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I'm sure this has been done before; I may have even contributed to, or possible started, the same thread in the past.  But here we go again.  Favourite Dredd stories that lasted for only one prog (or one Meg issue), and why, please.  I don't remember the names of some of them, but here goes:

The one where the guy burns some clones used in medical research.  Not only very imaginative but also very poignant and thought-provoking.  It cleverly left the reader to do some work for himself (or herself):  [spoiler]Did the clones really feel pain or was it just the guy's imagination?[/spoiler]

Letter from a Democrat:  Introduced an absolutely crucial part of the Dredd storyline - Politics.  Also a great story in its own right.

The Americans:  Old-school Justice Dept solutions to espionage problems are brought to an absolutely perfect snapshot of MC1.  Also goes a long way towards explaining a mindfeck of a continuity riddle: [spoiler]How can Johnny Alpha and Dredd exist in the same timeframe?[/spoiler]

That Al Ewing one based on old-fashioned role-playing gamebooks:  Amazingly clever storytelling, with the use of a technique I've never seen before[spoiler] (a 'fake' multiple option format that actually has to be 'hacked' by the reader and read straight through)[/spoiler].  Alan Moore would be proud to write it.

The Exploding Man:  Good old sci-fi mutants and explosions with a touch of intelligence and pathos. 

More to follow, but let's hear some of yours too.

John Cassavetes is Dead.  My favourite Alan Grant Dredd, with fabulous Colin MacNeil B&W art. Gets right at the heart of living a life under irrational and intrusive laws. 

Bury My Knee... proof to other Dredd writers that one does not require crack babies to tug at the heartstrings of either the reader or Stony Face himself...

Cheers

Jim

Caterpillars. Michael Carroll, you little gem.

Finger of Suspicion Prog 1387.  Wonderful art, wonderful story and never fails to bring a smile to my stupid face.

'Alone in a Crowd' immediately springs to mind as does the story oin the special about the kid playing in the garden 'Over the Wall'? Dredd at polar opposites but completely consistent with his character...

Alone in the Crowd is a definite for me.  Classic early Dillon artwork for a start.  Always felt he got lazy when he went to the states.  The script is so multi layered it is astounding.  Always felt it was a classic riposte to the eighties 'me first' culture.

In the Bath:  Dredd muses on his mortality whilst having a scrub. Part, of course, of the 'ageing Dredd' cycle, but with a touch of autobiographical whimsy (Wagner's bath-loving ways being well-documented.)

Leaving Rowdy:  Dredd hands over his apartment to Rico – and reveals that he's always kept Judge Lopez's badge, due to guilt over his death. Just when you think you've got Joe Dredd figured out, he's still capable of surprising you.

Death of a Legend: Probably the best send-off for any member of Dredd's supporting cast, and serious competition for 'Bury My Knee...' in the emotional stakes. 

QuoteDeath of a Legend: Probably the best send-off for any member of Dredd's supporting cast, and serious competition for 'Bury My Knee...' in the emotional stakes. 

This. "You deserved better."

Bury My Knee..., Death of a Legend and In the Bath go without saying, naturally.

I also have a soft spot for:

Simple Domestic - an obscure bit of late-nineties Meg Dredd about a newly-pumped con returning from prison to take revenge on his abusive scumbag of a father, partially told in flashback and with sumptuous art by the massively-underrated Steve Tappin.

My Brilliant Career - classic slice of early-1000s typical Mega-City farce.

The Good Man - a mid-2000s Christmas one-off about Dredd out in the Cursed Earth with eye-popping Jim Murray artwork.

The Mega-City Way of Death - in many ways a definitive slice of modern Dredd - poignant, bittersweet and inventive. Greg Staples on art.

The aforementioned Zombies aka Zombie Barbeque - about the labworker and the weird cloned humanoid guinea pigs. Haunting.

Dead Ringer aka Bodysnatcher - another 'golden-age' short by Wagner & Grant and Barry Kitson with a similar theme to The Mega-City Way of Death.

First of the Many - one of Ennis' best (or being a bit harsher, one of his only good ones), detailing Dredd's first bust and subsequent reunion with him. It doesn't end well.

To Thing With Love is also pretty definitive. I've always wanted to put together a Dredd collection of stories that focus mainly on Mega-City and its citizens, and this would be right up there.

That's just off the top of my head - there's bound to be many, many more. I feel like there's quite a lot of really great one-offs, especially from the Megazine, that really suffered from poor artwork, especially in the 1990s.

The Return of Rico is the one that immediately sprang to mind for me.

Quote from: Richmond Clements on 28 March, 2014, 05:36:59 PM

QuoteDeath of a Legend: Probably the best send-off for any member of Dredd's supporting cast, and serious competition for 'Bury My Knee...' in the emotional stakes. 

This. "You deserved better."

Y'know, I've never read that one, although obviously I know the summary. Something to look forward to.

We must be quite close to it turning up in a Case File - CF 24, maybe?

Oh blimey, where to start?

But a quick look through the comments on here (to help jog the old memory), I have to add my vote for 'In the Bath', and the perfect 'John Cassavetes is Dead', as well.

Must have a ponder on this some more....

My Beautiful Career, Wagner/Coleby - Judge Dredd Megazine #215

A citizen goes through a succession of jobs, ending up being brutalised as a human crash-test dummy for the Judges.

Poignant and great concepts like the Trolley Jerk.

Return to Mega-City.

Dredd comes back from his tour of duty as Judge-Marshall on Luna 1. He calmly wanders about the city with a grin on his face while all these various crimes are happening around him. Then once he is sworn back in as a Mega-City One Judge he commandeers a Lawmaster and utters one of my favourite lines ever, "Look out you lawbreaking scum! Judge Dredd's back in town!" Then he deals with all these perps in the way that only Dredd knows how. I like how it restates Dredd's utter devotion to the law, it refocuses the strip back onto the comings and goings of Mega-City One instead of continuing with the misstep of sending Dredd to the moon. And I like Mick McMahon's subtle redesign of Dredd, making him pretty much the character we know and love today.

Minty!

Quote from: Eightball on 28 March, 2014, 07:36:02 PM
Return to Mega-City.

Dredd comes back from his tour of duty as Judge-Marshall on Luna 1. He calmly wanders about the city with a grin on his face while all these various crimes are happening around him.

That's always been the unsettling part of this story - Dredd smirking away, despite his face clearly not being designed for expressions of joy. Obviously he can't intervene until he's sworn back in as a judge of MC-1, but he looks so happy not being a lawman. I can only think of two other occasions in the whole series when he smiles - at the end of Garth Ennis's 'Firepower', and when he's controlled by the city's deities in 'The Power of the Gods'.

