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Judge Dredd
Hondo-City Justice
Hondo-City Justice - City of The Rising Sun!
In the sprawling 22nd-century urban nightmare that is Hondo City, the Judge-Inspectors enforce the law, but corporate corruption is rife and organised crimes its hooks in almost every corner of society. Battling not just perps but also the patriarchal attitudes of her peers, Aiko Inaba is a rarity- a woman wearing the uniform of a Judge-Inspector. But she will be instrumental in protecting the metropolis when it comes under attack from telekinetic teens, mutated mercenaries and slavering samurai...
In the sprawling 22nd-century urban nightmare that is Hondo City, the Judge-Inspectors enforce the law, but corporate corruption is rife and organised crimes its hooks in almost every corner of society. Battling not just perps but also the patriarchal attitudes of her peers, Aiko Inaba is a rarity- a woman wearing the uniform of a Judge-Inspector. But she will be instrumental in protecting the metropolis when it comes under attack from telekinetic teens, mutated mercenaries and slavering samurai...
Hardcover
First published July 8, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 4, 2015
Wow, what a difference some art makes. I thought Robbie Morrison's contribution to the "Heavy Mob" volume was garbage, and "Shimura" little better - oh great, another 2000AD "hero" whose defining characteristics beyond "almost unstoppable killing machine" are "lives in Japan", "has the libido of a teenage boy", and "er, that's it".
But the Shimura volume also suffers from art that mostly looks as though someone puked it onto the page. I'm not saying that Morrison comes across as a *great* writer here, but his stories really do benefit from the enormously talented likes of Frank Quitely and Andy Clarke on art duty. Also, Inaba is infinitely more interesting than her mentor Shimura, just by virtue of being a woman in a man's world, and constrained by staying a Judge instead of just saying "screw it, I hate any rules applying to me", which Shimura did in, what, his first story?
Hondo-City Justice precedes "Shimura" in the Mega-Collection chronologically, so I found the decision to publish it a month later on
quite curious... if the good stuff had come first I might have been (marginally) less quick to write off the bad!
But the Shimura volume also suffers from art that mostly looks as though someone puked it onto the page. I'm not saying that Morrison comes across as a *great* writer here, but his stories really do benefit from the enormously talented likes of Frank Quitely and Andy Clarke on art duty. Also, Inaba is infinitely more interesting than her mentor Shimura, just by virtue of being a woman in a man's world, and constrained by staying a Judge instead of just saying "screw it, I hate any rules applying to me", which Shimura did in, what, his first story?
Hondo-City Justice precedes "Shimura" in the Mega-Collection chronologically, so I found the decision to publish it a month later on
quite curious... if the good stuff had come first I might have been (marginally) less quick to write off the bad!
November 16, 2015
Lots more fun from the Japanese version of Mega-City 1, Hondo City. A lot of action spilling out on almost every page, with some really fantastic art work. The Ronin Judge Shimura and Dredd himself pop up in a few of the Megz but this is truly Inaba's case load as she reaches that pivotal point in her career as a Judge to take on and mentor a cadet. But not just any cadet this was a new breed, a powerful youngster with PSI powers and telekinesis.
Across these pages you'll have a cyberpunk-esque tale of a conglomerate literally run by one man/being. Yakuza. Killer children. A giant behemoth and the 47 Ronin undead-zombie style. All of this rolled in with some witty dark humour and you have got an explosive set of adventures.
Across these pages you'll have a cyberpunk-esque tale of a conglomerate literally run by one man/being. Yakuza. Killer children. A giant behemoth and the 47 Ronin undead-zombie style. All of this rolled in with some witty dark humour and you have got an explosive set of adventures.
March 11, 2025
In the world of Judge Dredd, but moving across to Hondo City - a mega city in Japan. The volume collects stories published between 2005 to 2014, yet still decide to run with a misogynistic and racist tone in the opening story at least.
Dredd is present in the first story to establish the link with the main story setting. An ex-Judge works as security for a rich developer trying to rehabilitate the rad lands, while the crime gangs that live there fight back. A black & white story with some basic art.
The second story follows Judge Inspector Inaba and her psionic cadet Junko. A laboratory has created a compound that turns a creature into a kaiju. And the compound is stolen, leading to a kaiju in Tokyo cliche. The art is an improvement, and a shift to colour.
The third story follows Inaba and Junko again. This time the story taps into samurai legends and resurrects the 47 ronin as infectious zombies, after they had made a deal with a supernatural ninja clan in order to guarantee their vengeance. The art is improved again, with some nice stylistic pages of flashbacks.
