Judge Dredd Year One Omnibus by Matt Smith, Al Ewing, Michael Carroll

I read DC comics as a kid but was never a huge Dredd fan. It was the sort of comic I picked up once in a while, only to see this colossal prick sending some old man to jail for 7 years because he bumps into him on the street. When said old man takes two hours to say goodbye to his family instead of turning himself in immediately he is given an extra 6 months for being late….though Dredd is really ‘a good guy’ because he could have given him another who year. See what I mean. Prick. That being said I thought the recent film had some nice moments and I thought the core of the character was very interesting.

The chance to see Dredd as a young cadet is one of the reasons I picked up this book which leads us to our first story City Fathers by Matt Smith. Dredd is not quite the straight arrow we know as an adult but definitely on the way and not afraid to tell old hands ‘don’t call me kid’ whenever someone references the fact that he is fact a kid. A grisly murder sets him off on his detective work where he alone see under the layers of lies and discovers a new drug hitting the streets that will have killer consequences for those on the streets. It’s a pretty standard plot but done nicely, and the writer does a good job at showing us Dredd in development as he displays some doubt, vulnerability and even indecision at times which allows him to be seen in a more human light.

In Cold Light of Day by Michael Carroll we get Judge Dredd meets Death Race. It’s the Mega City 5000 and a souped up version of the Cannonball Run as racers battle it out to get from one side of the city to the next. Dredd is on crowd control but is suddenly called away to investigate a crime committed by someone he sentenced years before. Dredd finds his investigation leading him on parallels with the racers and he gets sucked into the action whilst trying to find the prep and this is one awesome non stop thrill ride. The race lends the story it’s own pace and the writer does a great job of bringing the two stories together and at no stage does one feel slower or boring when compared to the other. This was my favourite story of the three.

In Wear Iron by Al Ewing we get a more thorough exploration of the man Dredd might have become by having his brother Rico play a more prominent role than in the previous story. When a professional out of town thief is forced to do a job inside Mega City he breaks his own rules and runs afoul of the Dreddster. Rico is a massive tool and basically Dredd with no redeeming features except a sharper wit and a devious sense of humour. It was nice to see them both played along side each other but for me this story did not hit the exciting heights of the first and second story. It is by no means weaker just different.

This is a nice collection and the writers manage to keep a nice stylistic thread running through all the stories. It does not fall into the trap of many omnibuses by trying to cover anything and quite frankly I could see another similar one following him mid career and maybe in retirement. Just a thought.

I reviewed this book for Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.