are linked. After stopping the executions, Cal holds a massive state funeral to mark the passing of Duty Chief Fish.
Story: The Day the Law Died - Citizens have had enough of Cal's rule. Unable to revolt against him, they have no choice but to abandon Mega-City 1 altogether and risk the Cursed Earth! Fearing the loss of the citizens, Cal orders the Kleggs to force the departure back into the city. With a cornered population, Cal decrees that a wall should be built to trap the citizens.
Highlight: Following Deputy Judge Fish's death, Cal promotes the leader of the Kleggs, Grampus, to the rank of Deputy Chief Judge.
Story: The Day the Law Died - Judge Dredd's days are numbered. Having finally annoyed Chief Judge Cal enough, Deputy Chief Judge Grampus sends out kill teams to hunt down Judge Dredd, Judge Giant and the tutors.
Highlight: Klegg hounds- A weird mix of crocodile and bloodhound, these weird creatures lead the Kleggs to Judge Dredd's base.
Story: The Day the Law Died - Completely surrounded and outnumbered Judge Dredd and the tutors prepare to sell their lives dearly. But Judge Giant isn’t ready to give up let and has an escape plan.
Highlight: The Kleggs’ war chant- Slicey Slicey, Oncey Twicey, Claw and Fang'll, Kill Dredd Nicely!
Story: The Day the Law Died - Following their escape attempt, Judge Dredd and the survivors plunge from the destroyed road and smash straight through into the somewhat abandoned undercity. Having declared Judge Dredd dead, Cal continues his reign of insanity. But it seems Judge Slocum and a few S.J.S. judges have had enough.
Highlight: The Big Smelly- The heavily polluted Ohio River under Mega-City 1. Smells so bad that it can kill and is believed by many to be un-survivable.
Story: The Day the Law Died- Judge Dredd and the tutors have washed up on the Banks of the Big Smelly, only to find themselves confronted by the locals. Whilst in the City, Cal has declared happiness a crime and the sentence is Death!
Highlight: Fergee- King of the Big Smelly; Fergee is a simple man with a baseball bat and a horde of flies. Unfortunately for Judge Dredd and Judge Giant, he also has a dislike for them.
Story: The Day the Law Died- Judge Dredd faces off against Fergee: King of the Big Smelly. Following a brutal fistfight that ends with Fergie falling into the Big Smelly, Judge Dredd finds himself a new smelly ally and holds a funeral for his fallen allies.
Highlight: ChiefJudge Cal holding auditions for a tv show to celebrate his life. He chooses a midget to play Dredd before sentencing the other actors to death.
Story: The Day the Law Died- Hiding out in Fergee's palace, Dredd and the team finally work out how Cal manipulated the entire Justice Force- Cal is using the Dream Machines to hypnotize the Judges. They formulate a plan and, with the help of Fergee they head back into Mega-City 1.
Highlight: Fergee attempts to capture the annoying flies that follow him, by casting a net over himself. The flies flee the trap leaving poor Fergee in a tangled mess.
Story: The Day the Law Died - Judge Dredd and Fergee have returned to Mega-City 1. If they are to take down Cal, they first need help from an old friend. Sadly for Judge Dredd Walter the Wobot has become a servant to some Kleggs.
Highlight: Judge Dredd promotes Fergee to Judge!
Story: The Day the Law Died - Judge Dredd and Fergee rescue poor Walter from the Kleggs and hatch a plan to get close to Cal. But can Walter pull it off?
Highlight: A pretty straightforward filler story, with no real highlight apart from the story's progression.
Story: The Day the Law Died - Walter has convinced Cal that he hates Judge Dredd and gets made into a Judge. But as soon as he is alone, Walter begins his real mission: To un-hypnotize the Judges!
Highlight: Cal is worried about Judge Slocum's worry lines and has Slocum medically paralyzed and pickled in a giant jar.
Story: The Day the Law Died - Cal's wall is nearing completion, but his mental illness is worsening too. With the voices in his head worsting, Cal decides it is time for him and the city to die!
Highlight: Fergee gets his first letter and is so happy about it.
Story: The Day the Law Died - As the countdown to the City's death continues, Judge Dredd and his rebel team infiltrate the Halls of Justice and undo Cal's hold on the Judges. As their numbers grow, Judge Dredd leads a final attack on Cal, Grampus and the Kleggs, but are they already too late?
Lowlight: The Death of Grampus is a low point for the tale. Considering he was the main villain and led his Kleggs in the killing of hundreds, his final scenes seemed to lack lustre. Grampus surrendered without a fight and was killed by bike cannon fire. Very disappointing.
Story: The Day the Law Died- Finale. As Judge Dredd and his team storm the Statue of Justice, Cal stands poised to push the doomsday button. Who will save the city?
Highlight: The death of Cal. With Judge Dredd and the team captured and Fergee bleeding out, it seemed like nothing could stop Cal's madness. But luckily for the city, Fergee is a stubborn man and refuses to lose a fight. Dragging himself to his feet, Fergee springs onto Cal and jumps off the Statue of Justice, taking Cal and 8 corrupt Judges with him! The King of the Big Smelly has saved Mega-City 1.
Story: Aftermath- A short 2-page strip showcasing what happened in Mega-City 1 after Cal's fall. First, the Kleggs are hunted down and destroyed by the now-freed Judges. The damaged city is rebuilt, whilst under Judge Dredd's direct orders, statues of Fergee: King of the Big Smelly are erected. Finally, a new Chief Judge is assigned: Judge Tutor Griffin becomes Chief Judge, and Judge Tutor Pepper becomes his deputy. Judge Dredd also pulls out a classic line, 'My place is where it has always been, on the streets', cue walk off into the sunset.
Highlight: The recognition of Fergee's role in saving the city and the statues erected in his honour (side note may try to make one as terrain for JDMG).
Story: Punks Rule - Following the reign of Cal, some parts of the city are left under the rule of vicious gangs. One such area is Southside Sector 41, home to the Cosmic Punks led by Gestapo Bob.
Highlight: Judge Dredd single-handedly takes out the gang as an example to other lawbreakers. For their crimes, the Cosmic Punks get their Citizenship revoked and are exiled to the Cursed Earth for 10 years.
Story: The Exo-men Part 1 - Bank robbers using exoskeletons designed to aid in demolition led Judge Dredd on a merry chase through the sector. But while Judge Dredd is distracted, two Citizens' Committee for Compassion for Criminals (CCCC) members get involved, and Mrs Marjory Blackshack gets kidnapped!
Highlight: The Exo-suits- Though they slow down the user’s speed, they increase their strength tenfold, allowing their wearers to rip open safes and wield wrecking balls like maces!
Story: The Exo-men Part 2- Mrs. Marjory Blackshack has been kidnapped, and only Judge Dredd can save her.
Highlight: The Kidnapper halving his asking price to get rid of her!
Story: The D.N.A. Man Part 1- Dr. Milton D. Frankenstein is working on the key to life. Using his research, he manages to clone himself, but the test ultimately fails, and he is left with a sub-par clone of himself. Then, when Frankenstein's lab assistant attempts to kill the D.N.A. man, the pair overcome the lab assistant, killing him and dumping his body.
Highlight: Though it was a Judge Dredd light story, it seems to have a lot of potential. It will be interesting to see if it's a complete Frankenstein rip-off.
Story: The D.N.A. Man part 2- Dr. Frankenstein's cloning attempts seem to worsen! With five more failed attempts and Judge Dredd working on the dead Lab assistant case, Dr. Frankenstein feels trapped and sends his clones off to kill Dredd.
Highlight: Walter the Wobot bossing poor Maria about and being his normal pain in the arse self.
Story: The D.N.A. Man part 3 - Judge Dredd has beaten the D.N.A. hit squad and is now hot on the trail of Dr. Frankenstien and Dennis, but can he catch them in time before they leave the city?
Highlight: Dennis is the first D.N.A. Man. Complete rip off of the monster from Frankenstein and ultimately kills himself and Dr. Frankenstein by throwing himself off the bridge.
And here ends the book. Wow, what a long article. If you are still here reading this, then thank you! I hope you now understand why it had to be split into two. The second Epic, 'The Day the Law Died'’ was a great read but seemed rushed sometimes, which was a real shame. Especially how some characters died; they could have added a few more pages to do it all justice.
It is hugely enjoyable and an excellent follow-up to the Cursed Earth Tale. Please go read it!
