Several commenters have asked about the best way to collect Dredd. I thought I’d offer a guide to doing so in book form. Rebellion’s Essential Judge Dredd is good if you only want a few epics. If you like HCs, Hachette’s UK/Ireland/Aus collection is great, but removes the slow-burn nature of Wagner's Dredd runs, which are rewarding over time. The Case Files get you most Dredd in chronological form and are an affordable way to see whether the strip is for you. Omar’s bang on re Graveyard Shift being a good entry point. It has black humour, procedural elements, and sits in a volume that includes Cry of the Werewolf and other strips that highlight the bizarre nature of Mega-City One. CF5 is another good entry point (Judge Death Lives; Apocalypse War). Much beyond that and you hit strips that are more rewarding if you’ve read what went before. Note that CFs aren’t all plain sailing. CF1 is very clearly pulpy stuff aimed at kids (after all, 2000 AD was back then a comic aimed at the 7-11 market), and everyone’s still working out what this world is. Later, Wagner steps back after Necropolis. Ennis becomes the main scribe. He was young and didn’t fully understand the strip, but made a good fist of it. By contrast, when Millar/Morrison rock up, they want to tear everything down. They turn Dredd into a one-dimensional muscle-bound oaf. Their strips are packed full of cliches and have no respect for the history Wagner/Grant created. CF19/20 are a nadir. But then Wagner becomes more prevalent again and starts sowing the seeds of an epic that eventually becomes The Pit. That represents a turning point in Dredd - a shift towards a less madcap/more procedural set-up; and as of CF24, things are good to excellent from then on. If you do collect the CFs, that doesn’t get you everything - only series branded as Judge Dredd that ran in 2000 AD and The Judge Dredd Megazine spin-off. The four Restricted Files volumes compile strips from annuals (hardback books that used to be released around Christmas) and summer/winter specials. The first one starts off weird - writers are trying to figure out Dredd’s world. The second and third include some of the best short Dredd strips around. The fourth one is awful. From a continuity standpoint, there are spin-offs of various quality and importance. The Dead Man ties directly into Necropolis and was released as a standalone trade. America is vital, forming the central pillar of the democracy arc. If you collect Dredd, you _have_ to read America at the relevant time (towards the end of CF15). Elsewhere, Anderson spun off early, and her strips are collected in complete form within Psi Files, some of which are hard to find. Early on, Anderson tied into Dredd continuity. Later on, Alan Grant took the reins and the strip sometimes had major events that were barely referenced in Dredd, if at all. Much of the run is good, if on the nose. (There's a character called Judge Goon who, personality wise, is precisely what you’d expect. Grant might as well have called him Judge Nasty.) Judge Death span off through the Judge Dredd Megazine. Young Death transforms him into a comedy character, which never worked for me, and provides a backstory we didn’t need. My Name is Death resets the character in horror territory, but is arguably inessential. The more recent Dark Justice and Dominion are broadly standalone Dark Judges strips with gorgeous art (and HC incarnations), but are by the numbers. More interesting for me is The Fall of Deadworld, which charts the world of the Dark Judges collapsing. “It began with the bees” is the introduction into a hell that marries Walking Dead and the increasingly supernatural horror of the Dark Judges. Available in HC, if you can find it. (In Stock Trades had some, last I looked.) There are several DC/DH crossovers. Dredd/Batman is the most well known and the first tie-up is the best - a popcorn-style movie as Dredd and Batman clash with predictable but entertaining results. HC fans will want to track down the Batman/Dredd collection with a Mignola cover that compiles this, three follow-ups and Dredd/Lobo. Elsewhere, Dredd/Predator… exists and Dredd/Aliens is fun. If you're not collecting the CFs (the Aliens crossover is in #36), these strips appeared in the HC Predator vs Judge Dredd vs Aliens book, which is still in print. Moving on, there is a wider 'Dreddverse', and available volumes are outlined at shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/graphic-novels/dredd-verse These tend to only tangentially align with Dredd continuity. The big exception is Mega City Undercover, exploring judges who fully integrate themselves into Mega-City One society. This eventually dovetails into Titan and other strips by Rob Williams (not yet in the CFs, but they eventually will be). Of those books, I also rate Chopper: Surf’s Up (continuing his adventures after Oz, although if you read it, pretend the dire Supersurf 13 does not exist), Devlin Waugh (occult spiritual envoy of the future Vatican City, who’s akin to Arnold Schwarzenegger crossed with Noel Coward), Insurrection (space war!) and Lawless (semi-sequel to Insurrection and the best strip to run in the modern Megazine). That’s a lot of comic strip, but then 2000 AD has been running since 1977 and the Megazine since 1990. And even though Dredd episodes are mostly six pages long, that means the comic got a minimum of 24 pages per month for over 40 years (and often well north of that). Still, if you’re a newcomer and you like Dredd, revel in how much you have to discover of a comic that is still relatively little known and under-appreciated, not least when Wagner’s doing the writing.
Wow great info. I’m reading the case files and just finished book 1 and it was, ... ok had some great stories but lacked much in the way of big stories aside from the robot war. But book 2 started with the cursed earth and it’s been great. I’ll keep going with the case files but the prices and availability is just all over the place.
@@flyingdutchman8093 CF1 is rough. Be mindful that at the time, 2000 AD was just another book for 7-11-year-olds, and there was no indication of its longevity. (In fact, it was nearly canned early in its life, but a sister title, Starlord, was merged into it instead). They were also clearly figuring out what Dredd was. Really, it’s not fully formed until CF4, although there are some good stores before that point. Still, if you liked Cursed Earth, that’s a good indication you’ll enjoy more Dredd, because it just gets better for years after that point. And even though there are blips later on (19/20 are a trudge), it’s collectively one of the best bodies of works in comics when taken as a whole. Loads still to go as well-the latest Case Files, 36, only takes us to 2003’s strips (with Wagner/Diggle’s Alien crossover)!
@@CraigGrannell thanks for the response. Yeah it’s always hard to read the beginnings of a character when you have the iconic version in your mind. Dredd for me was Stallone until I looking into the comic. It’s like going back to Superman’s early years. Or even how he was in the 80-90. Honestly I really enjoy seeing how a character changes over time to be the iconic version. Sometimes it’s better or sometimes it can actually be worse. Look at TMNT compared to what they are now. But yeah I’m going to enjoy reading Dredd and will keep getting it as long as I can find the books. I’ve got 1-15 so lots to read!
Happens elsewhere too: Rogue Trooper 4; Nemesis 3; Anderson 3 (IIRC). If in the UK, the Hachette books are perhaps a better way to collect, although with Dredd you get individual stories, arcs and creator runs rather than the chronological run in the case files. (With the 2000 AD books, you get complete Slaine, Nikolai Dante, Strontium Dog and ABC Warriors, and bits and bobs of other stuff.)
the old titan books were the best way to collect the b&w issues. The rebellion b&w collections are awful if you are used to the titan collections. However they do recreate the cheap newsprint paper used in the originals 2000ad issues. The colour collections are however excellent.
@@CraigGrannell I just want 2000ad to put a comprehensive, quality book of them characters I wanna read them titles SO MUCH I’m tired of Marvel so I’m more and more leaned to Manga and 2000ad I need a breath of fresh air.
@@gxvault4166 Quite a few 2000 AD strips have had comprehensive reprints. The problem is that on a worldwide scale, 2000 AD remains quite niche, and so these books don’t always stay in print. That’s obviously not great for newcomers. Perhaps reprints of major series will happen in the future. (In the UK, Ireland and, IIRC, Australia, people at least have had the Hachette HC collection to deal with this.)
Gaze into the fist of DREDD! Love these Dredd reviews! More please! :) EDIT: ah im so glad you are enjoying these! Please read Alan Moore's Halo Jones from 2000AD! And yes! Dredd: America!
Nice quote from one of comics greatest moments! Stuck with me for all these years, for those new readers Judge Death Lives is reprinted in Case Files 5. Halo Jones is in my opinion some of Moore's absolute best work and I too really want to see a ORNR on it!
I would absolutely recommend you read the following volumes next: 1) "Judge Anderson: The Psi Files Volume 1": You mentioned in your first video how much you liked Judge Death in your first video. Well: this is where the Dark Judges saga continues next. It also gives a different perspective on Dredd's world getting to see things from Anderson's perspective. 2) "The Dead Man": I can't tell you why I'm recommending this without a big spoiler, but it leads directly into the next suggestion... 3) "Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files Volume 14": This contains the biggest and best Dark Judges tale of all time, one of the absolute high points of 2000 AD.
Awesome review. 2000 AD is such a talent trust. Most of them made a huge impact in the US during the British invasion. Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, John Higgins, Dave Gibbons, Brian Bolland, Simon Bisley, the list goes on...
Perfect overviews Omar! Congratulations you’ve officially read further than I have with these case files. I’m so envious of you. I guess the race is on!
