His character slowly takes form as the book and progs go on, but it’s weird to see him almost be funny a couple of times and be fond of Walter his annoying robot butler.

Dredd is a law enforcement officer in the futuristic North American Mega-City 1, empowered to pass death sentences or jail terms on the job. Rico’s episode is surprisingly frittered away - no build up and none of the repercussions that his death will bring are immediately felt here.

Archie Goodwin, Gerry Conway, Mimi Gold, Allyn Brodsky, Mike Friedrich, Roy Thomas, Robert Kanigher, Gary Friedrich, Steve Gerber, Jim Starlin, Tom Orzechowski, Bill Mantlo, Len Wein, Roger Slifer, Jim Shooter, Herb Trimpe, Roger Stern, David Michelinie, Bob Layton, Peter John Palmer, Bill Everett, Dennis O'Neil, Roger McKenzie, Peter B. Craig Russell, Arvell Jones, Keith Pollard, Chic Stone, Sal Buscema, Jeff Aclin, Carmine Infantino, John Romita, Keith Giffen, Johnny Craig, John Romita Jr. It’s not so much bad as inexplicable since the strip going from proto-cyberpunk to saloons and gunfights on Luna is so bizarre that it defies description. The other characters in the book are shallow and 70% of the time are speaking about how good and brave Judge Dredd is, which is tiresome.

Dredd, of course, always gets his man and is on the side of justice no matter what, but this early Dredd is a bit of a goody two-shoes compared to the mid-80s onwards Dredd. Paired with industry heavyweights to draw his stories — Terry Dodson on Marvel Knights Spider-Man and John Romita Jr.The Judge Joe Dredd of the comics generally is close enough to being the square-jawed hero of other comics that he’s not quite as nuanced or deep a character as he will eventually become. I look forward to seeing where the satire goes as the storytelling and art become a little more nuanced and sophisticated. The clarity of the reprint in these editions isn't always ideal, but they look great on the shelf and it's better than having to track down thousands of weekly back issues. We didn’t really need a four part story about a killer car, BUT the car did have the personality of a child, most probably dead.