Judge Dredd: The Invisible Man, Part 1

Astonishingly, I've been doing this an entire year now and so celebrate Dredd Alert's first birthday with...

NAME
Judge Dredd: The Invisible Man, Part 1

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Tornado Prog 134

DATELINE
13 Oct 79

This prog also featured ABC Warriors, Disaster 1990, Blackhawk and The Mind Of Wolfie Smith strips behind a Judge Dredd cover by Brian Bolland that proudly proclaimed him the Top British Character in the Top British Comic.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
2000AD Monthly 4, The Best Of 2000AD 8, The Complete Judge Dredd 12, Judge Dredd Definitive Ed. Future Crime, Judge Dredd Chronicles Book 5, Time Twisters 13 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 03.

SYNOPSIS
The Invisible Man taunts Dredd.

FIRSTS & LASTS
None.

INFORMATION
There is a war memorial in Mega-City One's Aftermath Square.

Fdk Bellini was an early 21st Century sculptor of note. His work includes Staplers At Attention from his office equipment period and E=MC², a priceless example of kept in the Mega-City Art Gallery. It is stolen.

Section 32 of the Anti-Crime Code gives Judges the right to strip-search individuals in public. There are 50,000 Judges in the Grand Hall of Justice. Named Judges: Judge Beck, Judge Onslo, Judge Nye (Chief of Science).

JUDGE DREDD
He gets a note from 'The Invisible Man' warning that he will steal Bellini's E=MC² at one o'clock precisely. He does exactly that. With the Invisible Man having proven the validity of his claims, Dredd receives another note asking for 10 million creds or the city will be sorry, while a third letter gives details of how to deliver the money. He deploys riot foam to attempt to catch the perp to no avail. He receives a fourth letter threatening him.

OTHER CHARACTERS
JUDGE NYE
The Justice Department's a Chief of Science.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
Judge (of Bellini's E=MC²): "Looks like a twisted old coat-hanger to me..."

WORST LINES
Dredd (whilst attempting to shoot the Invisible Man): "Get down, you men!"

CATCHPHRASES
Dredd says "My Dok!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
The war memorial in Aftermath Square is a statue of Fergee http://dreddalert.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/judge-dredd-day-law-died-aftermath.html.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The Invisible Man is a science fiction novella by Herbert George 'H.G.' Wells (1866-1946) published in 1897

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

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

REVIEW
This is all set up, but it works well and the ransom style notes provide an intriguing insight into The Invisible Man, while the art gallery sequence and the indignant strip-search are definite highlights.

Next Prog: Skrunch!