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Judge Dredd #6

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    Ian Jane
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  • Judge Dredd #6



    Judge Dredd #6
    Released by: IDW Publishing
    Released on: May 25th, 2016.
    Written by: Ulises Farinas, Erick Freitas
    Illustrated by: Jesus Redondo Ramon
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    In the five issues that came before this sixth installment, we saw how Dredd wound up the only Judge in a Mega-City One that is very, very different from the one he's used to. With some help from a tribe of feral girls, he has taken it upon himself to try and find out what has made Mega-City One change the way it has. He heads into the under-city where he's attacked by mutants, after which two of the girls - Quill and Iggy - are taken hostage by the evil Yes-Men. This left Dredd with no choice but to team up with Lolo to get them back before it's too late.

    When this issue begins, Dredd is in a Mega-City One that is peaceful, harmonic. The grass is gone, but it's free of the dystopian crime that he'd been used to before all of that. But of course, it's completely messed up. He realizes this quickly, when he finds that in this Mega-City One, the male populace has enslaved the female populace. When one man's lady won't give up a little ankle, she meets the back of his hand.

    The Yes-Man that claims to be Dredd's grandpa talks to him, lets him know he's in a fraternal city, an alternate reality. He also tells him that the girls he has come for are here, and that they're being treated really well. He also tells him that here, he's God. This virtual reality runs through his brain and he tells Dredd that by letting women run things in Mega-City One, well, that's what led to all of those problems in the first place. The girls are here, safe to an extent, and Dredd supposedly agreed to Grandpa's terms in order to gain access to them and save them, but of course he doesn't remember any of this.

    Six months later, Dredd seems to have fallen in line. He's patrolling the streets like a regular cop, helping out where he can and seemingly numb to the rampant misogyny that upset him only a short while ago. It is, however, all an act. Dredd's forced into this, the lives of the girls he's trying to save hanging in the balance. Grandpa's even gone so far as to create a family for Joe, a familiar looking wife and, yeah, some very familiar looking daughters. Eventually, Dredd decide to fight back, but how? He's got to get this guy out of his head…

    This issue isn't subtle as far as its political leanings go but that's not a bad thing. Given current news items about the wage gap between male and female and the way that women can be and still are treated around the world, this is a subject worthy of tackling. It's interesting and a bit subversive that in this issue Dredd, a stickler for rules and very much old fashioned in a lot of ways, is the progressive character when compared to Grandpa. Here this very embodiment of the law strikes back against traditionalism in an earnest attempt to make the virtual world he's become trapped in a better place. There are repercussions here, just as there are in the real world, but the story is all the more interesting for it. The writing is clever, humorous and poignant - social commentary has always been an important part of what makes Dredd stories worth reading, and Farinas and Freitas not only recognize that but seem intent on turning that aspect of the series up a few notches.

    Jesus Redondo Ramon's artwork, beautifully colored by Ryan Hill, stands out. There's a lot of nice background detail here but it's the way that he draws Dredd in action that gives it the punch that it has. It's animated without coming across as too cartoonish and it's slick without coming across as overdone. It suits the storyline well and this is one of those books where everything comes together just as you'd hope it would.

    Dredd's getting put through some very unusual and unexpected motions on this new IDW run, but if you're a fan of the series check it out. It seems that you really can teach an old dog new tricks - this is as creative, unique and original as anything done with the character in a very, very long time.







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