'Essential Judge Dredd: Origins' by John Wagner with art by Carlos Ezquerra and Kev Walker is a graphic novel exploring the origins of Mega-City One and the Judge system.When criminal mutants break in to Mega-City One and deliver a box to the Grand Hall of Justice, Dredd and fellow judges are sent on a mission to the outer lands. The mission involves delivering a ransom for the remains of a historical judge, and they will encounter all manner of criminals who would like the large sum of money th...

I wish we'd get to see more of Kid Dredd, and more of Rico (the first one) before he went bad. This story has plenty of both, and also great action. One of my favourites.

Judge Dredd: Origins or, in another terms, John Wagner Critique of George W. Bush, as the face of President L. Booth will prove you. Very good tale even if a bit more exposition-sided than the usual Dredd fare, it directly reconnects with the loss of faith Ol' Stoney Face experienced during the events of the necropolis saga. Exceptional art by Carlos Ezquerra (R.I.P.) showing why he was THE Judge Dredd penciler (Sorry McMahon and Bolland) with his usual rugged, ballsy style. I have only one main...

An excellent story, mostly told in flashbacks, that looks at the origins of the Judges, the origins of Judge Dredd himself and what the future may hold for the Justice System.In the present, the Judges are presented with a ransom note and evidence that their first Chief Judge, Judge Fargo, is alive. Judge Dredd then leads a small convoy of Judges with the ransom demand, to be exchanged for Judge Fargo, in the Cursed Earth.During the journey, Judge Dredd fills in the history of Judge Fargo and ho...

I guess if anybody was going to learn about Judge Dredd in the modern day, it'd be here. It's a pretty good introduction and allows new readers to look back on some of the older comics without it being a requirement. All the while taking a rather grim-dark look at how the world of Dredd came to be.It's not really the origin story of Joe Dredd, but he is tied to the overall origin. His genetic source Eustace Fargo is practically godlike in how people look at him, considering he's the one who set

This review is for an ARC received from the publisher through NetGalley.After reading all the American attempts to keep Judge Dredd comics going over the past few years, it was so refreshing to read modern "classic" Dredd in "Origins." The newer books aren't bad, but they utterly pale in comparison. The engaging story by John Wagner, the classic artwork by Carlos Ezquerra and Kev Walker are miles above the average attempts to make Dredd stories more "edgy" or the art unconventional. "Origins" wa...

Carlos Sanchez Ezquerra (12 November 1947 – 1 October 2018) R.I.P.A great comic book, far better than I used to remember when I've read it for the first time a few years ago.Not much a Dredd origins tale, but for the whole Judges system in the not so far future, with the street judges bringing instant Law in the streets riding giant armed bykes instead of the old ones presiding over court proceedings, and an origin tale about the nuclear armageddon that forged Mega-City 1, the Cursed Earth and t...

My first look at these Essential Judge Dredd compilations might appear to be how this character, that character and the other character all got their debut appearances. That's not the case, for this is a new print of a story called 'Origins' from 2006/7. And to be frank it's not the best ever story from this world – it has a lot of mythos to cover, but if it thinks it's an event book it's a fairly turgid one, full of awkward monologue from Dredd himself, as he reveals the truth of a lot of thing...

I, generally, do not consider myself a fan of Judge Dredd. Though, mainly, I refer to the original series. This Essential judge Dredd series is newer and the writing is far more palatable and even the art has improved.Origins was a very interesting tale. It starts with a package being delivered to the Hall of Justice. This sets off a chain of events that involves Judge Dredd and the story then tells us quite a bit of the history of the Judges, how they were formed, and even insight into Dredd an...

Brilliant. A complete story focusing in on the childhood background of Judge Dredd, Judge Rico and their clone origins. This details the beginnings of the Judge System, how and why it went into place. Also a complete history of the Atomic Wars which created the Cursed Earth from a fresh point of view going into detail with what happened to major players Eustace Fargo and the last President, Robert L. Booth. Even though this is an origin story, I wouldn't recommend it as a first introduction to D...