I know it led to further stories, but Bad Manners is a masterpiece of the economical storytelling and satisfying payoff the one-and-done format requires. That ending's also an example of the kind of narrative device which could only work in comics that gets Alan Moore all excited. The original PJ Maybe story, Bug, is another tight one-parter whose sequels test our definition of that term.

John Cassavetes  Is Dead is a great shout, even if it's wearing its influences on its sleeve, but it's all getting terribly thought provoking and ... touching round here. Practically any one-off from the end of The Day The Law Died to the beginning of Necropolis could serve as an example of how to tell a complete story while having a brilliant laugh. Vark!, Russell Muscle, So You Want To Be A Judge, Love Story, The House On Runner's Walk, The Prankster, Blobs, Gunge ... I'm just pointlessly listing names now, but the humour of those stories was a crucial part of the appeal of Dredd, to me.

A few good shouts here - I'd pitch in with the tear jerker 'And The Wind Cried' Prog 637. Never fils to draw a lump - and it's not even that sexy!

Quote from: Greg M. on 28 March, 2014, 07:53:38 PM

Quote from: Eightball on 28 March, 2014, 07:36:02 PM
Return to Mega-City.

Dredd comes back from his tour of duty as Judge-Marshall on Luna 1. He calmly wanders about the city with a grin on his face while all these various crimes are happening around him.

That's always been the unsettling part of this story - Dredd smirking away, despite his face clearly not being designed for expressions of joy. Obviously he can't intervene until he's sworn back in as a judge of MC-1, but he looks so happy not being a lawman. I can only think of two other occasions in the whole series when he smiles - at the end of Garth Ennis's 'Firepower', and when he's controlled by the city's deities in 'The Power of the Gods'.

Oh Greg, you are going to get me going off topic but I have been ruminating for a while about what would Dredd do with himself if (for some reason) he got suspended from the Justice Department. If he wasn't a Judge for a few weeks how would he pass his time? I posit that he wouldn't act like a Judge because he wouldn't want to break the law by becoming a Jimp. In fact, he would become the anti-Dredd. :lol:

Anyway, I still love that story and I think it is a great one-and-done that old-timers and newbies can enjoy.

Quote from: Eightball on 28 March, 2014, 08:18:44 PM
...I have been ruminating for a while about what would Dredd do with himself if (for some reason) he got suspended from the Justice Department. If he wasn't a Judge for a few weeks how would he pass his time?

Reminds me of the brilliant spit-take moment from Tour of Duty:

(http://s10.photobucket.com/user/Darkjimbo2/media/dredd-vienna_zpsd3bcf744.jpg.html)

Quote from: Eightball on 28 March, 2014, 08:18:44 PM

Oh Greg, you are going to get me going off topic but I have been ruminating for a while about what would Dredd do with himself if (for some reason) he got suspended from the Justice Department. If he wasn't a Judge for a few weeks how would he pass his time? I posit that he wouldn't act like a Judge because he wouldn't want to break the law by becoming a Jimp. In fact, he would become the anti-Dredd. :lol:

We have some idea of the answer to this - he would go mad. There's a great one-off - I think it's 'Killing Time' in the Megazine - when Volt insists that all judges have a mandatory 24-hours off duty every so often, and Dredd can't handle it all, because he has literally no idea what to do when he's not working.  Cue awkward hospital visits to wounded colleagues (complete with extended Pinter-esque silences) and Dredd eventually flipping out and cursing Volt's name. Very funny stuff.

I forgot all about In the Bath and John Cassavetes.  And yeah, the first Bella Bagley one, for sure.  I'm going to throw in a Rennie one too: the first Planet Gary one.  While I sometimes find his Dredd a bit too mouthy, that one captured him perfectly - a flawless little story.

Quote from: Greg M. on 28 March, 2014, 08:41:01 PM

Quote from: Eightball on 28 March, 2014, 08:18:44 PM

Oh Greg, you are going to get me going off topic but I have been ruminating for a while about what would Dredd do with himself if (for some reason) he got suspended from the Justice Department. If he wasn't a Judge for a few weeks how would he pass his time? I posit that he wouldn't act like a Judge because he wouldn't want to break the law by becoming a Jimp. In fact, he would become the anti-Dredd. :lol:

We have some idea of the answer to this - he would go mad. There's a great one-off - I think it's 'Killing Time' in the Megazine - when Volt insists that all judges have a mandatory 24-hours off duty every so often, and Dredd can't handle it all, because he has literally no idea what to do when he's not working.  Cue awkward hospital visits to wounded colleagues (complete with extended Pinter-esque silences) and Dredd eventually flipping out and cursing Volt's name. Very funny stuff.

The stuff you miss when you leave the fold for "cough" eighteen years. It's this kind of material I am looking forward to most when the relevant Case Files comes out. Kudos for the heads up. :D

Firepower prog 736....old joe at his don't f**k with me best. The in the bath one's an absolute cracker as well. Z

I really like the gentleman thief one from prog 841 'Down Among the Dead Men', very amusing.

I also love the 'the Al Capone Story' from meg #52, the friendship between the two boys was as absurdly touching, in it's own way as 'bury my knee, John cassavates' etc.

"Alone in a Crowd" Wagner, Grant, Dillon prog 205. One of the earliest Dredd's to take a mature approach, is how I remember it. Also Steve Dillon's first Dredd, I think. As such he absolutely went to town on the artwork. He put a hell of a lot of time into it, in comparision to his current pace, and the detail in the world, the bike, the city, and the crowd of citizens was rarely bettered in my view. Absolute must read.

Quote from: Eightball on 28 March, 2014, 07:36:02 PM
Return to Mega-City.

he..  utters one of my favourite lines ever, "Look out you lawbreaking scum! Judge Dredd's back in town!"

This one features one my favourite lines as well which JD says as he calmly walks by: " Good morning Citizens. I would remind you that armed robbery is illegal in Mega-City 1."

Part of a larger story of course, but I think it made a great 'one-off' at the time...

"The Shooting Match", Prog 650 (Wagner/Higgins)

I think Dillons first Dredd was in one of the Specials. The On-offs are my favourite Dredds, better than the 'Epics' which are all story driven. The little stories capture that small bit of Dredd that make him a brilliant comic character.  As for a favourite, mmmm..

Yep, in hindsight so much of the world building happens in those little one-offs rather than the big epics - so many little things woven in that are expanded on later.

Quote from: Call-Me-Kenneth on 28 March, 2014, 09:44:03 PM
I really like the gentleman thief one from prog 841 'Down Among the Dead Men', very amusing.

