Comic Review - Judge Dredd Lawman of the Future: Issue 03

It's nice how quick and easy it is to read these. Mostly, they are one-shot stories and only take about five minutes to read. It takes longer to review!

The cover is pretty standard for this magazine, and we will get used to it the further we get. It shows a close-up of the Lawman’s head. It is also revealed that Mean Machine will play a role in this issue. Alongside this, we also get to see photographs of Mean Machine on the set of the 1995 movie and the blueprints of the Movie Lawgiver.

The biggest news on the cover is saved for a very ’90s offer…Sprogs! I remember having these as a kid. I also think I had Judge Dredd ones, so I am excited to learn more. Let's dive in.

The first article we arrive at is a one-pager titled Public Enemies. It seems a bit early in the series for this and includes two characters we haven't even read about or experienced.

At number 1 is the Mean Machine. The Cursed Earth desperado makes sense to hold this spot. We know he is coming in this issue, and most readers should know him from the films.

Number 2 - Coldblood. The Cursed Earth mutant was defeated in the previous issue. I'm surprised he is here, already beaten and locked away. What risk is he to the broader population?

Number 3 is the Assassin Dragon. Hailing from the Pacific Rim, this mysterious assassin is a mutant whose tattoos come to life to aid in attacking his victims. I know nothing about this character as we haven't seen a story yet.

Dial Mean for murder - Mean Machine Angel has managed to smuggle himself into MC-1. He promised the criminal underworld to rid them of Judge Dredd for a pricey sum. Upon learning that Judge Dredd was on boing security, Mean heads down to the stadium. Soon, a fight breaks out on the human-sized pinball table, and Dredd uses the machine against Mean to become victorious.

This was a joyous tale for me, including two of my loves from MC-1: Mean Machine Angel and Boing! I would love to experience the inside of a pinball machine from the ball’s viewpoint.

The following four pages aren't as exciting as I hoped. First was a mock advert for Flabbon to help you become a Fattie, followed by a two-page spread of the MkII Lawgiver blueprints. Still, there is no real depth to the article, and finally, there is a page about Sprogs, the game milk caps that became crazy popular in the 90s. This mainly was an advert for the Judge Dredd line that I need to try and find for the collection. Overall, it was a little disappointing, to be honest.

Rush Hour Part Two - Judge Dredd has boarded an out-of-control high-speed Zoom train to stop it from crashing. First, he has to deal with the perps onboard. Once Dredd realizes there is no saving the train or station, he starts evacuating the passengers via H-Wagon. But with time running out, he has to act quickly to save everyone.

Once more, I am left disappointed. This one has a pretty dull ending—no natural standout scenes or artwork. Hence, there are no screen grabs for this one. Let's move on from this Speed rip-off.

Up next is a two-page piece on Mean Machine Angel. The first is a top ten on the comic Mean, but it is not hugely in-depth. Then, the second page is photographs from the 1995 movie with some behind-the-scenes knowledge. This was more interesting, and I was surprised Mean wasn't more in the film, considering all the work involved in the outfit—some moody-looking pictures on this page. Love it.

Illustrated Dragon (Part 1) - A Pacific Rim mutant has arrived on the outskirts of MC-1, and Judge Hershey and a team are sent to investigate. Onboard is a lone tattooed man who declares himself the Dragon. In the ensuing conflict, Dragon's tattoos come to life, and he quickly overpowers the Judges. With Judge Hershey, prisoner Dragon challenges Judge Dredd to a one-on-one combat. Dredd must go alone, or Hershey dies.

This seems to be the tale of the comic. I'm excited to see where it goes. I'm expecting an epic clash for sure.

With that tale over, we have reached the end of issue three. I'm getting into this series. It's easy to imagine this as an alt-universe and forgive the uniforms. My only real negative is the lack of in-depth articles, but it may change the further we go. I understand this is a movie tie-in aimed at a younger audience, but come on, give the articles some meat to chew on. It’s all just a tease!