Andy Naylor reviews Judge Dredd Classics #3…
“While the CKR forces won the battle in San Diego, the war has just begun! When new forces pit their ultimate weapon against a weakened Godzilla, help from unexpected allies will be needed! The action hits a fever-pitch in an event that fans will be talking about for ages to come!”
The cause of Block-Mania has been discovered, and with it a devious plot by East-Meg One, the Russian Mega-City, to destroy Judge Dredd’s Mega-City One. Issue #3 continues where the Block-Mania investigation let off. Mega-City One is in a state of civil war, caused by a poison entered into the city’s water supply by an East-Meg One agent, and the shaky peace between the two cities is about to come to an explosive end (pun very much intended).
As always, it’s a classic, gripping story from start to cliff-hanging finish. Whoever decided upon which story to make the focus of this Classic Judge Dredd series deserves a resounding pat on the back. I am enjoying every single panel. The story is engaging from start to finish, each page just consumes the reader’s attention and wills them eagerly on to the next one like some kind of moreish snack.
So far I’ve given a glowing review to all the previous issues of Classic Judge Dredd, and rightfully so. However, I do have a few issues with this one. Once again, the terribly small text font remains. It’s blurry and tiny which has the reader having to re-read decipher or, even worse, guess at what is on the page. With so much redundant page space to work with this problem should not be occurring. Usually I give the colouring an unquestionable round of applause, on this occasion I am afraid I cannot. After a few pages I was simply sick of the colour green. It was everywhere. It infected every single panel in various irritating shades. From garish, headache inducing green of the missiles and ships, to the bizarre choice of pale green for the sea and waves. It felt like there was a collection of snot smothering the wonderful story I was enjoying. I pray the next issue uses a few more colours of the spectrum.
As mentioned above, the comic ends and one of the best cliff-hangers I’ve encountered. If there were any mind readers in close proximity to me, then they would’ve heard the screams of frustration emanating from my head as I reached the final page. Roll on next month!
Andy Naylor – Follow me on Twitter.
Originally published September 25, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
