Judge Dredd Mega City Two: City of Courts #1

IDW Publishing
Written by Douglas Wolk
Art by Ulises Farinas

The name’s Dredd, Judge Dredd! Of all the judges of Mega City One, Dredd is the kingpin. Unfortunately, with this spin off set in Mega City Two, the mini-series does not start well; in particular the attempts at comedic moments – supposedly to counterpoint the harsh characteristics of Dredd – are unfortunate and unconvincing.

Douglas Walk does does try to pull the threads of the story together into some form of plot only for the effect prove to disappoint with a premature cessation of the story. Attempting to leave the reader with a sense of anticipation is a common enough strategy, however with the story as it was you would have hoped for better development.

The art for the book, barring a few interesting panels, lacked the feel of a Dredd comic. It is unfortunate but somewhat fitting that the art isn’t better and has some elements more in keeping with manga.

For seasoned Dredd fans, this book will not wow you. There are a few good elements, though they are seldom and they don’t do enough to distract your attention from the fact that this book is disappointing effort. Stay tuned for #2? I doubt it.

Overall Score: 4/10