The fourth and final story follows a mutant army that rises in the Mongolian wastelands and marches across China to threaten Hondo City. But first they plan to destroy the Japanese Imperial family, who are situated in orbit on the floating world. A celestial heaven. Ninja attacks, magical swords, magical possession, and a small elite group who give their all to protect the child Highness. A magical techno-fantasy built on cliche again, but still entertaining. The art is still fine.
The stories were new to me, and while patchy in quality and uneven in narrative structure, I still enjoyed my time here.
Dredd is present in the first story to establish the link with the main story setting. An ex-Judge works as security for a rich developer trying to rehabilitate the rad lands, while the crime gangs that live there fight back. A black & white story with some basic art.
The second story follows Judge Inspector Inaba and her psionic cadet Junko. A laboratory has created a compound that turns a creature into a kaiju. And the compound is stolen, leading to a kaiju in Tokyo cliche. The art is an improvement, and a shift to colour.
The third story follows Inaba and Junko again. This time the story taps into samurai legends and resurrects the 47 ronin as infectious zombies, after they had made a deal with a supernatural ninja clan in order to guarantee their vengeance. The art is improved again, with some nice stylistic pages of flashbacks.
The fourth and final story follows a mutant army that rises in the Mongolian wastelands and marches across China to threaten Hondo City. But first they plan to destroy the Japanese Imperial family, who are situated in orbit on the floating world. A celestial heaven. Ninja attacks, magical swords, magical possession, and a small elite group who give their all to protect the child Highness. A magical techno-fantasy built on cliche again, but still entertaining. The art is still fine.
The stories were new to me, and while patchy in quality and uneven in narrative structure, I still enjoyed my time here.
September 29, 2021
An alright read but felt messy, disjointed and very repetative. The second half of the book was miles better than the first half but most of the stories were over before they even began and all felt very similar eg someone or something needs killing/is killing, find it/kill it rinse and repeat.
July 4, 2025
2/3 of the way through the collection and it’s becoming a chore with mostly Megazine strips again (I adore Quitely - not so much the writers he tends to end up working with). Strong art throughout and there’s a Dredd by Wagner too.
September 7, 2017
Some good stories and great Frank Quitely art. Suffers from same problems of Shimura collection (skipped stories and time jumps) but the latter half was enjoyable
August 2, 2015
This is the 2nd Mega Collection volume set in Hondo City (Japan of the Judge Dredd Universe) - it's another very mixed bag with varied art styles.
The stand out story for me is the satirical Shimura: Babes with Big Bazooka's - with art by Frank Quitely - sex sells, so fashion models are arms dealears and turn on their sponsors - there's something about seeing a thinly veiled Naomi Campbell with a huge gun massacring people that's just great fun.
The rest of the stories are somewhat humourless, the majority featuring Shimura's apprentice Inspector Inaba, now a tutor herself. While I think a strong female lead is great, we've seen these types of dynamic before and there's nothing really new here. And although it's mentioned, not enough is made of the sexism in a male dominated society against a strong female in a position of authority.
The stories in general are nothing we haven't seen before in Manga and done far better. I know its a homage, but honestly if you're a big manga & anime fan then the Hondo City stories are a big disappointment. I liked the idea of the 47 Ronin as zombies but I don't know... it didn't do anything innovative with the idea and they just ended up being normal zombies.
Saying that this is perfectly readable with a lightening like pace and lots of action. I just wanted more somehow.
The stand out story for me is the satirical Shimura: Babes with Big Bazooka's - with art by Frank Quitely - sex sells, so fashion models are arms dealears and turn on their sponsors - there's something about seeing a thinly veiled Naomi Campbell with a huge gun massacring people that's just great fun.
The rest of the stories are somewhat humourless, the majority featuring Shimura's apprentice Inspector Inaba, now a tutor herself. While I think a strong female lead is great, we've seen these types of dynamic before and there's nothing really new here. And although it's mentioned, not enough is made of the sexism in a male dominated society against a strong female in a position of authority.
The stories in general are nothing we haven't seen before in Manga and done far better. I know its a homage, but honestly if you're a big manga & anime fan then the Hondo City stories are a big disappointment. I liked the idea of the 47 Ronin as zombies but I don't know... it didn't do anything innovative with the idea and they just ended up being normal zombies.
Saying that this is perfectly readable with a lightening like pace and lots of action. I just wanted more somehow.
March 22, 2017
It took me 9 months to finish this one. There's some good in here, but a lot of it's pretty throwaway.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews