Comic Review // Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 07
I'm starting to get into the groove with these reviews. So, with a lot of self-satisfaction, I'm pleased to announce that I've now completed “The Complete Case Files 07.” According to the cover, which is in glorious pink, it covers progs 322-275 or 2105-06 in Mega City One’s timeline. I'm pretty excited for this one as it includes Cry of the Werewolf, one of my favourite tales as a child rummaging through old progs and The Wreckers. Let's jump in with the breakdown.
Story: Cry of the Werewolf (Part 1) - A full moon in Mega City 1 can only mean one thing...A busy night for Judge Dredd! After escaping from the Undercity via a crack in the city floor, three Werewolves explore the city and enjoy the sweetmeats.
Highlight: Sleep Machine—Total Relaxation Inducers compress a whole night's rest into minutes. This is such a creepy idea, but I love my sleep!
Story: Cry of the Werewolf (Part 2) - The Wolf pack is all neutralized, but not before Judge Korkoran bit along with a citizen. While investigating the wolf's bodies, it is discovered that one was once Judge Bram, a retired Judge who took his long walk in the undercity!
Highlight: Judge Korkoran turns into a Werewolf on the final page. He looks crazy.
Story: Cry of the Werewolf (Part 3) - After seeing Korkoran turn into a Wolf, Judge Dredd realizes there was another victim during the earlier attack. As Judge Dredd sends a Judge Team to seek out the victim, fresh howls can be heard throughout Buck Chegwin Block.
Highlight: The poor neighbours in Buck Chegwin, believing an illegal dog is lost in the block, they get a nasty surprise.
Story: Cry of the Werewolf (Part 4)—Having controlled the Werewolf outbreak in the city, Judge Dredd must now travel to the source and end the problem.
Highlight: The Undercity - The ruins of the old world paved over to make way for the new Mega-City. Now home to mutants, criminals and other unknown scum.
Story: Cry of the Werewolf (Part 5) - Judge Dredd is on the trail of White Werewolf hiding out in Central Park.
Highlight: The wolf pack is led by a white werewolf, and with the pack being over fifty strong, how will Judge Dredd cope against them all?
Story: Cry of the Werewolf (Part 6)—To end the Werewolf problem, Judge Dredd faces down the entire Werewolf pack. Soon, Judge Dredd is almost wholly overwhelmed and attempts to escape further into the Undercity. After being ambushed by the White Wolf, Judge Dredd is bitten before defeating the monsterous beast.
Highlight: As Judge Dredd slowly succumbs to the wolf virus, he hatches a plan to completely wipe out the pack. But can he stay human enough to succeed?
Story: Cry of the Werewolf (Part 7) - With the wolf pack dead, Judge Dredd finally succumbs to the White Wolf's bite and completely turns. Driven by a bloodlust, Judge Dredd attempts to attack some undercity citizens. Falling within their trap, it seems like Judge Dredd is done! But it turns out there is one undercity denizen who wishes to save him and return Judge Dredd to Mega City 1. Here he is treated and cured. Before we are treated to a horrible pun at the end.
Highlight: Judge Prager - Ex-Judge on the long walk. Ex-Judge Prager stuns Judge Dredd’s werewolf form and carries him topside. After delivering Judge Dredd, Ex-Judge Prager turns away from the city and walks back into the darkness. Such a badass.
Story: The Weatherman (Part 1) - Composer Carl Heinz Pilchards-in-Tomato-sauce Clayderman has finally lost it. Composing his latest piece in the Auditorium, he is abusing the audience with out-of-control weather.
Highlight: The giant hail storm that rains down on the audience.
Story: The Weather (Part 2)—Composer Carl Heinz Pilchards has lost it and is currently raining down the weather on his poor audience. As the Judges close in on the crazed composer, Carl fires off lighting, which stuns them. As the show comes to an end, Judge Dredd leads the rescue crews in, only to discover everyone is dead apart from the insane composer.
Highlight: A weird tale altogether. Judge Dredd wasn't really in it, and pretty much everyone died. Weird.
