Newbie Qs Case Files

[Bodyshark]

hello fellow Citizens

As Title says,Newbie looking for some recommendations from you long Time Fans regarding Case Files and other Collections 
I've read the Case Files 1,2 and 5 and i have no 14 in the Mail  :lol:Im foremostly interested in "epic" Storylines Call me Kenneth was okayish,loved the Day the the Law died,and i dont need to tell you how much i've had a Blast with the Case Files No 5 holy...Block Mania/Apocalypse War for the first Time complete,in Order 
So i know that the Case Files 14 contain the Necropolis Storyline.what would you recommend me from there,with an Eye on Epic Storylines?
i also have the Mechanismo Book,which is very nice 

erm,i dont seem to find any search Function here,Apologies if this has been asked before 
Is there a Collection/Book with the Hell trekkers Strips?i dont seem to find such a Thing either 

same Question for Sinister/Dexter-i want all the Strips in one Big Book!!!Any Chance?

ABC Warriors: why is the Volgan War no 2 hard to come by?i've found only one on Fleabay with 20$ Postage  i have all the others,so i'm wondering whats the Mystery behind Book 2 

Strontium Dogs:Do i need the Life and Dead... Book if i'm going to buy all the SD Agency Files anyway?  :cool:I'm in the middle of Book 1- Wolrog Penal Battalion-so good!!!

regards
Daniel

[Frank]

I've read the Case Files 1,2 and 5 and i have no 14 in the Mail  :lol:Im foremostly interested in "epic" Storylines Call me Kenneth was okayish,loved the Day the the Law died,and i dont need to tell you how much i've had a Blast with the Case Files No 5 holy...Block Mania/Apocalypse War for the first Time complete,in Order  So i know that the Case Files 14 contain the Necropolis Storyline.what would you recommend me from there,with an Eye on Epic Storylines?

Hi, Daniel. In terms of important events and EPIC length, you can't beat Tour of Duty (two books, subtitled The Backlash and Megacity Justice); in terms of EPIC events, you'd do well to grab a copy of Total War. If you're just after great stories, then The Pit should serve you well, and reading Tales of the Dead Man BEFORE you read Case Files 14 should enhance your reading pleasure no end.

I'd urge you to look beyond the massive, world changing narratives if you want to read the very best of Dredd, though; the shorter stories about the little people of MC1 which fill Case Files 6-10 are as great and definitive as any wind blown epic. One of the most popular supporting characters, Chopper, has his own little epic running across those books (Case Files 4, 9, 11, and stories collected as Chopper: Surf's Up). The best Dredd story ever, America, isn't even collected in the Case Files.

The new Strontium Dog stories seem to be written with collection as individual books in mind - rather than the serial format of Agency Files era tales - so I'm not sure I'd hold my breath waiting for such volumes to appear. Prepare for much wailing and gnashing of teeth when others respond to your The Complete Sinister Dexter query.

[TordelBack]

same Question for Sinister/Dexter-i want all the Strips in one Big Book!!

That makes (probably) exactly 3 of us.  The-Powers-That-Be are aware of the problems with the straggly Sin/Dex reprint range, but it isn't a seller at the moment and thus not a priority, although the IDW imprint may focus useful attention.   In the meantime, there really is a huge amount of Sin/Dex available in reprint, albeit under many disparate covers.  I'd draw your attention to Downlode Tales, the essential sequel to the lads' first epic storyline Eurocrash, currently only available as stapled 'floppy' supplements to the Judge Dredd Megazine I-forget-which-issues.  Well worth looking up and reading in the middle of existing Volume 4, in that the story makes no (less?) sense otherwise.  Always pleased to meet another Sin/Dex fan!

I think Helltrekkers may be in the same situation as Downlode Tales - I think it was a Megazine supplement too. 

Other than that I endorse m'learned colleague Sauchie's recommendations, and add Casefiles 13 to the 'urgent' pile, providing as it does immediate and essential context for The Dead Man and CF 14.  Like a tar-baby made of ink, this comic,

[radiator]

If you're going to read Case Files 14, I would highly recommend also getting 13 and 15 too, because they all encompass the Necropolis saga. And also the standalone book The Dead Man, which should be read directly before Tale of the Dead Man in CF 14.

