'Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 14' – Various (Rebellion)

A quick post today because you would not believe the day I've just had... I just want to go to bed but first things first ;o)

I love the 'Case Files' series as they're the best way for a lazy type, like me, to collect whole stories without hunting down individual issues. While you're poring through cardboard boxes in car boot sales (nothing wrong with that to be fair, show me a box of books and I'll pore with the best of them), I'll be sat in my favourite chair, reading in the warm ;o)

It wasn't until my teens that I started reading 2000AD and I'll be honest, I was always more into 'Slaine' and 'Nemesis the Warlock', Judge Dredd was a bit of fun but not the reason I'd buy a comic. Well, that was the case until I discovered that every now and then, the 2000AD writers had this habit of killing off large chunks of Mega City One (Dredd's stomping ground) in ways that would move the death count into the millions without even breaking a sweat. From the Apocalypse War right up to the Day of Chaos, Mega City One has it's own way of dealing with overpopulation. If you crack open the pages of 'Case Files 14', you'll read one of the more bleak stories of this nature, 'Necropolis'... Let me tell you about it.

Judge Dredd isn't one for self analysis so when it happens, it hits him hard... The events of the Democracy Marches have left him questioning the role of the Judges in upholding the law. Dredd can't reconcile his actions any longer so takes the 'Long Walk' into the Cursed Earth, the Judge's version of taking early retirement... Justice Department have got it covered though, promoting Cadet Judge Kraken to not only take Dredd's place but actually be Dredd in the eyes of the city (easily done as they're related and given the size of Mega City One, how many citizens have ever actually seen Judge Dredd in the flesh anyway?) It's not good move though as Kraken not only has his own demons to fight but will help bring the Dark Judges back to Mega City One to build their own hell on earth, Necropolis...

'Case Files 14' gives us pretty much the whole 'Necropolis' storyline (I'm no 2000AD scholar, there may be some bits missing but it doesn't feel like it) and there is so much going on apart from the deathcount constantly rising. You have Dredd and Kraken cracking up pretty much in parallel and when Dredd takes the 'Long Walk', the story switches up a gear with evil taking root and slowly growing until the Dark Judges break through and then the story switches gears again. Then it's all death and gloom with a tiny glimmer of hope (Cadet Judges fighting to stay alive) that is fanned into something bigger by the return of Dredd and an old ally. Of course Dredd is going to return and of course he's going to win, there seems to be an unspoken rule that you can ruin Mega City One as much as you like, so long as you leave a little bit left and Dredd is around to police the remains. It's not about the ending though, believe it or not. We're here to get a glimpse underneath the stern facade at what makes Dredd tick and how far he can be pushed until he snaps. The answer, again 'of course', is that there is a lot further to go before Dredd snaps but it's still interesting to see how he manages in the meantime, forced to deal with thoughts that he literally was bred not to have.

John Wagner gives it everything in 'Necropolis' and his writing hits the target more often than not. For me though, it doesn't feel like 'Judge Dredd' until Carlos Ezquerra takes on the artwork. Then it's a proper Dredd story, two titans combining to form the ultimate 'Dredd storytelling machine' (you know what I mean).

If you're a fan then you've read 'Necropolis' already and you know what I mean. If you haven't though, track down a copy of 'Case Files 14' and treat yourself, you deserve it ;o)