Story: Requiem for a Heavyweight (Part 1)—A fattie is discovered dead in the wasteland between sectors. The cause of Death is a Bedstead lodged in the Abdomen! What on earth is going on now in Mega City 1?
Highlight: The wonder drug of the future “Appetite Inducer.” When taken in large amounts, the victim can't stop eating. They must eat or will be driven mad with hunger pains.
Story: Requiem for a Heavyweight (Part 2) - With Pudge dead, his manager is looking for his next pig. Having discovered a contentor in Frank Cannon's Segregation block, the manipulative Manager organizes an escape plot.
Highlight: Charge of the Heavy Brigade. Having been lied to, residents of the Segregation block rush Judges in an attempt to access free food. It resulted in the death of two Judges and the escape of Arnold Strongman.
Story: Requiem for a Heavyweight (Part 3) - The 27th Heavyweight Eating Championship is underway. This highly illegal competition is being held in a destroyed sector in the abandoned Cyril Lord block. Luckily, Judge Dredd is also on hand.
Highlight: Arnold Stodgman achieves an incredible ton in an hour but will never be crowned the winner. He dies from the pressure of all the food as the Judges arrive.
Story: The Graveyard Shift (Part 1) - Seeing a new point of view of the City from the judge’s eyes. This time, we head into the shadowy graveyard shift. In one evening, 9000 serious crimes will be committed, including the death of a judge.
Highlight: The Judges take down a Juve gang with extreme prejudice.
Story: The Graveyard Shift (Part 2)—The night is still young, and the graveyard shift is heating up. Snipers, citizen vigilantes, mutant infiltrators, out-of-control fires, and a four-way Juve fight are all underway. How on earth do the Judges maintain control?
Highlight: Jerry shoots back at the Sniper due to being made late to the theatre.
Story: The Graveyard Shift (Part 3) - The Larry Hagman Conapts is now a total inferno, death toll reaches 3350 before the fire is under control. Then we get to see a real seedy underbelly of Mega City 1 - Bite Fighting Pits.
Highlight: Southfork holds a Burn Up Party BBQ to celebrate the Larry Hagman fire.
Story: The Graveyard Shift (Part 4)—When is this crazy night going to end? Not only has a Block War started, but Mob Blitzers are attacking a rival mob's nightclub. To make matters worse, mutants are still attempting to break in, a hold-all containing just left hands is discovered, and a Citi-Def force is planting explosives under a rival block.
Highlight: Para-Glider Citi-Def jumps from their block to raid the rival block across the street. Unfortunately for them, the Judges are prepared and shoot them out of the sky.
Story: The Graveyard Shift (Part 5)—It's only 0150 hours. Now, the ST. CLAIR/MONROE block war has escalated. St. Clair, after sending in an infiltration unit, has managed to blow the foundations of Monroe and cause a block collapse. As the Monroe block falls, it cracks open the plaza, causing St.Clair to topple. Over 100,000 died in seconds.
Highlight: While attempting to save a baby, Judge Dredd throws the baby to Judge Lyall before plunging off the falling block.
Story: The Graveyard Shift (Part 6)—Judge Dredd is falling to his death after saving a baby. His only chance is to grab hold of a handrail on the crosswalk. Though he manages to catch it, Judge Dredd dislocates his shoulder. We are then treated to a few pages of weird Mega City 1 crimes and shown the fallout of it all as Rysk is overrun with dead people.
Highlight: Sector 80 and its hungry alien escape. A creature from the Netherworlds Exhibition has escaped and has eaten 17 citizens so far.
Story: The Graveyard Shift (Part 7) - We are now at 0315 and on the case of the Left-Hand killer—a psycho with a Heavy Duty Disintegrator. After apprehending the killer, the night starts to slow down, allowing Dredd and the other Judges a brief respite for a sleep machine break.
Highlight: Jean-Paul Blatty - The Left Hand Killer. He was attempting to beat the record for one-on-one murders. Sadly, he only achieved 129 shy of the title by six victims.
Story: The Suspect—We get a rare glimpse into the ISO-Cube interrogation cells. Here, we watch Judge Dredd interrogate a perp. After hours of attempting to get a confession, Judge Dredd has to set him free. Knowing him to be a criminal, Judge Dredd uses Spy in the Sky to catch him out.
