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Judge Dredd The Early Years #4-6
Judge Dredd: Year Two Omnibus
ROOKIE YEAR’S OVER Mega-City One, 2081. Judge Joe Dredd’s been on the beat for a year. He’s made tough calls, tackled hardbitten perps, and seen the consequences of his choices come back to bite him. But he’s not done learning yet. Dredd’s second year on the sked will see him back out in the Cursed Earth, where right and wrong are questions that go beyond the easy answers of the Law; he’ll tackle an apparent serial killer—or more than one?—targeting journalists; and he’ll take his first real beat down, leaving him bent and broken with only his badge and his conviction to protect him… Including stories by Matt Smith, Michael Carroll and Cavan Scott, Judge Year Two puts the city’s greatest lawman to the test.
296 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 5, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 2, 2019
Very entertaining read. Judge Dredd and mega city 1 translates well from comic to novel.
July 20, 2018
This omnibus collection contains three different stories of Judge Dredd's second year on the streets of Mega-City One, and it's a mixed bag. Overall though, I highly recommend it for any Dredd fan. For some reason, I couldn't find a list of the stories in this book anywhere, so I want to start by listing those before individually reviewing the stories themselves:
1) The Righteous Man, by Michael Carroll
2) Down and Out, by Matthew Smith
3) Alternative Facts, by Cavan Scott
THE RIGHTEOUS MAN, by Michael Carroll
This story starts with the continued fallout from Rico's arrest, and the distrust everyone feels toward Joe. The first halfof the story is interesting, and has a fantastic scene when Joe Dredd first arrives at his new sector house. The story then gets a little bit bland as the second half takes place in The Cursed Earth, a place that is a lot more interesting in comic book form for me. It is still fun to read, and feels full of action, but was a bit of a let down after such a strong start. 4/5
DOWN AND OUT, by Matthew Smith
Oof, this was a hard one to read. I really hard to force myself to complete it and I kept catching myself skipping paragraphs that seemed overly long and full of waffle. I would go back and find there were snippets hidden there that would make an interesting story, but the way it is written is a slog to work through. After reading it, the overall story and ideas were good, I just really didn't enjoy the writing style, and the pace of the story didn't flow well as the middle of three stories in this omnibus. 2/5
ALTERNATIVE FACTS, by Cavan Scott
This is the only story that is unavailable outside the omnibus edition, and even if you didn't enjoy the other two stories, this story makes your purchase worthwhile. There are twists and turns to the story that I don't want to spoil, so I will only say the story is good, and features a long of the early comic content, such as Skysurfers, Fatties, Riot Foam, etc. and drops hints about some of the huge stories that we've seen in the comic books from the early years of Dredd's life as a Judge. 5/5
1) The Righteous Man, by Michael Carroll
2) Down and Out, by Matthew Smith
3) Alternative Facts, by Cavan Scott
THE RIGHTEOUS MAN, by Michael Carroll
This story starts with the continued fallout from Rico's arrest, and the distrust everyone feels toward Joe. The first halfof the story is interesting, and has a fantastic scene when Joe Dredd first arrives at his new sector house. The story then gets a little bit bland as the second half takes place in The Cursed Earth, a place that is a lot more interesting in comic book form for me. It is still fun to read, and feels full of action, but was a bit of a let down after such a strong start. 4/5
DOWN AND OUT, by Matthew Smith
Oof, this was a hard one to read. I really hard to force myself to complete it and I kept catching myself skipping paragraphs that seemed overly long and full of waffle. I would go back and find there were snippets hidden there that would make an interesting story, but the way it is written is a slog to work through. After reading it, the overall story and ideas were good, I just really didn't enjoy the writing style, and the pace of the story didn't flow well as the middle of three stories in this omnibus. 2/5
ALTERNATIVE FACTS, by Cavan Scott
This is the only story that is unavailable outside the omnibus edition, and even if you didn't enjoy the other two stories, this story makes your purchase worthwhile. There are twists and turns to the story that I don't want to spoil, so I will only say the story is good, and features a long of the early comic content, such as Skysurfers, Fatties, Riot Foam, etc. and drops hints about some of the huge stories that we've seen in the comic books from the early years of Dredd's life as a Judge. 5/5
October 14, 2017
2014's Dredd: Year One was easily one of my favorite books of that year. I loved the literary telling of Mega City 1's future lawman and every story was awesome, getting me hooked on the entire Judge Dredd comic book series. I eagerly awaited Abaddon's next release of stories and though it was a 3 year lesson in patience, Year Two delivered and met all my expectations.
