Villordsutch reviews Judge Dredd Megazine #369…
Borag Thungg and of course welcome all Earthlet’s to Judge Dredd Megazine #369. This issue of Judge Dredd is currently fulfilling the demographic requirements for those with sea legs in The Gyre (Part 2) and those of you landlubbers with The Dust (Part 3). Now Demon Nic. has left us we see the start of a post-apocalyptic, black-metal, vampire epic series called Realm of the Damned, and then also we have the next slice of Demarco, P.I. We seem to have a rather packed issue here, so enough of the banter and on with the words.
Judge Dredd – The Gyre (Part 2)
As Dredd and Judge Joyce continue to search upon The Gyre for the Message pod and now also Judge Meekins – who isn’t Dredd’s biggest fan – things go bad to worse when it’s discovered the Gyre isn’t the size of an aircraft carrier, but the size of a small city. Not only this alien tech is found to be on the Gyre, this alien tech is Lawlords weaponry and it’s currently in the webbed-hands of the hostiles. Again this month, the art from Nick Percival is truly brilliant and the story, from Michael Carroll, is also a very enjoyable one.
Realm of the Damned (Part 1)
Our new strip starts here and it is brand spanking new too. When a Norwegian black-metal band take to executing one of their least favourite guitar players – in a local church – to bring forth Balaur, the voice of fire, it turns out the leader of said band was actually bringing all members as an offering. Written by Alex Worley and with the art from Pye Parr, this post-apocalyptic, black-metal, vampire tale may instantly turn a few people off with its description, but don’t let it. Parr’s art is spot on and fairly brutal, and Alex’s script though vicious also has the perfect vein of dark humour oozing within to keep a smart smirk across you face throughout.
Demarco, P.I. (Part 3)
Michael Carroll and artist Steve Yeowell are keeping Demarco, P.I. firmly rooted in the realms of the past comic book tales with both art and story. With Judge Pax’s electronic eye’s removed and scanned for the Cypher’s access code , Cypher was the only person to have gained the access codes from Walden Conners, who in turn was the only person to control the androids telepathically. It’s an enjoyable story, however following The Gyre and the Realm of the Damned it loses a lot of the punch it possibly once would have held.
Judge Dredd – Dust (Part 3)
Arthur Wyatt continues to build on this mystery and is still carefully revealing clues ever so slowly. With Dredd and Judge Conti making their way into the deserts of the Cursed Earth in an attempt to find any leads to help bring a close to the brutal murders within the walls of Mega-City One, they come across a local traveller in the dunes, who with his wind-chimes and shack believes to be keeping the killer at bay. However, the Dust killer is currently on the rampage eradicating an entire settlement in one foul swoop. The artwork from Ben Willsher and colours from Chris Blythe look magnificent, they’ve even given the Cursed Earth a sand storm that would make Arrakis proud.
Tale of the Month
Another difficult month to pick who’s the winner, however I’m going to stump with the new name in the Megazine and give it to Realm of the Damned. Though Dust was a very close second place, but with the energy, dark humour and art from both Alex Worley and Pye Parr my choice this month is a clear winner.
Splundig Vur Thrigg!
Rating: 8/10
Villordsutch likes his sci-fi and looks like a tubby Viking according to his children. Visit his website and follow him on Twitter.
Originally published February 18, 2016. Updated June 30, 2023.
