Judge Dredd: The Dark Judges

Judge Dredd Classics

by John Wagner

Classic tales of Judge Dredd and the Dark Judges in all-new color by some of the all-time fan favorite creators! His name is Judge Death, and in his eyes all life is crime! Together with his brothers Fear, Fire, and Mortis, the super-fiend from Deadworld is determined to end all life in Mega-City One once and for all! This compilation features the classic Judge Death tales "Judge Death," "Judge Death Lives," and "Four Dark Judges" from the pages of 2000 AD in all-new colors.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Crime, Ebooks, Fiction, Comic Book

122 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 17, 2015

About the author

John Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since. He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, for which he created Judge Dredd. He is noted for his taut, violent thrillers and his black humour. Among his pseudonyms are The best known are John Howard, T.B. Grover, Mike Stott, Keef Ripley, Rick Clark and Brian Skuter. (Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thisss isss your lasssst warning - all life isss a crime! (sorry - trying to imitate the 'ssss' of Judge Death) - fantastically nuanced look at the future of 'crime' and how society will deal with it - morbid fun with a deeper message! A very underappreciated comic series that is nothing like the movie staring Sylvester Stallone!

[L. McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Umm...
Shit.
I don’t have a good beginning for this review.
This is weird, let’s move on.

What’s it about?
In this collection we get 3 stories that all tie-in involving Judge Death and the Dark Judges.

What I thought of the stories:
Judge Death by Alan Grant, Brian Bolland, Charlie Kirchoff and Tom Frame ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ So close to a 5 star rating. The story is really cool and I LOVE the art. There’s also some great action. Pretty suspenseful. Unfortunately, the ending is anti-climactic.

Judge Death Lives by John Wagner, Alan Grant, Brian Bolland, Charlie Kirchoff and Tom Frame ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Basically same as the first. Great story, love the art, lots of action and some suspense. I would say this one also did horror stuff better than the first one. Unfortunately, it has an ending that’s anti-climactic and a bit too cheesy (not cheesy in the fun way that fans of Judge Dredd like).

Four Dark Judges by Alan Grant, John Wagner, Brett Ewins, Cliff Robinson, Robin Smith, Charlie Kirchoff and Tom Frame ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Weakest of the bunch. There’s a pile of great action. The art is hit or miss. The story is interesting but a bit hard to follow.

Overall:
Good collection. Not a masterpiece by any means but interesting, actiony and fun. If you’re a fan of Judge Dredd and want to know more about the dark judges than you should check this out but if you’re not into Judge Dredd or don’t give a shit about the dark judges thing, there’s no reason to bother with this. For us Dredd fans it’s fun though!

4/5

[Tiag⊗ the Mutant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sick art, fun story, if only a bit repetitive towards the end. I think the coloring is the way to go, looks fantastic.

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compilation of three stories, this is a classic Judge Dredd collection involving the Dark Judges that also introduces Judge Anderson and the Psi Division.

In the first story, we are introduced to Judge Death, a Judge from an alternate dimension that believes that since all crime are committed by the living, life itself is a crime and has come to Mega City One to dispense his form of justice. He is only stopped by being trapped in the body of Judge Anderson.

In the second story, Judge Death is freed by his fellow Dark Judges, Fear, Fire and Mortis. Together, they seal off a Mega City One block to dispense justice. Only Judge Dredd and Anderson can stop them in Mega City One and then stop them altogether in Deadworld.

In the third story, Judge Anderson is lured back into Deadworld and revives the Dark Judges. They return to Mega City One once again, armed with teleportation devices so the Judges can't stop them: they just teleport away from danger. Only Judge Anderson and Psi Division can stop them by using their psi powers and devices to throw them into the dimensional void.

Having read the first and second story and only part of the third story in the past, it's good to be able to read them completely in one collection. A good and classic collection of Judge Dredd and Judge Anderson stories.

[Petr · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not a big fan of the mystic aspects of Dredd, i.e. the Dark Judges, and also the classical, quite verbose style of the comic. The story is quite interesting, however, in presenting once again that judges of MC1 have still some limits and sanity (although quite different from the one we are used to) and it could get really worse or one could say darker...

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you’ve been around as long as Dredd has, you’re gonna have some famous storylines spread throughout all the years. Dredd is known for quite a few but none have been as memorable and recognizable as the Judge Death profs.

And here are 3 of the most compelling and dark, written by Grant and Wagner, grand masters of the entirety of all of Dredd. Glad IDW and 2000 ad teamed up for this collection. Still looking for the strip where Death burns down the elementary school though.

[Kahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Judge Death is back and he's brought his friends... And only Judge Anderson can save the day.
And that's pretty much this book in a nutshell. A classic through-and-through, given a fresh coat of colour and a lovely hard cover.
Purists might not like the remastering, but the story is as beautifully dark and twisted as ever.

[Tony Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dark Judges is such a epic story and the art is just awesome. The hard cover edition by IDW is such a nice reprint. I really enjoyed rereading this classic.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, the story aged well. The Judge Anderson story is class

[Wombo Combo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first Judge Dredd comic, and I thought it was okay.

This really reads a lot like an eighties action movie, with cheesy one liners and one dimensional villains. I feel like the creators just wanted to make a comic that was cool, without any literary pretenses, and that's not a bad thing at all. I kinda loved how the antagonists, the Dark Judges, clearly had more thought put into their design than their actual motives. It's refreshing to read something so straightforward.

The reason this gets three stars from me is because there are three stories in this comic, but they're all basically the same. The dark judges show up, then they're imprisoned, and that's the end. I enjoyed the first two stories, but by the time I hit the third, which is the longest of the bunch, I was kinda bored of it. Simple stories can be tons of fun, but it's usually best to quit while you're ahead, instead of wearing out your welcome.

[Michael Emond · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a collection of Judge Death and his friends. The art by Brian Bolland is outstanding. The stories are fun pulpy goodness. Not very deep. And since the first two stories were in serialized form they run about 6 pages per chapter. Gives the plot a very herky jerky feel. Half the book is devoted to a Judge Anderson adventure (the psi-judge) with no Dredd on sight. Basically, Judge Death and friends are unstopable Judges from another dimension come to kill all life. The stories are fun but very superficial. And that's okay. It's okay to have fun silly stories. These are comics :). Not one I would rush out to get, I think there are better Dredd stories, but still a good collection.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Gaze into the fist of DREDD!"

I haven't read the black and white versions of these strips so I can't speak to the coloring in a comparative way, but I liked it. I don't usually cotton too much to modern recoloring but this didn't bother me or feel like it was muddy. As for the stories themselves, you certainly don't need me to tell you they're excellent. It didn't bother me, but I was a little thrown that the third section of the book is a longer series of strips than the rest, and the main character is Anderson, rather than Dredd. I was actually happy about that because I like Anderson a lot, but it was a surprise.

[Kassar Krennic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finally got around to reading the original Dark Judges stories again and decided to do them in colour this time! I really enjoyed them in this format. They're still stupid, make almost no sense and have terrible pacing but I've quite a bit of nostalgia for these old comics and I think 2000AD did an amazing job of colouring them. The already amazing art is made even better in this collection.
While I do enjoy these old stories, I'm only rating them a three as, objectively, they're not great. I would still recommend you read them however, as the Dark Judges are one of the core parts of the Judge Dredd universe and if you ask me, in colour is the best way to read these comics.

[Dave Relph · Rating 3 out of 5]

This re-coloured edition looks truly stunning, and the exclusive artwork in the back of the book is fantastic as well, however for a collection titled 'Judge Dredd Classics', there's not a lot of Dredd himself to be found here. The story arc which takes up the vast majority of the volume is an Andersen solo run, and not a great one either. The first story, which does feature Dredd, is a true classic though, featuring the infamous "Gaze into the fist of Dredd" line, and is a joy to read.

[Luke Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The introduction of Judge Anderson adds some much-needed lightness and humor which the Dark Judges don't supply. However, the dark judges aren't my favourite characters as the story devolves into them being utterly unstoppable. This doesn't allow for much back and forth but this series has its moments.

[Sanjeev Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three classic Judge Dredd and Judge Anderson stories about the best bad guys in town - the kind whose flawed logic turns good intentions into horror.

Brian Bolland’s art, especially in colour was a real treat and added a new dimension to these tales. The plot and story arch’s were great and accessible to people who want to experience 2000AD.

Enjoy!

[Wes Benchoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really only the first two appearances of Death is cool or threatening in this volume. After that he shows up with his posse and comically dispatches a few dozen civilians before being dissolved by Anderson. The Judges also do silly things like sleep fully clothed and drive their motorcycles down hallways.

[Grg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judge Death and his pals are pretty cool villains. They're basically genocidal serial killers with apocalyptic supernatural powers and neat outfits. Given their Four Horsemen-like level of destructiveness, you'd think they'd be harder to defeat. I guess Judge Anderson is just too badass for them.

