Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Judge Dredd #9

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  
    Ian Jane
    Administrator

  • Judge Dredd #9



    Judge Dredd #9
    Released by: IDW Publishing
    Released on: August 24th, 2016.
    Written by: Ulises Farina, Erick Freitas
    Illustrated by: Dan McDaid
    Purchase From Amazon

    The ninth issue of this latest Judge Dredd ongoing series from IDW picks up the story as Dredd simultaneously tries to figure out what has happened to Mega-City One and what to do about Quill and more specifically Lolo, no longer herself after sister Iggy's death. After coming face to face with Dark Judge cultists last issue, Dredd has uncovered their plot to steal babies from the citizens of the Refuge to use in their 'experiments.'

    The populace is quite understandably enraged by what has been uncovered, and when this issue begins, they're essentially in revolt, insisting that rather than talk to the cultists, Dredd see that justice is properly served. He warns the protestors of trespassing, while those inside discuss the progress made in their attempts to create a vaccine free of side effects. The hope is to create a pollen to be released into the air that won't occasionally turn children into monsters. Dredd is taken aside, told he needs to explain things not just to the populace, but to Lolo (still in her holding cell) and Quill (out on a solo mission to try and sort this out on her own). He doesn't like this. “They are not my children. I'm not their father.”

    The next day, Charles has talked. The citizens show up outside the lab again, more determined than ever to get in and trash the place. Just as it's about to get violent, Quill shows up - she's found a baby and knows where the others are. What does this mean? The pollen is working, but it's not strong enough to bring back fully formed humans. It also means the scientists have been experimenting with the pollen in direct violation of Dredd's orders. He makes it very clear that there will be no more experiments on children but is told these children don't matter, they don't even have mothers but were instead spit out by the grass. But Dredd, he figures if the babies were brought back, the others can be too and that the citizens that once inhabited the Mega-City One he knew so well could very well still be alive, all eight hundred million of them… even Iggy, their DNA stored in the grass.

    One of the things that this storyline has been really good at has been taking current events and transposing them into Dredd's future. Police brutality and the protests they can cause have played a part here and in this issue, the focus is clearly on bio-genetics, gene splicing and the like - where should society draw the line? Is it okay to experiment on babies if it is for the greater good? If these 'babies' are more plant than human, does it even matter? Who has the right to decide who lives? Who has the right to decide who dies? And would bringing Mega-City One 'back' really be an improvement over what they have, or would it be a massive step backwards?

    Like a lot of people in the real world, the populace is losing faith in the police, obviously represented by Dredd. They don't feel he's serving their best interests, but at the same time, again, like a lot of people in the real world, they don't know completely what he's dealing with here.

    “Sometimes I think we are letting a madman run this town.”

    There's also a very political element here - at one point Dredd suggests that as they don't know what they'll be dealing with, certain members of society, those who don't follow their laws from the start, will need to be separated. Send in the drones! Surveillance is key, privacy be damned. And if that's the case, what's the point of law in the first place? Should Judge Dad Dredd be using force, possibly of the lethal variety, against those trying to come up with the vaccine simply because they're not doing things his way. So many high concept ideas are tossed about in this single issue that it boggles the mind, albeit in exactly the way you want a slice of top notch dystopian sci-fi to boggle it. Hats off to Farina and Freitas for keeping this series as engaging and, yes, seriously twisted as they can without bowing to the common denominator and taking the easy way out. Dredd's a great vehicle to explore socio-political themes and that's exactly what they've been doing - but never at the expense of entertainment value.

    Series' artist Dan McDaid's layouts and pencil works continues to impress, matching the quality of the writing every step of the way. Dredd, now sporting a grey beard that accentuates the father figure role he's unwittingly adapted here, looks tough - as he should - but increasingly world-weary and fatigued. There's a lot of great details in the backgrounds, those scenes that take place in the lab facility looking appropriately sterile and those out in the 'green' lush and jungle-esque. Colorist Ryan Hill's work helps out a lot here, they make a great team.

    Nine issues in and this one has yet to misfire. If you're not keeping up with this book you're missing out on one of the best books currently on the racks.





      Posting comments is disabled.

    Latest Articles

    Collapse

    Working...
    X