Highlight: Working too many jobs. The perp was working three jobs. This is an unforgivable crime in a city with sky-high unemployment (Only in MC1).
Story: Rumble in the Jungle (Part 1)—Mega City 1 Justice Department unveils its newest weapon against crime: the Manta Prowl Tank. During its first proper test run, Judge Dredd is at the helm and fears a Juve Rumble is about to happen in the Jungle.
Highlight: Juve Gang names: Bernie Beesley Block - Bad Boys, James Dean Block - Juves without a Cause, Morgan Fairchild - Flamingoes, T. Dan Smith/Roy Orbison - Juve Alliance, The Bruce Kent Bombers, The Lobsang Rampant Beast Pack and the Bob Marks Block Y-Bobs.
Story: Rumble in the Jungle (Part 2)—The Y-Bobs have stolen some massive Rad-tractors (designed to flatten tower blocks) and are riding them into the middle of a Juve Rumble.
Highlight: The Juve Rumble. It's an all-out fight, and the Jungle has become a killing ground littered with the dead.
Story: Rumble in the Jungle (Part 3)—Judge Dredd leads a team of Judges against the Y-Bobs. Driving off a higher bridge, the team lands on the lead tractor and takes down the Y-Bobs. Soon, the Judges have taken control of the tractors.
Highlight: With three giant tractors under their control, the Judges turn them on the warning Juves and herd them into a bottleneck where they can arrest them at their pleasure.
Story: Bob, Carol, Ted, and Ringo (Part 1): Irrawaddy Skinnier and his Dinosaur Extravaganza are visiting Mega City 1. What could go wrong with giant dinosaurs from an Atomic Wasteland?
Highlight: Bob, Carol, Ted, and Ringo are all T-Rex, looked after by the overly caring Granville the Robot.
Story: Bob, Carol, Ted, and Ringo (Part 2): Granville, the T-Rex handler, has lost the plot. Believing to be doing what's best, Granville releases the T-Rexes and attempts to lead them back to the wastelands.
Highlight: Four T-Rexs sneaking through Mega City 1 would never run smoothly. Soon, the damage was done, and the first fatalities started to happen.
Story: Bob, Carol, Ted, and Ringo (Part 3)—Having almost made it to freedom, the T-Rex get distracted by the Mutie Holding pens, and soon, a feeding frenzy begins. This gives the Judges just enough time to catch up.
Highlight: The poor muties who are now just a lunch snack for the T-Rexs.
Story: Bob, Carol, Ted, and Ringo (Part 4)—The rampage is nearing an end. Having been left with no choice, the judges kill the T-Rex Bob, but in the chaos, the other three escape into the wasteland.
Highlight: After speaking with Granville, Judge Dredd lets the beasts free. Instead, he arrests Skinner and sentences him to 17 years for the damage he caused.
Story: Pieromania—On a routine patrol, Judge Dredd is Pied in front of a roving camera. Soon, this one act of fun creates Mega City 1's newest craze. Soon, entire block wars are being fought with pies.
Highlight: Wanting to ban pies, a councillor uses the line - "Let them eat cake!".
Story: The Highwaymen - In the future, even the constantly moving Roadsters of the Mega City 1 mega way aren't safe from crime. Here enters the Highwaymen using grapples; they board the unexpecting victims and raid them before driving away to freedom.
Highlight: Mopads are mobile Homes that permanently move. The families never set foot on non-moving ground; there are even mobile malls for these families to shop in.
Story: Are You Tired of Being Mugged? - A new company has risen, offering the citizens of Mega City 1 protection from being mugged. The G-Men specialize in counter-violence, but soon mugging crime numbers drop, leading to the G-Men becoming victims of violence aimed at them. Fearing a loss of control, the judges revoked a ban on anti-mugging suits (a cheap if more dangerous form of protection), leading to the downfall of G-Men.
Highlight: Kent Fassbinder - Owner of the G-Men company, having been made bankrupt, resorts to mugging and is killed by an anti-mugging suit.
