Judge Dredd Judge Child Quest #2

                                                                 

        The first time I ever heard of Judge Dredd was through the thrash band Anthrax and their song I am The Law on their classic album Among The Living, but I never did get to read the comics because I was just a teenager who didn't the time or even the patience to seek out the comic especially one that came from across the pond. Now, thanks to the internet you can find pretty much whatever you want with just a click of your mouse which makes collecting anything easy. This was a British comic so what were the odds of me even locating a shop that sold them anyway? I had one comic shop in my area that I knew of but I didn't have the cash to even buy an issue so there was no way I was going to be able to read it. I am the Law is a classic song so when I finally got my hands on an issue I had to play it before reading it. Now, thanks to the internet and my local comic shop I have a small stash of Dredd and I love this comic! It's an acquired taste for sure, but once you read it, you're going to be a fan. Let me just tell you who Dredd is and why he's so cool. Along with Batman Dredd is one of my favorite characters simply because of who he is, what he stands for, and his over the top persona. He's the law, and no one escapes from Dredd. He's judge, jury, and executioner. The character first appeared in 2000 A.D. and he's even appeared in his comic and yes, there was that Sylvester Stallone movie too, but for all of it's cheese, I have to admit, I kind of liked it. 

        Judge Child Quest isn't a new story which is interesting. It's a reprint from the old A.D. and given new life and from what I can tell, nothing's been changed. I pick up any Dredd I can get my hands on so of course, I started with issue 2 and picked up issue 3 with it. When someone gives you issues of Dredd for a dollar, you can't pass them up. The story far as I can tell is about Dredd on a mission to save a child who can save Mega City from disaster. As we know, Mega City isn't the safest place to live, but thankfully they have the judges to keep the streets safe. In issue 2 we find Dredd in pursuit of the Angel family who've kidnapped the child but things don't go according to plan. As they seek out the gang they find themselves encountering a space station that a computer has not only taken control of, but has managed to kill the crew all because they wanted to update the computer system. From there, they encounter another planet where people can download their consciousness and live forever so they find themselves hunting down a stolen chip and  finally once they return the chip they find themselves eaten by a hungry planet. The entire issue is entertaining, but you don't even get close to finding the child nor does it feel like something you need to focus on. 

       It's a fun issue that shows you how great a comic can be without it being all super heroes and dark storylines. For me, reading Dredd is all about having fun and letting yourself being absorbed in something unique. The art here is superb and the story telling is all over the place, but that's why it's so good. Dredd is a character who stands for law and order and is essentially a parody of everything we learned from watching cop shows on television. He's a bad ass, but at the same time, he's locked into an oath that he would die to protect. We know that Dredd is going to defeat whatever comes his way and this issue shows Dredd thrust into these situations while not getting any closer to his goal which is finding the child. Will he ever find him? What happens now? There's more questions than answers here yet I'm not frustrated by that. This was an adventure and one that was a blast to read. Dredd is not a serious comic at all and that's why I love it. Anytime I pick up a Judge Dredd comic I am not disappointed and this one is a solid 10 from me.