I don't know if this helps you out but between you and another channel's top five stories of Dredd got me into Dredd. Getting into this series in 2020 seems right. I've bounced around but man they are a ton of fun and crazy how a lot of pop culture took from Dredd. Apparently, the writer to Oz also helped write a little indy movie called Mad Max Fury Road. I have noticed, outside forces vs Megacity Dredd is the hero. Inside threats, he is the villain. Makes for some great stories. Jealous you have a pile of these to read. I'm working my way through, excited for your thoughts on 18. Thanks again!
Honestly this is my favourite series of graphic novels. Got all 36 of these bad boys as well as the 4 restricted files. You should get hold of strontium dog after this. Amazing stuff
Sounds like you know what you’re talking about! Do you mind me asking if this is the best way to collect these? What do you think of the Complete Hardcover collections?
@@benjaminwyatt3778 by hardcovers do you mean the mega collection?? If so they are nice enough but they are cherry picked stories out of sequence whereas the judge dredd case files are every single dredd story in order of release. The latest one has the alien crossover so they are in the 2000s already.
@@mrpepperami01 for example “Judge Dredd complete Carlos Esquerra Hardcover”. So they would be out of sequence if I’m understanding properly, correct? Where as what you have is all in order??
@@benjaminwyatt3778 yeah complete Carlos esquerra would just have various stories pencilled by him, there would be loads of stories in between that you miss out on. If you want to read all of judge dredd then the case files are the way to go.
I have been looking forward to this video for ages. i love that you are enjoying them so much. I only have 2 dredd volumes so far but definitely considering picking more up. When i read volume 9 at the time( I was about 10) i was too young to appreciate the story. Will you carry on reading every volume and maybe even doing a part 3,4,5 videos and beyond.👍
Late to the party, sorry. I love the design of these dang books though! Keep hyping these books like you are and I might be dumb and buy them despite the prices. :P It’s so darn tempting! Thanks for the vids as always, Omar :)
Yes some of those pages in oz story were originally in color if i remember correctly. I think i saw those in mega-collection oz book. Hopefully 2000AD will send you all the case files books. :) Latest one #36 were just released last month at least in Finland.
Recently read the crossover of judge dredd, aliens, predator and batman which was surprisingly really good and well written. Would be awesome if it was adapted in a movie or tv show
After seeing the first batch on your channel I hunted down the first 20 volumes. I went with the UK versions since the US ones were discontinued, but that has made them harder to get in good condition unfortunately. Amazon and eBay shippers have a lot of learning to do about proper packing of books.
I hunted down about 26 or so volumes from ebay and rest from amazon. Some of the corners got pretty banged up but thank god not too much to being straight up badly damaged
Hi Omar! Great video, as always. A few comments that can be useful for people looking for this books in the United States. There's an American edition of Judge Dredd Case Files printed by Simon & Schuster (not IDW), which is the same material printend in the UK. This has a differen cover design, nevertheless the spines don't align properly neither and they decided to make all books white except just one (someone out there hates OCD collectors). I think this books were mainly available in the book market. Got to v. 14 and then were discontinued. If you don't mind about the spines most of these are still available through Amazon. My collection mixes both US and UK editions. Simon & Schuster has also printed collecions with selected story arcs or selections of stories (The Megacity Masters (3 volumes), XXX Files, Mutants in Mega City One, Inferno, Crusade, America, Cry of the Werewolf). Besides the licensed material, IDW has printed some stories in HC (Apocalypse War and The Dark Judges, both are recolored) and also has artist centric collections (Judge Dredd Complete Carlos Ezquerra, Brian Bolland, Cam Kennedy, and Brendan McCarthy.) The Essential Judge Dredd line is Rebellions (2000AD'S publisher) new attempt to get to the american comic book market. From what I've seen they are using a new recolored versions of some stories. Somehow they have come to the conclusion that american readers do not like b&w art. Rebellion has periodically good deals in his own shop (shop.2000ad.com/) so I encourage those interested in this material to check their site once in a while.
I'm watching to see if you got to Necropolis. It's fourteen though I think. 😔 Awww shame, wait till you get there👍🔥 The Dead Man story is obviously a must beforehand or an additional read. Enjoy 😁 from 🇬🇧
RF1 is really weird. The first third is clearly writers figuring out the world. There’s a strip with “all the judges” in a single room and half of them get wiped out. It’s interesting to see the creative teams working out what they’ve created. RF2 a d RF3 are some of the best short-form Dredd around through. (4 is a bit rough, to say the least. By that point, Dredd was being written by a range of writers who didn’t get it, including Millar. Wagner then returns to put things right and “show ran” Dredd for a number of years again. His input is rare now, but the strip has several writers who are putting out solid stories rather than Morrison and Millar, who eradicated nuance and, frankly, quality from the strip.)
@@CraigGrannell thanks for the response. I hope you can answer this as I’ll defer to your expertise. If I want everything dredd, what other books do I need that are not already covered in case files 1-36 and restricted files 1-4. If a book that is out right now that will be covered by future case files, then you can disregard those. I just want to have a list of everything dredd put out that won’t eventually be in the case files. Thanks in advance for your help.
@@nasirbajwa6055 Bar the odd strip that might escape collection, America is the additional book you _have_ to get. It’s so important to Dredd continuity that it cannot be skipped. Book 1 aligns with CF15. Book 2 aligns with CF26. There are various editions that include both. Essential Judge Dredd: America adds context with the democracy arc, but that’s already in the CFs. So you might instead want to hunt down Rebellion’s 2008 America (ISBN 9781905437580), which is the same height/depth as the CFs. I’d also recommend finding a copy of The Dead Man, which leads into Necropolis (CF14). Beyond that, you’re mostly into Batman/Judge Dredd crossovers (released as a HC, if you can find a copy) and spin-offs like Judge Anderson, various Judge Death-related fare, Chopper’s solo stories, etc. There’s also one other curiosity: The Daily Dredds. Judge Dredd was in UK newspapers for years, and many of those strips are collected in two chunky hardcovers. These are seriously compressed storytelling (one summarises the entire Apocalypse War in half a page), but have some superb Rob Smith art and, well, you did say “everything Dredd”!
@@CraigGrannell thank you so much. I will definitely look for both america and dead man. I did notice the daily dredd HCs as well. Will have to think on that. Also, looks like the first sentence of your second para was cut down. Wasn’t sure if you were going to go into more there. Just checking in case you were. EDIT: looks like the standard america trade you mentioned is ridiculously overpriced. Essential America and the Complete America are both cheaper. Also Dead Man seems like it’s impossible to find or too expensive so might need to wait on a reprint for that one.
Hi Omar, I’ve read 2000ad for 30 years, I love dredd, I can’t wait for you to read strontium dog. Wagner and ezquerra created him, same as dredd. Johnny alpha is my fav with dredd too.
Good shout on Letter from a Democrat. That’s a short strip that plants a seed that grows and grows over many years. It is also interesting to see the writers wrestle with what they created. Dredd is NOT a hero, but has frequently been the man the city and even the citizens needed. But because he is the law, that sometimes means he is a boot on a throat, partaking in horrific actions. In a sense, though, that’s why the strip as a whole is really worth being investigating: it has so much range. It can be dark comedy, satire, political commentary, action, even romance. Sometimes all in a typical six-page strip. To answer a question about CF 11, those pages were originally in colour. Early chunky Rebellion volumes were mostly greyscale but they all switch over at some point during their runs to that different paper stock and colour pages. (When Dredd eventually flips to full colour, it does so in-story, which is quite fun.) As for Chopper, he returns in a solo story and then the classic 2000 AD strip Song of the Surfer. Those are collected in a standalone Chopper volume called Surf’s Up, although you can find Song of the Surfer in standalone form as well.
@@NearMintCondition A piece of trivia for you: at the end of Oz, Dredd has to make a decision. What actually occurs in the strip regarding a certain character was Wagner’s choice. Grant wanted a different ending, and was pushing for Dredd to become more hardline. Wagner wanted to retain that sense of grey. Their writing partnership ended around this time, with them carving up strips. Wagner got Dredd (although Grant still wrote a few), and Grant got Strontium Dog and Anderson (although Wagner later ‘rebooted’ Strontium Dog, initially using ideas worked on for an aborted US TV show, and then later directly tying it into the original continuity).
On the subject if Dredd "inspired" Robocop: There are stories that Ed Neumeier created Robocop, because he couldn't get the rights to Judge Dredd and then there is of course the first draft of Robocop's armor that Rob Bottin made that is just Dredd without the shoulder eagle. Google Robocop dredd and it's the first picture you get.
@@tsundokus The four Restricted Files volumes compile strips from 2000 AD annuals (which were hardcover books from 1977 through 1991 and then SC for a few more years) and summer/winter specials. The Case Files compile only Judge Dredd strips from 2000 AD and, later, the Judge Dredd Megazine.