A Millar Dredd makes the favourites! Good lord! To be fair, it was one of his better ones, though the [spoiler]'10 extra years for wasting Justice Dept time'[/spoiler] punchline was just silly.

How about Bob's Law?  Great insight into the way Justice Dept governs, and the partisan mind of the citizen.

Quote from: maryanddavid on 29 March, 2014, 01:03:45 AM
I think Dillons first Dredd was in one of the Specials.

It was. The 1980 Sci-Fi special, I believe. But Alone... was Dillon's first Dredd in the prog.

A bit of self pimping allowed? OK, then...
Was lucky enough to have snagged a page of original art from this recently.




An instant favourite of mine, as well. Initially due to Steve's art. 

In essence it was a 3 parter but the 3 one offs with Ron Smith on art where Dredd begins to have doubts (which, of course, begin the build up to a much larger story) 'Question of Judgement', 'Error of Judgement' and  'A Case for Treatment'

How about these for a fantastic run of one offs?


Prog 144  Christmas Comes a Little Early to Des O'Connor Block
Prog 145  Uncle Ump's Umpty Candy
Prog 146  New Year is Cancelled
Prog 147  Judge Minty
Prog 148  Alien Seeds


O'Connor Block, Ump and Minty feature pretty much definitive McMahon art; the other two aren't too shabby either with Brendan McCarthy and Ron Smith.
All the scripts are punchy, with a set up, middle and pay off all in 5 or 6 pages. What a few weeks that was (and guess what came next?).

Like others, the one that popped into my head was Alone In A Crowd. Other folks have gone over it, I just remember vividly how great it read at the time.

Lots in this era obviously good too, but loved this for the craziness, and great & rare Garry Leach art (and lettering - he letters better than a letterer too): Attack of the 50 ft Woman (prog 492).

(http://s1026.photobucket.com/user/msellar001/media/2000AD/50ft_zps7d631327.jpg.html)

A good thread.
What I'll do later is re-read In The Bath and John Cassavettes Is Dead. I have no memory of these and thought they came from my Wilderness Years. Nope, progs 626/627 and since I'm sorting out the progs they're behind me  :)

Quote from: Spikes on 29 March, 2014, 09:55:30 AM

Quote from: maryanddavid on 29 March, 2014, 01:03:45 AM
I think Dillons first Dredd was in one of the Specials.

It was. The 1980 Sci-Fi special, I believe. But Alone... was Dillon's first Dredd in the prog.

A bit of self pimping allowed? OK, then...
Was lucky enough to have snagged a page of original art from this recently.




An instant favourite of mine, as well. Initially due to Steve's art.

Wow! You lucky sod! Such a fantastic page - storytelling, acting, lighting - everything! Very 'real' take, even down to the regular shaped tower blocks in the background.  It's even signed too.

Roughly how much was it, may I ask?

Now THERE'S a question we don't ask in public!  :lol:

I have a sneaking fondness for 'Little Spuggy's Christmas'.

Well most of what I'd have said has been covered. 'Death of a Legend', 'In The Bath', ''Leaving Rowdy Yates' and 'John Cassavettes Is Dead' would all be there or there abouts for me BUT since that's all been covered I'll go for a more personal one. 'I, beast' from the 1985 Summer Special a comic I got with 431 that got me back into the Prog back in the day and that Wagner + Grant and Cam Kennedy story had a large part to play in that.

Can we do one of these for 2 parters next a few I was going to mention got excluded on that count!

Quote from: Fungus on 29 March, 2014, 01:45:09 PM

Lots in this era obviously good too, but loved this for the craziness, and great & rare Garry Leach art (and lettering - he letters better than a letterer too): Attack of the 50 ft Woman (prog 492).
sorting out the progs they're behind me  :)

It was fairly arsom, aye.  Also made me feel a bit funny as a soon-to-be adolescent.

Another great Gary Leach one was the Michael Jackson - sorry, Jaxon Prince -  comeback concert.  That Jacko; we didn't know the half of it back then.

 :D

We should thank our lucky stars they never did a character based on Jimmy Saville or Gary Glitter...

Judge Saville...

Quote from: The Corinthian on 29 March, 2014, 06:32:15 PM
I have a sneaking fondness for 'Little Spuggy's Christmas'.

Snap! Now that's what Stevie calls a happy ending.  'The Finger of Suspicion'* only just pips it the post as Stevie's favourite Wagner Dredd.

Full marks for 'Varks' also.

Now the one Dredd that Stevie has poissibly read & re-read more than any other is the tour de farce force that is 'Tour of Duty: Bethlehem.' Pure Marx Brothers-level genius.

Paul Marshall's art on this just just perfect. From the old skool Douglas Church / Ron Turner stylee page layouts & letratone in the flashback sequences to the sheer quality of the acting on show** in this strip.

Must have dug Prog 2010 out close to 50 times to revisit this gem. & Dredd's not even this squaxx's
favourite character in the Megazine***, let alone the prog.


*only a smile, Ming? You clearly have no sense of humour.

**is there any higher compliment that can be paid to a funny book artist?

***that would be Devlin Waugh.

Quote from: O Lucky Stevie! on 30 March, 2014, 06:32:07 AM
Now the one Dredd that Stevie has poissibly read & re-read more than any other is the tour de farce force that is 'Tour of Duty: Bethlehem.' Pure Marx Brothers-level genius.

Durn it, I was just trying to remember the name of that one.  Pure Al Ewing genius.  Shout out for companion piece 'What's another year?' over in the Meg.

Bah, I forget the name but their was that funny one where Dredd had to get to a crime commited on the top floor of a block but the elevators where out of qction, so he took the stairs. By the time he got to the top he was knackered.

I loved the one about the buddhist monk who turns up and then gets interrogated by Dredd.

I liked the way it it was set as a story being told by an older monk to his novices and it had great artwork by Glenn Fabry.

A good twist on the old Dredd being a total bastard routine.

Quote from: Hawkmonger on 30 March, 2014, 10:27:34 AM
Bah, I forget the name but their was that funny one where Dredd had to get to a crime commited on the top floor of a block but the elevators where out of qction, so he took the stairs. By the time he got to the top he was knackered.

When The El Breaks (1099). The fantastic use of double page spreads reminded me of McMahon's colour Annual stories, and it was a great illustration of the texture and atmosphere painted art could bring to a strip. Siku's Dredd at his lantern jawed, pin-headed best too:

Having a trawl through my back progs (with a little helping hand from Barney to refresh the ol' memory), im gonna throw 'Who killed Pug Ugly' from prog 203, into the ring.


