Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth, Chapter 12 – Burger Law!

NAME
Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth, Chapter 12 – Burger Law!

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 72

DATELINE
8 July 78

PAGE COUNT
7

REPRINTS
None.

SYNOPSIS
Dredd and Spikes must escape the Burger Barons.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First time that a story has reached twelve parts and I'll bet this is 2000 AD's first lynching as well.

INFORMATION
The lack of government after the Atomic War left a power vacuum, which the hamburger chains have sought to fill.

Cattle have mutated to the size of elephants.

Those affiliated to Burger King have declared it a crime to work for a different hamburger chain.

JUDGE DREDD
He and Spikes are taken to MacDonald City. They are locked up in a hamburger warehouse, but escape. They steal a pre-war truck from a transport depot and leave MacDonald City. They encounter a stampede caused by the Burger King vigilantes. Dredd and Spikes are found guilty of Hamburger Crimes and sentenced to death by the Burger King judge. They are to be hanged, but the sentence is interrupted by an attack by Judge Jack. They continue their journey.

OTHER CHARACTERS
SPIKES 'HARVEY' ROTTEN
He and Dredd are taken to MacDonald City and locked up in a hamburger warehouse, but they escape and steal a pre-war truck from a transport depot and leave the city. The run into a cattle stampede caused by Burger King forces and are arrested for Hamburger Crimes and sentenced to death by hanging. Judge Jack intervenes. They continue their journey.

JUDGE JACK
He finds Dredd and Spikes' Q-Bikes abandoned at In Between and heads to MacDonald City, but discovers the lynching instead and attacks the Burger King forces in the land-raider and saves Dredd and Spikes from being hanged .

ARRESTS
At least six. Dredd and Spikes are found guilty of Hamburger Crimes and sentenced to death by the Burger King judge. Jack subsequently arrests at least four Burger King soldiers and is forced to release them.

DEATHS
Two. 'Ronald MacDonald' shoots an employee dead and a Burger King soldier dies in Jack's attack.

BEST LINES
'Ronald MacDonald': "Don't worry, folks. Everythin' in MacDonalds is disposable - includin' the staff."

WORST LINES
Stampede Starter: "Hyaa! Move, lil' doggies!"

What?

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
'Ronald MacDonald' paraphrases the "I have a dream" speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr (1929–1968) in 1963. He mentions Hershey Bars and the New York Yankees, and the lyric "From sea to shining sea" is a line from 'America The Beautiful' by Katharine Lee Bates and Samuel A. Ward (1895).

MISTAKES
Part 11 took place in Kansas, but it's stated here that Dredd has reached Arkansas.

RETROSPECT
Dredd says he will return and "deal with that crazy hamburger war", which seems unlikely given IPC's 'banning'.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: T.B. Grover
Artist: Mike McMahon
Letters: Tom Frame

T.B. Grover is another in John Wagner's line of pseudonyms.

REVIEW
This is better. 'The Bit With The Burger Barons' comes to an end with more of the satire and dark humour than it began as competition gives way to dreams of monopoly. The opening double page splash of MacDonald City and the panel of the lynching in silhouette (both above) are astonishing pieces of work.

Next Prog: The Coming Of Satanus!