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Judge Dredd: The Mega Collection #36
Judge Dredd: Apocalypse War
n Mega-City One, a violent city of the future, one man is The Law - judge, jury and executioner. That man is hard-bitten future cop, Judge Dredd, cornerstone to the UK's legendary sci-fi comic, 2000 AD. In a devious plan, East-Meg One use a virus to bring anarchy to Dredd's city, then they strike — a nuclear strike which devastates Mega-City One and leaves it ripe for invasion! Now, a beleaguered Dredd and his surviving comrades must hit back by any means they can find... because if he fails, Mega-City One is doomed forever! With art by fan favorites Brian Bolland (Batman), Steve Dillon (Preacher), Carlos Ezquerra (Just a Pilgrim), Mike McMahon (Sláine) and Ron Smith (Transformers).
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First published January 1, 1981
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About the author
John Wagner
1,288 books191 followersJohn 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)
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
June 14, 2021
Right behind The Pit, this is probably my second-favourite Judge Dredd story - quite possibly the only city-wide epic that I actually like. It feels big, it feels grand, you can almost feel the nuclear fire coming out through the paper. Millions die - hundreds of millions - in all the gruesome detail it needs. Kazan is one of the most distinct and memorable villains ever portrayed. And Carlos Ezquerra's artwork is some of his best: his stuff started to look a little out of place over the years, as the rest of the artists got better and richer, but here in the early days it still stands out as great.
A tiny bit of its edge has been dulled over the years, though. After the Chaos Day, the Block Mania looks positively quaint: it's still pretty tense as the millions of citizens all turn on each other, but it's not played for nearly the horror and tragedy it could be. And there's also Walter and Maria, goofing around: I didn't like those two even back in the day. But these are tiny, tiny flaws in an otherwise perfect diamond - not good even for a half-star off.
A tiny bit of its edge has been dulled over the years, though. After the Chaos Day, the Block Mania looks positively quaint: it's still pretty tense as the millions of citizens all turn on each other, but it's not played for nearly the horror and tragedy it could be. And there's also Walter and Maria, goofing around: I didn't like those two even back in the day. But these are tiny, tiny flaws in an otherwise perfect diamond - not good even for a half-star off.
August 24, 2015
5 stars? Is this really as good a comic as Watchmen, or The Dark Knight Returns or something else so groundbreaking and worthy? Not really no, BUT, it is coordinated mayhem on a fantastic scale, written and drawn (and inked and lettered) superbly - why not give it 5 stars?
This edition (and you can find the Apocalypse War in a lot of different editions) is a cracker - containing the mental Block Mania prequel as well as the whole awesome tale of them nasty Sovs and a whole lot of nukes.
The carnage is leavened by typical Dredd black humour (you've got to cheer when Walter the Wobot saves the day...well, one particular day) and I encourage people to look up the various sort-of celebrities that the Blocks are named after.
Of course it's worth 5 stars - it's just plain mental. BOOM!
This edition (and you can find the Apocalypse War in a lot of different editions) is a cracker - containing the mental Block Mania prequel as well as the whole awesome tale of them nasty Sovs and a whole lot of nukes.
The carnage is leavened by typical Dredd black humour (you've got to cheer when Walter the Wobot saves the day...well, one particular day) and I encourage people to look up the various sort-of celebrities that the Blocks are named after.
Of course it's worth 5 stars - it's just plain mental. BOOM!
October 28, 2016
The grimmest of Dredd sagas, and the chilliest of Cold War era comics, in which writer John Wagner is quite happy to obliterate a planet of hippies as the punchline to a (deeply bleak) joke, and have his 'hero' sentence an entire city to death. The story is chock full of 'holy shit' moments like that. One of the most revealing and pointed scenes comes when both Sov Blok and Mega City judges discuss the irrelevance of their respective and rapidly dwindling populations to the nuclear confrontation. One might also glimpse Wagner's similarly off-handed attitude to the denizens of his fictional world in that exchange. To sum the book up in a word: Yikes.
October 8, 2023
The best experience I've ever had with not only judge dredd (or as walter says, judge dwedd) but also in a graphic novel.
May 25, 2017
I read this story in the 1980s when it first came out in American comics, and loved it back then. Now I'm re-reading the collection. This edition also includes the "Block Mania" stories that lead up to and into the Apocalypse War (bonus!). As a kid living in the era of mutually assured destruction, it was certainly interesting to read a comic that visualized how such wholesale slaughter would play out (in comic form).
Dredd is his usual self, and other judges get killed off like flies, as does most of Mega City One and East Meg One. The art is outstanding, but not to everyone's liking, especially in the Apocalypse stories drawn by Carlos Ezquerra. His art is deliberately squiggly and vague, not the standard comics "look" of the 80s (the Block Mania stories are) which is why I liked it so much at the time. It's simply "different." The current look of Judge Dredd: Mega City Zero is similar to Ezquerra's work back then, perhaps by design.