Art from smack bang in the middle of the Ronster's classic period, and an episode I'd remembered as maybe being a two-parter, but was pleased to see this was a one-off.
(I shouldn't have been that surprised really - look what Ron did for the Apocalypse War...)

A fun, and wacky one-off, that captures the absurdity of MC1, and general bonkers-ness of Dredd. Which Ron excelled it, like no other.


And that's the appeal of such little gems. Highly memorable tales that leave an impression, and only needing six pages to do so.

Quote from: sauchie on 30 March, 2014, 10:57:34 AM


When The El Breaks (1099). The fantastic use of double page spreads reminded me of McMahon's colour Annual stories, and it was a great illustration of the texture and atmosphere painted art could bring to a strip. Siku's Dredd at his lantern jawed, pin-headed best too

I'm glad you mentioned McMahon's colour annual stories. The 1982 Judge Dredd annual was my first ever exposure to Dredd and the tooth in general so the stories Anatomy Of A Crime, Vampire Effect and Mega-City Rumble have all had a major impact on how I view Judge Dredd as a character (hard bastard) and Mega-City One (teeming with life, awash in jade, amber and turquoise). Good times.

Christmas Spirit, in Prog 2008.  Everything you could ask for in a Dredd strip:  Beating seven shades out of perps, Mega City 1 history lesson, bit of humanity showing through with family members, political discussions with the Chief Judge, hints of massive events in the future.  Lovely.

There was another Xmas one that I really like, drawn by Steve Dillon. I wish I could remember the name of it. It featured a couple of nice touches, such as a seasonal ten second flurry of snow from Weather Control (I think), and giving food to mutants on the other side if the wall, only to pick out and mow down known outlaws.

Plus there was The Lurker. Loved that - a nice one-off Ron Smith number about a rad suitcase.

Quote from: shaolin_monkey on 31 March, 2014, 02:06:41 AM
There was another Xmas one that I really like, drawn by Steve Dillon. I wish I could remember the name of it. It featured a couple of nice touches, such as a seasonal ten second flurry of snow from Weather Control (I think), and giving food to mutants on the other side if the wall, only to pick out and mow down known outlaws.

A Merry tale of the Christmas Angel.

Quote from: shaolin_monkey on 31 March, 2014, 02:06:41 AM
Plus there was The Lurker. Loved that - a nice one-off Ron Smith number about a rad suitcase.

Lurk lurk.

I really liked "Finger Of Suspicion", where an unlucky cit got his middle finger stuck in an insulting way and people took offense!

Funny stuff as usual by Wagner, and well drawn by Kennedy.

Prog 1387

Quote from: JOE SOAP on 31 March, 2014, 02:17:24 AM

Quote from: shaolin_monkey on 31 March, 2014, 02:06:41 AM
There was another Xmas one that I really like, drawn by Steve Dillon. I wish I could remember the name of it. It featured a couple of nice touches, such as a seasonal ten second flurry of snow from Weather Control (I think), and giving food to mutants on the other side if the wall, only to pick out and mow down known outlaws.

A Merry tale of the Christmas Angel.

Was it with a lobotomised mean with a foster family?  If so, bizarrely, that's the least memorable part of it!

Minty. Yeah, predictable, but looking back it was a pretty important story for Justice Department world building.

Trying to contribute a few personal favourites that haven't already been mentioned here...

Prog 1284's Block Court* - great Wagner/Kennedy comedy as Dredd grinds his teeth through five pages of bickering citizens.
'How's things, control? You need me out on patrol?'
'Negative, all quiet at this time.'
'You sure? No sign of Judge Death or anything...?'

S.A.M in prog 1374 was a great slice of typically Mega-City madness. It's a bank heist/hostage seige story, but the joke is that the robot bomb is the one really holding up the bank, and having to bully and threaten his reluctant human at every turn to go through with it, as he'd much rather just give himself up to the judges.

The Runner, prog 1240 - a guy is sprinting through the Mega-City, trying to beat his own personal best time by shaving off precious seconds wherever he can, dodging punks and juve gangs and rogue robots as he does. Dredd sees him pass and hollers for him to stop, but the runner's almost beaten his time and can't afford to. Dredd assumes guilt and guns him down dead, seconds away from the end of his route and a beaten record.

A Real Christmas Story, prog 502 - a weird narrator-driven tale by Wagner and Cliff Robinson where reality is constantly being altered to make the 'story' more exciting. 'We've got to pep you up a bit, Bill! How about a gruesome steel claw and a window in your head so we can see your brain sloshing about?'

Al Ewing's Cockroaches* in prog 1627. Just a great love-letter to some of the strip's iconic moments, with an unexpected sting in the tale. Great art, too.

The Fear That Made Milwaukee Famous*. 'Nobody calls me chickenhead!'

*I can't believe nobody's mentioned this one already!

Some great stories listed so far.

The sadder one-shot tales have always stuck in my mind more, so I have to add "The Guinea Pig That Changed The Law" (lovely art by Mr Cooper) from prog 126 and "Uncle Ump's Umpty Candy" from prog 145.

Attack of the 50 ft Woman -- if ever a "whatever happened to?" was needed, it's here. Dredd was so unreasonable in this story.

(Leviathan's Farewell, the Judge Corey story, was pretty fine but not sure if it's a "Dredd" story as such.)

can't believe no one has picked 'Judge Tyrannosaur'

Quote from: Skullmo on 31 March, 2014, 04:11:02 PM
can't believe no one has picked 'Judge Tyrannosaur'

This ^^^^ is why we can't have nice things.

Quote from: smiffy on 31 March, 2014, 04:09:23 PM

The sadder one-shot tales have always stuck in my mind more, so I have to add "The Guinea Pig That Changed The Law" (lovely art by Mr Cooper) from prog 126

I second that, definitely one of my favourites! and Block War!

Slow Crime Day by Wagner/Doherty.

A favourite in recent years is The Streets of Dan Francisco: another instance of John Wagner re-interpreting some of his best and most notable lines via other characters.

Quote from: smiffy on 31 March, 2014, 04:09:23 PM
I have to add "The Guinea Pig That Changed The Law"

We're still naming stories we think were good, aren't we?

Quote from: sauchie on 31 March, 2014, 04:42:19 PM

Quote from: smiffy on 31 March, 2014, 04:09:23 PM
I have to add "The Guinea Pig That Changed The Law"

We're still naming stories we think were good, aren't we?

Ouch! That is one of the best!

Quote from: radiator on 31 March, 2014, 04:30:04 PM
Slow Crime Day by Wagner/Doherty.

Also, The Pusher by the same team.

Pretty sure The Pusher was by Alan Grant.

