Published by: IDW Publishing
Released on: Oct. 15, 2014
The Black Light District story reaches its conclusion but will Dredd and the others fighting not only the Dark Judges but also the treacherous Judge Cal survive???
[SPOILERS]
The issue opens on the prison moon of Titan, with the chief justice and security council at the foul hands of the corrupt, sentenced Judges. But psi-talented Judge Omar gets them to fight back and saves most of them, allowing them to hop a ship returning to Mega-City One.
But Cal will hear no critique of his controversial program, blowing it off as a minor and inconsequential problem. Back on the other side of the ooze wall, Dredd finally emerges, alive. He reaches out to Anderson but can't find her, finding instead a zombie-fied population and some nifty “exorcism†rounds for his weapon, rounds that will cause the Dark Judges to separate spirit from body.
He greets Pachoda thankfully and Anderson's relieved but it's all short-lived as a massive explosion in the sky interrupts their reverie. As the unmarked spacecraft carrying the returning Judges, including the Chief Justice, was entering airspace, Judge Cal, labeling it an obvious terrorist plot, ordered the ship destroyed. He's then able to sit back and toast his own health and power…
The story's climactic ending gets overshadowed a bit by the final page's actions (and what they mean for the overall story) but it's still quite a solid outing from writer Duane Swierczynski and artist Nelson Daniel. Resurrecting the old characters and adding some new “creative†ones really worked well here, giving the series a shot in the arm and putting it back on your “must read†list.