Judge Dredd #16
13 Badges, Part 3
Created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra
Written by Duane Swierczynski
Art by Nelson Daniel
Letters by Shawn Lee
Covers by Brendan McCarthy, Inaki Miranda & Eva De La Cruz
IDW Publishing
Release Date: February 26, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

So earlier this week I was given a copy of Judge Dredd #16 to review. Being a fairly big fan of Dredd I was extremely excited to make this my first review and not fuck it up. The only problem is that I had already made arrangements to hang out with a friend of mine, Richard. Now, Richard is a fairly swell guy right up until you start talking about politics. Then he loses his proverbial shit”¦ And with Richard”¦ everything comes down to politics. Even comic books. Richard knocks on my door and walks right in as he always does, sits down on my couch, and starts blathering on about something he read on some forum only he and a few dozen of his Libertarian buddies apparently know about. While this is happening, I’m sitting in my cozy chair reading the issue and being fairly well happy about it.

Dredd #15 left us in a rather precarious place. Ol’ Joseph was being held in the Hall of Justice and was being interrogated by Cal’s men. And by interrogated, I mean he was having the living shit beat out of him like he was a uniformed piñata. So, I’m about 3 pages into the story and really enjoying Nelson Daniel‘s art (he has a superb usage of shadow vs. color to create depth in the panels that’s kind of rare these days) when Richard looks over, sees Dredd, and launches into a tirade about how this comic is a tool by the media conglomerates to desensitize us into accepting the police brutality and surveillance as it is today. If we all accept Dredd‘s future as inevitable then we won’t complain blah blah blah. I think he actually said “Sheeple” at one point. Richard could have gone on for an hour about this, and how it’s unfair that bitcoin isn’t more accepted, and I wouldn’t have given two shits because I was completely enthralled with this story and the fantastic panels on every page.

Dredd
Netflix | Amazon | Epix | iTunes | Vudu
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Pete Travis
Starring Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey
Lionsgate
Originally Released: July 11, 2012

Dredd, the most recent adaptation of the hero/antihero Judge Dredd, who made 2000 AD the amazing comic book it was, was easily my favorite movie of 2012. Dredd is above and beyond that of the appalling version featuring Stallone in the 1990s, and though it has some faults, it comes with some of the most stunning cinematography effects and visuals, along with an exciting action chronicle that keeps your attention.

For those unfamiliar with the lore of Judge Dredd, sometime in the distant future, the human race is recovering from some kind of apocalyptic event involving radiation. The surviving society in the remains of the United States gather together in megacities, originally established to remain sequestered from radiation, but since expanded to gigantic proportions with a massive population density.

Judge Dredd: The Complete Carlos Ezquerra, Vol. 1
Illustrated by Carlos Ezquerra
Colored by Carlos Ezquerra
Cover by Carlos Ezquerra
Edited by Justin Eisinger
Designed by Robbie Robbins
IDW Publishing
Release Date: April 23, 2013
Cover Price: $49.99

Confession of a comic book reviewer: I’ve never read a single Judge Dredd comic in my life. *Gasp!* It’s true. It’s never even been on my radar; however, having recently watched Karl Urban’s performance of the toughest Judge out there in the ultra-violent 2012 adaptation, Dredd, I have been clamoring to get my hands on some futuristic police enforcing material. Judge Dredd: The Complete Carlos Ezquerra, Vol. 1 is the perfect introduction to the world of Judge Dredd.

This massive 266-page collection pulls together a fantastic assortment of stories with illustrations by Carlos Ezquerra“”the man behind the design of Judge Dredd. What better way to immerse myself into Mega-City One than by reading some of the earliest Dredd stories around, combined with the premiere character interpretations of Judge Dredd and the world he’s sworn to protect? I’ll admit that these comics aren’t the most well written works you’ll ever find. They’re campy, no-holds-barred action comics, but they can be really weird and out there, which is what made me enjoy them. Not only does Dredd issue out justice to wrong-doers and criminals, but he protects Mega-City from alien invasions, disgustingly mutated creatures and viruses, and undead villains, just to mention a few.

Released at the tail end of a summer packed with blockbuster comic book movies with massive budgets and expectations, and coming several months after the debut of a much-praised Indonesian action film it was subsequently accused of ripping off, Dredd did not have a chance in hell of making anything other than a faint peep in theaters, even though it was filmed in the ever-popular 3D.

Despite mixed reactions to early stills from the film and tales of post-production battles over the final cut between director Pete Travis and writer Alex Garland Dredd premiered to a rapturous reception at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con and the positive buzz began building. That buzz ultimately failed to translate to ticket sales as the film grossed $6.3 million on its opening weekend to finish in sixth place. The R rating, over-the-top violence, and the toxicity left over from the 1995 attempt at making a Judge Dredd movie with a mostly unmasked Sylvester Stallone in the lead and excruciating comic relief from the never welcome Rob Schneider killed any chance for Dredd to spawn a new franchise fronted by the iconic unsmiling dispenser of ruthless justice.

That is a damn shame because Dredd turned out to be one of the few genuine cinematic surprises of last year, and today it makes its home video debut on 3D Blu-ray and DVD. To mark this momentous occasion we have the amazing 3D Blu-ray cover art as well as four brief but cool clips from the film for your viewing pleasure.

You can check out the cover art and videos here below.

Judge Dredd #1
Written by Duane Swierczynski
Art by Nelson Daniel and Paul Gulacy
Covers by Zach Howard, Nick Runge, Jim Starlin, Al Milgrom, Whilce Portacio, Carlos Ezquerra and Nelson Daniel
Also available a Retail Incentive cover with the comic store’s name over an additional Nick Runge cover
IDW Publishing
Release date: November 21, 2012
Cover price: $3.99

Judge Dredd was created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra back in 1977 for 2000 AD, the premiere British sci-fi and fantasy comic anthology magazine. Dredd has continued to be published by 2000 AD on a weekly basis since the character first appeared. It has been re-collected and distributed by such companies as Eagle Comics and Fleetway/Quality Comics. It was also a part of DC Comics’ lineup at one point in time. Now Judge Dredd is being published by an American company, IDW Publishing, as well as the continued stories in 2000 AD. IDW will go with the continuity already set by 2000 AD instead of trying to create their own. This is evident in the first issue of this newly launched series.