Comic Review: Judge Dredd Lawman of the Future 11
I am enjoying revisiting some of my old posts. Not only is it nice to evaluate the content and edit, but it is also excellent to be inspired for new projects. This series of JD comics has been doing that for me, and I can’t wait to start on some of them. But here we are at issue 11. As always, I will begin with the cover. It's pretty dull, to be honest, with Judge Dredd riding a Lawmaster and cheap straight lines to represent movement.
The stories in this issue are as follows: Part 2 of Perp Running, all-new Ninja and what I assume is the two-parter In Cold Blood. Interestingly, we seem to be starting with the new two-parter In Cold Blood!
In Cold Blood (Part One) - ISO-Block 117 is home to many hardened criminals, including the Cursed Earth Mutant Coldblood (see earlier comics for this mutant). With some outside help, a warden becomes mind-controlled, activating the release controls and freeing all the prisoners of ISO-117. This, of course, leads to a mass riot. Soon, Judge Dredd leads the countercharge and brings about law and order, but where is Coldblood? It turns out Coldblood escaped into space and discovered Lucius Bludd aided him. I'm excited to learn more about Lucius and how Coldblood is now more reptile than mutant.
Comically, almost in answer to my final statement, we now get the answers: who is Lucius Bludd?
Alias: The Grudfather
Age: Unknown between 40 and 60.
Designation: Crime Lord - Ultimate boss of the Mega-City Mobs.
Habitat: A Satellite above the world. They seem to be building him up to be the big villain in the series. I seriously hope he can live up to the hype.
Bludd Feud! - An all-new mini-series featuring a back-and-forth between Bludd and Judge Dredd. For this one, Judge Dredd tracks down a sugar smuggling ring and captures a high-ranking crime member. Taking the creep down to PSI central, he gets the perp's mind read and discovers Bludd has hired hitmen to take him out. Not a bad start to this new series, and it could be a fun read. Finally, they make use of the extra pages.
Then, we get an excellent one-page Citi-Block image showcasing all the locations in a block. This is a fantastic image. I usually share here, but I will use this image to start designing an entire Dan Abnett Block, so expect to see this image very shortly.
Perp Running (Part Two) - Set on Paradise Island in the Black Atlantic, it is a haven for criminal activity, all under the watchful eye of Dicky Demarco. After getting a lead, Judge Dredd takes a team to the Island to investigate. It doesn't take long to discover the truth, and soon, Judge Dredd is casing Demarco through the aquarium. Sadly, Demarco isn't the most brilliant cookie and fires a gun, destroying the Kraken's tank and getting himself eaten. As the Judge’s team discovers the bodies, they find files on the face-changed villains. The comic ends with Judge Dredd declaring that Paradise Island will be Mega-City One’s newest ISO-Cube—a nice ending to a relatively straightforward story.
Ninja - Following a raid on a Hondo-City gang sugar transport, a Mega-City One Gang prematurely celebrates. This is their first and last mistake as Yakuza Ninjas ambush them! These Ninjas are over the top equipped with some of Hondo’s most high-tech gear - including Holo-Projectors to mask location and numbers, Heat Seeking Laser Shuriken, Electro-knux, the ability to commit self disintegration if captured, and finally they are all clones! Judge Dredd manages to take down these dangerous ninjas (of course), earning himself the number one title on Hondo City's criminal hitlist and the hostility of Lord Itaki himself - Head of the Hondo Crime Families. It was a good story, one I feel will be revisited in upcoming comics.
And with that, we reach the end of a solid Lawman of the Future issue. Coldblood with Lucius is an exciting new prospect; Perp Running ended strong, Ninja is starting something seriously cool, and the artwork was fabulous. I am excited to see some stories that can truly compete with 2000 AD.