Quote from: sauchie on 31 March, 2014, 04:42:19 PM

Quote from: smiffy on 31 March, 2014, 04:09:23 PM
I have to add "The Guinea Pig That Changed The Law"

We're still naming stories we think were good, aren't we?

It does have the best-ever caption misreading. Wagner writes 'Dredd posts a heavy guard on the door' and Cooper proceeds to draw the fattest Judge ever seen in the strip.  :lol:

What about:

'Behold the Beast' and 'The Big Itch' from the Dredd Annual 1983 - both firm faves.

As is Fifty Year Man (Prog 1536) which was effectively Wagner stamping his authority on his creation.

I loved 'Crossing Ken Dodd' where Dredd has to protect a tax man too, particularly for the amazing artwork by Jock.

Finally, The Great Arsoli by Wagner, Grant and Bisley never fails to tickle me!

So many more, I'm gonna start re-reading!

Some great choices here.

I must confess a fondness for Slick Dickens, prog 505. I can't make any strong case for greatness, originality or depth, other than to tell you that I enjoyed the hell out of it as a youth. It tickled my funny bone. I think I just really like Steve Dillon's designs and storytelling. His work seems to linger vividly in my mind.

Second 'The Great Arsoli' (best last line ever and one of the best single Dredd images).

'Ironfist' and 'Rock on, Tommy Who?' are also particular faves of mine....

Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 31 March, 2014, 06:51:17 PM

Quote from: sauchie on 31 March, 2014, 04:42:19 PM

Quote from: smiffy on 31 March, 2014, 04:09:23 PM
I have to add "The Guinea Pig That Changed The Law"

We're still naming stories we think were good, aren't we?

It does have the best-ever caption misreading. Wagner writes 'Dredd posts a heavy guard on the door' and Cooper proceeds to draw the fattest Judge ever seen in the strip.  :lol:

I don't think it's a 'misreading', I think it's a 'joke'!  ;)

Bury my Knee - Dredd has a heart! Doherty art!

The Good man - Murray on art made my Christmas!

I liked JD Megson - I suppose a casual reader might enjoy it in and of itself, but it's written purely for the hardcore fans and is a bit meaningless out of the context it was published in.

Quote from: radiator on 28 March, 2014, 05:47:41 PM
The Mega-City Way of Death - in many ways a definitive slice of modern Dredd - poignant, bittersweet and inventive. Greg Staples on art

I was drawing a complete blank on this, so I plunged into the pile for a re-read. Thanks a million, radiator, because that was a fantastic read. It manages to balance a genuine emotional weight with the kind of black, black humour (and delight in gore and the gothic) which makes a story like America so unique and work so well. There's the same fascination with misplaced love for the returned object of affection which underpins the first America too.

Some of the more lachrymose tales cited on this thread dip too deep into the well of sentimentality for my taste, but Wagner formulates this story perfectly. Despite being equal parts Bon Jovi (Tina works the diner all day ...) and O. Henry (the irony of that ending), Zag and Marta's relationship is believable enough that I'm prepared to give Wagner a free pass for the violins playing as the kid on a ventilator struggles for life.

If Staples had painted this, it would probably have joined the ranks of the Beeny saga in my memory and my estimation, but even Craddock-color (TM) can't ruin this one. Intertextual references to The Mega Rackets, Return Of The Taxidermist, and They Shoot DJs, Don't They ground the individual story in the wider context of the history of the strip and that of MC1, and I don't think I'll ever get sick of shots of the Resyk building and its conveyor belts. Prog 1111.

That's the one - it's also quite long for a one-off IIRC - perhaps double-length?

I feel like there's quite a lot of those solid gold nuggets around the late-nineties that have been little-read and scarcely - if ever - reprinted. One of John Wagner's most prolific periods when it comes to Dredd - he was writing the character pretty much single-handed in both the prog and Meg from 96/7-2000. It's great that they'll be getting a well-overdue airing soon as the Case Files start to cover that era.

Another one well worth revisiting is A Walk on Gang Alley from around the same time as ...Way of Death. It's another extended episode that is slight, and hinges on a pretty obvious punchline, but is a great fun little one-off, with lot's of extended, wordless, action scenes the likes of which we don't often get with 2000ad Dredds. Has a definite Warriors vibe which gets plus points from me.

I must confess to not being a huge fan of Alex Ronald's work when I first read the prog during the mid-nineties, but I think he was an artist - like Colin Macniel - who was particularly poorly-served by that ugly computer colouring. Revisiting that period recently I noticed how wonderful his work is when coloured by Gary Caldwell (2000ad's best colourist by far IMHO). See also Termination With Extreme Prejudice - an effective little Wagner/Ronald two(?) parter from around the same time that foreshadows a lot of the Mutants in Mega City One/Tour of Duty stories.

Quote from: hippynumber1 on 31 March, 2014, 09:17:09 PM

Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 31 March, 2014, 06:51:17 PM

Quote from: sauchie on 31 March, 2014, 04:42:19 PM

Quote from: smiffy on 31 March, 2014, 04:09:23 PM
I have to add "The Guinea Pig That Changed The Law"

We're still naming stories we think were good, aren't we?

It does have the best-ever caption misreading. Wagner writes 'Dredd posts a heavy guard on the door' and Cooper proceeds to draw the fattest Judge ever seen in the strip.  :lol:

I don't think it's a 'misreading', I think it's a 'joke'!  ;)

No, I don't buy that. It's not really a funny strip, so to slip just one joke like that in would be very weird,  and Cooper's hardly the sort of artist to fill the backgrounds with Ken Reid-like easter eggs.

I'd like to mention Prog 476's 'Paid with Thanks.' It's a delightfully batty Grover/Gibson one parter where professional biller Adele Dahl(!) makes money by sending billing people. The bills she sends are to pay the costs of the bill she is sending! It all gets a bit weird when dead folk start turning up at her apartment.

It features one of my favourite Dredd panels ever, this beauty...

Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 01 April, 2014, 12:03:30 AM

Quote from: hippynumber1 on 31 March, 2014, 09:17:09 PM

Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 31 March, 2014, 06:51:17 PM

Quote from: sauchie on 31 March, 2014, 04:42:19 PM

Quote from: smiffy on 31 March, 2014, 04:09:23 PM
I have to add "The Guinea Pig That Changed The Law"

We're still naming stories we think were good, aren't we?

It does have the best-ever caption misreading. Wagner writes 'Dredd posts a heavy guard on the door' and Cooper proceeds to draw the fattest Judge ever seen in the strip.  :lol:

I don't think it's a 'misreading', I think it's a 'joke'!  ;)

No, I don't buy that. It's not really a funny strip, so to slip just one joke like that in would be very weird,  and Cooper's hardly the sort of artist to fill the backgrounds with Ken Reid-like easter eggs.

