Villordsutch reviews Judge Dredd Megazine #365…
Wow, Twenty-Five years of Judge Dredd Megazine! Issue#365 is celebrating a quarter of a century of being on this planet and continuing to please us by bringing joy to our lives with scenes of a dystopian future, demons & nuns fighting evil along with numerous other macabre nastiness! What the heck is wrong with us!? Nothing! The question is what’s wrong with everyone else?
Judge Dredd – Terror Rising (Part 1)
As soon as this Dredd story finishes you feel cheated that Part 1 has ended. You need more of this! John Wagner is bringing in the final threads from the closure of Chaos Day [check out both reviews for Fourth Faction and Endgame] and also bringing back the threat of Total War. Seeing the ripples still being felt from America [review here] is chilling as Dredd talks with Beeny, now a Judge, on the steps where her mother was gunned down. Terror Rising already feels like a classic at chapter one and with Colin MacNeil’s art and Chris Blythe’s colours it looks perfect too.
Demon Nic. (Part 5)
Demon Nic. again this month feels for me – the reader – like I’ve missed a chapter. I don’t consider myself to be a lummox; generally if a film gets confusing people turn to me and say, “What’s going on!?” However, I feel like I’ve missed to much of a back story on Nic to know who or what is happening and with this I’m losing the ability to 1) keep track of the story 2) give a care about the story. It’s not enjoyable anymore,and the only saving grace is that I enjoy the artwork, but this too I feel doesn’t suit Judge Dredd Megazine.
Storm Warning – The Relic (Part 5)
Storm Warning feels like it’s beginning to come to a close. Our story is still being driven forward by both Leah Moore and John Reppion, however were given a glimpse of the Relic and its power, which in my view normally signals the end is close. The chapter feels shorter and delivered far more rapidly than the previous few, this isn’t me besmirching the overall chapter however, it was still enjoyable, it just didn’t have as much haunting weight as the previous few chapters. Again Tom Foster and Kirsty Swan, who are behind the art and colours, shine in The Relic and I’d really like to see more of this foursome within the covers of the Megazine more often.
Lawless – Between Badrock & A Hard Place (Part 5)
After the ground-shaking cliffhanger in the last issue, when we discovered that our Marshall isn’t really our Marshall, this chapter consisted of a street fight between both women until one was placed in jail. It was the incarcerated Psi-officers intervention that brought the real Marshall out into the light. From what appeared to be an interesting turn-around from Dan Abnett, was to be nothing more than a magicians distraction to move the story in a different direction. If it wasn’t for Phil Winslade’s excellent artwork I’d be completely and utterly disappointed with Lawless this month..
Tale of the Month
Judge Dredd – Terror Rising. This is already moving to be something fantastic! From the first time you see “Total War” sprayed across the wall, after the suicide bomber has just murderer the Judge, your mind screams, “No! Wait!”. John Wagner has let these sleeping dogs stay quiet, allowing us to forget them and now they’ve awoken. I cannot wait to see what’s around the corner.
Splundig Vur Thrigg!
Rating: 7/10
Villordsutch likes his sci-fi and looks like a tubby Viking according to his children. Visit his website and follow him on Twitter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=m8ExzVWul3I
Originally published October 21, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
