‘Judge Dredd: The Citadel’ – Wagner, Cornwell, MacNeil, Higgins (Rebellion)


Page Count: 128 Pages

‘Judge Dredd’ stories have taught me a lot over the years… Yesterday, the ‘Citadel’ collection taught me that I can’t put it off any longer, I really need to get my eyes tested again :o) Or just buy a large magnifying glass, or maybe both. I’ll get back to you on that one. I do have a Kindle but I’m a little hesitant to go all in (and buy something that I read comic books off) as if I understand it correctly… You’re not actually buying the ebook, just a licence to read it? I don’t know. It’s probably cheaper just to get some new glasses :o) But anyway…

I’ve had my eye on ‘The Citadel’ for a while, mainly because I love how tightly 2000AD maintain the continuity of Judge Dredd’s history and the blurb offered the chance of a little insight into a major event that still comes back to haunt both Judge Dredd and Mega City One itself. Check it out,

The Apocalypse War rages and Judge Dredd leads a squad of Cadet Judges into battle, launching an assault upon The Citadel, where Sov forces have set up base. But now, 40 years later, former Cadet Judge Winterton, on the day of his execution, will tell the truth about what happened during the Apocalypse War, why the mission was subsequently covered up, and the secret that Judge Dredd himself has been hiding for the past 40 years.

I didn’t realise at the time but ‘The Citadel’ is actually a collection of three stories and I have to say that while certain stories did better than others, the quality overall is consistently high throughout. There’s a good mix here of how Dredd’s past decisions still continue to haunt him and it’s all set against that weird and wonderful backdrop of Mega City One, where anything can happen for absolutely no reason at all. Life in the ‘Big Meg’ is an adventure, in more ways than one, and these three stories really capture that feeling. It’s no surprise that it’s done so well, it’s not like Wagner doesn’t know what he’s doing in this setting and the artwork of Cornwell, MacNeil and Higgins totally hits the spot in terms of ‘garish backdrop hiding dark, criminal secrets.

Have some quick thoughts on the stories. Like I said, your mileage will vary and one story didn’t work for me as well as the other two. Having said that though, I think ‘The Citadel’ is a great book for both new and older readers to jump into; the stories are self-contained but there are nods to older stories that long term fans will enjoy.

‘The Citadel’

You’ve seen the blurb already so I won’t go into that again here (you’re busy, I’m busy too). What I will say though is that it all looks spectacular and I loved the way that Wagner isn’t afraid to ask a pretty big question… and then leave it hanging for us to figure out ourselves. Not every question has to be answered, sometimes it’s better if they’re not.

‘Removal Man’

Bick Bickford makes problems go away, permanently… Bick is good at his job and is a man in demand. Everyone has a bad day at the office though and Bick is about to find out just how bad work can be when he takes a job at short notice.

‘Removal Man’ was my favourite entry in this collection. Not a bad police procedural but more importantly, a really funny example of how chaotic Mega City One life can be and how you can be on top of everything but still get caught out by the silliest things, and then have to sort them out too. The conclusion is never in doubt but ‘Removal Man’ is all about the journey and it was a great journey to take :o)

‘Now That’s What I Call Justice’

Judges die in the line of duty but not all of them have a calling card left by their corpse… Someone is judging the Judges but Dredd is suspicious. Is there a copy-cat at large…?

While I loved the main plot, with some thorough detective work (nice to see Dredd back off a little bit when it’s not his case) and ties to another big story of days gone by, I wasn’t too sure about the frequent cuts to the reality TV show playing in the background. I’ll be honest, I didn’t really see the point of it (except maybe throwing out a few red herrings?) and it kind of took away from the impetus of the main thread. Great story though, one that really made me think about it and get involved.

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