Judge Dredd: Return To Mega-City

NAME
Judge Dredd: Return To Mega-City

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 59

DATELINE
8 Apr 78

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
The Complete Judge Dredd 5, Judge Dredd Chronicles Book 2, Judge Dredd 14 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01.

SYNOPSIS
Dredd returns to Mega-City One, but is reluctant to arrest anyone.

FIRSTS & LASTS
Last story of Dredd's time as Judge Marshal of Luna-1. Last appearance of Judges Tex and Che.

INFORMATION
Mega-City One has a population of 800 million. On one particular street in the worst area of the city 4000 crimes are committed every day.

A Judge previously seconded to another jurisdiction must have reinstatement papers and swear in on Volume 12 of the Juro-Penal Code before they can make any arrests in Mega-City One.

The Suction Gang rob using huge vacuum devices. The South Side Boys run a protection racket.

JUDGE MARSHAL DREDD
His six months as Judge Marshal of Luna-1 are up and Judge Tex succeeds him on his recommendation. He returns to Mega-City One and witnesses the Suction Gang's robbery of a jewellery store and the South Side Boys breaking up a bar for protection money, but he doesn't attempt to intervene. A Rookie Judge delivers his reinstatement papers and Dredd swears himself back onto the force. Dredd borrows the Rookie's bike and promptly makes two arrests and incapacitates three more perps.

OTHER CHARACTERS
WALTER THE WOBOT
He returns with Dredd.

MARIA
She is pleased to see Dredd return.

JUDGE TEX
He takes over from Dredd as Judge Marshal of Luna-1.

ARRESTS
Five. Dredd leaves three hoods kayoed for a Rookie to arrest and books another two himself.

DEATHS
Three. Dredd shoots three hoods dead.

BEST LINES
Dredd: "Good morning, citizens. I would remind you that armed robbery is illegal in Mega-City 1."

WORST LINES
Citizen: "Judge Dredd's flipped his lid for sure!"

CATCHPHRASES
Walter says awwest, cweasing, cwipes, cwooks, Dwedd, Mawia, twunk, stwange and vewy, while a hood gives us another "My dokk!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
It's been six months since Judge Dredd: 'Luna 1'.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

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

REVIEW
The story is slight, but the opening panel is a great hook which sustains the rest of the strip. The artwork is great, although the sequence in the bar is a little confused. This probably seemed like a mission statement for what the strip was doing now. A return to a pre-Luna-1 dynamic, but it's obvious now that this would be short-lived and a return to 'normal' would be a long way off.

Next Prog: Firebug