[Dan Blackley · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are stories of the Dark Judges from Deadworld. They come to our world to pass judgement on the living. Killing everything in sight. Judge Death, Judge Mortis, Judge Fire and Judge Fear are starting to take over Mega City one until Anderson and Dredd deal with them.
Done in color.

[Derek Moreland · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say? I’m a sucker for the Dark Judges and Judge Anderson is a delight.

[Amy Walker - Trans-Scribe Reviews]

Judge Death. A name that is as recognisable and iconic as Judge Dredd, more recognisable to most people than more regular characters from the Judge Dredd books such as Judge Anderson or Judge Hershey. Before I’d even read a single page of Judge Dredd I’d hear about Judge Death and the other Dark Judges.

Judge Dredd Classics: The Dark Judges collects together the first three stories to feature Judge Death, and his three cohorts, in one single volume, allowing people such as myself, who know about the legacy of the Dark Judges but has never read it, a chance to see how it all began.

The three stories collected in this trade come from the early 80’s, and begins way back in 2000AD #149, and you can tell this. The first story in particular, ‘Judge Death’, is very simplistic in the way it’s written compared to a lot of later Judge Dredd stories, using a lot of narration boxes and captions to fill in the story beats. In a way, it reminds me of early DC books from the 1940’s and 50’s, where they had a lot of ‘tell me’ rather than a ‘show me’ way of telling a story.

This simplicity carries through most of the story, with Judge Death being beaten in an incredibly simplistic way. It’s actually extremely shocking that this was the first appearance of Dredd’s greatest foe, because he feels like a weak villain of the week style bad guy. Whether this was an intentional choice in order to lower expectations before his huge return a year later, or if he just proved so popular that they knew they had to bring him back, it’s still very jarring to read.

I was also surprised to learn in this first Judge Death story that it was also the first appearance of Judge Anderson, a character that would go on to play a major part in the Judge Dredd mythology and last for decades.

After this story, the book goes on to include the first introduction of the fellow Dark Judges, Judge Fear, Judge Fire, and Judge Mortis. This is where the book gets really good, building up the mythology of the Dark Judges and their home dimension, creating a solid foundation that would go on to remain relatively unchanged for years.

With the inclusion of the other Dark Judges we get to see how much more of a threat Judge Death is, as the four of them tear through Mega City One, leaving a trail of corpses in their wake.

Despite being a Judge Dredd book, all three of these stories firmly push Judge Anderson to the forefront, with the third story actually originally published as a Anderson Psi Division title, and Dredd himself only appearing in a handful of panels throughout. Whilst this may be surprising to some readers it does make for a nice change, and it gives another of the series’ main characters the opportunity to shine.

Because the older 2000AD books were produced in black and white, the story has been completely revamped, with the stories now presented in beautiful full colour. It’s a big change from the original source material, but the colours used here actually accentuate the story. The Dark Judges have dirty, muted colours, whilst the rest of Mega City One and it’s inhabitants are bright and colourful. It helps to tell the story, it allows the characters to leap from the pages in ways they didn’t before. And most importantly, it accentuates the original art without detracting from it.

Judge Dredd Classics: The Dark Judges is a great collection, bringing together the origins of some of the most iconic villains in both 2000AD and comics in general. Whether familiar with these stories, or only vaguely aware of who the Dark Judges are, this is a must read for any fans of the Judge Dredd mythology.

[Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

My interest in Judge Dredd was recently jump-started by a great documentary called "Future Shock! The Story of 2000AD".

In addition to that, many Dredd fans told me The Dark Judges was a good place to begin my journey with the law-enforcing brute of MegaCity One. Damn were they right!

John Wagner and Alan Grant's writing: A+

Brian Bolland's art: A+

Smashing entertainment from across the pond!

I look forward to reading more 2000AD characters, especially the brave and bold Judge Anderson!

[Linton · Rating 3 out of 5]

First Judge Dredd story I've read. The art was solid, but the script and dialogue seem to use the worst comic book cliches - villains with no motivations beyond just killing, totally on-the-nose statements by characters, a lead villain who constantly calls people "fools."

I'm hoping some other stories are better.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty entertaining all around. 4/5.

[Venkatrao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read - old school story telling
Judge Anderson also holds her own in the second half of the stories

[Gregory Allan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book where Dredd doesn’t appear too much as the focus is Anderson. Gorgeous artwork and storyline is okay but again (like many comic books) it seems the ending happens too easily.