The stories are about what you expect, once you get over the idea that city leaders are deliberately killing hundreds of millions of people, saying things like "Why would we care about the people?" and "What makes you think the people would be interested?" (Dredd gets a pass, because his people are too caught up in Block Mania to care about the war.) It'd be silly if it wasn't something on all our minds back then (and maybe again today, sadly). People willing to kill millions for their preferred ideology (or deciding to sacrifice millions rather than have them live under an opposing ideology without asking if they are ok with that) is always disturbing, even in comics, though that was something you had to think about back then. If you like comics or Judge Dredd or post-apocalyptic (or even recurrence) literature, this is for you.
It's also worth noting that for about the cost of a softcover collection, you get a sturdy hardcover with quality paper and brilliant color. The book looks very nice. I wish there'd been some kind of intro or contextual material about the stories and where they came from, maybe notes from the author or artist. The section dividers are also lame silhouettes of Dredd, and they have not included the individual covers, which I always like to see (in fairness, I think the story was originally published in 2000 A.D. (the comic) along with other stories and characters, so the covers weren't always Judge Dredd. A little extra material would have been nice, but it's still well worth $20.
Dredd is his usual self, and other judges get killed off like flies, as does most of Mega City One and East Meg One. The art is outstanding, but not to everyone's liking, especially in the Apocalypse stories drawn by Carlos Ezquerra. His art is deliberately squiggly and vague, not the standard comics "look" of the 80s (the Block Mania stories are) which is why I liked it so much at the time. It's simply "different." The current look of Judge Dredd: Mega City Zero is similar to Ezquerra's work back then, perhaps by design.
The stories are about what you expect, once you get over the idea that city leaders are deliberately killing hundreds of millions of people, saying things like "Why would we care about the people?" and "What makes you think the people would be interested?" (Dredd gets a pass, because his people are too caught up in Block Mania to care about the war.) It'd be silly if it wasn't something on all our minds back then (and maybe again today, sadly). People willing to kill millions for their preferred ideology (or deciding to sacrifice millions rather than have them live under an opposing ideology without asking if they are ok with that) is always disturbing, even in comics, though that was something you had to think about back then. If you like comics or Judge Dredd or post-apocalyptic (or even recurrence) literature, this is for you.
It's also worth noting that for about the cost of a softcover collection, you get a sturdy hardcover with quality paper and brilliant color. The book looks very nice. I wish there'd been some kind of intro or contextual material about the stories and where they came from, maybe notes from the author or artist. The section dividers are also lame silhouettes of Dredd, and they have not included the individual covers, which I always like to see (in fairness, I think the story was originally published in 2000 A.D. (the comic) along with other stories and characters, so the covers weren't always Judge Dredd. A little extra material would have been nice, but it's still well worth $20.
September 3, 2018
My first sojourn into the comic world of Judge Dredd. I like it. Interesting to see how the satire elements get stripped out in the movie adaptations, both the awful Stallone one and the great Urban one.
June 6, 2020
Highly enjoyable.
Two stories, which are linked, and a brilliant development. Not a 5-star comic, it had been a good ride. Epic moments, humour, great art... Imagine reading this when it was out.
Two stories, which are linked, and a brilliant development. Not a 5-star comic, it had been a good ride. Epic moments, humour, great art... Imagine reading this when it was out.
August 22, 2021
Some good action, but it felt far too long and repetitive.
September 23, 2024
A key arch in the history of Dredd. Ticks along even after all this time... but don't expect any exploration of the morality of the actions made here.
June 3, 2025
A brutal masterpiece. No notes.
August 22, 2024
A fascinating study of how power can blind one when it becomes nothing but legalized rules with no room for nuance, a horrifying showcase of Dredd's darkest side, including one of the most iconic moments in the series's history.
August 13, 2011
Judge Dredd: The Complete P.J. Maybe
Bugs
Bugs is the story of P J Maybe's first kill. The whole concept of P J Maybe is just exactly what I love about Judge Dredd. I mean Judge Dredd as always a ridiculous, satirical and funny side to crime, such as parody of coke smuggling with criminals smuggling the now illegal white powder, sugar. An artist enraged by his profession being replaced by robots. Futsies people who have gone crazy due to the stresses of 22nd century life. The concept of P J Maybe starts in the same place. A 12 year old serial killer, however its takes on a much more serious tone. After all a serial killer is no laughing matter. This story really surprised me when I first read it in the complete case file. I knew of P J Maybe and knew that he would feature a lot latter on, however had no idea when I started reading this story that this was his introduction. It really got the excitement going an excellent story with promise of more to come. Really get the imagination fired where they can go with this young little devil. 5 out of 5
What I did during the Summer Holidays by P. J. Maybe 13 (Class 2)
Bugs
Bugs is the story of P J Maybe's first kill. The whole concept of P J Maybe is just exactly what I love about Judge Dredd. I mean Judge Dredd as always a ridiculous, satirical and funny side to crime, such as parody of coke smuggling with criminals smuggling the now illegal white powder, sugar. An artist enraged by his profession being replaced by robots. Futsies people who have gone crazy due to the stresses of 22nd century life. The concept of P J Maybe starts in the same place. A 12 year old serial killer, however its takes on a much more serious tone. After all a serial killer is no laughing matter. This story really surprised me when I first read it in the complete case file. I knew of P J Maybe and knew that he would feature a lot latter on, however had no idea when I started reading this story that this was his introduction. It really got the excitement going an excellent story with promise of more to come. Really get the imagination fired where they can go with this young little devil. 5 out of 5
What I did during the Summer Holidays by P. J. Maybe 13 (Class 2)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 18, 2017
This felt like a reminder that - while the Judges and Dredd are our heroes - they aren't good guys and will happily murder people for not fitting their template.