You forget that a comic script will have panel descriptions for the artist to follow! John's not stupid either, so would know that a 'heavy guard' didn't mean a 'fat judge'! It's a joke!

Quote from: dancornwell on 31 March, 2014, 09:48:58 PM
Bury my Knee - Dredd has a heart! Doherty art!

Just read this one based on the recs here....so good  :'( :'(

Quote from: Pete Wells on 01 April, 2014, 12:55:52 AMThe bills she sends are to pay the costs of the bill she is sending! It all gets a bit weird when dead folk start turning up at her apartment.

Apparently she works for my bank now.

At the risk of summoning Logan, how about La Placa Rifa? Not a lot happens, but the Kennedy colour art is stunning, and it's a great thumbnail of the endless low-level juve-wars that constitute so much of the City's unpleasantness.

Quote from: TordelBack on 01 April, 2014, 08:18:40 AM
At the risk of summoning Logan, how about La Placa Rifa? Not a lot happens, but the Kennedy colour art is stunning, and it's a great thumbnail of the endless low-level juve-wars that constitute so much of the City's unpleasantness.

Yeah, it was brilliant.  Nice to see Dredd breaking the law, just a tiny bit, to make a point.

Quote from: WhizzBang on 28 March, 2014, 06:51:28 PM
The Return of Rico is the one that immediately sprang to mind for me.

Was just about to say that. Amazing how many ideas were crammed into it and the impact it continues to have on the script.

Quote from: Will Cooling on 01 April, 2014, 10:02:06 AM

Quote from: WhizzBang on 28 March, 2014, 06:51:28 PM
The Return of Rico is the one that immediately sprang to mind for me.

Was just about to say that. Amazing how many ideas were crammed into it and the impact it continues to have on the script.

Which is funny... Didn't Pat write it? That makes it Not Canon and merely filler apparently... ;-)

I know it's been mentioned before, but I have to add another nod for 'In The Bath'. Hard to describe just how seminal this was for me (bath/ seminal, stop it). As an unexpected five minutes behind the visor of the ageing lawman it is still unsurpassed. And to this day, when I'm up to my neck in bubbles and am interrupted in any way, I quietly growl to myself "Not now Control, I'm in the bath...".

SBT

Judge Planet.  I love me that story / art. :P

Quote from: TordelBack on 01 April, 2014, 08:18:40 AM
At the risk of summoning Logan, how about La Placa Rifa? Not a lot happens, but the Kennedy colour art is stunning, and it's a great thumbnail of the endless low-level juve-wars that constitute so much of the City's unpleasantness.

Yeah, that was great. Its classic Dredd. Cam did a few of these: Jumping on prog dredd - not some deep reflections or tease that he might be changing. Just 'this is the character, the city, the law' - ain't it great? The concept's so strong you don't need to add bells or whistles. I'm a sucker for these types of stories. What's the one they did with the fantastic overhead shot of the city and the floating hamburger restaurant? It showed off all the different types of lawgiver bullet and Dredd lets the stookie user age to death at the end - just to show what a bastard he is. *runs upstairs* Ah, it doesn't have a name! It's prog 435 though, another jumping on prog. In those days they were called 'boom issues' and we'd get a free gift on the cover. Now we just get Molcher pimping himself sore to retailers & the interwebz!

Quote from: Montynero on 01 April, 2014, 12:12:17 PM
Ah, it doesn't have a name! It's prog 435 though, another jumping on prog.

Rather fitting that the story doesn't have a name, isn't it? I believe Jock owns the original art for that spread, possibly the single piece of Dredd art I covet above all others... literally everything I love about the strip is encapsulated in that one piece of Kennedy art.

Cheers!

Jim

Quote from: Richmond Clements on 01 April, 2014, 10:15:13 AM
Which is funny... Didn't Pat write it? That makes it Not Canon and merely filler apparently... ;-)

Tonight on 2000AD Online, a special investigation: When Good Moderators Go Troll.

Quote from: TordelBack on 01 April, 2014, 01:14:28 PM

Quote from: Richmond Clements on 01 April, 2014, 10:15:13 AM
Which is funny... Didn't Pat write it? That makes it Not Canon and merely filler apparently... ;-)

Tonight on 2000AD Online, a special investigation: When Good Moderators Go Troll.

:-)

Quote from: Richmond Clements on 01 April, 2014, 01:21:37 PM

Quote from: TordelBack on 01 April, 2014, 01:14:28 PM

Quote from: Richmond Clements on 01 April, 2014, 10:15:13 AM
Which is funny... Didn't Pat write it? That makes it Not Canon and merely filler apparently... ;-)

Tonight on 2000AD Online, a special investigation: When Good Moderators Go Troll.

:-)

It's not trolling if there is no mens rea

People called Romanes they go the house?

Class of '79 from Prog 2006.

It may retread old ground somewhat (the crooked judge in the story is what - the fourth(?) of Dredd's classmates to go bad?) but this is classic Dredd - it even (ISTR) - used the classic Dredd logo. Art by Greg Staples (colours by Peter Doherty IIRC) is sublime and it's full of great little character moments like the gloriously awkward Dredd family Christmas.

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 01 April, 2014, 12:52:37 PM

Quote from: Montynero on 01 April, 2014, 12:12:17 PM
Ah, it doesn't have a name! It's prog 435 though, another jumping on prog.

Rather fitting that the story doesn't have a name, isn't it?

In the 'Next Prog' box at the end of the previous Dredd story, West Side Rumble (prog#434), it's called Back on the Streets.

Great research, thanks Joe!

Sounds like the kind of thing a sub editor would write if he had no idea what the next story was called :)

It doesn't get a title when reprinted in the Titan edition either, but that's a handy name for it.

Loads of Wagner/Grant classics to choose from, but if no one else has mentioned it, I'm throwing "Cockroaches" from prog 1627 by Al Ewing and Ben Oliver in there.

Quote from: Montynero on 01 April, 2014, 05:35:59 PMSounds like the kind of thing a sub editor would write if he had no idea what the next story was called :)

Generic or wha!

Quote from: Montynero on 01 April, 2014, 05:35:59 PM
Sounds like the kind of thing a sub editor would write if he had no idea what the next story was called :)

It doesn't get a title when reprinted in the Titan edition either, but that's a handy name for it.

The first port of call in instances like these should always be Barney! Even when not-quite up to date it's an invaluable resource.

Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 01 April, 2014, 05:48:36 PM
The first port of call in instances like these should always be Barney! Even when not-quite up to date it's an invaluable resource.