With only 3 novellas, Year Two could have easily been boring, one-dimensional and and overall struggle to get through, but thank Grud, it was the furthest thing from boring. All 3 authors put forth some awesome work here, and although they are similar in style (afterall, this is America, 2081, where everything sukcs), they're all unique in the story they tell. Carroll's story deals with the cursed Earth and rivals some of the best scenes from Mad Max, Matt Smith's "Down and Out" (probably the best, albeit shortest, novella in the whole thing) was a non stop thrill ride of badassery. And of course, Cavan Scott, who seems to be in every single anthology and omnibus these days came through with "Alternative Facts" a storyline that could easily have been written by Wagner in one of the earlier Judge Dredd prog story arcs. And best of all, all 3 stories are far darker and far more realistic and graphic than the original comic book series, more Dredd (the 2013 film) than he horrendous mistake that was the Judge Dredd of Stallone fame.
Yes, Dredd comes off as a douche of the highest order, and there were times when I felt the 3 authors could have given him some more humanity, but then again, Dredd is supposed to be a total badass who doesn't take stomm from anyone. Plus, he's still barely wet behind the ears here, fresh out of the academy and high on his power.
With only 3 novellas, Year Two could have easily been boring, one-dimensional and and overall struggle to get through, but thank Grud, it was the furthest thing from boring. All 3 authors put forth some awesome work here, and although they are similar in style (afterall, this is America, 2081, where everything sukcs), they're all unique in the story they tell. Carroll's story deals with the cursed Earth and rivals some of the best scenes from Mad Max, Matt Smith's "Down and Out" (probably the best, albeit shortest, novella in the whole thing) was a non stop thrill ride of badassery. And of course, Cavan Scott, who seems to be in every single anthology and omnibus these days came through with "Alternative Facts" a storyline that could easily have been written by Wagner in one of the earlier Judge Dredd prog story arcs. And best of all, all 3 stories are far darker and far more realistic and graphic than the original comic book series, more Dredd (the 2013 film) than he horrendous mistake that was the Judge Dredd of Stallone fame.
Yes, Dredd comes off as a douche of the highest order, and there were times when I felt the 3 authors could have given him some more humanity, but then again, Dredd is supposed to be a total badass who doesn't take stomm from anyone. Plus, he's still barely wet behind the ears here, fresh out of the academy and high on his power.
August 15, 2018
One more year for Dredd on the street and one more great read for us. Again we get 3 very good story from Judge Dredd early years and the same AAA qualities from the first Omnibus are present here. Perfect pacing, solid action, interesting intrigue, everything is on the level and the authors contributing to this Omnibus are very talented and super well verse in the Dredd (2000 AD) universe. The secondary characters introduce in these stories have depth and some interesting background. Dredd, himself his showing some growth and dare I say sympathy... Highly recommended again and I can't wait to read more.
January 28, 2022
Judge Dredd: Year Two Omnibus by authors Michael Carroll, Matt Smith, and Cavan Scott is an anthology novel containing three short stories based on the universe of comic book character “Judge Dredd”.
I have to admit I don’t know much about Judge Dredd universe, save for the meh ‘95 Sylvester Stallone film and the 2012 film “Dredd”, but I thought it would be interesting to give the Judge Dredd omnibus book titled “Year Two” a read. I wanted to see if someone inexperienced as me with this franchise would be able to give this book a read and not be greatly confused. Thankfully, I wasn’t confused at all, and if anything, this collection of three novellas makes me want to snatch up anything Dredd related to catch up on what I’ve been missing all these years.
Judge Dredd Year Two provides the reader with three novellas written by Michael Carroll, Matt Smith and Cavan Scott. The first story is titled “The Righteous Man”, written by Michael Carroll and features Judge Joseph Dredd’s life being turned upside down when his clone twin brother Rico is arrested by Joe for murder and treason. Because the Dredd brothers are clones, people are worried that Joe might turn out to be just as bad as his brother. While the investigation is progressing, Dredd is placed on protection duty for a mining community, who are being attacked by raiders.
The story, of course, isn’t that simple, as there are plenty of twists and turns and some downright exhilarating action. It’s a very much self-contained story, but you get to see how Dredd reacts being placed in a situation that isn’t so normal for him. As you read the story of Dredd, you know that during his early years he is pretty much an emotionless man who only cares about the law. The three stories each give Dredd a chance to show some emotion, and it’s fascinating to see his hard exterior shell crack ever so slowly.
The second story is titled “Down and Out”, written by Matt Smith. Another story that is simple, but hot damn this one is action-packed. Dredd is injured while on an investigation, and he ends up being hunted by a bunch of gangsters. Of course, you know Dredd is going to be alright, but it will still have you holding your breath at times, and you’ll also see how much Dredd is a badass, even during these early years of service.
