Comic Review - Judge Dredd: Lawman of the Future 01
Welcome to a 24-part run, where I rediscover the short-lived comic Judge Dredd Lawman of the Future. It was a fortnightly tie-in comic for the 1995 movie. Yes, that movie, yes, the one with the dodgy uniform. So, let's dive in and have a laugh.
What a beautiful issue 1 cover. The colours are of the time in that bright blue and purple, and of course, the full-on silly uniform combined with the phrase cop this! I can't wait to get into the comic. Hands up, I can not find an OG copy of these comics, mine having been long ago binned. So I am reading all of these on the iPad. This open issue contains three tales plus lots of filler and ads. I'm intrigued to see how the material has aged.
Tale: Future Crimes - an intro piece about MC-1, Judge Dredd and some of the crimes he deals with. Starting with a standard robbery, we are led down the rabbit hole with face-changing machines and stookie gland farming! Stookie glands, for those not in the know, come from an intelligent alien lifeform who are harvested for this special gland. The use of the gland is addictive and helps stop and reverse the aging process if enough is used. The highlight of this story is the punishment matches the crime, with the criminal getting 30 years in a time machine, forcing his body to age rapidly. It is brutal!
Tale: The Fattie Olympics - With boredom in MC-1 at record levels, the general population has turned to extreme hobbies to fill their time. One such hobby is eating. This has led to the craze of Fatties—a term that describes humans almost reaching a ton in weight. As the Fattie craze spread, so did the need to be entertained by them, leading us to the Fattie Olympics. Unfortunately, not everyone is happy with this outrageous display of gluttony. An anti-fattie terrorist group has threatened the sporting event, and it is up to Judge Dredd and the Judges to stop them. The tale's highlight is a perp getting crushed by a group of stampeding runners.
Tale: Heatwave Part One - Final story of the opening comic. Also, it would seem the final account is always a two-part story. Weather control is on the blink, and as temperatures rise, so too does the crime rate. We join Dredd in a sector where crime rages out of control as everyone attempts to beat the heat. But when Control sends Judge Dredd to investigate a break-in, the awful truth is revealed: a cold-blooded mutant has illegally entered MC-1 and is attempting to take over the city. The tale ends with a fistfight, but who will win?
Final thoughts: Considering this movie tie-in aimed at a younger audience, this is a pretty enjoyable read. The artwork is clean and crisp, the stories flow well, and the added fluff is a bonus. I'm interested to see how the magazine continues from here. I remember reading them at the time, which is a shocking 28 years ago (which would have made me 12!) and re-reading them now fills me with a sense of joy.
Drop me a comment if these bring back flashbacks for you, too. If you happen to own the comics reach out I want to see them!
