Judge Dredd: A Tale From Walter's Scwapbook, Part 2

NAME
Judge Dredd: A Tale From Walter's Scwapbook, Part 2

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 121

DATELINE
14 July 79

This prog also contained ABC Warriors, Disaster 1990, Dan Dare and Project Overkill strips, a bit more of Ro-Jaws And Hammerstein's Book Of Robots and a Judge Dredd cover by Brian Bolland.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd 26, The Complete Judge Dredd 11, The Best Of Judge Dredd and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 03.

SYNOPSIS
Walter tells the story of a time when Dredd got something wrong.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First instance of Judge impersonation.

INFORMATION
(The framing story takes place on a Monday, presumably in 2101, while the flashback took place "maybe a year ago", while Judge Griffin was still Principal of the Academy Of Law, so it must take place before The Day The Law Died, but realistically also before The Cursed Earth)

Culver Alley is a street in Mega-City One. Huck Finn Block has a child care centre.
City Care looks after children when their parents or guardians can't or won't.

Cadets at The Academy Of Law can be expelled for scoring less than 80% on an exam, being too emotional and leaving the Academy grounds. Named Cadets: Cadet Ralph Bryce (expelled)

JUDGE DREDD
He elects to remove Ralphy from his aunt and uncle's custody and enrol him in the Academy Of Law. When Ralph is expelled, Dredd delivers him to the child care centre at Huck Finn Block and visits him once a week from then on.

OTHER CHARACTERS
WALTER THE WOBOT
He recounts Ralph's story to a group of robots.

RALPH BRYCE
Known as Ralphy. He was orphaned after his parents were killed in a monorail crash, he lives with an aunt and uncle. Despite being warned about impersonating a Judge. He attempts to arrest two lawbreakers, dressed in a Judge outfit from a toy store, wearing a badge that reads 'Dredd Junior' and armed with a water pistol. One of the lawbreakers beats him up. Dredd finds him and takes him to the hospital and arrests him a sixth time. Dredd enrols him at the Academy Of Law. Months later he is expelled for leaving the Academy grounds. Dredd delivers him to the child care centre at Huck Finn Block and visits him once a week from then on.

JUDGE GRIFFIN
In spite of his reservations, he accepted Ralph Bryce as a Cadet in the Academy Of Law. He expels him months later.

ARRESTS
At least six. Ralphy is arrested for impersonation of a Judge and at least five roadliner hijackers are arrested.

DEATHS
Presumably someone failed to walked away from the roadliner pile-up.

BEST LINES
Ralph: "Well I won't cry! If there's one thing The Academy Of Law taught me, it's how not to cry!"

WORST LINES
Lawbreaker: "Heck, the law!"

CATCHPHRASES
Walter says bwain, bwought, contwawy, cwimes, cwook, cwumbled, cwy, dangewous, Dwedd, evewy, gweased, gweat, hewo, lawbweaker, laundwy, notowious, photogwaph, pwincipal, pwogwess, pwomise, pwoud, pwoves, thwoo, twagedy, tweat, waced, Walphy, wan, wascal, weal, wecovered, wemember, whimpewing, woadliner, woared, wobots, wong, woutine and wule.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
Walter scwapbook features a newspaper cutting about Dredd's arrest of 'The Ape Gang'.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Huck Finn appeared in The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn (1885) by Mark Twain (1835-1910)

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: John Howard
Artist: Ron Smith
Letters: Tom Frame

REVIEW
This feels as though it is retreading the ground already covered by Vienna. The panel of an adult beating a child is particularly shocking and its odd that Walter relates a tale which does not feature him at all.

Thrill Power: 90%...And Rising! Don't Miss Next Prog!