@@NearMintCondition You will smile a big smile when you read 'Block Out' in the first Restricted Case Files...its illustrated by the one and only John Byrne :-)
Song of the Surfer.👈 A Judge Dredd story that is a must read! All fully painted, fantastic GN.🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Also Dredd himself is not actually in it. Edit that's The Chopper story!
@@NearMintCondition Honestly, I’d wait. Read it in context/chronology, at the appropriate time (which is CF15-it should have appeared in sequence around the same point as Midnite’s Children). That said, you already have a copy and so if you can’t wait, I’m sure you won’t regret it.
As I posted on the other Dredd video NMC did, anyone keen to check out Dredd/2000 AD and who’s happy to read (or at least preview) in digital should check out the current Humble Bundle, which has over 50(!) collections from Rebellion: www.humblebundle.com/books/judge-dredd-perps-punks-partners-2000ad-books This has ever Judge Anderson Psi Files book, the first five Dredd’s and some more contemporary Dredd tales. Plus loads of other great stuff like Zenith, Halo Jones, Brink and Kingdom.
Oh man, I was about to comment and mention the 2000AD documentary, good thing you already know about it. Regarding the Judge Dredd books I am having a hard time deciding on how to collect them. As I understand it the Case Files are not a "complete collection" but actually leave out several major stories, like America. If anyone here has a recommendation as for how to go about collecting Dredd I would much appreciate it.
I posted a ludicrously lengthy more general reply above that should help: 1 second ago Feel free to ask any specific questions though. (I have a complete run of 2000 AD and the Megazine, and probably a third of my collections are 2000 AD-based. It’s a good comic!)
@@CraigGrannell I just read your rundown of the Dredd publications and it is awesome, just the kind of information that I've been looking for. However seeing as the whole thing is so massive I'm still kind of confused as to where I should start. I am primarily a HC collector and would much prefer to get HCs if possible, and in cases where its not possible I might even be interested in doing some custom binds, as long as I'm not going to end up having to do like 50 of them. Basically what I'm having issues with is seeing how I can go from collecting and reading the big events like America and Apocalypse War to continuing on with the rest of the material, while being able to build a cohesive collection? It seems to me that you need to get some hardcovers from here, some from there and then some paperbacks, and so on. Granted I might not need to read every prog of Dredd I think I would like to more than dip my toes in the universe, and still have it looking sweet as hardcovers on my shelf. Am I destined to go the custom bind route? Currently I'm reading another 2000AD series - the A.B.C. Warriors, another one for Omar to check out, the Mek Files hardcovers are awesome!
@@cinder88 If you want _all_ of Dredd in HC and in chronological order (or even a fair chunk of it), the only option is to buy the CFs (and possibly also related material like The Dead Man) and custom bind. 2000 AD has historically done very few HCs. From Rebellion, the first Case Files was released in that format as an anniversary release, as was a version of Cursed Earth. Beyond that, the odd single volume gets a 2000 AD shop HC exclusive, and that’s about it. In the UK/Ireland/Australia, there’s the 90-volume Hachette HC partwork, but that collects runs thematically and in a fairly random order. Plus, even if you could find a set for sale, shipping costs would be problematic. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_Dredd:_The_Mega_Collection There are earlier versions of Dredd epics floating around, such as Titan’s collections, which you might be able to find on eBay and that have great repro. IDW more recently did a handful as well. But plugging the gaps would be tricky, given that the epics rock up as and when, part-way though various CFs. (Apocalypse War is at the end of CF5, so you could continue on from 6, but then you miss the rest of the material in 5. Other epics don’t sit at the end of the books as neatly.) It’s worth noting America is an outlier. It really should have been in the CFs, but was omitted for frankly weird reasons. But all the other epics are included in the CFs, and so if you did buy, say, IDW’s Apocalypse War HC, you’d be double dipping. The Mek Files are solid-I like the first one a lot. Some (but not all) Sláine is also in that format (notably various prints of Horned God, the Book of Invasions volumes and some later stuff that’s not as strong). Elsewhere (Strontium Dog/Nikolai Dante/etc.), HC fans are best catered for by the 2000 AD Ultimate Collection in the UK/Ireland/Australia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_AD:_The_Ultimate_Collection - but, again, that doesn’t overly help overseas readers unless they can find a complete set and figure out a way to ship the books. Does any of that help? I’m happy to answer any further questions. As a Brit and long-time 2000 AD fan, it’s good to see that comic and Dredd get some wider coverage and interest!
@@CraigGrannell All of what you're saying helps! It's just a pretty beefy thing to figure out the best approach for. If we back up for just a second and ask the more basic question (I hope) - how much of Dredd do you actually think is good, and worth reading? From what I gather there has been a decent amount of filler throughout the years since Dredd was a staple in the 2000AD progs following the characters success. I may not necessarily get absolutely all of Dredd, if there are things you can pass on that don't add to the world or are not referenced. I like the idea of the Psi Files being complete, I would love to get those paperbacks and do custom binds of them, which would be a "complete set" of that spinoff more or less. I'm thinking I want to do a similar thing with Dredd, but I am having a hard time figuring out which material to source for that, seeing as the size of the different publications varies as well. I would love to get in touch with you outside of this comment thread if it would be possible for a bit of a chat, since I really could use the opportunity to pick your brain :D Are you on Discord or any other chat platform?
@@cinder88 I’m a bit wary of setting myself as an arbiter of taste, because different people like different things. The other issue with the CFs is even in the dross there are gems-although they’re sometimes few in number. (19 has part of the robot judges Mechanismo arc. 20 includes tear-jerker Bury My Knee at Wounded heart, Giant and Howler, all of which are pretty great.) In a general sense, though, most Wagner Dredds are at worst very readable and at best are essential comics. (I think he’s one of the most under-rated writers in the medium. When you consider his body of work, it’s astonishing how much quality material he’s written.) Most Ennis Dredd is iffy and Morrison/Millar Dredd is garbage. Little of that heavily impacts on continuity. But then it’s not like you can slice out the good stuff from the CFs. It’s probably also worth noting that sometimes the one-off six-page strips are fantastic little nuggets of story. They might not impact on the world like Apocalypse War, say, but they are part of the strip’s flavour, world-building and pacing. (More recently, things become more complicated, because Wagner’s stepped back and Dredd is quite fragmented among a few different writers with differing visions; however, that won’t affect the CFs for years.) If you’re going down the custom bind route, the Anderson books might prove costly. A couple of those volumes are now rare, but then people sell stuff on eBay all the time without realising its worth. With Dredd, CFs are going to be the cheapest route regardless, adding in whatever additional material you need to (Dead Man; America). Beyond that, it depends how deep into the wider Dredd world you want to go (and 2000 AD in general for that matter - there are loads of great series). As for getting in touch, sure. I’m on Twitter - twitter.com/craiggrannell - if that helps. I don’t use Discord much, but do have an account there. Feel free to email craiggrannell@googlemail.com.
I have read some recent Dredd stuff and liked it so I bought the first case files and hated it. So I'm going to jump to volume 7 to see if it's any better than the really early stuff.
Things properly start to gel between 3 and 5. 5 has Apocalypse War in it. The feel is still different from very modern Dredd, but has the world fully formed by then. 7 has some of my favourite classic-era stories though; if you’re not keen on that, probably avoid any pre-The Pit Dredd.
Midnight serfer is the second chopper story the first was unamerican graffiti. Great story I remember reading it when it first came out. Its in case book 4
@@NearMintCondition en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_Dredd:_The_Mega_Collection was the Mega Collection. Lots of great stuff. Probably 15 books of crud. Great value if you’re British and can find someone offloading the entire run (which happens quite a lot when people buy 80+ books and realise they’re never going to read them). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_AD:_The_Ultimate_Collection is the 2000 AD collection. We’re north of 80 books here now, and are told it’ll finish at 140. There’s a Marvel collection that started back in 2011 that’s still going. A HC every two weeks. Reportedly, that will run to _at least_ 250 books, from an initial promise of 60.
I don't think any of the volumes you reviewed where you thought that maybe were in color actually were in color originaly, because the next volume (vol12 and after) is in color (also thiner) And the books you got are the UK release. In north america volume 1 to 14 have different covers
Love me some Judge Dredd - especially the Batman cross-overs and the Judge Death storylines. Great job Uncanny Omar. I don't think the coloring is very good in the stories in Volume 12
@@NearMintConditionNo worries! I hate bashing something without demonstrating some sort of reason for my opinion... You will read it and notice significant differences in overall style and presentation.
Was about to comment as much! And yes, Futureshock is worth a watch. I don't think you'll have any problems finding it as Arrow has their own streaming service and OTT service through Prime Video.
When it started in 1977, 2000 AD had a colour cover and back page and a colour centre spread. Sometimes Dredd got the latter. Some of the CFs have grayscale pages because of this. In 1988, Dredd switches to full colour in a tale called Twister.
