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Released by: IDW Publishing
Released on: March 12th, 2014
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Now that the Judge Death has been re-introduced to this storyline, it's time to meet all the Death Judges!
This issue kicks off the story arc titled American Way of Death (I always thought Dredd was British?) and the seemingly unstoppable Death Judges all get to show off their awful powers: Beyond the anti-ego of Dredd in Judge Death you also have: Fire, Fear, Mortis, Choke, Fistula, Burroughs, Skinner, Sleep, Sludge, Stigmata, Metastasis and an unnamed soul-sucking spirit Judge.
These all make short work of the nearby Judges and citizenry. Cal manages to get the council out of the Grand Hall of Justice and then recommends abandoning Sector One to containment. They'd then bomb it from the air and impose martial law on the surrounding sectors. As dire as his solution is, the council believes his way to be the correct one so they put Cal in charge of this task.
Cal's plan for evacuating the citizens trapped in Sector One is based on a prioritization of wealth and usefulness to the city at large. Clearly, this then leaves the majority of the citizens with little hope of escape. Meanwhile, the Death Judges head out to destroy the entire city as well…
Meanwhile, in an additional story titled Slammer, we find Dredd on his way to serve out his punishment on the remote moon of Titan. Naturally, though, things go wrong the moment they're about to land as a full-blow prison riot is taking place. The lone remaining robot sentry finally frees Dredd and gives him a weapon to help quell this insurrection - one, Dredd notes, comprised of many inmates he himself is responsible for sending there. He grabs a helmet and hops out into Titan's unfriendly atmosphere without any special breathing apparatus, fighting a losing fight. But then he comes up against “Judge Harvies†who's actually a thief trapped in that corrupt Judge's body, who believes Dredd to be her ride home, out of this prison hell. But when the ship that brought Dredd explodes he's knocked unconscious, leaving the version of Harvies to figure out what to do with him…
Duane Swierczynski's script here just goes full blast and it's a fantastic read. I've always been a big fan of the Judge Death stories and this new version does NOT disappoint! The main story features the outstanding talents of artist Nelson Daniel while the short-story at the end gets its excellent retro feel from artist Steve Scott. If you're not sure where to start with this new Dredd line, this would be the issue to do so.
