JUDGE DREDD CASE FILES 1 TO 3

[Little_Tengu]

I reckon the first year of Dredd was pretty awful.  It's almost like they don't know what they have on their hands.  It's (almost) fun to watch the number of wrong turns they make with the character.

* All of the attempts to humanise him.

* The very broad humour (often provided by the inexcusable Walter and Maria).

* The fact they keep sending him away from the city (now, undoubtedly as much a character as Dredd). 

* The amount of times Dredd makes stupid mistakes.

* The amount of times Walter or Maria does something bad but Dredd lets them away with it.

It all makes pretty grim reading. 

I really don't get why so many people bash CCF 1. Maybe it has something to do with my high tolerance for "camp", but I found nothing wrong with any of the early strips.

[Steve Green]

I don't get the hate for something that was ostensibly aimed at kids.

If it was that terrible it likely wouldn't have made it to CF2.

Certainly don't agree on the art either.

[JOE SOAP]

Don't know how any can't see the fun in it and the art is still pretty fantasic and unique even if it has rough edges.

[Hawkmumbler]

Case Files v1 will always be worth the money for The Return of Rico alone. What a finaly panel.
I'm one of those who like's The Robot War for what it is. A fine first mini-epic.

[Spikes]

As somebody who caught Dredd from the beginning, these early strips, though a bit primitive - and i can see all the points that Tips included in his post, have huge appeal to me, and are a joy to read. And nostalgia doesnt fully cover it.
Has Dredd been around long enough now to be compared to other long running characters, like Spiderman?
Do people new to Spidey see those early Ditko/Lee stories as twee and rough round the edges?
Personally, its only those early stories that would hold any real interest to me.

When people new to Dredd ask advice as to what to buy, i can see the sense in people suggesting the later stuff, but as someone who, when discovering a new comic/character, will always try to hunt down the run as it first appeared, that will always be my recommendation.

But it does beg the question as to why Dredd took so long to fully form. The same creative team hit the ground running with Stronty.

[HdE]

I think I posted as much here before, but I'd heard a lot of sour comments about ase Files 1. But when I bought it... it was a delight from start to finish!

I was surprised at how much Ian Gibson there is in it. But then, the artwork is of a pretty uniformly high standard throughout.

Truthfully, I generally struggle with retro comics. But theres' BUCKETS of personality in those early strips. If anything, I've enjoyed volme 1 over the second and third in my big read-through. That's no reflection on the quality of the material in those volumes - just my honest opinion based on personal taste.

I don't think it's really fair to hold up material from 1977 against more recent stuff, though. I mean, comics are a different beast now, and have evolved continually over time. As a product of its time, the content of Case Files 1 stands up really well, I think.

[Little_Tengu]

Truthfully, I generally struggle with retro comics. But theres' BUCKETS of personality in those early strips. If anything, I've enjoyed volme 1 over the second and third in my big read-through. That's no reflection on the quality of the material in those volumes - just my honest opinion based on personal taste.

I'm the exact same way. While I enjoyed volume 2 it just dragged on and on and I don't think I'll ever really feel the need to re-read it. I started out with a lot of the more shorter, "off-beat" stuff from the US reprints, so that's generally what I prefer.

[HdE]

I think I can best sum up my feelings on those early Case Files volumes by saying that I think the first serves up a nice, varied banquet of Dredd. Every new story feels fresh, even if it doesn't necessarily engage me right off the bat. It's actually surprising which stories stick in the mind. I LOVE the whole 'Dredd on Luna 1' phase, and there are ideas like Elvis the killer car that I find myself warming to when my initial reacion is 'uh???'

I personally get a feeling from the epics like 'The Day The Law Died' and 'The Judge Child' that they're over-long and sometimes not too tightly structured. In fact, Case Files 4 was the first time I EVER read 'The Judge Child', and I was left thinking that it was basically just a very loose framework for a bunch of off-world Dredd tales. Nothing wrong with that, but when you get to the pay-off... well, it felt a little underwhelming to me personally. Still, knowing that it's something later stories will revisit does do something to alleviate misgivings.   

I'd labour the point, though, that I'm not saying I don't enjoy those longer-form stories. I re-read The Day The Law Died just a few weeks back, and I found myself enjoying it much more for being familiar with it. There's some great stuff - how about Pat Mills pre-empting Jurassic park with his Satanus stuff, eh?

[Little_Tengu]

how about Pat Mills pre-empting Jurassic park with his Satanus stuff, eh?

It always kind of struck me as interesting how much Dredd tried to tie itself in with the other strips because by this point we've got Harlem Heroes (Giant) and Flesh (Satanus) mingling in with Dredd

[Hawkmumbler]

how about Pat Mills pre-empting Jurassic park with his Satanus stuff, eh?

It always kind of struck me as interesting how much Dredd tried to tie itself in with the other strips because by this point we've got Harlem Heroes (Giant) and Flesh (Satanus) mingling in with Dredd

And latter Ace Trucking, Nemesis, ABC Warriors, Strontium Dog and Friday. Most of which I think have since been retconed. 'Sigh'

[monsterx]

Case Files v1 will always be worth the money for The Return of Rico alone. What a finaly panel.
I'm one of those who like's The Robot War for what it is. A fine first mini-epic.

I to loved the first robot war, classic!