Apocalypse War vs The Pit - Dredd Epics Ranked - Better! H2H Rd 1

[Tomwe]

Gotta be Apocalypse War

[IndigoPrime]

From the start, this has been about favourites. Apocalypse War is the more iconic story and arguably more epic in the sense of a big splash. But The Pit wins it for me, because it's just a better read.

[Dark Jimbo]

I would love to buck the trend, but it's The Apocalypse War for me.

[Magnetica]

Block Mania is just full of iconic moments, like the dropping of the frenzy whip, the mob facing off against the Judges, Orlock poisoning the water supply, Giant's death, "I'm with Rowdy Yates Block! Who you fighting with?"  And that's before we even get to the Apocalypse War itself.

Surely nothing can top that.

But The Pit set the tone for modern Dredd, and was a beacon of quality at a time when most stories in 2000AD where pretty mediocre. And it deserves to get more than one vote. So it's got mine.

[Link Prime]

The Apocalypse War.

[maryanddavid]

Apocalypse War.

[Tjm86]

Hmmm let's see ... Ezquerra at the top of his game ... massive destruction and loss of life ... more iconic scenes and ironic one-liners than you can shake a HB pencil at ... and if we expand to include Block Mania as part of it we get to add in McMahon, Dillon, Bolland and Smith on art duties, even more classic one-liners, Grover's casual indifference for supporting characters (Death of Giant) ...

On the other hand ... Ezquerra breathing new life into his game ... massive destruction and loss of life ... that kiss ... reinvigoration of Dredd as a strip ... a new cast of supporting characters .... the borderline psychotic Roffman ...

Hmmm.  You know it is actually tougher than first thought.  But no "looks like total nuke-out" ... "I'm with Rowdy Yates Block ...."  It's got to be Apocalypse War.

[Mikey]

Got a collected edition of the Apocalypse War at Xmas - it's a classic no doubt, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I have on previous reads.

The Pit is of course a landmark marking the start of Dredd as it has become. But while also being a good read, it never really hit the full mark for me. It's more the consequences that are interesting.

So, on balance Apocalypse War for me.

[CalHab]

I didn't read either of these in the prog, AW because it came before I bought and The Pit because I'd jumped ship. There's no doubt that AW is the most important Dredd story, but The Pit is a better read. Possibly.

[JayzusB.Christ]

I read The Pit when it came out, and the Apocalypse War a few years after that in reprints. (I mean, I probably read some Apocalypse War episodes when they came out, but I was very young and can't really remember.)

The Pit was amazing - I re-read it after buying the audiobook a couple of weeks ago. But as for gung-ho, balls out destruction, and the mega-epic that paved the way for all subsequent ones, Ezquerra art all the way, gleefully nasty incidents of execution and torture, and massive disaster scenes that cinema hadn't yet learned how to do properly, it's got to be The Apocalypse War for me.

(Also, huge portions of The Pit had Alan Craddock on colours.  No.  Sorry, but just no.)

[Dog Deever]

Block Mania/ Apocalypse War for me.

[Bolt-01]

The Apocalypse War

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

I'm not going to say it was my first prog, but The Pit was near enough to it to make no difference in my memory. I remember thinking this is what Dredd was always about and would always be about, a comic concerning the shenanigans of Sector House 13, and the strip got its title from and focus from the gaffer. Everything flowed from that starting point so elegantly that I'm not sure I even realised my initial assumption of Future Police Precinct Procedural was wrong.

The point I'm badly making here is The Pit is page 1 of Dredd for me. The Apocalypse War is great and all but its from The Before Time. It doesn't have the same nostalgia for me. I don't think experiencing it first as an audio drama helps either.

So it's The Pit for me.

[Southstreeter]

Apocalypse War

Sadly, as I love The Pit and those late 90s procedurals. But the AW has been hanging over Dredd for 40 years now and is still relevant.

[Rogue Judge]

Apocalypse War

Every newbie: "Where should I start reading Dredd?"
Every Squaxx: "Case Files #5"

When getting into Dredd several years ago, the above basically summarizes my search. Start with the Apocalypse War was the answer. While not necessarily my recommendation (I say start with CF #1 and don't miss a volume!) I do get why that is reccomend. The story is awesome and the art incredible; this epic planted the seeds of my obsession with Ezquerra's art.