Brother if you like judge dredd you should listen to the audio drama.trapped on titan, pre emotive revenge, are my favourite but overall they are all great
Its wonderful to see your appreciation of Judge Dredd, your reviews make this longtime fan of 2000AD proud. Other 2000AD titles you'll like: Halo Jones (Alan Moore & Ian Gibson), Zenith (Grant Morrison & Steve Yewell), Slaine (Glenn Fabry, Simon Bisley & MANY other GREAT artists), Rogue Trooper (Dave Gibbons), Strontium Dog (Mutants!?), Nikolai Dante (the less you know about this the better. Just read it. It's great fun and EPIC). Lastly 'Harry 20 on the High Rock' because we know how you love some Alan Davis art (story rocks also). Enjoy.
I am having a blast reading these for the first times. I have read Zenith and loved it. Now I need to try out these other books. For sure and thank you.
@@NearMintCondition Definitely Slaine. You should get 3 books, "Warrior 's dawn" which is his origin and first adventures and "The King" & "Time Killer" that have a great long story and fantastic art, mostly by Glenn Fabry. "Meltdown man", a great story with art by Massimo Belardinelli that you 'll fall in love with. 2 months ago Strontium Dog began being printed in OHC format. "Search & Destroy" collects his first stories. Rogue Trooper may follow next year. And I also suggest the 3 volumes of "Charley 's war". Garth Ennis has called it the best comic ever. I 'd say it 's definitely the best war comic ever (concerning WW I).
For newcomers a great jumping on point is case files 5 you have mega city wars. If you want color you start at case file 12 . Still great but you don't get those fantastic old stories
Rebellion is releasing cherry picked thematic volumes that are in full colour. These are under The Essential Judge Dredd line and include America, The Apocalypse War and Origins. But there are no complete collections in colour. (Be mindful that for the first years of its run, 2000 AD only had four colour pages-one of which was the cover and another of which was the back cover, which was usually an ad.)
First of all: I LOVE Judge Dredd. I love the characters, MOST of the stories, and both movies---each for different reasons... HOWEVER, the presentation in this format is AWFUL! Both black and white and colorized, the artwork is busy, cramped and distracting while reading. The colorization of the single-issues that I have owned in the past were also rough to look at, with the cringe over-the-top facial expressions and panels that can be difficult to follow at times. My suggestion for most readers has been the DC/2000A.D. Crossover "The Batman/Judge Dredd Collection." It includes multiple stories: Judgment On Gotham, Vendetta In Gotham, The Ultimate Riddle, and Batman/Judge Dredd: Die Laughing #1-2---all in one trade paperback. It was a collaboration featuring the original creater/writer John Wagner and even Alan Grant and others. It contains great stories that are very easy to get into and the artwork is painted. The stories have a very Alex Ross mixed with psychedelic/horror vibe throughout. Here's a link to where I purchased it: www.amazon.com/Batman-Judge-Dredd-Collection/dp/1401236782/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1B3NTJTA8BCQ9&dchild=1&keywords=batman+judge+dredd+collection&qid=1612678144&s=books&sprefix=batman+judge%2Cstripbooks%2C216&sr=1-1
'Letter to a Democrat' is reprinted AND recolored (It had black and white art in the Prog/Comic/Case File) by the original artist John Higgin's in 'Essential Judge Dredd: America' (which Omar flicked through in the previous video) 🙂
When the comic was in Black & White the cover and both the middle pages were in full colour/color. Sadly they chose to not reprint these pages in colour until the later editions of the case files. IDW reprinted some classic Dredd stories in full colour, not just the original colour pages, and if you can find the collected editions (there are two), I wouldn't hesitate to get them. Its the Brian Bolland Judge Death/Anderson stuff and the Apocalypse War. IDW did a great job of turning all of the black and white art into full colour and I truly wish they would do the same for ALL of the early black and white Dredd stories.
Tharg's Future Shock's are neat short one-off stories with a twist in the end. Many of the great writers and artists worked on these and you'll have a blast (Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman, etc). Button Man by John Wagner is also a must. If you like Dredd you should also read all Judge Anderson stuff and: D.R. & Quinch (Alan's Moore & Davis create a classic), 'Invasion' and then 'Savage' for more goodness. Caballistics, Inc. is also another I think you'll like.
Future Shocks are some of the best compressed storytelling in comics when done well. The oft-reprinted Alan Moore collection should be required reading for any comics fan, frankly.
@@NearMintCondition So you have context, Future Shocks (and related one-offs) are ‘filler’ in 2000 AD (which, as you know, is an anthology). They have often used as testing grounds for new authors, and for existing scribes to get out quick ideas that wouldn’t work as a full strip. Gaiman didn’t do many. Morrison and Milligan wrote more. Alan Moore, though, wrote loads of them, and some of his shorts (and related Time Twisters) are among the best comics I’ve ever read. There are various ways to collect Future Shocks. In 2018, 2000 AD started putting out CF-style complete volumes - there have been two so far, but they only currently go up to 1982. Beyond that, there is The Best of Tharg’s Future Shocks (compiling Morrison/Milligan/Gaiman strips and those by John Smith, a 2000 AD writer responsible for some superb but mind-bending fare). There’s also the Complete Alan Moore Future Shocks, which has had at least four TPB editions now. Both books were also reworked for Hachette’s Ultimate 2000 AD hardcover series. Future Shocks in general are frequently interesting, if sometimes cliched. They’re also extremely dense storytelling, because they run between two and six pages. But I _very strongly_ recommend any comics fan track down the Alan Moore book. All the Rebellion prints are identical, bar the covers, so you’ll get all Moore’s Future Shocks/Time Twisters and the Abelard Snazz run. If you can find 2000 AD Ultimate Collection vol 44/issue 48, that’s the same in HC. (It looks like about a copy a month rocks up on eBay, selling for slightly above cover price.)
Several commenters have asked about the best way to collect Dredd. I thought I’d offer a guide to doing so in book form.
Rebellion’s Essential Judge Dredd is good if you only want a few epics. If you like HCs, Hachette’s UK/Ireland/Aus collection is great, but removes the slow-burn nature of Wagner's Dredd runs, which are rewarding over time.
The Case Files get you most Dredd in chronological form and are an affordable way to see whether the strip is for you. Omar’s bang on re Graveyard Shift being a good entry point. It has black humour, procedural elements, and sits in a volume that includes Cry of the Werewolf and other strips that highlight the bizarre nature of Mega-City One. CF5 is another good entry point (Judge Death Lives; Apocalypse War). Much beyond that and you hit strips that are more rewarding if you’ve read what went before.
Note that CFs aren’t all plain sailing. CF1 is very clearly pulpy stuff aimed at kids (after all, 2000 AD was back then a comic aimed at the 7-11 market), and everyone’s still working out what this world is. Later, Wagner steps back after Necropolis. Ennis becomes the main scribe. He was young and didn’t fully understand the strip, but made a good fist of it. By contrast, when Millar/Morrison rock up, they want to tear everything down. They turn Dredd into a one-dimensional muscle-bound oaf. Their strips are packed full of cliches and have no respect for the history Wagner/Grant created. CF19/20 are a nadir. But then Wagner becomes more prevalent again and starts sowing the seeds of an epic that eventually becomes The Pit. That represents a turning point in Dredd - a shift towards a less madcap/more procedural set-up; and as of CF24, things are good to excellent from then on.
If you do collect the CFs, that doesn’t get you everything - only series branded as Judge Dredd that ran in 2000 AD and The Judge Dredd Megazine spin-off. The four Restricted Files volumes compile strips from annuals (hardback books that used to be released around Christmas) and summer/winter specials. The first one starts off weird - writers are trying to figure out Dredd’s world. The second and third include some of the best short Dredd strips around. The fourth one is awful.
From a continuity standpoint, there are spin-offs of various quality and importance. The Dead Man ties directly into Necropolis and was released as a standalone trade. America is vital, forming the central pillar of the democracy arc. If you collect Dredd, you _have_ to read America at the relevant time (towards the end of CF15).
Elsewhere, Anderson spun off early, and her strips are collected in complete form within Psi Files, some of which are hard to find. Early on, Anderson tied into Dredd continuity. Later on, Alan Grant took the reins and the strip sometimes had major events that were barely referenced in Dredd, if at all. Much of the run is good, if on the nose. (There's a character called Judge Goon who, personality wise, is precisely what you’d expect. Grant might as well have called him Judge Nasty.)
Judge Death span off through the Judge Dredd Megazine. Young Death transforms him into a comedy character, which never worked for me, and provides a backstory we didn’t need. My Name is Death resets the character in horror territory, but is arguably inessential. The more recent Dark Justice and Dominion are broadly standalone Dark Judges strips with gorgeous art (and HC incarnations), but are by the numbers. More interesting for me is The Fall of Deadworld, which charts the world of the Dark Judges collapsing. “It began with the bees” is the introduction into a hell that marries Walking Dead and the increasingly supernatural horror of the Dark Judges. Available in HC, if you can find it. (In Stock Trades had some, last I looked.)
