Judge Dredd Megazine #1
Story:
Art:

Written by John Wagner, Andy Diggle, Pat Mills, Dan Abnett, Alan Moore, Warren Ellis
Art by Cam Kennedy, Jock, Dave Gibbons, Alan Davis, D'Israeli
Pencils by Patrick Goddard
Inks by Dylan Teague
Colors by Chris Blythe, Richard Elson
Letters by Tom Frame, Dave Gibbons, David Bishop, Steve Potter

Published by Rebellion
Price: £3.95

My Verdict: Worthy.

A little bit of old, a little bit of new. In the vintage department, you get reprints of Moore & Davis' psychotic "D.R. & Quinch", Mills & Gibbons' "Ro-Busters", along with Ellis & D'Israeli's "Lazarus Churchyard." A brand new story starts with "Wardog" and also there's the return of Mega City-One not-so-nice-guy Lenny Zero. And, of course, you get some serious Dredd. 100 pages.

Finally--a comic that could double as a blunt weapon. Just what I've always wanted. But hey...once you've used it to subdue the enemy, it's a good read as well. You gotta like that.

New stuff. Dredd starts a storyline about eating as a sport and a new prodigy kid who can...well, unhinge his jaw and most of his neck. All of this takes place at a "Fat Camp" for training these new athletes. That's one of the beauties of Dredd--you can have really violent confrontations, you can have humorous bits, or you can have...just whacked out shite like this. Good clean fun.

As for "Lenny Zero," it certainly has an interesting beginning. Featuring the most clever case of "hiding in plain sight" I've seen in a while and a pissed off one handed judge, it could turn into something righteous.

"Wardog" has an interesting premise. The idea of "bombheads"--assassins who have a ticking timebomb (complete with readout on their foreheads) in their skulls and who must complete their job in a certain amount of time...or else their skull's suddenly a convertible. The artwork of Goddard on this section really struck me--nice, clean, taut. It makes up for what seems like a kinda off-kilter premise--but hell, it'll probably grow on me.

As for the vintage reprints, the Moore "D.R." segments are always just too funny for words--especially when they go back in time to muck with the Earth as a prank. Good stuff. And hey, even though Ellis' "Lazarus" was reprinted last year as a trade--it's always worth a re-read. The "Ro-Busters" bit is probably the weak point of the book for me--the premise, a squad of droids ready for any kind of job, seems more like a bad 80's anime-translated-into-kid-friendly-America show.

Always, 2000 AD delivers variety. Will you like all of it? Probably not. But there's something for the whole family.

Quote: "Aww...now that's SMART. That whole 'Law of Robotics' thing, right? I gotta protect human life no matter what...Man, sometimes bein' a robot SUCKS."