Welcome back for another Bookshelf review. Today we are reviewing Sweet Justice, a collection of Short Stories from the 2000 AD archives (ebook).
Background
Background
This is e-book from the local library, so I won't discuss price or quality of the print etc as it didn't cost me anything. The book itself contains nine short stories from 2000 AD and Judge Dredd annuals. The cover for the e-book is drawn by Barry Kitson, showing us Judge Anderson from her Debbie Harry days, riding a Lawmaster. The cover in black and white, gives nothing away about what the stories might be about. I actually found this book by random and due to this I found no commercial blurb before reading.
Review
The e-book includes 9 Stories, each will be reviewed separately just like the comic reviews to make life easy.
Judge Anderson: The Scream by Peter Milligan, Judge Dredd Annual 1987.Story kicks off with Anderson having a nightmare psychic flash. The city is smothered by fear as the Alphabet killer is on lose. Racking up a body count of large proportions. How is Andersons visions linked to the case?
The story progressed well and quickly. Had a few twists to keep it interesting and was a great quick read. 3/5
Diary of a Mad Citizen by Alan Grant, 2000 AD Annual 1986.
This is a great little story into the life of a Citizen. As the story progresses we see how the day to day problems, affect the writer. And soon we are joining him down the rabbit hole and experiencing his Future Shock disorder.
Stories like this are great as we get to experience MC-1 from a different view. Who love to read more like this. 4/5
Judge Anderson: Exorcise Duty by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning Judge Dredd Annual 1991
With new recruits on the Spook squad (specialises team of PSI Judges). An earlier adventure is retold, to explain why Judge Anderson is visiting a locked away perp. A sad tale that shows off just how human Anderson still is. It shows how her choices effect her and how she attempts to make amends. 4/5
I Was a Teenage Perp! By Alan Grant, Judge Dredd Annual 1983.
This must of been the prequel to Diary of a Mad Citizen. Once again taking a view point of a citizen, this time a fourteen year old. The story revolves around how he lost his temper and ended up in the Juve Cubes. I found it to be funny and fast paced. It really helps to flesh-out what a better off block is like and how one action can change your life forever. 4/5
Judge Hershey: Sweet Justice by Neil Gaiman, Judge Dredd Annual 1988
The title of the book, so I hope it's good! The tale follows Judge Hershey as she tracks down Sugar dealer Clute. Un-beknown to Clute his sugar is bad and is killing his users. As the bodies pile up, Hershey tracks Clute to Brit-Cit and soon we are treated to a trip to Brit-Cit. Visiting locations like Scotland Yard, Hyde Park Car Park and speakers corner. Overall a great story that held my interest the entire way. Brit-Cit and their Judges are some of my favourites. The story was quick and I feel would make a great comic too. This has made me wonder why Hershey never got her own strip, maybe a memories/flash back strip, now that she's Chief Judge. 5/5
Judge Anderson: Dear Dairy by Peter Milligan, 2000 AD Annual 1988
A week in Anderson's shoes. The dairy is a funny tale to read, due to Anderson's pre-cog abilities. She would see the day before it happened and then describe what actually happened the next day. In all a fun story, but for me it lacked any really focus or punch. 2/5
Radical Cheek by Peter Milligan, Law in Order: Judge Dredd Annual 1990
The first line of this tale lets me know it's going to be a winner. Max Normal- The King of Kool, the Chap with the rap a.k.a my favourite Judge Dredd character ever! Not sue if it's the pinstripe suit, the pencil moustache or the bowler hat, but this is one cool character. Set during the height of Max's fame, our hero has a chain of stores selling his style to the kids of MC-1. But some Normals (Max's fashion followers) are robbing banks and spoiling the fun for everyone. So it's up to Max to solve the case before Dredd bands flared trousers for life! 5/5
Judge Anderson: The Most Dangerous Game by Mark Millar, Judge Dredd Yearbook 1992
Wow. I haven't got much to say on this story. It was bad, it felt forced, it read slow (if that makes sense) and it was uninteresting. Based solely on something that must have popular in the early 90's, this story just seems like a waste of paper. It made it seem like there is a block that even Dredd wouldn't enter, which would never happen. And also brought in the idea that C-list celebrities have been cloned too. Bad, bad, bad. 0/5
Roll on Justice by Ian Rimmer, Judge Dredd Annual 1990
A nice fun story to finish the book on. What happens, when a young mechanic with a love for Lawmasters, finally gets a chance to work on one? The greatest joy ride of his life. The story moved at comfortable speed and the character was very likeable, making it easy to put yourself in his shoes and understand why he did it. The ending was classic 2000 AD. Leaving me with a great parting image of mechanic. Overall nice read. 3/5
Final Thoughts
Well there we have it Sweet Justice; short stories from the World of Dredd. I have to say for the most part it was an enjoyable read. But I would comment that you need to be a fan of Dredd, to understand the humor and setting. It was great to have no real Dredd focused stories, with him playing more of a support role instead. It was also a good way to flesh out settings and even get a view from the perps side. Definitely worth reading but glad I didn't buy.
It contained nine stories in total, that I rated out of five. So out of the maximum Forty-five points it scored Thirty. So not bad, go check out your local library for more Dredd.
30 out of 45 or 2 out of 3
Until next time Dredd Heads, here is a Max Normal pic
