Dredd: The Complete Case Files

[Greg M.]

Reading the new Case Files 34. Haven't read Helter Skelter in ages. What's the story of Ennis coming back to do this?

Written in exchange for the rights to Troubled Souls.

[PsychoGoatee]

The Case Files sure rule. It's wild to think how it's "catching up" with so many graphic novel / trade paperback collections I've stacked up over the years. It's all good double dipping to support such a cool thing, but I might skip big ones I have already like Origins etc. I guess Origins might just be something like three or four years away, within another eight Case Files, with some loose math. And Total War should be just a few Case Files away.

On my unread pile I have Case Files 27 through 34, and I'm thinking I'll dive into those this year. That's a lot of Dredd, like four and a half years worth, and I've never read it, so I'm looking forward to it. 

[Arkady]

The Case Files sure rule. It's wild to think how it's "catching up" with so many graphic novel / trade paperback collections I've stacked up over the years. It's all good double dipping to support such a cool thing, but I might skip big ones I have already like Origins etc. I guess Origins might just be something like three or four years away, within another eight Case Files, with some loose math. And Total War should be just a few Case Files away.

On my unread pile I have Case Files 27 through 34, and I'm thinking I'll dive into those this year. That's a lot of Dredd, like four and a half years worth, and I've never read it, so I'm looking forward to it. 

This is why I made the decision not to get any physical trades when I got back into Dredd a few years back. I caught up on the epics digitally, and in the last few volumes the Case Files actually caught up with where I left off, so most of it is brand new to me. Still going to need more bookshelves though.

[PsychoGoatee]

Just noting that Case Files 36 and 37 have some printing errors. These no longer include the Judge Dredd logo or story title, or credits boxes etc. That was part of the original art and look, and it also makes stories bleed together a bit without that to show it's a new one. Plus, Case Files had those features up through 35. Hopefully they fix that, especially for the future releases as well.

And for digital, two page spreads are supposed to be combined, so you can see the whole image. When that happens in a digital 2000AD release, you'll only see the left half of the two page spread, then flip and see the right half, which doesn't show the full view. So hopefully the fix these two things, especially that first one, I have the paper versions myself.

[Max Headroom]

I'm not so sure that removing the logos, title and credit boxes is a printing error so much as new policy for the graphic novels team. However, I do agree that it was better when they retained them and I do doubt that they will come back.

[WhizzBang]

There was no contents page in the latest digital CF volume for Megazine stories but there was one for 2000AD ones.

[Richard]

I prefer it this way, without all the clutter.

[PsychoGoatee]

It'd be tough for say a favorite stories topic, when you don't know what the name of the story you just read is. And much like a DVD of a classic movie, you want as it was, preserved. They didn't release these stories as is only to reprint them missing details 18 years later or whatever. And like mentioned there, they didn't even include that page of credits for the Megazine stories in the latest one.

But even if they do include those pages, it'd be pretty kooky to find the name of the story you're reading. And if you're flipping over to part 6 of a story or part 1 of a new story, this stuff affects the context. There is generally what looks a bit like a blank space under a missing logo in the art, or an area that is less detailed or interesting. It's not clutter any more than the title card in a movie is clutter. It's part of the 2000AD experience, they know we're seeing the title, and it may inform a bit of what we expect. Imagine a lot of those classic Dredd stories without a visible title. The PJ Maybe stories, It Pays To Be Mental etc, it would take something away. They messed up here.

https://www.2000ad.org/artwork/image.php?Image=paystobemental1.jpg&choice=BRYANG

[IndigoPrime]

I suspect editing these volumes is a pain. Ideally, we’d have the logo/credits/title on the first page of each series/standalone, but remove them—and catch-up captions—from the rest. It’s always a jolt when reading a 2000 AD collection when every six pages there’s a now contextually out of place catch-up box.

[PsychoGoatee]

Here's a bit from an email from support, it's cool that they're so nice and open about this stuff.

"We thought it looked a lot cleaner on the 16 part Dredd vs Aliens story.
However, we could in future aim for a middle ground and also include the credit box on the first part of each story in addition to the contents page."

So you've certainly got them thinking. "

So that's cool of them, maybe we should email them more often about our nitpicks.

[broodblik]

The one thing I actually would like in the Cases Files is to have a splash-page with credit to whom credits deserve before each new story. I know that might push-up cost but it makes it easier.

[AlexF]

I think the Contents listing at the start of each CF, and one at the start of each Megazine bit, works really well. I'd also vote for having the logo and title of each new story left on the page, but then NOT repeat it for the rest of a multi-part story. Dredd vs Aliens is a perfect case in point. It's a super exciting action thriller, and I think it'd lose some impact by being reminded precicesly where each cliffhanger ending happened.

More work for the repro droids, yay!

Still don't know how we get around the fact that the old Megazine Dredds never actually had a logo or title on them; it's only when a change o fart happens that I can even tell when one story has stopped and a new one has started, sometimes. Bishop done a lot of good, but de-logo-ing strips was not, I think, his best choice. Yes, it gives more space for the art, but it also takes away something comics-y that rankles with me. Guess I'm a dinosaur!

[Dark Jimbo]

... it's only when a change o fart happens that I can even tell when one story has stopped and a new one has started...

Best typo ever?

[CalHab]

... it's only when a change o fart happens that I can even tell when one story has stopped and a new one has started...

Best typo ever?

Is that when a run-of-the-mill ripper suddenly alters in nature, necessitating a rapid trip to the toilet?

Sorry, got a bit Roger's Profanisaurus there.

[AlexF]

Definitely not a comment on the changeable quality of art in early Megazine Dredd stories...