I have never read Judge Dredd before, and overall this is a good jumping in point. Not only do we get to see Dredd on a case, but he's also explaining how the Unitdc States turned in to a post apocalyptic land, and how the Justice Department came to be. There are references to things that came before these comics, but there are notes informing you where you can find more on those things, people, and events. I enjoyed the story line and it's mix of history and action was very well done. The artwo...

I used to read Judge Dredd quite a bit about twenty or thirty years ago, and only recently got back into the character thanks to the two new IDW series. I picked up this volume to provide myself with a refresher course on the character and his origins.This is a well done story in which Dredd must track down the kidnappers of his clone father's body. Along the way, Dredd fills his comrades in on his backstory through a series of flashbacks. There are numerous passages that go all the way back to

At this point, where superheroes are as popular as the celebrities you hear about and comic books have successfully been adapted to the big and small screens, it is a shame that 2000 AD’s iconic creation Judge Dredd can’t catch a break in that his 1995 film debut starring Sylvester Stallone was a disaster and then a more positively received reboot starring Karl Urban didn’t gain such commercial recognition. Whilst we await for another adaptation to hopefully come in the near future, we at least

So yeah, gather around friends and family, find a spot beside the bonfire to keep warm. Get a marshmallow to roast as ol’ Uncle Casey tells you a scary story of the goat man while the fire keeps away all the creepy creatures of the night. That’s the vibe I got from this book dudes. Except sub out friends and family with a posse of Judges, the bonfire with flaming rain, the creatures of night with roving mutant gangs, and the goat man story with a tale of how the Judges and the Justice System cam...

Judge Dredd will always be a strange character: neither hero nor villain, a battery of endless willpower amidst the decay of a post apocalyptic dystopia. And here tells why: the beginning of the end, the origin of automatic justice, and a tale eerily familiar to modern times. The end was a little bit expected, but still nicely done.

A definite part of the appeal of reviewing this volume is that it allows me to revisit a significant part of my childhood development. When as adults, we’re asked to name our formative cultural experiences we by-and-large seem to choose the ones that we deem acceptable, the ones that reflect our current maturity rather than the ones that were vital paths on the way to achieving it.But I can safely say and proudly say that 2000AD was a key part in that development for me. I would also wish to qua...

Having read quite some Judge Dredd and 2000 AD in my time, I'm slightly baffled why this book is supposedly a good starting point for new readers. To me, the origin of Dredd (and the whole Judges system) would be more interesting to someone who already has read some Dredd - a lore deep cut for the fans, if you will.Personally, I've always felt that the origin story of Dredd, the Judges and the Mega-Cities almost feels like it should never be told, only hinted at. Chances are any story explaining...

"The poison isn't in your genes, it's here, in the earth — all around you."I would like to read a post-apocalyptic fiction that doesn't regurgitate Hobbes in either a sincere or ironic light. I think that would be far more subversive than the dystopias we've been fed by popular culture.Like, I get it. If you push Western ideology to its extreme you get a hyperviolent war of all against all (egoism), which is resolved through the imposition of absolute power (fascism) — but the point of speculati...

Long ago, when I was younger than I am today, I read the 2000AD avidly. Amongst all the many wonderful stories Dredd was always the constant. The continuing soap opera of a dedicated lawman in a fascist police state. I haven't read a Dredd story for more than 20 years, but I found this, published over 23 weeks back in 2006. This is the origins story, this is how it came to be, how the cursed Earth was created, how Mega City One came to be, and how the judges came to rule it at the point of a gun...

Essential Judge Dredd: Origins by John Wagner, et al is a free NetGalley e-comicbook that I read in late August.I had no idea that Judges had been clones of each other, but it makes sense; both because you want clones of the best Judges and because of the outcome of the Judge Dredd sequel. Written as book 3 of 4, the first issue is about Judges pursuing a killer/deliverman of a mysterious package that has a talking mutant embryonic twin doing most of the thinking for him. The second issue is in