Judge Dredd:The DC Comics Version

[Fragminion]

Just started re-collecting the 2 titles that DC put out back in the 90's.

Anybody here remember the 2 series.

Judge Dredd, and JD:Legands of the Law.

[Jo-L]

not fondly... but yes.

[Frank]

The main title was awful, totally missing the point of the character and the world and featuring adequate but inappropriate art. The other comic they produced, which featured the work of creators who had worked on the character before, was much more popular with established readers. Is anyone else seeing a pattern repeating through time and space?

The main title actually improved a lot in the final issues before cancellation, once it dropped the (at that time) voguish virtual reality storyline. The art was the most marked difference - and the first time I'd seen JH Williams - the Ministry of Fear are a great creation, and Helfer's depiction of the process by which the judges take over from the civilian government of the USA expanded upon and brought sophistication, complexity and ambiguity to events which had previously only been dealt with in a couple of panels during The Cursed Earth.

That pretty much served as my own version of the creation of the judges' tyranny until I read Origins fifteen years later, and I see some evidence to suggest that Wagner wasn't throwing his sub copies straight into the bin. Not only did Helfer's christening of Fargo as Eustace make it into canonical Dredd, but DC Dredd put the character in charge of a supporting cast of much younger judges as they sought to bring down a criminal empire, one of whom (a female judge with a latinate surname) developed a romantic attachment to him. 

DC Dredd ran between 1994 and 1995; John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra's brilliant The Pit was published between December 1995 and July 1996.

[sheldipez]

I picked up the first five or so issues as they were mixed in with a bulk lot I purchased on fleabay. I thought they were a lot of fun, and a helluva better than IDW's spin on the universe.

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

I never knew these existed until a few months ago. I guess they aren't worth hunting down?

[Fragminion]

They can be picked up rather cheaply so finding out wouldn't really cost that much.

[IndigoPrime]

I never knew these existed until a few months ago. I guess they aren't worth hunting down?

I imagine if you can get them dirt cheap, they might be worth it as a curio, in much the same way as Lawman of the Future. I enjoyed the latter far more than the DC stuff,but YMMV. For certain, don't splash out for the DC Dredds, though—they're just not worth it, and even the better stories wouldn't make it past Tharg's gaze of doom.

[Skullmo]

I remember hating it at first and then growing to like it - by the last issue it was getting quite good!

[Richard]

The first four issues of Judge Dredd: Legends of the Law are by Wagner and Grant, and are quite a good story about Dredd and Cadet Anderson chasing organ leggers. Well worth a look.