JUDGE DREDD: IDW #1

[Professor Bear]

I also notice only now that the Dredd in the second strip is the Sylvester Stallone version.

[IndigoPrime]

I also notice only now that the Dredd in the second strip is the Sylvester Stallone version.

That's... odd. Any reason for that in the strip itself?

[COMMANDO FORCES]

He's only in 4 panels in that strip and you've already seen those panels in the infamous leaked pages (even though they weren't leaked)

[James Stacey]

Having now read the comic, the fact the second story has Dredd in Stallone shoulder wear and gloves is the least of the artists problems.

[Professor Bear]

I'm still trying to figure out the anatomy on that penultimate panel.  It's pretty bonkers.

[Richmond Clements]

I'm still trying to figure out the anatomy on that penultimate panel.  It's pretty bonkers.

Indeed. Gulacy's anatomy is all over the place.
But it's a pretty good comic. The art on the main strip is gorgeous. I'll keep downloading ti for now and see how it goes.

[Professor Bear]

I also notice only now that the Dredd in the second strip is the Sylvester Stallone version.

That's... odd. Any reason for that in the strip itself?

My personal theory is that this was sitting in a drawer since 1995.  This explanation would explain a great deal of things in terms of quality, but not why Dredd manages to fire hi-ex when a couple panels earlier we're shown his lawgiver is all gunked up - I think something like that is just poor storytelling, though fair play the writer has got Robocop 3's personality down perfectly:

[Professor Bear]

Let's try that again with a different image hosting site...

[Link Prime]

Just finished it....overall a 6/10 for me.
Really makes you appreciate how much more bang for your buck you get with the Prog.

Anyway,

Highlight: Creators using the 'Droid' description in the credits box was a very nice touch.
Lowlight: Stallone Dredd uniform in the back-up strip was unforgivable.
Overall: I'll stick with it, could be promising. Woud love to see them employ 2000AD alumni (off the top of my head- Mike Carroll, Al Ewing, Si Spurrier, Henry Flint, PJ Holden, Paul Marshall et al would be a nice fit, even for the 'back-up' strip).

Plenty of comments on this forum regarding hopes it gets the Yanks interested in Dredd.
I hope it equally gets more folks on this side of the pond interested in IDW's premier (and heavily advertised) 'Locke & Key' series too. It's fab.

[Taryn Tailz]

Just ordered myself a copy of this with Cover C. Looking forward to giving it a go.

[SuperSurfer]

Looking forward to getting (one version of) this.

BTW: Zip-A-Tone.

[locustsofdeath!]

I thought it was a weak effort for a first issue. Pretty run-of-the-mill story mixing various elements of past Dredd stories. Dredd has a similar entrance to the one he made in prog 2. I felt the first story should have been expanded to fill the issue - that way, we could have gotten a bit more in-depth with each of the set-pieces ([spoiler]longer fight with the tree, the crooks and even the robots; all three confrontations were over so quickly[/spoiler]). As it was, it was lacking in any suspense (I never felt Dredd was in any danger). I did enjoy the art very much, though I thought the Robocop robots looked kind of dumb.

The second story was well below standard; I don't think Bolt and Rich would commission it for Zarjaz, let alone Tharg print it in the prog. The story's twist was obvious, and...well, the whole thing was dull. And the art was not my thing at all.


That said...

We have to keep in mind this comic wasn't created for us - it was created for the mass market American comic readers, most of whom have little to no exposure to Dredd. We're viewing it with eyes that have been cast over thousands of pages of the "true" Dredd series already.

The few reviews I've googled are positive. What does that mean? Is this a good start to a comic series? Are we just unable to see that because we can't take our fan goggles off to read it objectively?

I'd still say no, it's not a good comic. Not yet. But when I took off my goggles to read it a second time, I felt there was enough there to come back net month and see where it goes.

[Professor Bear]

It's unfair to use Zarjaz as any kind of barometer for IDW Dredd's quality, as one is clearly fanfiction that doesn't suffer any kind of editorial oversight, while the other is Zarjaz.

[The Adventurer]

For all those collectors out there, here are the shop variant covers!

God damn it, IDW.

[Trout]

For all those collectors out there, here are the shop variant covers!

God damn it, IDW.

Yeah. To hell with it.