Comic Review: Judge Dredd Lawman of the Future Issue 13

Here we are at issue 13, and it would seem the title fight of Judge Dredd vs Bludd is finally coming. I am a little sad that they didn’t build this more. It has only been three issues, and now it is happening. They really could have kept it going longer. The cover is dominated by an image of Bludd lording it over Mega-City One with Judge Dredd on the defensive. It's a weird image, as the figure of Bludd doesn't look like any other version I have seen in the comic so far. The cover artist was given too much freedom in creating the image. Let us dive in.

Survival - A black alien goo, hitching a ride on a meteor crash lands on Earth during the age of dinosaurs. Fortunately for the dinosaurs, the same meteor causes the ice age, and the black goo is frozen away, imprisoned in ice. That is until Mega-City 1 picks up a chunk of the alien, believing it to be oil. As they transport it back to the city wrapped in ice, the black goo manages to escape and infects all the Judges onboard (except Judge Dredd and Judge D'Angelo). Following a brief fight, the ship's shields are disabled, and the craft is left open to attack by the local Manta Sharks, a mutant breed of Black Atlantic life. It's a great opening tale with some weird animals involved. This will be a fun two-parter; I am also glad it is not Bludd-related.

Bludd Feud - Continuing the mini strip from the last two issues, this story picks from the Mean Machine arc, with Judge Dredd dropping Mean Machine at ISO-666. Having finally had enough of all the attempted hits on his life, Judge Dredd tracks down Red, who informs our Judge that Bludd is behind the assassination attempts. The short story ends with Judge Dredd announcing, "I'm coming for you, Bludd." - this is the final mini-story as it seems to bleed into the main story arc. It's a filler piece to move the story along.

Mob Hit - Judge Dredd has taken an informant in for questioning following a Jimping arrest. This informant has a lot of information on the Grudfather and is moved to a high-security hospital to recover from injuries. Unfortunately for Judge Dredd, two things will ruin his day - 1) There is a mole within the Justice Department, so nothing is as secret as it should be. 2) The Gila-Munja are coming to assassinate the informant. The Gila-Munja are Cursed Earth Mutants who resemble lizards but are humanoid in size. Their claws drip with deadly poison and can become almost invisible thanks to naturally occurring camo abilities. As Judge Dredd and the team hold off the Gila-Munja, the Justice Department Mole strikes, killing the informant and ensuring no secrets are revealed. During the attack, the Justice Department mole is revealed. And it turns out to be Judge Markley - The primary Judge leading the task force against the Mega Rackets! Following a rather lacklustre and quick fight, Judge Dredd secures a new informant called Markley.

This signals another significant step in the Bludd story arc. With only one more tale for this arc, issue 13 is moving this along. I loved seeing the Gila-Munja in this story; they are a significant part of Cursed Earth Judge Dredd lore, and I feel they do them great justice in this tale as we see them take down many Judges and showcase many of their abilities. Well done, Lawman of the Future!

Grudfather - With Markley in custody, it's finally time to shut down the Mega-Mob businesses. With Judge Dredd leading the task force, many major crimes throughout Mega-City 1 are soon shut down, including Umpty Candy and Organ Legging. With the war on Major Crime underway, Judge Dredd hops onboard Justice One and heads into Neutral Space to meet Bludd face to face. But being outside of Mega-City 1 jurisdiction, Judge Dredd is powerless to do anything and just exchanges words with Bludd, who announces that Judge Dredd has achieved nothing and that in a month, crime will return to normal. There is a bit of a weak ending to this story arc. I feel this isn't the end, but it is also not the exciting story I hoped for.

And with that, we reach the end of issue 13—a fun ride but a little disappointing. I felt the Bludd arc building and was left disappointed like a wet fart. Drop me your comments, and let me know your thoughts.