Judge Dredd: Night Of The Bloodbeast

NAME
Judge Dredd: Night Of The Bloodbeast

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Tornado Prog 138

DATELINE
10 Nov 79

This prog also featured ABC Warriors, Disaster 1990, Blackhawk and The Mind Of Wolfie Smith strips and an ABC Warriors cover by Mike McMahon.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
The Complete Judge Dredd 13, Judge Dredd 16 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 03.

SYNOPSIS
Dredd chases the last Klegg on Earth as goes on a killing spree.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First mention of Ricardo Montalban Block, first use of dum-dums.

INFORMATION
Enid Blyton Block is on the North Side of Mega-City One. It has at least 67 floors (as well as a basement), 2707 apartments and five stairwells. It was used during Chief Judge Cal's reign to provide accommodation for the Kleggs. Ricardo Montalban Block is considered a step up from Charlton Heston Block, which in turn is thought of as nicer than Enid Blyton.

A Klegg can hear the heart beating inside a human chest.

Judges are equipped with dum-dum bullets which provide maximum kill power, but are only used in emergencies.

JUDGE DREDD
He attends the Enid Blyton Block murder scene and searches for the killer. When he comes upon the Klegg gatecrashing the party in Apartment 2599, he fires dum-dums to stop the creatures. The Klegg attacks him as it dies.

OTHER CHARACTERS
URK
Klegg, but mutated at birth. He came to Earth with the Cal's Klegg forces and resided in Enid Blyton Block. Urk was left behind when the rest of the Kleggs attempted to leave Earth. The Johnsons kept him like a pet, feeding him leftovers. He breaks free and kills both of the Johnsons, before going on a killing spree throughout Enid Blyton Block. Eventually he is killed by Dredd and another Judge with dum-dum bullets.

MR & MRS JOHNSON
They live in a basement flat in Enid Blyton Block and were forced to shared their accommodation with the Kleggs. When the Klegg's departed, but left Urk behind the Johnons elected to keep him in the hope that he would be worth a lot of money once feelings had died down. Urk breaks free and kills them both. Mrs Johnson'd diary later provided the Judges with full story.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
Seven. Urk the Klegg kills a couple, Mr Kramer, Mr and Mrs Johnson and a man he stuffs into an air duct. Urk himself is killed by Dredd and another Judge.

BEST LINES
Dredd: "Sometimes it is our duty to protect the city against the innocent!"

WORST LINES
Dredd: "Brainshot!"

Headshot, surely?

CATCHPHRASES
Dredd says "Dok!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
There are several references to The Day The Law Died, specifically mentioning Cal and featuring the Klegg escape attempt. Charlton Heston Block was previously seen in Cityblock 1

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Enid Blyton Block is, of course, named after Enid Blyton (1897–1968), prolific author of Noddy, The Famous Five, The Secret Seven and The (Insert Location) Of Adventure books. Ricardo Montalban Block is named after Ricardo Montalban (1920-2009), an actor most famous for playing Khan in the Star Trek episode, Space Seed (1967) and the movie follow up Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (1982). He also starred in Fantasy Island (1977-1984)

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: John Howard
Artist: Gary Leach
Letters: Tonty Jacob

REVIEW
This is a great callback to The Day The Law Died and the flashbacks help lift this story from being just another 'monster-of-the-week'.

Next Prog: The Great Plasteen Disaster!