[judgerufian]

Sorry to dash your hopes but Helltrekkers has not been collected in the Meg floppies but would be a welcome read for any future collections as I really enjoyed the adventures of Lucas Rudd and co when it was first published. Black Scab was so cruel!

[radiator]

If you want the 'epics', here is a list, with the 'essentials' (acknowledged classics) in bold:

Case Files 01: 'The Robot Wars'
Case Files 02: 'The Cursed Earth'/'The Day the Law Died' ('Judge Cal' saga)
Case Files 04: 'The Judge Child Quest'
Case Files 05: 'Block Mania'/'The Apocalypse War'
Case Files 08: 'City of the Damned'
Case Files 11: 'Oz'
Case Files 14: 'Necropolis'
Case Files 17: 'Judgement Day'
Case Files 18-19: 'Mechanismo'/'Mechanismo Returns'/'Body Count'
Case Files 19: 'Inferno'
Case Files 21: 'Wilderlands'/'Tenth Planet'

Other 'important'/notable Judge Dredd stories', from a continuity point of view:

Case Files 01: 'The Return of Rico' (first appearance of Rico), 'fhe First Lunar Olympics'/'War' (First appearance of Sov Block)
Case Files 03: 'Judge Death' (first appearance of Judge Anderson, Judge Death)
Case Files 04: 'Judge Death Lives!' (first appearance of the Dark Judges), 'The Fink' (first appearance of Fink Angel), 'Pirates of the Black Atlantic', 'Unamerican Grafitti' (first appearance of Chopper)
Case Files 06: Various post-Apocalypse War stories, including 'Destiny's Angels'
Case Files 07: 'Cry of the Werewolf', 'The Graveyard Shift' (two fan-favourite stories, especially with hardcore Dreddheads)
Case Files 08: 'Dredd Angel', 'A Question of Judgement'/'An Error of Judgement'/'A Case For Treatment'
Case Files 09: 'The Midnight Surfer', 'The Warlord'/'A Chief Judge Resigns', 'Letter From a Democrat'
Case Files 10: 'The Taxidermist' (first appearance of Jacob Sardini), 'Atlantis' (first appearance of Brit-Cit)
Case Files 11: 'Revolution'
Case Files 12: 'Hitman', 'Bloodline' (first appearance of Kraken), 'Our Man in Hondo' (first appearance of Hondo-Cit)
Case Files 13: 'Young Giant' (first appearance of Judge Giant Jr), 'The Shooting Match', 'A Letter To Judge Dredd'
Case Files 15: 'Nightmares', 'Death Aid'/'Emerald Isle' (first Dredd strips written by Garth Ennis), 'Return of the King'
Case Files 16: 'The Devil You Know'/'Twilights Last Gleaming'
Case Files 20: 'Bury My Knee at Wounded Heart', 'Giant'
Case Files 21: 'Casualties of War' (Rogue Trooper crossover)

Other important Dredd and Dredd-related books featuring stories not yet collected in the Case Files:

Judge Dredd/Aliens: Incubus
The Pit
Beyond the Call of Duty/The Scorpion Dance
Blind Justice
The Hunting Party
Brothers of the Blood
Total War
The Chief Judges Man
Mandroid
Origins
Tour of Duty: The Backlash
Tour of Duty: Mega-City Justice
Day of Chaos: The Fourth Faction
Day of Chaos: Endgame

Other Dredd and Dredd-related books that cover stories that will definitely not appear in the Case Files:

The Complete America
Judge Death: Young Death - Boyhood of a Superfiend/My Name is Death
Judge Anderson Psi Files 1-3
Chopper: Surf's Up
The Complete Taxidermist
Mena Machine: Real Mean
The Batman/Judge Dredd Collection
The Dead Man

......but, as Sauchie says, a lot of the appeal of Dredd has always been the inconsequential one-offs and short-form stories - to just go for the 'epics' is to miss out on a lot of really great stuff. These shorter, continuity-light tales usually have a more humourous slant and are where the bulk of the early world-building was done. Case Files 3-11 cover most of the 'classic' black and white Wagner/Grant era where Dredd was almost uniformly brilliant, with Case Files 08-10 having most of my personal favourite classic Dredd shorts.

