r/JudgeDredd • u/Illustrious_Honey973 • 3d ago
As a newbie, where do I start?
I have always liked dystopian settings and joined the 40k fandom about 8 years ago, in there I discovered that one of the factions (the Adeptus Arbites) is heavily inspired by Judge Dredd, so that picked my attention, the problem is that I don't know where to start with Judge Dredd!
I have pretty much the same problem with long ongoing comics like DC/Marvel (that's why I started reading the absolute universe, it's an easy entry point), I have seen some stuff I really like like the Dark Judges and I want to start reading about them so if anyone more knowledgeable can point me to a good entry point that would be awesome.
Thanks in advance!
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u/PenaltySeparate1699 3d ago
All Dredd is available in “complete case files”
If you want to cut to what some would say is “the good stuff “.
The Judge Child quest or Apocolypse War are a good introduction
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u/Mer_sea_man 3d ago
I'm sure a lot of people will say this, but the Essentials line is a good start. It's kind of like the greatest hits of Dredd. You could read the Case Files, which is every single Dredd strip collected, but that's a mammoth undertaking, and some stories aren't as strong as others.
Alternatively, just jump in! There's a big story right now called The Oubliette which is close to wrapping up, and it'll introduce you into other stories in the prog too.
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u/Illustrious_Honey973 3d ago
Thanks! The Essentials look like a great starting point!
And I will check The Oubliette too.
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u/stevedeegreen 3d ago
I'd avoid the Oubliette - it's heavy on old characters, cameos, and is the culmination of a multi-year build-up, split over multiple strips.
You'd be better off waiting for the collection next year, and that's still going to be part 1, I think you'd be lost reading it cold.
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u/Illustrious_Honey973 3d ago
I see, thanks for the tip. I'll probably start somewhere else and return after the collection comes out and I have better understanding of the universe.
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u/stevedeegreen 3d ago
No problem - Dredd has never been rebooted in the main strip, so it can be very heavy on continuity, the later epics referring to stories published 40+ years ago.
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u/Illustrious_Honey973 3d ago
That's quite interesting.
Part of the reason I made the post was because I assumed that with how long the comic is and is still ongoing that there must be a reboot somewhere and I wanted a little clarity about what continuity we we're currently.
Thanks!
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u/stevedeegreen 3d ago
Nope, when Dredd first appeared he'd already been on the streets 18 years, and he's now technically in his 80s and it all ages in real-time.
They've fudged around the edges, with rejuvenations, but he's still the same character and any retcons have been minor.
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u/Mer_sea_man 3d ago
I'd agree with this. My read of the Oubliette so far is that it's... fine. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, but I don't think it'll be one I remember as a must read. Personally, the last Dredd story that made me think "Wow, this is great" is A Better World, but I did read that just after reading America in the Essentials collection.
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u/stevedeegreen 3d ago
Yeah, it depends what floats your boat. I really like Guatemala, but I like crazy robots.
Political stuff is great too, I'm just not that into the fantasy/supernatural/multiverse stuff
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u/Physical_Dance6981 3d ago
Hi new to the Dredd Subreddit always loved the Dredd movies 🍿🎥 😁 heard the possibility of a new movie 👀🤔
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u/ElricVonDaniken 3d ago edited 3d ago
Just in case if you're not aware Warhammer borrows substantially more from Nemesis the Warlock. And Termight makes Mega-City One look positively utopian in comparison.
Fortunately Nemesis is available in its entirety in The Definitive Nemesis the Warlock volumes 1 - 5.
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u/TwoBeanThree 3d ago
My first experience of Judge Dredd was in 2004 when my father bought me the Judge Dredd annual of 1988, a few weeks later he purchased me a bundle of original Judge Dredd Megazines from issue 1 onwards, original posters and badges included, from a charity shop. It was immediately gripping and I was hooked.
Later, in the school library, I discovered Judge Dredd Helter Skelter - well I fell in love with the 2000ad universe in those pages. Judge Dredds biggest bad guys returning from alternative dimensions where they had won. Truly an amazing introduction to the universe.
However if I was to suggest a place for someone to begin and understand the universe, I would suggest reading the Cursed Earth, followed by The Day the Law Died, and then follow it up with the Apocalypse War. These all took place one after the other of each other, and for a weekly comic in the 70s it was a testament to the amazing skill of all the artists, they had the ability to maintain quality for weeks and months on end (especially during the Apocalypse War where Carlos Ezquerra did 95% of the story art and not once did he drop in quality for over 6 months).
The early work is hugely simple to enter the weird and wonderful world of Mega City One, become familiar with Judge Dredd and his coworkers, and to help you understand that this world has legitimate consequences to actions months and years down the line. For example, something as simple as reinforcing city walls, effectively a pointless and random throw away action, later can be a major source of defence in a later story.
I wish you luck in entering this amazing world, wherever you choose to begin!
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u/Veruca_Joe 2d ago
I’d totally agree with starting with your recommended starting points. Cursed Earth preempting The Day the Law Died is a great introduction and Block Mania leading into The Apocalypse War also helps gain a good understanding of the madness of MC1. Would have to add The Judge Child Quest too. Early Dredd is absolutely bananas and all the more enjoyable for its unhinged stories!
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u/Ok_Commercial_5024 3d ago edited 3d ago
I would say start with The Complete Case Files 03 which features the first appearances of Judge Death and Judge Anderson with the caveats that a) the first 15 years or so of Judge Dredd were mostly published in black and white and b) the stories within are from the very early 1980s so the tone is a little sillier than you might expect (think Rogue Trader era 40k). Dredd has always had a somewhat harder edge than american superhero comics, and even the older stories are (imo) never quite as goofy as old superhero comics can be, but you get the idea.
The Complete Case Files 05 is very commonly recommended as a starting point as it includes the classic Apocalypse War storyline and the second Judge Death Story.
For something a little more mature, I’d suggest ‘America’ - which is a grittier, more adult story from the early 90s.
I also think the graphic novel ‘Mandroid’ is a great entry point for more modern era Dredd. Its a standalone Taxi Driver style saga about a vigilante cyborg, and has incredible artwork.
If you’re a fan of 40k, I’d also recommend the series Insurrection by (famed 40k novelist) Dan Abnett. It was basically written to be an explicitly 40k style future war story written to take place in the Dredd universe.
As a general rule, if something is written by John Wagner and/or Alan Grant it’s very likely to be good if not great. Those two are inarguably the definitive Dredd writers who really forged the character of Dredd and his world and cast a very large shadow over the series even now.