The last story is titled “Alternative Facts” and is written by Cavan Scott. What’s enjoyable about this story is that centres on a murder mystery and has a few different characters besides Judge Dredd helping figure out who is killing journalists. The story isn’t as explosive as the other stories but does give us a neat look at the process of how murders are investigated by the Judges and what sort of technology they use to capture their killers. This story also provides a big look into the law crazy world that citizens are put through. The insane amount of chargeable offences the people of Mega-City One have to deal with is almost comical. Do they have unlimited jail cells in this possible future?
There are a few questions left lingering in the air after reading the omnibus, but that could very well be the fact that I’m jumping into Year Two. They mention a few global wars and certain names pop up often, but I have no idea who they are. I won’t count that as a negative, though, as that is my lack of lore knowledge that is causing this issue, not the book.
Overall, I personally think plenty of Judge Dredd fans are going to get a kick out this collection of some damn exciting Judge Dredd stories. Even if you don’t know much about Dredd’s history, but enjoy action-packed sci-fi stories, this book will be worth the read.
I have to admit I don’t know much about Judge Dredd universe, save for the meh ‘95 Sylvester Stallone film and the 2012 film “Dredd”, but I thought it would be interesting to give the Judge Dredd omnibus book titled “Year Two” a read. I wanted to see if someone inexperienced as me with this franchise would be able to give this book a read and not be greatly confused. Thankfully, I wasn’t confused at all, and if anything, this collection of three novellas makes me want to snatch up anything Dredd related to catch up on what I’ve been missing all these years.
Judge Dredd Year Two provides the reader with three novellas written by Michael Carroll, Matt Smith and Cavan Scott. The first story is titled “The Righteous Man”, written by Michael Carroll and features Judge Joseph Dredd’s life being turned upside down when his clone twin brother Rico is arrested by Joe for murder and treason. Because the Dredd brothers are clones, people are worried that Joe might turn out to be just as bad as his brother. While the investigation is progressing, Dredd is placed on protection duty for a mining community, who are being attacked by raiders.
The story, of course, isn’t that simple, as there are plenty of twists and turns and some downright exhilarating action. It’s a very much self-contained story, but you get to see how Dredd reacts being placed in a situation that isn’t so normal for him. As you read the story of Dredd, you know that during his early years he is pretty much an emotionless man who only cares about the law. The three stories each give Dredd a chance to show some emotion, and it’s fascinating to see his hard exterior shell crack ever so slowly.
The second story is titled “Down and Out”, written by Matt Smith. Another story that is simple, but hot damn this one is action-packed. Dredd is injured while on an investigation, and he ends up being hunted by a bunch of gangsters. Of course, you know Dredd is going to be alright, but it will still have you holding your breath at times, and you’ll also see how much Dredd is a badass, even during these early years of service.
The last story is titled “Alternative Facts” and is written by Cavan Scott. What’s enjoyable about this story is that centres on a murder mystery and has a few different characters besides Judge Dredd helping figure out who is killing journalists. The story isn’t as explosive as the other stories but does give us a neat look at the process of how murders are investigated by the Judges and what sort of technology they use to capture their killers. This story also provides a big look into the law crazy world that citizens are put through. The insane amount of chargeable offences the people of Mega-City One have to deal with is almost comical. Do they have unlimited jail cells in this possible future?
There are a few questions left lingering in the air after reading the omnibus, but that could very well be the fact that I’m jumping into Year Two. They mention a few global wars and certain names pop up often, but I have no idea who they are. I won’t count that as a negative, though, as that is my lack of lore knowledge that is causing this issue, not the book.
Overall, I personally think plenty of Judge Dredd fans are going to get a kick out this collection of some damn exciting Judge Dredd stories. Even if you don’t know much about Dredd’s history, but enjoy action-packed sci-fi stories, this book will be worth the read.
May 12, 2024
That was surprisingly better than I expected it to be 😊
The first story by Michael Carroll is basically a Western with Dredd as sheriff in a border town run by a corrupt business family, with high explosive weapons, mutants and radioactive twisters.
The second story by Matt Smith sees Dredd battered and bloodied, running a gauntlet of violent perps in a locked-down Mega-Block, not dissimilar to the excellent Karl Urban Dredd movie.
The last story by Cavan Scott is a detective mystery, featuring a female Trump-alike trillionaire politician and Deadliner, a serial killer targeting journalists. Dredd is assisted by a Psi-Judge, who wasn't Anderson but could just as well have been. Sadly, this story was marred by a section of egregious fatphobia 😕 I know the Fattie subculture is canon from the comics, but it can be used sensitivity or abusively, and unfortunately Scott went with the latter, which is a shame.