Story: Bob's Law—Following the destruction of much of the city, the Justice Department attempted to reorganize the remaining blocks into a new number system.
Highlight: As with everything in Mega City 1, nothing is easy, and soon, the population is rioting across the city.
Story: Citizen Snork—James Snork is an ordinary boy living in Mega City 1. Then, one day, after watching a video show, Snork grows the most enormous nose ever seen! As Snork's fame grows, he soon catches the eye of the "Collector," a criminal who loves collecting weird human oddities.
Highlight: To save Snork's life, Judge Dredd is forced to shoot citizens Snork's nose off! Returning the poor boy to a life of boredom.
Story: The Haunting of Sector House 9 - Judge Dredd is investigating the death of Sector Chief Judge Erikson of Sector 9. It soon becomes apparent that this is no ordinary occurrence, but who has the power to attack a Sector House psychically?
Highlight: Judge Omar, Head of the PSI Division. He is a badass Judge and one of my favourite characters from this era of Judge Dredd.
Story: High Society—We join Judge Dredd in Space at the Nelson Rockefeller Orbital Suburb, home to the rich of Mega City 1. It is a perfect floating sector without pollution, crime, or riff-raff. That is until Judge Dredd comes with his Slum Clearance Act 2105, meaning that 29% of the homes must be donated to the public sector.
Highlight: As soon as the public is allowed on board, the flying city becomes a cesspool of crime and diseases, forcing the rich to abandon their homes. Soon, Rockefeller is nothing more than a flying slum.
Story: The House on Runner's Walk - Reuben Henk is a perp on the run. Reuben gets more than he bargained for upon entering the local Boarding house when he rushes into Old Town.
Highlight: Lodgers of this boarding house are soon lobotomized and mind-controlled. It is a clever scheme to get their welfare cheques and have the perfect house guests.
Story: Portrait of a Politician - Dave the Orangutan is your average ape hanging out in the local bar. That is until a run of luck (not sure if it's good or bad) ends up with him becoming mayor of Mega City 1.
Highlight: Dave becomes mayor, and all Judge Dredd can say is, "Judging by his predecessors. Dave could be a definite improvement".
Story: The Switch—After a first-time arrest for a perp following a robbery, Judge Dredd feels something isn't adding up. Soon, he discovers a corrupt Judge has swapped places with an ordinary citizen.
Highlight: The switched victim has served 12 years in one of the harshest jails known to Mega City 1 law. How on earth do you come back from that?
Story: Superbowl - Following a threat to the radiator team, Judge Dredd and Rookie Judge Dekker are assigned as protection. What happens next sees 5-star players and the head coach arrested for various crimes.
Highlight: It turns out it was a Hoax call, and the team was never threatened!
Story: Bingo - Even in the city of the future, Bingo is still a hideous compulsion. Judge Dredd and Rookie Judge Dekker are on the scene of the latest game and have to carefully shut it down without causing a medical emergency.
Highlight: Rookie Judge Dekker - pretty much doesn't need Judge Dredd. Even in his own words, she is one of the best Judges he has trained.
Story: The Making of a Judge - It's time for Rookie Judge Dekker's final test. Armed robbery! Can Judge Dekker perform and pass Judge Dredd's harsh judgment?
Highlight: Judge Dekker smashes through a hab block window and takes down three perps. Total badass!
Story: The Wreckers—Judge Dredd is given 48 hours to clean out Sector 27 of the Wreckers and is given a task force of 100 judges. The Wreckers have a home-field advantage, but how long can they hold out against Judge Dredd and the Justice Department?
Highlight: This is an extraordinary tale! I love seeing the average struggling citizen driven to crime and then the fallout of the Judges coming down on them. It seems so harsh! This tale was so inspirational that it was used in the 1980s RPG as an opening adventure for Judges.
Review
This was a return to classic Judge Dredd, mini tales of random adventures that really showcase the city and its weirdos. Highlights for me include the werewolves, fatties, Judge Omar, Judge Dekker, and the Wreckers. I want to build a Wreckers gang now. I need to find some parts.