Well said, Dark Jimbo - I have Barney open in a browser tab most of the time when I'm writing!

-- Mike

Quote from: Mike Carroll on 01 April, 2014, 05:55:02 PMI have Barney open in a browser tab most of the time when I'm writing!

The secret 'Carroll Method' is revealed!

Quote from: Mike Carroll on 01 April, 2014, 05:55:02 PMI have Barney open in a browser tab most of the time when I'm writing!

Not sure why exactly but that gives me a deep feeling of satisfaction. Sweet sweet continuity cake.

This thread has got me thinking - why is it that Dredd is so enduring and became THE 2000AD story and not anything else? It was NOT obvious at the start that would be the case (not that I was actually reading it for the first couple of years  :lol:).

I think it is these little gems that really show the versatility of the story. Literally anything can happen; they are like little future shocks but wrapped up in a familiar setting, often with Dredd himself only appearing at the end.

Quote from: Magnetica on 01 April, 2014, 08:06:29 PM
I think it is these little gems that really show the versatility of the story. Literally anything can happen; they are like little future shocks but wrapped up in a familiar setting, often with Dredd himself only appearing at the end.

I think that's really at the heart of it - the strip can wander off and do a little parody of Sceret Diary of Adrian Mole from the PoV of a mutant cockroach, or the  hardboiled internal monologue of a dying hitman actually called Flip Marlowe who really loves his pet rat, safe in the knowledge that Dredd is always there, superficially unchanging and uncomplicated to anchor the whole thing from week to week.   

It's a format that can accommodate almost anything, but with a reassuring constant always in the background.

Quote from: TordelBack on 01 April, 2014, 08:15:15 PM
I think that's really at the heart of it - the strip can wander off and do a little parody of Sceret Diary of Adrian Mole from the PoV of a mutant cockroach, or the  hardboiled internal monologue of a dying hitman actually called Flip Marlowe who really loves his pet rat

Kennedy really took over from Ron Smith as the guy for those MC-1 slice-of-life oddities, didn't he? His oddballs are every bit as comedic as the Mighty Ron's, but with the added bonus of those greasy, grimy litter-strewn streets and thrillingly mysterious machinery that somehow still managed to look like it all worked.

I miss Cam's Dredd. Sniff!

Cheers

Jim

I'm with you there Jim but I miss Ron even more.

And even more than that I miss Bolland :'( 

(But he wasn't really the guy for these kind of stories..so a bit off topic...but even so he is the one I miss the most).

Quote from: radiator on 31 March, 2014, 11:40:16 PM
One of John Wagner's most prolific periods when it comes to Dredd - he was writing the character pretty much single-handed in both the prog and Meg from 96/7-2000. It's great that they'll be getting a well-overdue airing soon as the Case Files start to cover that era.

That's good news  :)  Re-reading the progs from the 90's I idly supposed the Morrison/Millar/Ennis stuff
continued. I haven't picked up any Case Files as yet... (the Complete Judge Dredd covers that nicely
for the earliest stuff in any case).

The Titan epilogue is as good a one shot as I've read in ages. Maybe disqualified by having themes from previous stories as it's centre but brilliant just for the 'brutal' assessment stuff.

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 01 April, 2014, 08:37:04 PM

Kennedy really took over from Ron Smith as the guy for those MC-1 slice-of-life oddities, didn't he? His oddballs are every bit as comedic as the Mighty Ron's, but with the added bonus of those greasy, grimy litter-strewn streets and thrillingly mysterious machinery that somehow still managed to look like it all worked.

I miss Cam's Dredd. Sniff!

Cheers

Jim

Yep, for me Cam's Sunday Night Fever MC1 will always be the definitive one.  Only the three Star Wars movies (you know which ones I mean) could match his success in combining futuristic hi-technology and back-alley shabbiness.  No wonder they got him to do the Star Wars comics.

http://blog.dundee.ac.uk/studentblog/files/2013/09/1230048_10151659463407339_1592089734_n.jpg (http://blog.dundee.ac.uk/studentblog/files/2013/09/1230048_10151659463407339_1592089734_n.jpg)

We know how to celebrate Cam in Dundee! :)

Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 02 April, 2014, 12:06:20 PM
Yep, for me Cam's Sunday Night Fever MC1 will always be the definitive one. 

Me too, the perfect Dredd story, everything you need to know about MC-1 in 18 pages, and all so startlingly real.  All too easy to imagine living there.

Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 02 April, 2014, 12:06:20 PM
Only the three Star Wars movies (you know which ones I mean) could match his success in combining futuristic hi-technology and back-alley shabbiness.  No wonder they got him to do the Star Wars comics.

And what lovely things they are too.

One that sticks in my mind, I don't know the prog or the name of the story as it was over 25yrs ago or there abouts.
Its about a guy who rob's banks using a device that takes him out of our time sync, It struck me because it was pure sci-fi story and how they go about trying to capture him, made fantastic reading!
 

Quote from: Moggot Lover on 02 April, 2014, 12:56:47 PM
One that sticks in my mind, I don't know the prog or the name of the story as it was over 25yrs ago or there abouts.
Its about a guy who rob's banks using a device that takes him out of our time sync, It struck me because it was pure sci-fi story and how they go about trying to capture him, made fantastic reading!

The Invisible Man progs #134-135 (1979).

Quote from: JOE SOAP on 02 April, 2014, 01:08:46 PM

Quote from: Moggot Lover on 02 April, 2014, 12:56:47 PM
One that sticks in my mind, I don't know the prog or the name of the story as it was over 25yrs ago or there abouts.
Its about a guy who rob's banks using a device that takes him out of our time sync, It struck me because it was pure sci-fi story and how they go about trying to capture him, made fantastic reading!

The Invisible Man progs #134-135 (1979).

You sir, are a gent and a scholar!

Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 02 April, 2014, 12:06:20 PM
Yep, for me Cam's Sunday Night Fever MC1 will always be the definitive one.  Only the three Star Wars movies (you know which ones I mean) could match his success in combining futuristic hi-technology and back-alley shabbiness.  No wonder they got him to do the Star Wars comics.

I particularly loved his work on Rogue Trooper; the look of the guns and equipment and vehicles, and especially Rogue's detour to the Gasbah.  We suddenly see all sorts of great Cam aliens in a setting which is usually human only.

grud theres too many to choose from...one that stuck out was "doledrums" in a more recentish-ish prog some of the modern era one offs need to be collected in a trade or two!

There is only one correct answer, & that is 'Alone In A Crowd'.