Two events in one, starting with Block War. City wide riots that dance joyously on the side of the absurd - with entire blocks named after famous people trying to murder other entire blocks named after famous people.
Where do you go after that? Nuclear war, obviously.
When I started reading this, the nuclear fear felt quaint. When I finished, the world had moved from underneath me, several minutes closer to midnight and the very 2000 AD dance between satire, action, humour and horror felt oddly relevant.
This, like The Cursed Earth is 2000 AD at its best. Smiling but with sharp teeth.
Two events in one, starting with Block War. City wide riots that dance joyously on the side of the absurd - with entire blocks named after famous people trying to murder other entire blocks named after famous people.
Where do you go after that? Nuclear war, obviously.
When I started reading this, the nuclear fear felt quaint. When I finished, the world had moved from underneath me, several minutes closer to midnight and the very 2000 AD dance between satire, action, humour and horror felt oddly relevant.
This, like The Cursed Earth is 2000 AD at its best. Smiling but with sharp teeth.
August 9, 2015
This contains the 1982 stories Block Mania and the Apocalypse War - Orlock a Russian agent puts a chemical into the water supply of Mega City One turning everybody into war hungry hysterics. While the judges are busy pacifying the riots Soviet forces attack.
This is one of the biggest Dredd arcs and sets the scene for the next 30 years. There's the biting satire on things like Cold War fears that we've come to expect and tonnes of explosive action. However this isn't as sophisticated as some of the other Dredd stuff out there. I did like the tiny snippets of comedy - like Dredd's house-robot and land lady coming to search for him in the middle of battle.
Great fun.
This is one of the biggest Dredd arcs and sets the scene for the next 30 years. There's the biting satire on things like Cold War fears that we've come to expect and tonnes of explosive action. However this isn't as sophisticated as some of the other Dredd stuff out there. I did like the tiny snippets of comedy - like Dredd's house-robot and land lady coming to search for him in the middle of battle.
Great fun.
April 8, 2015
Another amazing arc and epic is an understatement, this is pure destruction that only war can bring and this being the world of Judge Dredd and the citizens therein this packs a huge punch.
The art shows epicness on a destructive scale, the writing of the war mirrors the cold war, with the Dredd world's version of the Russians attacking Mega City after the terrorist attack that causes Block Mania. Block wars erupting everywhere, block against block, even some of the Judges losing it and joining in the combat.
If you are a fan of comics and Judge Dredd and you haven't read this, do so.
The art shows epicness on a destructive scale, the writing of the war mirrors the cold war, with the Dredd world's version of the Russians attacking Mega City after the terrorist attack that causes Block Mania. Block wars erupting everywhere, block against block, even some of the Judges losing it and joining in the combat.
If you are a fan of comics and Judge Dredd and you haven't read this, do so.
April 6, 2017
EASILY one of the best stories I have ever read. Easily. You can check out the rest of my review here, but this is 100% a must own for any comic fan anywhere. This changed the landscape of Dredd forever and Carlos Ezquerra's art is utterly magnificent.
November 27, 2017
A full-on, uber-violent (in idea at least) Dredd epic in 35-ish parts, where block mania gives way to a nuclear war between MC1 and East Meg. The body count is enormous and the writing team are not averse to creating vast carnage, including finishing off well-known characters. It gathers a head of steam and does not let up until the final, ethically-challenging dilemma. Very 80s!
February 18, 2015
La crónica de la invasión de Mega-Este One y sus trágicas consecuencias en un brutal relato de Wagner y Grant, con un Dredd convertido en comando cuya imposible misión es derrotar al implacable enemigo rojo. Otro de los clásicos.
June 13, 2011
Brilliant story, badly produced.
September 22, 2012
Best comic book hero of all time. Who hasn't wanted to administer instance justice? Read too many books to list, so just rating this one (for now)
December 7, 2014
Hienoa suoraviivaista sotasarjakuvaa mustalla huumorilla ja hienolla taiteella.
April 5, 2015
I dare someone - anyone - to make a movie out of THIS. Dredd at his finest and most brutal.
February 12, 2021
My review of Judge Dredd: The Apocalypse War can be found here.
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August 1, 2014Fuck yeah
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews