Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 01 Review

 Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 01 Review

Judge Dredd (c) Rebellion 2000AD

Welcome to this the first of hopefully many reviews of Judge Dredd Complete Case Files Collections. As part of my GM for Hire service, I’m currently in the process of writing and running a Judge Dredd roleplaying game campaign and, for research purposes, and to make sure the timeline works for fellow Dreddheads, I’ve been immersing myself in Dredd’s world by going back to the genesis of the strip by rereading the The Complete Case Files collection. I’ve been a lifelong fan of Judge Dredd since 1987 when I picked up Prog 510 and I have read these editions a few times before. Over time, I intend to post reviews of all of the case files. 

You can watch a video version of this review here:

But, if you prefer text, I've got you covered! So without further ado, let’s start at the beginning - with the Complete Case Files 01!

Look how much information is established in this single opening page!

Co-created by John Wagner and late, great Carlos Ezquerra, the first volume contains stories from the first 60 Dredd strips and, for obvious reasons, contains a colossal amount of world building.

Obviously the role of the Judges and the Justice Department are established very early, as is the whole look of Dredd with his distinctive uniform, Lawgiver gun and iconic Lawmaster bike. The helmet in this first volume of stories is far more goldfish-bowl shaped than it was to later become, but you can see the more familiar shape appear in a few of Mick McMahon’s strips at the end of the book. See following pics (both by McMahon) to illustrate to contrasting design.

A large number of other major elements are introduced in this first volume such as Justice HQ, the Judges’ Central Computer MAC, and Weather Control - who almost always ensure the sun shines on Mega-City One! There’s also the Statue of Judgement in whose shade the Statue of Liberty symbolically stands - and which goes on to play an important role in a number of Dredd strips throughout the years. The Undercity also makes a brief appearance which has a greater significance in the second volume - as does the Cursed Earth which is established as a radioactive wasteland where survivors of the Atomic Wars, the mutants, live - and occasionally cause problems for the residents of Mega-City One!

Justice HQ aka Grand Hall of Justice making an early appearance

On the character front, Judge Giant, who becomes an important secondary character in Dredd’s universe, makes his first appearance in a tale which explains how the Judges are trained from the age of five at the Academy of Law and shows his final assessment under Dredd’s stern gaze. Fans of the 2012 Dredd film will be familiar with this storyline as Judge Anderson found herself in the same situation. On top of that we meet Dredd’s informant Max Normal, his cleaning lady Maria, and loyal robot Walter. Walter is one of those characters who is a bit marmite; you’ll either enjoy his presence or wish he wasn’t in the strip at all. It’s worth bearing in mind that 2000AD was not aimed at adults, so I think some allowances have to be made on this front. The strip later evolved to become far more serious and less episodic than these early years and as it matured, Walter’s presence diminished.

Walter: love or loathe?

The huge metropolis of Mega-City One seems to arrive almost completely realised, much of which is in no doubt thanks to co-creator Carlos Ezquerra who drew the first - but unpublished - Dredd strip which appears at the end of this volume. That story is a real treat because not only does it showcase Dredd and the versatility of his Lawgiver gun with different ammo types, but the last page is a single panel which shows the original vision of Mega-City One with it’s huge spires and roadways which are suspended high above city bottom. The quintessential Judge Dredd artist, King Carlos Ezquerra is deeply missed.

The first full image of Mega-City One by Carlos Ezquerra

As well as the architecture of Mega-City One, the absolute craziness of the city and its inhabitants is all in there from the word go. I’d like to make special mention of the Futsie - inhabitants of the city who go mad because they cannot bear the stresses of living in the overpopulated and overcrowded Mega-City. The theme of overpopulation is a theme most of us of a certain age probably became aware of through the film Blade Runner and there’s no doubt in my mind that the city and inhabitants of Blade Runner’s Los Angeles could easily be situated in Mega-City Two which is located on the west coast of America (Mega-City One is on the eastern coast of USA)! Growing up in Scotland, I remember thinking that the idea of people suddenly snapping and going on murderous rampages seemed quite outlandish, but nowadays it is disturbingly familiar.

Whitey: Dredd's first foe

As someone who jumped on board 2000AD in its tenth year, it was great seeing the character of Whitey making a few appearances as he had a brief reappearance in one of the first Dredd strips I’d read. 

Robot Wars: The first Judge Dredd epic!

Most of the stories in this first volume are standalone stories where the plot is established and resolved in a mere five or six pages, but the Robot Wars mark the first lengthy multi-part Judge Dredd adventure which paved the way for some of the mega-epics which feature in later volumes. While it's one of the more lightweight of the mega-epics, it's still a lot of fun - especially when I'd waited decades to finally discover this little gem (to my knowledge, it was never reprinted until TCCF01 was released)!

Rico: More frightening in the comic than on-screen

One storyline which is a fan favourite is The Return of Rico, where Dredd’s twin brother returns from Titan, his face and body horribly adapted to life living in a vacuum. Fans of the Stallone version of Dredd will be familiar with Rico as he was the central villain in that film. Even though it’s only a two parter, the fact that Dredd even turned over his own brother for breaking the law tells you a lot about Dredd’s incorruptible nature and devotion to the law.

The original incarnation of Spikes Harvey Rotten by Brian Bolland

Another story which I enjoyed was the Mega City 5000 race, partly because it seems to be a riff on the then notorious B-movie Death Race 2000, partly because it seems to be a blueprint for some of the wonderful Supersurf stories that were to follow years later, but most notably because it introduces volume 2’s famous Spikes Harvey Rotten who appears in the Mega-epic The Cursed Earth. Most intriguingly of all, the Spikes we know from that storyline looks completely different in this strip - but Spikes’ rival Zoot does look like him! I’ve often wondered if there was some sort of mix up when the character was reintroduced in The Cursed Earth, perhaps some aficionados who are watching can let me know by commenting!

The character of Zoot

Oh, and watch out for the appearance of the Ape Gang, apes who, thanks to scientific experimentation have increased intelligence which ends up with them becoming gangsters! I have a lot of love for that story and I always wished that they’d become recurring villains for Dredd to face!

The Ape Gang

A large swathe of this first edition moves the action from Mega-City One to a moon colony known as Luna-1. I’ve never found out what the reason for this was, but I assume that the mania around Star Wars may have been responsible for wanting to take the action into space. There’s a good number of these stories that could easily have been set in Mega-City One and I personally would have preferred that the action on Luna-1 had come to an end before it did, but that’s not to say there’s nothing good in there, quite the contrary in fact! There’s a story about the Lunar Olympics which introduces the Sov Judges and, having been written at a time when the cold war was still going on, sets up a hostility that exists between the Mega-Cities and Sov Cities which all fans know plays out in a big way in later years! 

Sov Judges: Bitter Enemies of Mega-City One

On the art side of things, it’s nice to see the evolution of styles and, even if it isn’t the strongest volume on this front, there’s still plenty in there to admire, especially from fan favourites Brian Bolland and Mick McMahon. There are a number of stories which aren’t wholly successful, and there’s a sense of the strip finding it’s feet - but when you take the book as a whole, there’s a lot of great moments and nice episodes, but more importantly, all of the key elements of Judge Dredd and his universe are fully realised which is a massive achievement in itself. Highly recommended, especially for existing fans.

Anyway, more of these reviews are on the way! Thanks for reading!

Judge Dredd RPG: Order Out Of The Chaos Campaign Part II

Judge Dredd: Order Out Of The Chaos

Introduction: In this second post providing some detail of my Judge Dredd RPG campaign - which is available to play through my GM For Hire service - I'm setting out my Sector 1 map detailing a number of notable locations. Please note that this is by no means an exhaustive map as it does not include the countless Citi-Blocks in the Sector; instead, these locations will be added to the campaign map as the players explore the Sector. Updates to this post will be added to reflect a few notable Citi-Blocks and the newly discovered locations that are uncovered during the course of the campaign (keep scrolling to the "Updated Map" section to find out more on these additional locations).

First of all, here's the video trailer for the campaign!

And here's the video tour of the Sector!

Sector One, Central: Built upon the ruins of the old New York, Sector 1 is the beating heart of Mega-City One. With The Grand Hall of Justice, Statue of Justice and Academy of Law all situated within its boundaries, the sector is the hub for all Justice Department operations. This fact makes the state of lawlessness gripping the sector in the hours after Cal's death all the more shocking. 

Visual Guide: The following four images provide a visual guide to Sector 1, but for the full map (so far), please keep scrolling down for more!

Visual Guide Overview

Sector 1, North Quadrant

Sector 1, Central Quadrant

Sector 1, South Quadrant

Full Breakdown: The following map shows many of the key locations in the Sector. Note that the key numbers differ from those on the visual guide. A full breakdown of all locations can be found below.

Key: Note that I've included links on the text to the relevant Judge Dredd Wiki Page (where they exist)! Keep scrolling though as I've added fuller descriptions and images below!

1. Grand Hall Of Justice
2. Statue Of Judgement
3. Sector House 1
4. Academy of Law
5. Iso-Block 1
6. Weather Congress
7. City Hall
8. Resyk
9. Madison Square Garden
10. Power Tower
11. Speaker’s Square
12. Jean Genet Plaza
13. Aftermath Square
14. Fountain of Yooth
15. Movie Special Effects Museum
16. Mega-City Zoo
17. The Five Points Mega-Stadium
18. Mosgrove & Thung
19. Moonray Tower
20. Necropolis
21. Smokatorium (2 locations)
22. Church of Marvel
23. DC Cathedral
24. Empire State Building
25. Globeiron Building
26. Nu Face Clinic
27. Inflataface Clinic
28. Hottie House 7
29. Donnie Trump Towers
30. Tisch Hospital
31. Ash Hospital
32. Palais de Boing
33. Botanic Gardens
34. Central Mega-City Library
35. Mega-City Art Gallery
36. Mega-City Chamber of Horrors
37. Mega-City Museum
38. Mega-City One Exhibition Dome
39. Aggro Dome
40. Trans Atlantic Tunnel

1. Grand Hall of Justice: The hub of all Justice Department operations in Mega-City One and home to the newly-appointed Chief Judge Griffin. Sector One Judges rarely require to attend the Grand Hall of Justice, although as one of the city's finest lawmen, Judge Dredd operates from here more often than he does from Sector House 1. The Hall of Heroes and the Black Museum can be found here, as can the Justice Department's central computer, MAC.

2. Statue of Judgement: Built in 2099, this monument to the heroism of the Judges of the Justice Department, it dwarfs the smaller Statue of Liberty which stands in its shade. The annual Justice Day Parade is held in the square below. The insane Chief Judge Cal plunged to his death from the statue (hours before the campaign begins).

3. Sector House 1: See the previous post for full information on the Sector House.

4. Academy of Law: The place where all Judges receive their training - all fifteen years of it! After aiding Judge Dredd in the rebellion against Cal, Judge Tutors Griffin and Pepper moved from their positions in the Academy of Law to positions of Chief Judge and Deputy Chief Judge respectively.

5. Iso-Block 1: As big as a city block, this heavily fortified prison is where the Sector's perps usually end up spending long years of their lives. Each perp's windowless cell is referred to as an "Iso-Cube".

6. Weather Congress: Atmosphere Control is based high in the sky above, but Weather Congress deals with the admin side of things; they take requests from Judges to change the weather in extreme cases, but most of the time they apply the citizens' daily vote to pick the desired weather. This is almost always bright sunshine.

7. City Hall: The hub of civic administration for the city, the civic computer - known as "Barney" - which handles taxes and traffic (among many other things), can be found here as can the current Mayor, Jim Grubb. Grubb has only just been released from the Psycho-Cubes after Chief Judge Cal wrongfully imprisoned him.

8. Resyk: "We use everything but the soul!" Mega-City One's recycling facilities can be found in most Sectors, but Sector One is home to one of the largest operations. All waste - including bodies of the recently deceased - end up here where they are recycled to be reused in other products.

9. Madison Square Garden: An indoor arena which is a tiny venue when compared to the Five Points Mega-Stadium. 

10. Power Tower: Mega-City scientists bored deep into the earth to tap into the power at the core. At its essence, the Power Tower is a plug on a controlled volcano which generates vast amounts of energy to fuel the power-hungry Mega-City.

11. Speaker's Square: One of the few places in the city where a citizen can legally rant and rave about anything they please (including the Judges). Those who disagree must wait until the speaker has finished before they take their turn. Anyone becoming violent or argumentative may be arrested.

12. Jean Genet Plaza: A hangout place for Mega-City One's trendiest Juves. Also known as a hotspot for gang rumbles.

13. Aftermath Square: *Just announced for construction*, no current information available.

14. Fountain of Yooth: A large and elaborate fountain found in a plaza, ten straight sheets of rain fall in various cascading arrangements from an ornate roof. One of the Sector's most valued and beautiful civic areas.

15. Movie Special Effects Museum: After citizens tired of computer generated images, film producers built many large robotic creatures to bring a sense of realism back to their movies. Unfortunately, like most of Mega-City One's fads, it was short-lived, but unlike most, is remembered in this museum where many of the creatures are displayed as exhibits. It is a source of anger for the museum's patrons that it was turned down for inclusion in the Sector's "museum quarter", a sure sign that once again, film is regarded by snooty-nosed artists and critics as a lesser form of art.

16. Mega-City Zoo: One of earth's largest menageries of alien life, many of them cute, a notable contingent dangerous, and some are both! 

17. The Five Points Mega-Stadium: Home to the Manhattan Masters aeroball team, bitter rivals to Sector 3's Harlem Heroes, match days are often the scenes of mass-riots between rival fans - of whom there are over 200,000 when the stadium is at full capacity! Also used for concerts for the biggest megastar singers.

18. Mosgrove & Thung: "If we don't have it then you probably don't need it!" is the slogan of this, the biggest of Mega-City One's department stores. It has been known for patrons to become unable to find their way out of the confusing corridors of the store.

19. Moonray Tower: Cleared for construction, no current information available.

20. Necropolis: Where the city's mega-rich can avoid their fate in Resyk, their bodies instead chemically preserved and stored in ornate vaults for as long as their fortunes can finance their continued remaining there.

21. Smokatorium: The only places in Mega-City One where smoking is legal. There are two such facilities in Sector One.

22. Church of Marvel: A place of worship for followers of the Marvel religion. Attracts childish and often imbecilic followers who typically dress themselves in the colourful garb of their religion's icons.

23. DC Cathedral: A place of worship for the comparatively drab followers of the DC religion. Followers tend to be more serious minded and grim than those of the rival religion of Marvel.

24. Empire State Building: Relocated from city bottom, the Empire State is in a state: a crumbling haven for criminal scum such as the notorious Judge killer Whitey who operated there previous to his capture by Judge Dredd in 2099.

25. Globeiron Building: The iconic "Flatiron" building was destroyed during the Atomic Wars. The architect who built this tribute missed the whole point of the "iron" aspect of the original, opting to build a structure consisting of globes mounted upon globes, reminiscent in look but not in scale of the Grand Hall of Justice itself.

26. Inflatace Clinic: A face-changing clinic.

27. Nu-Face Clinic: Another face clinic, this one specialising in anti-ageing procedures.

28. Hottie House 7: One of the Sector's finest eateries, many Judges like to stop by to buy Eddie's signature Hotties!

29. Donnie Trump Towers: The central offices for the Trump Tri-News and the Trump Tribune, the city's most notoriously scandalous and factually unreliable holo-news and newspaper outlets. Justice Department has threatened to close down the whole operation countless times in the past, but they have towed the line in more recent times, most notably during Cal's reign.

30: Tisch Hospital: One of Sector One's largest hospitals, accessed from Verhoeven Mega-way.

31: Ash Hospital: The other of Sector One's largest hospitals, in direct competition with Tisch Hospital, it is also accessible from Verhoeven Mega-Way.

32. Palais de Boing: A building which enables those who use the miracle plastic "Boing" to let off steam. Encase in a sphere of Boing, users can make use of a number of games and facilities, including being fired around like a ball in a pinball machine!

33. Botanic Gardens: The city's greatest collection of earth and alien plant life. Some species are known to be dangerous and are closely controlled.

34. Central Mega-City Library: With a huge database of human history, this building is open to the public, but the contents of what is available are heavily-vetted by the Justice Department. It is situated beside City Hall as, through a network of underground cabling, the database is hooked up to Barney.

35. Mega-City Art Gallery: Home to some of the Mega-City's finest examples of modern art including Bellini's E=MC2. 

36: Mega-City Chamber of Horrors: Full of robotic attractions dedicated to history and fiction's most grisly criminals.

37. Mega-City Museum: One of the city's tallest structures, this houses the world's largest collection of pre-Atomic War records and exhibits. Justice Department closes monitors those who return for repeat visits to the sections which concern democratic governance.

38. Mega-City One Exhibition Dome: The place for all sorts of exhibitions, most notably for concerts, wedding shows, and Unemployment & Hobby Fares.

39. Aggro Dome: Under construction, no current information available.

40. Trans-Atlantic Tunnel: A tunnel which links Mega-City One to Brit Cit under the Black Atlantic (via the underwater town of Atlantis). A hotspot for smugglers, traffic flowing in and out is under constant observation by the Justice Department, but the sheer volume of traffic means that the constant flow of criminal activity utilising the tunnel cannot be entirely curbed.

Updated Map with additional locations:

41. Andy Warhol Block: The city's premier "Art Block", a Citi-Block full of the most successful and wealthy artist's residences and studios.

42. Vinnie Van Gogh Block: This Art Block is inhabited by the poorer and typically more troubled artists of Sector One. 

43. Tracey Emin Block: The last of the Art Blocks, this one is inhabited by those who consider themselves at the cutting edge of the avant-garde art scene. They are despised by the inhabitants of Warhol and Van Gogh who claim Emin Blockers routinely create pieces which they deem to be lacking in talent and not to be categorised as "proper art", which, in Mega-City circles, is saying something indeed.

44. Chrissy Pratt Block: Residence of gang leader Charlie Stone.

45. Morgan Freeman Block: Notable for having a well-drilled and highly efficient Citi-Def militia.

46. Bill Hicks Block: Residence of Judge Down.

47. Babs Windsor Block: Residence of Judge Hemlock.

48. Charlie McGee Block: Residence of Judge Bunsen.

49. Hughie Heffner Block: Residence of Judge Antioch.

50. Edward James Olmos Con Apts: Residence of Judge Smoke.

51. Rab Rinder Condos: A wealthy Block which enjoys low crime rates thanks to its close proximity to Sector House 1.

52. Upper Times Square: One of the city's busiest avenues (built directly above the original which is now in the Undercity), this partly open-air shoplex is a vibrantly-lit carnival of neon, an open cathedral celebrating consumerism. 

53. Dick Burton Block: Another wealthy block which benefits from a low crime rate due to its close proximity to Sector House 1. 

54. Bob Mortimer Block: A short, squat block which stands in the shades of its neighbour, the tall, thin Victor Reeves Block. Residence of Judge Benitez. Notable for its "Daft Kids" Juve gang who, due to splitting their operations between Reeves and Mortimer, serve as a rare example of a functional inter-Block gang.

55. Victor Reeves Block: A tower shaped Block more reminiscent in shape to the former New York's ancient skyscrapers, Reeves and Mortimer Blockers share a kinship, which is evidenced by the number of connecting Pedway and Mega-Ways between the two blocks.

56. Matthew Lucas Block: Lucas Blockers are notoriously fickle in their loyalties, often trying to ingratiate themselves to Reeves and Mortimer, but also enjoy flirting with nearby Davy Walliams and Noel Fielding Blocks. 

57. Davy Walliams Block: Notable for hosting "Mega-City One's Got Talent" shows. Because of the ritual exploitation and humiliation of participants, Justice Department have been trying to find methods of closing this production down, but the Block authorities have been resisting doing so as the show is a huge money-spinner for the Block.

58. Noel Fielding Block: Blockers are known for favouring black eyeliner and distinctive floral print fashion-wear, including knee-pads.