Review: Judge Dredd Day of Chaos – Endgame / Author: John Wagner / Artist: Various / Publisher : 2000 AD / Release Date: Out Now
The Judge Dredd comic strip has a long history of drawn-out storylines in which huge numbers of citizens die, big things explode and nothing is ever the same again. Day of Chaos is broadly more of the same; East Meg agents have come to Mega-City One with a disease that causes the citizens to go violently crazy and then die. In the process, those classic Judge Dredd enemies, the Dark Judges get unleashed, and all hell breaks loose.
If you’ve read a Dredd disaster story before, then this is more of the same. Despite a promising set-up, some brilliant art and a collection of very nice setpieces, it’s simply hard to be impressed by mega death and destruction any more; we’ve seen it in the past and the city continues to stumble onwards. Fresher and cleverer stories have been done before, so it’s a bit annoying that this tale feels so formulaic.
The real highlights here are the one-shot tales focusing on the minor characters. Tea for Two deals with Dredd’s niece, Vienna, and how she’s coping with life in the Big Meg. Meanwhile, Wot I Did During the Worst Disaster in Mega-City History gives us a insight into what notorious serial killer P.J.Maybe is up to and sets the scene up for future fun. The art is as brilliant as always (especially Henry Flint, who continues to astonish). This is a must-have for Dredd fans, but casual readers will find better elsewhere.