All the Dredd characteristics are here, but as an inexperienced newbie on the Mega-City One skeds, Joe is not infallible and he has some learning to do. Overall, a fun romp with a bit more going on than steel-chinned police brutality.
The first story by Michael Carroll is basically a Western with Dredd as sheriff in a border town run by a corrupt business family, with high explosive weapons, mutants and radioactive twisters.
The second story by Matt Smith sees Dredd battered and bloodied, running a gauntlet of violent perps in a locked-down Mega-Block, not dissimilar to the excellent Karl Urban Dredd movie.
The last story by Cavan Scott is a detective mystery, featuring a female Trump-alike trillionaire politician and Deadliner, a serial killer targeting journalists. Dredd is assisted by a Psi-Judge, who wasn't Anderson but could just as well have been. Sadly, this story was marred by a section of egregious fatphobia 😕 I know the Fattie subculture is canon from the comics, but it can be used sensitivity or abusively, and unfortunately Scott went with the latter, which is a shame.
All the Dredd characteristics are here, but as an inexperienced newbie on the Mega-City One skeds, Joe is not infallible and he has some learning to do. Overall, a fun romp with a bit more going on than steel-chinned police brutality.
November 8, 2017
Three and a half stars, because worry not – this book improves. Certainly the first story of the three novellas isn't very good – a tale that belabours its concerns about Rico, force-feeds us exposition by the gallon, and turns into a kind of adventure drama as opposed to letting Dredd do the usual Dreddy things. The second story is much better, with a lot of social commentary wrapped around an annoyingly confusing McGuffin. But there's always room for improvement, which is met by the third tale, where what seems to be a mix of mutie smuggling and dead journalists turns into something much bigger with the help of fatties, a new PSI judge, and riffs on the more oddly-named current British TV weathermen. So you actually get a Dredd-styled story (British culture references, Dredd-styled action) plus a successful opening out into the wider world and into his mindset. Ultimately, then, the book is successful – and fun.
July 4, 2018
At the end of his first year Dredd had arrested his brother Rico Dredd. Which should have been hard for him. But not to Joe Dredd, the law is the law.
But there are those in the Justice department for whom guilt by association is enough. After all the Dredds are clones so if one goes bad why shouldn't the other. Dredd has to prove he's innocent which is tricky when people think you have inherent guilt, an original sin.
A trip the the Cursed Earth, his first real beatdown and a serial killer going after journalists are all in store for Dredd in this his second year behind the badge.
Another solid trio of stories that show the character works well in prose as well as the comic.
But there are those in the Justice department for whom guilt by association is enough. After all the Dredds are clones so if one goes bad why shouldn't the other. Dredd has to prove he's innocent which is tricky when people think you have inherent guilt, an original sin.
A trip the the Cursed Earth, his first real beatdown and a serial killer going after journalists are all in store for Dredd in this his second year behind the badge.
Another solid trio of stories that show the character works well in prose as well as the comic.
December 3, 2017
Lots of good ideas in here and some good writing too, but it all feels a bit unedited. The last story was my favourite, with the other two not really working for me. A reasonable enough read for a Dredd fan.
August 12, 2019
Good telling of the early years of stoned face
I found the collected stories and interesting telling of the early cases of Joe and some of the fallout after the actions of his brother. Always interesting to see the SJS turn up as well.
I found the collected stories and interesting telling of the early cases of Joe and some of the fallout after the actions of his brother. Always interesting to see the SJS turn up as well.
July 13, 2022
The Judges find out how bad Judge Rico Dredd is and sentence him. But how can his clone brother Joe Dredd be any better as they came from the same mold? The knives are out for Joe as he tries to save the people of a town on the Cursed Earth, which is due for extinction.
April 1, 2024
Judge Dredd: Year Two omnibus (Judge Dredd: The Early years)
I enjoyed reading this omnibus. It was very similar to the films in that it was full of gratuitous violence. The story lines were quite good.
I enjoyed reading this omnibus. It was very similar to the films in that it was full of gratuitous violence. The story lines were quite good.
March 7, 2018
More enjoyable than the first of the series, due to better writing and structure. Lots of fun, but if you're not a fan of Dredd then it ain't gonna be for you.
April 1, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed the first and third stories in this collection. The middle story was a little disappointing but overall this was a great read for the Dredd fan.
April 13, 2022
Really enjoyed these. They feel very true to the comic books. Dredd feels real. I can predict his response :) interesting mix of whodunit with a side of morals.
June 21, 2024
Three great stories
Sad to see the end of this one. A very enjoyable read 😁. Looking forward to year 3 for more from our favourite Judge 👍
Sad to see the end of this one. A very enjoyable read 😁. Looking forward to year 3 for more from our favourite Judge 👍
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews