Product Description

All of future lawman Judge Dredd's adventures in chronological order - complete and uncut!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6443 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Customer Reviews

Humble begginings
As a 17 year-old I had only read a handful of these stories in reprints. Now this huge collection of Dredd stories is out I can say that I have experienced the beginning of Britain's greatest comic character (alongside Dan Dare and Captain Britain). The great thing about these stories is that they wear their age proudly. Everything just reeks of the lates 70's and sometimes things even enter a cheesy zone. However, this is still great to read and really maintains the feel of these older strips. Dredd is a young man compared to how old he is today (he ages in real time so he is now nearly 30 years older than he is depicted here) and it really shows. He still comes across as very idealistic, but never naive. He isn't as tough and as harsh as he became later in the strips. I really think this book is great for new Dredd/2000 AD fans and the price is really good for what you get, these are Marvel Essentials on steroids. They may not contain as many pages as the Marvel editions but the paper stock is miles better than the toilet grade paper you get with those books. I strongly suggest that you pick this book up!

The beginnings
Long time Dredd fan - first time reviewer.

I started reading Judge Dredd about 25 years ago. I probably missed the first year or two of 2000AD in its original format, but quickly found myself addicted to the comic and have been a long time fan.

I recall in my early readings of Dredd some of the references to things like Walter the Wobot and Maria (Dredd's maid), but never read them. Until now.

I like to read the odd Graphic Novel every now and then, so a bit of nostalgia brought me to Vol 1 of the Case Files.

They say to never meet your heros. I kinda understand that a bit now. Dredds early stories were poor, the writing was cliche'd and the drawing had not yet matured. However, this is the beginnings of a Icon who in my mind has one of the best long term "canons" out there (yes - even to rival some of the big american names). Everybody has to start somewhere.

Overall, I enjoyed reading what the type of Dredd stories that I probably fell in love with - but they are nothing special. However, if you are looking for a glimpse of how an Icon started (from humble beginnings), this is a good start. This Vol will hold a firm place in my collection - because of its importance rather than its quality.

If you really want to read a good Dredd story - start with the mega epics. There is 30 years of quality awaiting you. How I envy someone who is only discovering Dredd now.

Completely Zarjaz (tm)!!
As a long time 2000 AD fan during the 70s 80s and 90s , I was thrilled to see the publishers of 2000AD ( Rebellion ) take a leaf out of the big publishing houses in the US and amass the collected works of this iconic individual into an easy to read book . The irony that he has become a British icon despite being an American has not been lost on me .

The evolution of the Judges system of justice and Mega City One throughout the book is interesting to read about , and it is only towards the end that the Judge Dredd that we know and love comes to the fore . The stories themselves are quite caustic in places in terms of their social commentary , whuich can raise the odd wry smile . Sure the book has dated in places due to this , but it is also threatening to be worryingly accurate in other places .

Why only four stars ? Well , I'm not a fan of Maria the housemaid or Walter the Wobot , and I know that there are stories in future collected editions that fully deserve five out of five .

This is definately the place to start if you want to read about one of the UK's most memorable fictional characters for the last thirty years .