Andy Naylor reviews Judge Dredd #9…
“As chaotic and violent as things can be in Mega-City One, it’s all unicorns, ice cream and rainbows compared to what you’ll find beyond the outer walls… in the CURSED EARTH! In the wake of the devastation of The Long Fail, Dredd is forced to lead a small team of Judges into the scariest stretch of irradiated wasteland to recover the very soul of the city… “
Judge Dredd: Into the Cursed Earth is a continuation from The Long Fail story arc that I reviewed a few weeks back [see here]. Dredd heads into the cursed Earth to rescue key citizens of Mega-City One before the city falls to a dastardly clone ploy.
This is the first Dredd story I’ve ever read and thoroughly disliked. I had issues with the art in the preceding story and it continues into this. In fact, it goes further. There’s a wealth of clichéd mutant characters that would seem more suited to dwell under the streets of Futurama’s New New York. While one or two might be mildly amusing and add some light humour to the story, the fact remains that Judge Dredd is, for the most part, a serious comic that, when it does contain humour it’s black, dark humour. This felt more like juvenile humour that is ill-fitting to the Dredd universe.
It wasn’t just the characters either. The setting, a toxic amusement park, grated on me in every panel and I found myself becoming irritated the further into the story I got. I checked the page numbers and willed them to go quicker, to no avail. This comic lets down Judge Dredd. My overriding thought while reading it was “This is just silly.”
However, the ending did leave me with the feeling that the writer could have redeemed themself. I was interested and curious about the object Dredd finds himself in and how it works. If handled correctly, this single plot device may just save this entire series for me. But I’m not overly optimistic about its chances. Everything about this issue irritated me and I suspect it will do likewise to most readers.
Andy Naylor – Follow me on Twitter.
Originally published July 24, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
