Judge Dredd: The Judge Child, Part 15 – The Necromancer!

NAME
Judge Dredd: The Judge Child, Part 15 – The Necromancer!

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 170

DATELINE
26 July 80

This prog also contained Ro-Jaws' Robo-Tales, Robo-Hunter, The Stainless Steel Rat and The Mind Of Wolfie Smith and a Judge Dredd cover by Mike McMahon.

PAGE COUNT
7

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd In The Judge Child Quest 3, The Complete Judge Dredd 16, Judge Dredd Epics: The Judge Child 2, Judge Dredd Epics: The Complete Judge Child Quest, Judge Dredd Epics: The Judge Child Quest, Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 04 and The Judge Child.

SYNOPSIS
Murd the Oppressor kills Dredd.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First example of 'magic' in Judge Dredd, the first appearance of Murd and the first death of Dredd.

INFORMATION
(This strip begins fifty days after Part 7)

Necros is home to a city of the same name.

Justice 1's computer can respond to voice command and take over landing procedures in an emergency.

JUDGE DREDD
Justice 1 arrives at Necros and encounters a vapour that shapes itself into the form of Murd the Oppressor and seizes the ship. Justice 1 is forced to land and Dredd explores Necros. He encounters the Watchers taking sacrifices and intervenes killing several. Murd creates a voodoo doll of Dredd, traps him in a transparent sphere and has a Watcher stab him.

OTHER CHARACTERS
MURD THE OPPRESSOR
Necromancer of Necros, Lord of Darkness and Keeper of the Sacred Toad. Murd has kept the planet Necros in darkness for 10,000 years. He stops Justice 1 is orbit and attacks it. He lives in a mist-shrouded castle in the city of Necros. The people of Necros make sacrifices to Murd so he will spare the rest of them. Murd's henchmen are called the Watchers, he uses one of kill Dredd.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
At least four. Dredd kills at least three of Murd's Watchers. One of the Watcher's kills Dredd, but it's not immediately obvious.

BEST LINES
Fat Man: "Please! Don't let them take us!"
Necros Native: "Somebody has to go, Fatty!"

WORST LINES
Hershey: "Some kind of flying lizard - they're eating us alive!"

CATCHPHRASES
Someone says "Stomm!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Murd's transparent sphere are a lot like Rover from The Prisoner (1967-1968)

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: John Howard
Artist: Mike McMahon
Letters: Tom Frame

REVIEW
McMahon's art is intriguing, but fails to capitalise on the cliffhanger. Dredd is dead, but if we don't know it until the following what is the point of killing him?

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