There are several DC/DH crossovers. Dredd/Batman is the most well known and the first tie-up is the best - a popcorn-style movie as Dredd and Batman clash with predictable but entertaining results. HC fans will want to track down the Batman/Dredd collection with a Mignola cover that compiles this, three follow-ups and Dredd/Lobo. Elsewhere, Dredd/Predator… exists and Dredd/Aliens is fun. If you're not collecting the CFs (the Aliens crossover is in #36), these strips appeared in the HC Predator vs Judge Dredd vs Aliens book, which is still in print.
Moving on, there is a wider 'Dreddverse', and available volumes are outlined at shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/graphic-novels/dredd-verse
These tend to only tangentially align with Dredd continuity. The big exception is Mega City Undercover, exploring judges who fully integrate themselves into Mega-City One society. This eventually dovetails into Titan and other strips by Rob Williams (not yet in the CFs, but they eventually will be). Of those books, I also rate Chopper: Surf’s Up (continuing his adventures after Oz, although if you read it, pretend the dire Supersurf 13 does not exist), Devlin Waugh (occult spiritual envoy of the future Vatican City, who’s akin to Arnold Schwarzenegger crossed with Noel Coward), Insurrection (space war!) and Lawless (semi-sequel to Insurrection and the best strip to run in the modern Megazine).
That’s a lot of comic strip, but then 2000 AD has been running since 1977 and the Megazine since 1990. And even though Dredd episodes are mostly six pages long, that means the comic got a minimum of 24 pages per month for over 40 years (and often well north of that). Still, if you’re a newcomer and you like Dredd, revel in how much you have to discover of a comic that is still relatively little known and under-appreciated, not least when Wagner’s doing the writing.
Craig is my Dredd Guru!
Outstanding post, thank you!
Wow great info. I’m reading the case files and just finished book 1 and it was, ... ok had some great stories but lacked much in the way of big stories aside from the robot war. But book 2 started with the cursed earth and it’s been great. I’ll keep going with the case files but the prices and availability is just all over the place.
@@flyingdutchman8093 CF1 is rough. Be mindful that at the time, 2000 AD was just another book for 7-11-year-olds, and there was no indication of its longevity. (In fact, it was nearly canned early in its life, but a sister title, Starlord, was merged into it instead). They were also clearly figuring out what Dredd was. Really, it’s not fully formed until CF4, although there are some good stores before that point.
Still, if you liked Cursed Earth, that’s a good indication you’ll enjoy more Dredd, because it just gets better for years after that point. And even though there are blips later on (19/20 are a trudge), it’s collectively one of the best bodies of works in comics when taken as a whole. Loads still to go as well-the latest Case Files, 36, only takes us to 2003’s strips (with Wagner/Diggle’s Alien crossover)!
@@CraigGrannell thanks for the response. Yeah it’s always hard to read the beginnings of a character when you have the iconic version in your mind. Dredd for me was Stallone until I looking into the comic. It’s like going back to Superman’s early years. Or even how he was in the 80-90. Honestly I really enjoy seeing how a character changes over time to be the iconic version. Sometimes it’s better or sometimes it can actually be worse. Look at TMNT compared to what they are now. But yeah I’m going to enjoy reading Dredd and will keep getting it as long as I can find the books. I’ve got 1-15 so lots to read!
Oz was *six months* of weekly episodes. It was incredible reading it as it came out. It felt like that was all my friends and I talked about.
"ONCE BITTEN, TWICE DOOMED!"
Loved that.
This series has been amazing.
Wow. That’s amazing how the paper quality changes the book size so drastically.
Happens elsewhere too: Rogue Trooper 4; Nemesis 3; Anderson 3 (IIRC). If in the UK, the Hachette books are perhaps a better way to collect, although with Dredd you get individual stories, arcs and creator runs rather than the chronological run in the case files. (With the 2000 AD books, you get complete Slaine, Nikolai Dante, Strontium Dog and ABC Warriors, and bits and bobs of other stuff.)
It really does. In American comics too.
the old titan books were the best way to collect the b&w issues. The rebellion b&w collections are awful if you are used to the titan collections. However they do recreate the cheap newsprint paper used in the originals 2000ad issues. The colour collections are however excellent.
@@CraigGrannell I just want 2000ad to put a comprehensive, quality book of them characters I wanna read them titles SO MUCH I’m tired of Marvel so I’m more and more leaned to Manga and 2000ad I need a breath of fresh air.
@@gxvault4166 Quite a few 2000 AD strips have had comprehensive reprints. The problem is that on a worldwide scale, 2000 AD remains quite niche, and so these books don’t always stay in print. That’s obviously not great for newcomers. Perhaps reprints of major series will happen in the future. (In the UK, Ireland and, IIRC, Australia, people at least have had the Hachette HC collection to deal with this.)
Gaze into the fist of DREDD!
Love these Dredd reviews! More please! :)
EDIT: ah im so glad you are enjoying these! Please read Alan Moore's Halo Jones from 2000AD! And yes! Dredd: America!
Nice quote from one of comics greatest moments! Stuck with me for all these years, for those new readers Judge Death Lives is reprinted in Case Files 5. Halo Jones is in my opinion some of Moore's absolute best work and I too really want to see a ORNR on it!
More to come! I promise. They are great.
Yes
What is halo Jones about
I would absolutely recommend you read the following volumes next:
1) "Judge Anderson: The Psi Files Volume 1": You mentioned in your first video how much you liked Judge Death in your first video. Well: this is where the Dark Judges saga continues next. It also gives a different perspective on Dredd's world getting to see things from Anderson's perspective.
2) "The Dead Man": I can't tell you why I'm recommending this without a big spoiler, but it leads directly into the next suggestion...
3) "Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files Volume 14": This contains the biggest and best Dark Judges tale of all time, one of the absolute high points of 2000 AD.
Awesome review. 2000 AD is such a talent trust. Most of them made a huge impact in the US during the British invasion. Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, John Higgins, Dave Gibbons, Brian Bolland, Simon Bisley, the list goes on...
Perfect overviews Omar! Congratulations you’ve officially read further than I have with these case files. I’m so envious of you. I guess the race is on!
Thank you so much, brother. The race is on!
Nice, I was able to buy 1-15.👍. The first video was the reason I got them. Would be nice if they would make them more available in the US.
Yeah I agree
I don't know if this helps you out but between you and another channel's top five stories of Dredd got me into Dredd. Getting into this series in 2020 seems right. I've bounced around but man they are a ton of fun and crazy how a lot of pop culture took from Dredd. Apparently, the writer to Oz also helped write a little indy movie called Mad Max Fury Road.
I have noticed, outside forces vs Megacity Dredd is the hero. Inside threats, he is the villain. Makes for some great stories. Jealous you have a pile of these to read. I'm working my way through, excited for your thoughts on 18. Thanks again!
Thank you for the kind words. ohhh Fury Road, you say? :)
Honestly this is my favourite series of graphic novels. Got all 36 of these bad boys as well as the 4 restricted files. You should get hold of strontium dog after this. Amazing stuff
Sounds like you know what you’re talking about! Do you mind me asking if this is the best way to collect these? What do you think of the Complete Hardcover collections?
@@benjaminwyatt3778 by hardcovers do you mean the mega collection?? If so they are nice enough but they are cherry picked stories out of sequence whereas the judge dredd case files are every single dredd story in order of release. The latest one has the alien crossover so they are in the 2000s already.
@@mrpepperami01 for example “Judge Dredd complete Carlos Esquerra Hardcover”. So they would be out of sequence if I’m understanding properly, correct? Where as what you have is all in order??
@@benjaminwyatt3778 yeah complete Carlos esquerra would just have various stories pencilled by him, there would be loads of stories in between that you miss out on. If you want to read all of judge dredd then the case files are the way to go.
@@mrpepperami01 got it! Thanks mate!!
Beautiful. Thanks for a great Dredd video. Dredd getting the love fills me with, er, love.
My pleasure, these have been a joy to get into.
2000AD was originally a black and white comic, the opening two pages of the Judge Dredd strip, however, were in colour.
I have been looking forward to this video for ages. i love that you are enjoying them so much. I only have 2 dredd volumes so far but definitely considering picking more up. When i read volume 9 at the time( I was about 10) i was too young to appreciate the story. Will you carry on reading every volume and maybe even doing a part 3,4,5 videos and beyond.👍
Glad you like them and I really want to continue with this amazing series.
Late to the party, sorry. I love the design of these dang books though! Keep hyping these books like you are and I might be dumb and buy them despite the prices. :P It’s so darn tempting! Thanks for the vids as always, Omar :)
Yeah they look great.
i am vengeance ...i am the night ...i am THE LAW??? that uncanny Omar talk funny!
Yes some of those pages in oz story were originally in color if i remember correctly. I think i saw those in mega-collection oz book.
Hopefully 2000AD will send you all the case files books. :) Latest one #36 were just released last month at least in Finland.
They have been great to work with. ohhh man 36!! :)
Recently read the crossover of judge dredd, aliens, predator and batman which was surprisingly really good and well written. Would be awesome if it was adapted in a movie or tv show
I would love that.
Great dredd are so great stories and underrated
After seeing the first batch on your channel I hunted down the first 20 volumes. I went with the UK versions since the US ones were discontinued, but that has made them harder to get in good condition unfortunately. Amazon and eBay shippers have a lot of learning to do about proper packing of books.
I hunted down about 26 or so volumes from ebay and rest from amazon. Some of the corners got pretty banged up but thank god not too much to being straight up badly damaged
I know. Softcovers can get banged up easily.
Hi Omar! Great video, as always. A few comments that can be useful for people looking for this books in the United States.
There's an American edition of Judge Dredd Case Files printed by Simon & Schuster (not IDW), which is the same material printend in the UK. This has a differen cover design, nevertheless the spines don't align properly neither and they decided to make all books white except just one (someone out there hates OCD collectors). I think this books were mainly available in the book market. Got to v. 14 and then were discontinued. If you don't mind about the spines most of these are still available through Amazon. My collection mixes both US and UK editions.
Simon & Schuster has also printed collecions with selected story arcs or selections of stories (The Megacity Masters (3 volumes), XXX Files, Mutants in Mega City One, Inferno, Crusade, America, Cry of the Werewolf).
Besides the licensed material, IDW has printed some stories in HC (Apocalypse War and The Dark Judges, both are recolored) and also has artist centric collections (Judge Dredd Complete Carlos Ezquerra, Brian Bolland, Cam Kennedy, and Brendan McCarthy.)
The Essential Judge Dredd line is Rebellions (2000AD'S publisher) new attempt to get to the american comic book market. From what I've seen they are using a new recolored versions of some stories. Somehow they have come to the conclusion that american readers do not like b&w art.
Rebellion has periodically good deals in his own shop (shop.2000ad.com/) so I encourage those interested in this material to check their site once in a while.
I may have to look into the Simon and Schuster collections.
Is the new IDW series still running? Would love to see a Dredd and Punisher series
I think they stopped printing them.
@@NearMintCondition wait did I just like it getting cancelled? I have all the way up to the end of Blessed Earth in that run.
I'm watching to see if you got to Necropolis.
It's fourteen though I think. 😔 Awww shame, wait till you get there👍🔥 The Dead Man story is obviously a must beforehand or an additional read. Enjoy 😁 from 🇬🇧
I was able to snag case files 1-15 and restricted files 1-2 yesterday. So excited to receive it. Now just need to find a way to collect the rest.
RF1 is really weird. The first third is clearly writers figuring out the world. There’s a strip with “all the judges” in a single room and half of them get wiped out. It’s interesting to see the creative teams working out what they’ve created. RF2 a d RF3 are some of the best short-form Dredd around through. (4 is a bit rough, to say the least. By that point, Dredd was being written by a range of writers who didn’t get it, including Millar. Wagner then returns to put things right and “show ran” Dredd for a number of years again. His input is rare now, but the strip has several writers who are putting out solid stories rather than Morrison and Millar, who eradicated nuance and, frankly, quality from the strip.)
I'm excited to continue reading this exciting series.
@@CraigGrannell thanks for the response. I hope you can answer this as I’ll defer to your expertise. If I want everything dredd, what other books do I need that are not already covered in case files 1-36 and restricted files 1-4. If a book that is out right now that will be covered by future case files, then you can disregard those. I just want to have a list of everything dredd put out that won’t eventually be in the case files. Thanks in advance for your help.
@@nasirbajwa6055 Bar the odd strip that might escape collection, America is the additional book you _have_ to get. It’s so important to Dredd continuity that it cannot be skipped. Book 1 aligns with CF15. Book 2 aligns with CF26. There are various editions that include both. Essential Judge Dredd: America adds context with the democracy arc, but that’s already in the CFs. So you might instead want to hunt down Rebellion’s 2008 America (ISBN 9781905437580), which is the same height/depth as the CFs. I’d also recommend finding a copy of The Dead Man, which leads into Necropolis (CF14).
Beyond that, you’re mostly into Batman/Judge Dredd crossovers (released as a HC, if you can find a copy) and spin-offs like Judge Anderson, various Judge Death-related fare, Chopper’s solo stories, etc. There’s also one other curiosity: The Daily Dredds. Judge Dredd was in UK newspapers for years, and many of those strips are collected in two chunky hardcovers. These are seriously compressed storytelling (one summarises the entire Apocalypse War in half a page), but have some superb Rob Smith art and, well, you did say “everything Dredd”!
@@CraigGrannell thank you so much. I will definitely look for both america and dead man. I did notice the daily dredd HCs as well. Will have to think on that. Also, looks like the first sentence of your second para was cut down. Wasn’t sure if you were going to go into more there. Just checking in case you were.
EDIT: looks like the standard america trade you mentioned is ridiculously overpriced. Essential America and the Complete America are both cheaper. Also Dead Man seems like it’s impossible to find or too expensive so might need to wait on a reprint for that one.
Hi Omar, I’ve read 2000ad for 30 years, I love dredd, I can’t wait for you to read strontium dog. Wagner and ezquerra created him, same as dredd. Johnny alpha is my fav with dredd too.
Ohh man, I am so ready!
Alwsys though Block Mania is the best introduction.
Good shout on Letter from a Democrat. That’s a short strip that plants a seed that grows and grows over many years. It is also interesting to see the writers wrestle with what they created. Dredd is NOT a hero, but has frequently been the man the city and even the citizens needed. But because he is the law, that sometimes means he is a boot on a throat, partaking in horrific actions.
In a sense, though, that’s why the strip as a whole is really worth being investigating: it has so much range. It can be dark comedy, satire, political commentary, action, even romance. Sometimes all in a typical six-page strip.
To answer a question about CF 11, those pages were originally in colour. Early chunky Rebellion volumes were mostly greyscale but they all switch over at some point during their runs to that different paper stock and colour pages. (When Dredd eventually flips to full colour, it does so in-story, which is quite fun.)
As for Chopper, he returns in a solo story and then the classic 2000 AD strip Song of the Surfer. Those are collected in a standalone Chopper volume called Surf’s Up, although you can find Song of the Surfer in standalone form as well.
Those eight pages really makes the reader ask...wait! This guy isn't such a good role model. You truly know your Dredd, Craig.
@@NearMintCondition A piece of trivia for you: at the end of Oz, Dredd has to make a decision. What actually occurs in the strip regarding a certain character was Wagner’s choice. Grant wanted a different ending, and was pushing for Dredd to become more hardline. Wagner wanted to retain that sense of grey.
Their writing partnership ended around this time, with them carving up strips. Wagner got Dredd (although Grant still wrote a few), and Grant got Strontium Dog and Anderson (although Wagner later ‘rebooted’ Strontium Dog, initially using ideas worked on for an aborted US TV show, and then later directly tying it into the original continuity).
ive liked most of the stuff ive read from judge dredd but ive only read a few books definately need to read more
It's solid.
On the subject if Dredd "inspired" Robocop: There are stories that Ed Neumeier created Robocop, because he couldn't get the rights to Judge Dredd and then there is of course the first draft of Robocop's armor that Rob Bottin made that is just Dredd without the shoulder eagle. Google Robocop dredd and it's the first picture you get.
That is awesome.
Yessss! Love me some dredd
YES!
Ready for part 3
12 down, 24 to go! ;) (And that’s not counting the Restricted Files!)
Wait the restricted files were different?
@@tsundokus The four Restricted Files volumes compile strips from 2000 AD annuals (which were hardcover books from 1977 through 1991 and then SC for a few more years) and summer/winter specials. The Case Files compile only Judge Dredd strips from 2000 AD and, later, the Judge Dredd Megazine.
24!!!? I'm all in!
@@NearMintCondition You will smile a big smile when you read 'Block Out' in the first Restricted Case Files...its illustrated by the one and only John Byrne :-)
Can you explain the Mega collection?
If you can get hold of the IDW recoloured classics they are great.
I will keep an eye out.
My favorite comic, even more than TMNT & Conan!
It has been great reading them.
When’s the part three coming?
Song of the Surfer.👈 A Judge Dredd story that is a must read! All fully painted, fantastic GN.🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Also Dredd himself is not actually in it.
Edit that's The Chopper story!
Does the paper quality get better? I have the case files #5 for USA and it’s tough to see the text sometimes.
"Haven't read America yet"
Me: *Tuts audibly*
(Sorry! No pressure XD)
I will get there, promise.