I had been a HUGE fan of Steve Dillon's work on Mean Arena, & had been naively trying to copy his art style. When I saw this first Dredd art, it almost made me throw in the towel. The double page spread he did in 'Block Mania' where Orlock is adding the block mania serum to the water plant is awesome too.... but I digress.... 'alone in a crowd' is an outstanding story (in addition to the art), in 6 pages it tells a brilliant little action story while at the same time perfectly encompasses what life is like for the average MC1 citizen. Plus, that panel where the perp flies backwards out through the window is brilliant!

Really surprised at how many mentions alone in the crowd is getting. I guess it was the first 'mature' Dredd strip?

Quote from: Staz Johnson on 03 April, 2014, 01:17:20 AM
I had been a HUGE fan of Steve Dillon's work on Mean Arena, & had been naively trying to copy his art style.

Heh. I clearly remember your first (?) published work from Harrier -- the Dillon influence was strong, but the talent was also immediately obvious. As was that of Nigel Dobbyn, with whom you shared that debut issue of Avalon (I think).

Cheers!

Jim

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 03 April, 2014, 08:38:16 AM

Quote from: Staz Johnson on 03 April, 2014, 01:17:20 AM
I had been a HUGE fan of Steve Dillon's work on Mean Arena, & had been naively trying to copy his art style.

Heh. I clearly remember your first (?) published work from Harrier -- the Dillon influence was strong, but the talent was also immediately obvious. As was that of Nigel Dobbyn, with whom you shared that debut issue of Avalon (I think).

Cheers!

Jim

Not sure if the Harrier stuff came firstor not, Jim, I seem to remember that there was something else which actually saw print before the Harrier thing, although it had been drawn AFTER it. It's all such a long time ago.

Interesting that you still saw the Dillon influence there, by that time I was making a conscious effort to channel Dave Gibbons.. apparently to little effect :-) But certainly, on all the stuff I did for fanzines prior to that, Steve Dillon's was very evident. Thinking about it, the Diana strip (the one that ended up in the Harrier mag)material was originally meant for publication in a fanzine, but after I'd drawn it it was picked up by Harrier & I got bunged a few quid.... which was nice.

While I haven't been too fond of Alan Grant Dredds of recent years (we KNOW he's a fascist, Alan!), the one all about feet has stuck in my mind just for the sheer bizarreness of it. 
He also did a great one-off about a democratic revolutionary years ago (pre-Necropolis, I think).
Finally, there was a profoundly disturbing and tragic story about a paralysed man with a thought-controlled monkey. 
Sorry I can't remember the names of them.

Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 03 April, 2014, 12:22:14 PM
Finally, there was a profoundly disturbing and tragic story about a paralysed man with a thought-controlled monkey. 
Sorry I can't remember the names of them.

Was it called"Nick Clegg - the Coalition Years"?

Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 03 April, 2014, 12:22:14 PM
Finally, there was a profoundly disturbing and tragic story about a paralysed man with a thought-controlled monkey.

'A Monkey's Tale', Prog 647. Definitely a strong Grant story (though I may be biased 'cos I have all the original Paul Marshall art for that one.)

Quotethere was a profoundly disturbing and tragic story about a paralysed man with a thought-controlled monkey. 

A Monkey's Tale (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=prog&page=profiles&choice=647) (647), which was not a sequel to the similarly weepy A Child's Tale (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=prog&page=profiles&choice=631) (631). The latter had some great Cliff Robinson art, with a nice contrast between his highly rendered style and the faux naive scribbled panels which were supposed to be the child's recounting of the incident. The monkey in a coma story is such an early example of the great Paul Marshall's work for Tharg that the schoolboy artist is clearly still aping Brian Bolland.

Quote from: sauchie on 03 April, 2014, 01:55:33 PM

A Monkey's Tale (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=prog&page=profiles&choice=647) (647), which was not a sequel to the similarly weepy A Child's Tale (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=prog&page=profiles&choice=631) (631). The latter had some great Cliff Robinson art, with a nice contrast between his highly rendered style and the faux naive scribbled panels which were supposed to be the child's recounting of the incident.

God, I remember that now. Two talented creators - but I didn't like it. Not the kind of sentimental guff I want from a Dredd story.

Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 03 April, 2014, 12:22:14 PM
While I haven't been too fond of Alan Grant Dredds of recent years (we KNOW he's a fascist, Alan!), the one all about feet has stuck in my mind just for the sheer bizarreness of it. 

:lol: Oh yeah! That appeared in the Meg in only my third or fourth ever issue. It was a bit weird - a concise little Dredd thriller revolving around classic Mega-City elements like an illegal psi working for a juve gang, an inoppurtune block shakedown and a fatty so big he was stuck in his apartment - but for no particular reason the characters were all saying this like 'I'd better hot foot it after her!' 'Don't be such a heel!' 'Time to stamp this out!' 'If I can just get a toe-hold...'

Of the recent one shots I really enjoyed Downside by Eglington and Cook. Meg 338. Obviously the longer page count allows more scope, but it was a lovely example of a Dredd story about the weirdness of MC1 and its citizens. It's beautifully structured, with an arresting opening as the characters fall to their apparent doom.The combat as they plunge is skillfully intercut with the unwinding narrative of how the various players came to be in this perilous position, and it has a great ending embracing the surreal possibilities of future tech (in this case, boing). The art and scripting are top drawer, and its clever, kinetic and blackly humourous. My kind of story.

Inspired by this remarkably on-topic thread, I've been flicking through the Casefiles at random, rather than my usual periodic chronological stomp or in-and-out fact-search.  What a lot of really fantastic stuff there is there when you only look at the 1- (and, I confess, 2-) parters and ignore the rest.  It affords a new perspective on some great comics. Just read a lovely Dredd character moment in the single-episode untitled story I think of as 'Crippen and Turk': "Never too old to enjoy a good fight".

Quote from: TordelBack on 03 April, 2014, 03:48:52 PM
"Never too old to enjoy a good fight".

Isn't that from RELATE or am I confusing Dredd with real life again?

Quote from: TordelBack on 03 April, 2014, 03:48:52 PM"Never too old to enjoy a good fight".

'CRIPPEN FOR RIDGELEY!' 'TURK! TURK! TURK!'
Classic.

I liked A Child's Tale, me.  One of the rare instances that Alan Grant decided to bestow a bit of humanity onto Dredd's character.

It reminds me of another great one (though without the Dredd humanity): Again I can't remember the name, but it involved a woman obsessing over the possibility of Dredd arresting her for dropping 'a plastipak of stroberry jam'*, and going mental over it.

*Once again British English has crossed the Atlantic by the 22nd century.  But there's another thread about that.

Would that be 'The Dredd Syndrome'?

Think so, aye.