Review by Frank Plowright

If you want all Judge Dredd stories from 2008-2010 you’ll have to pick up Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 46 and 47, as this is a weighty selection, but a selection nonetheless.

This time John Wagner is the primary writer, responsible for most of the content, but an early Dredd contribution from Al Ewing opens the collection focussing on a mutant terrorist organisation. It’s a viable thriller with surprises playing into Tour of Duty Book One’s primary theme of mutants now being allowed to be residents in Mega-City One.

It’s a subject Wagner’s let burn slowly over several years leading to the status of mutants changed for their benefit, but it’s not a subject he’s covered in isolation. While focussing on mutants and unfair treatment, Dredd also has to deal with political opposition and social unrest. Somewhat of a Wagner speciality along the way has been the brilliantly devised unexpected consequence, and he achieves that again with a massive change to the running of the city. Going right back to the 1980s Wagner’s never been afraid of disrupting the status quo, and does so again. Dredd is banished from Mega-City One and as she’s been so supportive, so is Judge Beeny.

Colin MacNeil draws Wagner’s title strip, which concerns Dredd in charge of administrating a mutant resettlement facility that’s still under construction and awaiting an influx of mutants expelled from the city. It involves considerable time touring Cursed Earth settlements, and although the corruption, assaults and dangers are Wagner covering old ground it’s very efficiently plotted and executed. What makes it slightly different from what’s gone before, though, is an additional focus on how things are progressing in Mega-City One without Dredd. A new ruling council has been introduced, and although he’ll be around for a while, it’s already apparent Deputy Chief Judge Sinfeld is a wrong’un.

This isn’t quite the stellar selection of art found in Book One, largely due to the use of some exceptional storytellers for whom style is a secondary consideration, so their pages don’t stand out as those by others do. The sample art combines a page from MacNeil, who again draws much of the book, with an action scene from Carl Critchlow.

Judge Munn is a new introduction for the purpose of showing how even-handed Dredd is. He’s the constant moaning voice within a small crew, and always quick to discard Dredd’s manner and suggestions, yet when he’s abducted Dredd scours the Cursed Earth facing danger to find him.

The volume closes with a clever Christmas story from Ewing and Paul Marshall, then Gordon Rennie and Cliff Robinson have Dredd hunting down a dragon, which is an interesting idea, but drags on too long.

Like the strips opening Book Three, they’re collected to give a complete accounting of Dredd’s time in the Cursed Earth before Wagner finishes his epic. Much of this content was absent from the two previous Tour of Duty editions. The opening five parter is found in Backlash, while the title strip features in Tour of Duty: Mega-City Justice.