Rob Lake reviews Judge Dredd: End of Days...
Judge Dredd: End of Days is the complete collection of 2000AD's Dredd epic of 2020. This TPB collects the complete 15-episode globe-spanning - End of Days, as well as two epilogues - Carry The Nine & They Shoot Horses Don't They?. It's classic Dredd as he teams up with a talking horse, a severed head and a character from 2000AD's history. Yes, End of Days has it all...
End of Days has all the hallmarks of classic Dredd. There's plenty of action, crazy moments, the bizarre and lots and lots of twists and turns. It's also helmed by Rob Williams, who isn't a stranger to writing a superb Dredd tale (Small House, Titan and Control). The main bulk of the story revolves around Dredd and a team of Judges setting out to stop the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - Famine, Pestilence, War and Death. What starts as a simple hunt soon turns into an absolute mess of chaos as cancelling the Apocalypse isn't as easy - or as simple as first seen.
And it all starts with a dream...
End of Days gives you quite an innocent start. Dredd's in a sleep chamber and we see him dreaming of a mysterious rider heading towards Mega-City 1 while being chased by mutant furballs. In true Dredd fashion, this isn't just a dream that the Lawman is experiencing - it's actually happening too. Que, some quick thinking from Anderson and the mysterious rider is granted access to the Big Meg.
We soon learn that the rider is none other than Ichabod Azrael, who was last seen in The Grievous Journey of Ichabod Azrael (and the Dead Left in His Wake). Azrael brings Dredd a message that the Four Horsemen have arrived and the end is nigh. Then the crazy stuff happens. So in true Apocalypse style, both Mega-City 1's Weather Control goes haywire, as does the world's nuclear arsenal. As the world races to stop another Apocalypse War, Dredd assembles a team to hunt the Horsemen.
As some of you know I have reviewed End of Days before as it was serialised within the 2000AD Progs throughout 15 weeks last year (Sadly those reviews no longer exist due to reasons out of my control). Due to the nature of the story and the Progs layout, I felt that while End of Days is a fantastic story, it didn't work within the serialised format. Thankfully when you read it all together it's a wonderful piece of work.
Williams does a grand job with building the tension to then crash it down a few pages later. You also see "Team Meg" get more desperate as their mission takes on a deeper meaning. There's a tonne of social commentary too, such as a certain former Chancellor of the Exchequer making an appearance, as well as "Auster", feeling very close to the conspiracy theories surrounding the current Covid-19 vaccine - great hindsight there! The twists and turns also come in plentiful supply, as does another cameo from 2000AD's past.
Throughout End of Days, you do feel as if it really is the end times for Dredd. It's cleverly written and has some gorgeous accompanying art. During the main story, Williams is joined by both Colin MacNeil and Henry Flint. MacNeil kicks off End of Days to then being replaced by Flint a few episodes later. This change in art style also signals the change in fortune as Dredd's mission goes from bad to worse. Henry Flint gives us some brilliant action pieces, especially the fight in the Artic with a certain Polar Bear. And to be fair he paints a damn good Apocalypse as well.
As End of Days concludes Williams leaves us with a few unresolved matters, these are thankfully resolved during Carry the Nine and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?. Much like End of Days, Carry the Nine comes with its own potential Earth-shattering event as Account Judge Maitland stumbles upon something big. Something far bigger than the Apocalypse...
Carry the Nine is written by both Rob Williams and Arthur Wyatt. It's a very Judge Maitland lead affair as Dredd takes a backseat. Williams and Wyatt use Carry the Nine to show the aftermath of Mega-City 1. It's an extremely interesting tale that leans more towards the Meg's political matters and self-preservation rather than a criminal element (although that's here too). Boo Cook is the resident artist for this epilogue. We get treated to some fantastic art and some great use of colours. I've always admired Cook's work so seeing it here is a massive bonus.
Williams then teams up with Dan Cornwell and Jim Boswell for the bizarre - They Shoot Horses, Don't They?. Plot-wise I can't say much without spoiling some major points of End of Days. However it serves to bring all the loose ends together, and I do mean all of them. It's a great tale of Dredd and Anderson in the Cursed Earth, which in my book is always a plus. Being outside Mega-City 1 opens Dredd up to the more bizarre situations, and this one has a fair few of them. Both Cornwell and Boswell deliver some fantastic visuals, with yet another gorgeous Lawmaster to add to my growing list of "epic vehicle art". Boswell's use of burnt oranges and browns gives both the Cursed Earth that lawless look, and if anything also serves to show that the sun is setting on the End of Days saga.
Rating 9/10
Check out the accompanying interview with Rob Williams here
Judge Dredd: End of Days is coming to bookshelves on 16th March 2021.
Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCutureRev
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