Judge Dredd: The Judge Child, Part 23 – Fallen Angels!

NAME
Judge Dredd: The Judge Child, Part 23 – Fallen Angels!

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 AD Featuring Judge Dredd Prog 178

DATELINE
20 Sep 80

The first 2000 AD Featuring Judge Dredd also featured Dash Decent, The Mean Arena, Meltdown Man, Comic Rock featuring Nemesis The Warlock and Strontium Dog, came with a free gift of a badge featuring Judge Dredd and a cover featuring Judge Dredd by Mike McMahon.

PAGE COUNT
7

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd In The Judge Child Quest 5, The Complete Judge Dredd 17, Judge Dredd Epics: The Judge Child 3, 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
Dredd finds Link and Mean Machine.

FIRSTS & LASTS
The first Judge Dredd to feature in 2000 AD Featuring Judge Dredd, which cements him as the central character of 2000 AD. First use of BOKK! as a sound effect. Last appearance of Link.

INFORMATION
Cadets spend fifteen years in the Academy of Law.

JUDGE DREDD
He regards the Academy of Law as the toughest school on Earth.

OTHER CHARACTERS
OLD JOE BLIND
He leads Dredd to Link and Mean Machine. He is injured by Link Angel and Dredd bandages him up.

LINK ANGEL
He dresses in drag to evade Dredd, he fails. Mean Machine goes into a frenzy and headbutts him. He is killed in the resulting explosion when Mean Machine headbutts a gas pump.

MEAN MACHINE ANGEL
He dresses in drag to evade Dredd, he fails and the Judge shoots his arm off. Mean Machine headbutts Dredd. He and Dredd fight, Mean Machine gets his dial stuck on 4 and a 1/2 and can't stop heatbutting. He headbutts a horse, Link Angel and finally a gas pump which causes the explosion that kills him.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
Two. Link and Mean Machine Angel are both killed in a headbutt-related gas pump explosion.

BEST LINES
Link: "Shoot! Dredd's jammed his dial! The Mean Machine is stuck on 4 1/2!"

WORST LINES
Link: "Dadblast! That Judge is fast!"

CATCHPHRASES
Dredd says "Drokk!" and "Grud!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
Mean Machine will return to Judge Dredd in Destiny's Angel among others and also in his own eponymous strip.

NOTES
None.

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

REVIEW
Link hanging up of the shopkeeper, threatening to torture Old Joe harder than Junior, Mean Machine stuck on 4 1/2 and the two them going out in a blaze of glory are all fantastic moments. This is a lot of fun, but it's obvious that it's here to delay the final showdown.

Next Prog: Grunwald's Kingdom!