Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 01

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That genre comes across as faintly ridiculous to UK audiences, who prefer their action heroes closer to James Bond or Sherlock Holmes. This is a collection of the Judge Dredd comic strips collected together and presented in one book- they are taken from the pages of the British Comic 2000AD (yes there are other publications as well but this is really his home admit it). Volume 16 features even more thrills from comics legend Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Boys) and introduces Charlie Adlard’s (The Walking Dead) earliest work for the Judge Dredd Megazine, as well as art from Sam Kieth (The Maxx, The Sandman) and Glenn Fabry (Preacher) amongst others.

It was in this environment that Millar made his first major contribution to Marvel with Ultimate X-Men, as Millar integrated forty years’ worth of X-Men history, characters and lore into a solid two-year run, making the companion title to Ultimate Spider-Man every bit the creative and commercial success.Featuring art by such comic legends as Carlos Ezquerra ( Strontium Dog ), Brian Bolland ( Batman: The Killing Joke ) and Mike McMahon ( The Last American ) and written by John Wagner ( A History of Violence ) and Alan Grant ( Lobo ) this tome is a worthy addition to any Thrill-seeker's library!

In the collections I've read so far I haven't gone back this early, and have paid particular note to how "American" the MegaCity culture is so this was surprising.First, I had not realized Dredd started in the late '70s, I had thought it was early '80s, and this makes a difference in how the comic was presented. The entire Soviet Union theme is also ever present and indicates that we are in for a lot more on that front. The reveal is still shocking, but I had forgotten that it all leads to a terrible joke where an exhausted Judge Dredd carries Rico's body claiming, "He ain't heavy. However, even the lesser strips have some value like a deranged game show where your life is on the line. While some of the early stories suffer from format issues as it tries to find its feet (the incident, Dredd says no-one is above the law, sorts the baddie out, the end) it quickly gets better as time goes on and the world-building is superb - simple but clever, very close to the fears of the day (and, indeed, 40+ years later as I read this) and exceptionally well designed.