@@NearMintCondition Honestly, I’d wait. Read it in context/chronology, at the appropriate time (which is CF15-it should have appeared in sequence around the same point as Midnite’s Children). That said, you already have a copy and so if you can’t wait, I’m sure you won’t regret it.
As I posted on the other Dredd video NMC did, anyone keen to check out Dredd/2000 AD and who’s happy to read (or at least preview) in digital should check out the current Humble Bundle, which has over 50(!) collections from Rebellion: www.humblebundle.com/books/judge-dredd-perps-punks-partners-2000ad-books
This has ever Judge Anderson Psi Files book, the first five Dredd’s and some more contemporary Dredd tales. Plus loads of other great stuff like Zenith, Halo Jones, Brink and Kingdom.
Thank you, sir.
Oh man, I was about to comment and mention the 2000AD documentary, good thing you already know about it. Regarding the Judge Dredd books I am having a hard time deciding on how to collect them. As I understand it the Case Files are not a "complete collection" but actually leave out several major stories, like America. If anyone here has a recommendation as for how to go about collecting Dredd I would much appreciate it.
I posted a ludicrously lengthy more general reply above that should help: 1 second ago
Feel free to ask any specific questions though. (I have a complete run of 2000 AD and the Megazine, and probably a third of my collections are 2000 AD-based. It’s a good comic!)
@@CraigGrannell I just read your rundown of the Dredd publications and it is awesome, just the kind of information that I've been looking for. However seeing as the whole thing is so massive I'm still kind of confused as to where I should start. I am primarily a HC collector and would much prefer to get HCs if possible, and in cases where its not possible I might even be interested in doing some custom binds, as long as I'm not going to end up having to do like 50 of them.
Basically what I'm having issues with is seeing how I can go from collecting and reading the big events like America and Apocalypse War to continuing on with the rest of the material, while being able to build a cohesive collection? It seems to me that you need to get some hardcovers from here, some from there and then some paperbacks, and so on. Granted I might not need to read every prog of Dredd I think I would like to more than dip my toes in the universe, and still have it looking sweet as hardcovers on my shelf. Am I destined to go the custom bind route?
Currently I'm reading another 2000AD series - the A.B.C. Warriors, another one for Omar to check out, the Mek Files hardcovers are awesome!
@@cinder88 If you want _all_ of Dredd in HC and in chronological order (or even a fair chunk of it), the only option is to buy the CFs (and possibly also related material like The Dead Man) and custom bind. 2000 AD has historically done very few HCs. From Rebellion, the first Case Files was released in that format as an anniversary release, as was a version of Cursed Earth. Beyond that, the odd single volume gets a 2000 AD shop HC exclusive, and that’s about it. In the UK/Ireland/Australia, there’s the 90-volume Hachette HC partwork, but that collects runs thematically and in a fairly random order. Plus, even if you could find a set for sale, shipping costs would be problematic. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_Dredd:_The_Mega_Collection
There are earlier versions of Dredd epics floating around, such as Titan’s collections, which you might be able to find on eBay and that have great repro. IDW more recently did a handful as well. But plugging the gaps would be tricky, given that the epics rock up as and when, part-way though various CFs. (Apocalypse War is at the end of CF5, so you could continue on from 6, but then you miss the rest of the material in 5. Other epics don’t sit at the end of the books as neatly.)
It’s worth noting America is an outlier. It really should have been in the CFs, but was omitted for frankly weird reasons. But all the other epics are included in the CFs, and so if you did buy, say, IDW’s Apocalypse War HC, you’d be double dipping.
The Mek Files are solid-I like the first one a lot. Some (but not all) Sláine is also in that format (notably various prints of Horned God, the Book of Invasions volumes and some later stuff that’s not as strong). Elsewhere (Strontium Dog/Nikolai Dante/etc.), HC fans are best catered for by the 2000 AD Ultimate Collection in the UK/Ireland/Australia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_AD:_The_Ultimate_Collection - but, again, that doesn’t overly help overseas readers unless they can find a complete set and figure out a way to ship the books.
Does any of that help? I’m happy to answer any further questions. As a Brit and long-time 2000 AD fan, it’s good to see that comic and Dredd get some wider coverage and interest!
@@CraigGrannell All of what you're saying helps! It's just a pretty beefy thing to figure out the best approach for. If we back up for just a second and ask the more basic question (I hope) - how much of Dredd do you actually think is good, and worth reading? From what I gather there has been a decent amount of filler throughout the years since Dredd was a staple in the 2000AD progs following the characters success.
I may not necessarily get absolutely all of Dredd, if there are things you can pass on that don't add to the world or are not referenced. I like the idea of the Psi Files being complete, I would love to get those paperbacks and do custom binds of them, which would be a "complete set" of that spinoff more or less. I'm thinking I want to do a similar thing with Dredd, but I am having a hard time figuring out which material to source for that, seeing as the size of the different publications varies as well.
I would love to get in touch with you outside of this comment thread if it would be possible for a bit of a chat, since I really could use the opportunity to pick your brain :D Are you on Discord or any other chat platform?
@@cinder88 I’m a bit wary of setting myself as an arbiter of taste, because different people like different things. The other issue with the CFs is even in the dross there are gems-although they’re sometimes few in number. (19 has part of the robot judges Mechanismo arc. 20 includes tear-jerker Bury My Knee at Wounded heart, Giant and Howler, all of which are pretty great.)
In a general sense, though, most Wagner Dredds are at worst very readable and at best are essential comics. (I think he’s one of the most under-rated writers in the medium. When you consider his body of work, it’s astonishing how much quality material he’s written.) Most Ennis Dredd is iffy and Morrison/Millar Dredd is garbage. Little of that heavily impacts on continuity. But then it’s not like you can slice out the good stuff from the CFs. It’s probably also worth noting that sometimes the one-off six-page strips are fantastic little nuggets of story. They might not impact on the world like Apocalypse War, say, but they are part of the strip’s flavour, world-building and pacing. (More recently, things become more complicated, because Wagner’s stepped back and Dredd is quite fragmented among a few different writers with differing visions; however, that won’t affect the CFs for years.)
If you’re going down the custom bind route, the Anderson books might prove costly. A couple of those volumes are now rare, but then people sell stuff on eBay all the time without realising its worth. With Dredd, CFs are going to be the cheapest route regardless, adding in whatever additional material you need to (Dead Man; America). Beyond that, it depends how deep into the wider Dredd world you want to go (and 2000 AD in general for that matter - there are loads of great series).
As for getting in touch, sure. I’m on Twitter - twitter.com/craiggrannell - if that helps. I don’t use Discord much, but do have an account there. Feel free to email craiggrannell@googlemail.com.
glad you like judge dredd welcome to the fanclub lol
I'm in!
I have read some recent Dredd stuff and liked it so I bought the first case files and hated it. So I'm going to jump to volume 7 to see if it's any better than the really early stuff.
Things properly start to gel between 3 and 5. 5 has Apocalypse War in it. The feel is still different from very modern Dredd, but has the world fully formed by then. 7 has some of my favourite classic-era stories though; if you’re not keen on that, probably avoid any pre-The Pit Dredd.
Ok. I'll start with 5 and try that.
Craig is the guy that knows his Dredd. :)
Midnight serfer is the second chopper story the first was unamerican graffiti. Great story I remember reading it when it first came out. Its in case book 4
I have Judge Dredd books, Mainly from Hachette Partworks 'The Mega Collection'
A fantastic collection!
Ohhh they have the Mega Collection too?
@@NearMintCondition en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_Dredd:_The_Mega_Collection was the Mega Collection. Lots of great stuff. Probably 15 books of crud. Great value if you’re British and can find someone offloading the entire run (which happens quite a lot when people buy 80+ books and realise they’re never going to read them).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_AD:_The_Ultimate_Collection is the 2000 AD collection. We’re north of 80 books here now, and are told it’ll finish at 140. There’s a Marvel collection that started back in 2011 that’s still going. A HC every two weeks. Reportedly, that will run to _at least_ 250 books, from an initial promise of 60.
The pseudonym thing was down to Wagner/Grant being too prolific. So the publisher demanded they use various names.
That was pretty interesting.
judge dredd rules remember buy those big book (comic book) since the 90s at the comic shop the ny villiage. cool!
They are great.
Man! I’ve wasted my whole life thinking Judge Dredd was just a robocop reject, wish I could go back in time and slap some sense into my younger self.
I don't think any of the volumes you reviewed where you thought that maybe were in color actually were in color originaly, because the next volume (vol12 and after) is in color (also thiner)
And the books you got are the UK release. In north america volume 1 to 14 have different covers
They do have different covers.
Oh man I wish all my dredd cases files were the uk version. I had to mix and match with the Simon shuster version.
How are those?
@@NearMintCondition other than the covers they’re the same material and build.
Two pages of Dredd were coloured the rest were b w.👍
Love me some Judge Dredd - especially the Batman cross-overs and the Judge Death storylines. Great job Uncanny Omar. I don't think the coloring is very good in the stories in Volume 12
The Batman Crossover is the one I want to read.
They are so nice I like it
"I am the Law!"
YES~
forbidden planet in Newyork Villiage sell lots of judge dredd comics wow!
That is awesome.
I haven't read America yet.
Minutes later...
Love dredd
Same here.
The Batman/Judge Dredd Crossover... I will send it to you...
Oh man, you are too kind, Mr. Tolliver.
@@NearMintConditionNo worries! I hate bashing something without demonstrating some sort of reason for my opinion... You will read it and notice significant differences in overall style and presentation.
I'm still wanting for you doing was it really that bad on the 1995 Judge Dredd.
It was that bad after reading this awesome series.
Next ones are anderson psy case files but good luck finding case file 2
Was about to comment as much! And yes, Futureshock is worth a watch. I don't think you'll have any problems finding it as Arrow has their own streaming service and OTT service through Prime Video.
I'm going to rent it on Amazon next weekend. Ohh man oop UK books? That's what it feels like. :)
Were these stories originally in black and white? Most of this artwork looks like it could have been this way, other pages clearly don't.
They were. Except the ones from volumes 11, some pages were color originally.
@@NearMintCondition, thank you, so it's not comparable to the Marvel Essentials books. There I felt I was missing out on the original experience.
When it started in 1977, 2000 AD had a colour cover and back page and a colour centre spread. Sometimes Dredd got the latter. Some of the CFs have grayscale pages because of this. In 1988, Dredd switches to full colour in a tale called Twister.
Brother if you like judge dredd you should listen to the audio drama.trapped on titan, pre emotive revenge, are my favourite but overall they are all great
oh I will have to look that up.
Also, you need to buy those Deadworld HCs...
I will look into it.
Yeah useally the first page to a story was always in colour in early 2000AD issues.
the spines look like the morrison-batman omni's
Aha! I knew I wasn't crazy.
Its wonderful to see your appreciation of Judge Dredd, your reviews make this longtime fan of 2000AD proud. Other 2000AD titles you'll like: Halo Jones (Alan Moore & Ian Gibson), Zenith (Grant Morrison & Steve Yewell), Slaine (Glenn Fabry, Simon Bisley & MANY other GREAT artists), Rogue Trooper (Dave Gibbons), Strontium Dog (Mutants!?), Nikolai Dante (the less you know about this the better. Just read it. It's great fun and EPIC). Lastly 'Harry 20 on the High Rock' because we know how you love some Alan Davis art (story rocks also). Enjoy.
I am having a blast reading these for the first times. I have read Zenith and loved it. Now I need to try out these other books. For sure and thank you.
@@NearMintCondition It must be quite weird to suddenly find all this stuff-like a Brit suddenly discovering
@@NearMintCondition Definitely Slaine. You should get 3 books, "Warrior 's dawn" which is his origin and first adventures and "The King" & "Time Killer" that have a great long story and fantastic art, mostly by Glenn Fabry.
"Meltdown man", a great story with art by Massimo Belardinelli that you 'll fall in love with.
2 months ago Strontium Dog began being printed in OHC format. "Search & Destroy" collects his first stories. Rogue Trooper may follow next year.
And I also suggest the 3 volumes of "Charley 's war". Garth Ennis has called it the best comic ever. I 'd say it 's definitely the best war comic ever (concerning WW I).
Is there any dredd collected editions that are for newcomers and are also in color?
For newcomers a great jumping on point is case files 5 you have mega city wars. If you want color you start at case file 12 . Still great but you don't get those fantastic old stories
Rebellion is releasing cherry picked thematic volumes that are in full colour. These are under The Essential Judge Dredd line and include America, The Apocalypse War and Origins. But there are no complete collections in colour. (Be mindful that for the first years of its run, 2000 AD only had four colour pages-one of which was the cover and another of which was the back cover, which was usually an ad.)
I was going to suggest the Essential books.
First of all: I LOVE Judge Dredd. I love the characters, MOST of the stories, and both movies---each for different reasons... HOWEVER, the presentation in this format is AWFUL! Both black and white and colorized, the artwork is busy, cramped and distracting while reading. The colorization of the single-issues that I have owned in the past were also rough to look at, with the cringe over-the-top facial expressions and panels that can be difficult to follow at times. My suggestion for most readers has been the DC/2000A.D. Crossover "The Batman/Judge Dredd Collection." It includes multiple stories: Judgment On Gotham, Vendetta In Gotham, The Ultimate Riddle, and Batman/Judge Dredd: Die Laughing #1-2---all in one trade paperback. It was a collaboration featuring the original creater/writer John Wagner and even Alan Grant and others. It contains great stories that are very easy to get into and the artwork is painted. The stories have a very Alex Ross mixed with psychedelic/horror vibe throughout. Here's a link to where I purchased it: www.amazon.com/Batman-Judge-Dredd-Collection/dp/1401236782/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1B3NTJTA8BCQ9&dchild=1&keywords=batman+judge+dredd+collection&qid=1612678144&s=books&sprefix=batman+judge%2Cstripbooks%2C216&sr=1-1
You should read Sláine, Britain's Conan
Oh I want to.
WHOOOO designs those spiiiiines?
2000AD
@@NearMintCondition Well I think it's a bunch if smurfs with ladders and paint.
2000ad has us versions released of the case files us cover price
Sylvester Stallone was the best Judge Dredd universe I could care less about the helmet thing.
I prefer Karl, but Sty is still the man!
Algorithm gang! :)
Boom!
Speaking of gutter lost just you wait till you see absolute planetary :(
Ouch, maybe i’ll hold onto my mousetrap omni.
I heard. So I'm keeping my omnibus.
Algorithm party!
My man!
The spines in the thumbnail make me unreasonably angry, how hard is it to have have everything line up?
I mean its not as bad as DC.
^^
Algorithm:)
forbb
'Letter to a Democrat' is reprinted AND recolored (It had black and white art in the Prog/Comic/Case File) by the original artist John Higgin's in 'Essential Judge Dredd: America' (which Omar flicked through in the previous video) 🙂
There is a Batman dredd crossover and it is epic. Also take a look at abc warriors, slaine the horned god and bad company from 2000ad also epic
When the comic was in Black & White the cover and both the middle pages were in full colour/color. Sadly they chose to not reprint these pages in colour until the later editions of the case files. IDW reprinted some classic Dredd stories in full colour, not just the original colour pages, and if you can find the collected editions (there are two), I wouldn't hesitate to get them. Its the Brian Bolland Judge Death/Anderson stuff and the Apocalypse War. IDW did a great job of turning all of the black and white art into full colour and I truly wish they would do the same for ALL of the early black and white Dredd stories.
Ohhh that sounds awesome.
Tharg's Future Shock's are neat short one-off stories with a twist in the end. Many of the great writers and artists worked on these and you'll have a blast (Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman, etc). Button Man by John Wagner is also a must. If you like Dredd you should also read all Judge Anderson stuff and: D.R. & Quinch (Alan's Moore & Davis create a classic), 'Invasion' and then 'Savage' for more goodness. Caballistics, Inc. is also another I think you'll like.
Future Shocks are some of the best compressed storytelling in comics when done well. The oft-reprinted Alan Moore collection should be required reading for any comics fan, frankly.
AHHH! YOU Had me at the amount of talent.
@@NearMintCondition So you have context, Future Shocks (and related one-offs) are ‘filler’ in 2000 AD (which, as you know, is an anthology). They have often used as testing grounds for new authors, and for existing scribes to get out quick ideas that wouldn’t work as a full strip. Gaiman didn’t do many. Morrison and Milligan wrote more. Alan Moore, though, wrote loads of them, and some of his shorts (and related Time Twisters) are among the best comics I’ve ever read.
There are various ways to collect Future Shocks. In 2018, 2000 AD started putting out CF-style complete volumes - there have been two so far, but they only currently go up to 1982. Beyond that, there is The Best of Tharg’s Future Shocks (compiling Morrison/Milligan/Gaiman strips and those by John Smith, a 2000 AD writer responsible for some superb but mind-bending fare). There’s also the Complete Alan Moore Future Shocks, which has had at least four TPB editions now. Both books were also reworked for Hachette’s Ultimate 2000 AD hardcover series.
Future Shocks in general are frequently interesting, if sometimes cliched. They’re also extremely dense storytelling, because they run between two and six pages. But I _very strongly_ recommend any comics fan track down the Alan Moore book. All the Rebellion prints are identical, bar the covers, so you’ll get all Moore’s Future Shocks/Time Twisters and the Abelard Snazz run. If you can find 2000 AD Ultimate Collection vol 44/issue 48, that’s the same in HC. (It looks like about a copy a month rocks up on eBay, selling for slightly above cover price.)