That should cover pretty much everything. Happy Shopping.

[radiator]

erm,i dont seem to find any search Function here,Apologies if this has been asked before

Search function on this site is broken - you're better off using Google to search '2000adonline forum+whatever you want to search'

ABC Warriors: why is the Volgan War no 2 hard to come by?i've found only one on Fleabay with 20$ Postage  i have all the others,so i'm wondering whats the Mystery behind Book 2 

Sometimes books will sell out and go out of print. Sometimes they get reprinted, sometimes not. ABC Warriors seems to stay in print fairly well, so keep checking, or try to get a copy from a bookshop, or a second hand copy via eBay or Amazon. Don't pay over the odds, though, unless you're desperate.

[TordelBack]

Sorry to dash your hopes but Helltrekkers has not been collected in the Meg floppies but would be a welcome read for any future collections as I really enjoyed the adventures of Lucas Rudd and co when it was first published. Black Scab was so cruel!

Blast, maybe I'm thinking of the old 'Gold' reprint insert?  I'm sure it was reprinted in the Meg at some point!  If not, get your green finger out, Tharg!

[IndigoPrime]

Megazines 218–223 from way back in 2004 reprinted that strip.

[judgerufian]

Megazines 218–223 from way back in 2004 reprinted that strip.

So it did, I stand corrected! I must have blanked this out during the Meg's not exactly golden age.....

[Dandontdare]

I'd recommend The Judge Child Quest (CF4) as the 'best of the rest' mega-epics.

[TordelBack]

Megazines 218–223 from way back in 2004 reprinted that strip.

Seems like yesterday  .  While it was, what, about 30 episodes long (those were the days), I'm not sure that 6 parts in a 10 year old magazine counts as a useful reprint format for the purposes of this thread, so I have clearly misled the OP there.  Mind you, it does mean it's probably in decent digital shape already, and would fit quite handily into 2x64-page floppies...  A proper sequel is what's really needed - a grant-incentivised return to repopulate the city!  Maybe dinosaur expert F. Martin Candor could be diverted from his llama herding duties for a bit?  Failing that, he could let Keef Ripley write it up.

[Frank]

Great list, radiator, particularly for highlighting stories like Cry of the Werewolf and The Graveyard Shift. Alongside the tales listed above, I'd point out the runs of stories featuring the fatties - an essential part of MC1 - and priceless characters like Otto Sump, Citizen Snork and Mayor Dave, which all take place over the course of Case Files 3-9, but an astonishing number of those classic stories can be found in Case Files 7 alone.

[Bodyshark]

wow,many Thanks Gents for all the recommendations,i truly appreciate,exactly what i need to know.Luckily my Finances allows me to spend 100$ per Month for 2000AD Publications,so the Future is bright 

i've ordered:
Case Files 4 (because of the Judge Child Story)
Case Files 13
Tales of the Dead Man

some more Questions if you don't Mind 

Case Files 11 OZ Story?I vaguely remember that Aussie Judge with Trike?Is this from the OZ Story?
Where can i find more Stories from "foreign Judges?interested in Texas City,Hondo,Luxor City etc?
i might be wrong,but wasn't there a Serie of "Crossovers" featuring Nemesis the Warlock and ABC Warriors?where do i find these Stories?In ABC or Nemesis Publications,or in a standalone Book?

Like i said,i'm a Newbie i don't have any rare Stuff to show yet,well i took some Pics of my growing Collection of 2000 AD Miniatures as a Goodie
again thanks for your help Guys 





some Conversions i made based upon the Dredd Movie

Anderson/Dredd


Ma-Ma and Mr "save that Shit for the Rookies" corrupt Judge


regards
Daniel

[JOE SOAP]

A proper sequel is what's really needed

The Adventures of Crab-Girl.