Essential Judge Dredd: Necropolis

Another great story line from Judge Dredd and 2000 AD. Though it was originally published way back in 1990, this classic Dredd tale felt like it could have been brand new. The gritty, surreal artwork is the star of the show, though any Dredd story featuring Judge Death and the Dark Judges is guaranteed to be stellar. I wasn't familiar with the Kraken story line that preceded this graphic novel, but enough background is provided so as not to be completely in the dark. And the overall story just gets better as it goes along, drawing you in to become fully immersed in the world, so much so that you don't need full details of what went on before. This truly is "essential" Judge Dredd.

Necropolis was a massive storyline in the annals of 2000AD history. It was proceeded with portents of foreshadowing and the aftershocks of the storyline were felt many years after. I recall this series with a kind of fondness as it is such a good story.

The comic starts with the run up to the main event and we learn that Judge Dredd has taken the long walk to the Cursed Earth. In Mega City One, Judge Kraken (Judge Dredd’s clone brother) is sentenced to death for his part in the Judda rebellion. However, a plan is hatched to replace Judge Dredd with his clone brother, Kraken, in attempt to plug the gap that the retirement of Judge Dredd has left.

Necropolis, written and drawn by the dream team of Dredd creator John Wagner and artist Carlos Esqurra, and brings back fan favourites Judge Death and the Dark Judges (Mortis, Fear & Fire), and also brings in the Sisters of Death, Nausea & Phobia.

So, if you are not familiar with Judge Dredd & the Dark Judges, let me explain! The Dark Judges are from a parallel dimension in which they have judged that all crime is undertook by the living, so in an attempt to rid crime, they have deemed that all life is the crime and have eradicated the sin from their own world by eradicating life.

It was so good to revisit this seminal storyline. The story is as fresh as it was thirty two years ago. Surprisingly, it does have an element that was a little risky in that the main protagonists don’t actually make an appearance until quite some way into the story. You would expect that the main characters would be the star of the show from the beginning, but there is a significant amount of story building with the Sisters of Death before the Dark Judges make an appearance and devastate Mega City One. In addition, Judge Dredd does not blast his way on to the page until much later in the story, and he has been radically changed by his time in the Cursed Earth.

The artwork by Carlos Esquerra is equally as amazing as the story. As I said earlier, the story was written in 1990 and it does reflect the time period. Madchester was in full swing and there was a neo - psychedelic edge to popular culture and this is evident in the multi- coloured panels and vivid strokes that were present in Esquerra’s art.

The story itself is cleverly written by John Wagner, highlighting that Dredd can never be replaced, and we see that as Judge Kraken succumbs to doubt and questions his ability as a law maker. Wagner does not hold anything back and this is an over the top storyline that continues to delight.

If you are new to the earlier Judge Dredd storylines, is this a good place to dive in? It is a steep learning curve and some knowledge of earlier storylines is useful as there are references to these stories and the mythology surrounding Judge Death, such as when he was encased in the expanding plastic Boing in one of the earlier stories, or the time that Judge Anderson was taken over by Death. However, I think that the new reader should get along with this iconic story and be able to enjoy it without hours of investigation.