Advanced Review - Judge Dredd: The Citadel

Dredd goes back to the Apocalypse War, an Assassin's final hit, and a top ten countdown...

Heading to stores on 20th July, Judge Dredd: The Citadel sees 'The Citadel', 'Removal Man', and 'Now That's What I Call Justice' collected all in one TPB. Three completely different stories, Judge Dredd, and all written by John Wagner. What more could you ask for? 

John Wagner's latest Dredd "epic" has finally finished its 10-week serialised run within the 2000 AD weekly Prog. So was it the epic that the 2000 AD fandom hyped it up to be? 

Well, let's take a look. 

Before we get started I'll warn you that this review will feature spoilers...read at your own risk.

Back in the Christmas Prog, readers were greeted with the above advert. An advert that teased something big was on the horizon for Mega-City One's favourite Lawman...Something that "Changes Everything". At the time no one had a clue what this was "something" was aside from Dredd holding a dark secret since the Apocalypse War - some 40-years previous. Oh and the only other person who knows this secret has also been locked away in an ISO Cube for the last 40-years too.

Taking place within ISO Block - 1, 'The Citadel' follows Father O'Dowd as he gives final rights to a prisoner known as Winterton. Winterton has been a guest of the Justice Department for several years and is soon to be euthanased for the pleasure. As Father O'Dowd starts to speak to Winterton the ISO Block comes under attack and as such he's locked in with the chained up Winterton. Now with nothing else to do, Winterton lets O'Dowd on the secret that's seen him been locked up for all these years - and it's something that the Justice Department wants to keep quiet. With nothing left to lose, Winterton tells his story. 

Taking us back to the height of the Apocalypse War, East-Meg One is still standing and the Sov invasion of Mega-City One is in full swing. The then Cadet Winterton and his unit of last-year Cadets and Cit-Def are vastly outnumbered by the invading Sovs. However, they're about to receive back-up in the form of Judge Dredd. Dredd's also on a mission which is seeing him attempt to disrupt the Sov at something dubbed "The Citadel" and as such he drags the Cadets and the Cit-Def unit along with him. 

What then follows is a cat and mouse battle as Dredd and his makeshift unit battle against the Sov war machine, all whilst attempting to get to the mysterious Citadel. After a tense battle within a mall, and then a trip through Mega-City One's sewers, the ragtag group set their gaze on Meg's old conference hub, aka The Citadel. It's here where Dredd informs the group about their mission and what's at stake - the sovs are using the building as a detention centre and Dredd's there to destroy it - even if he and everyone else dies in the process.

With no other alternative, the Cadets and Cit-Def team rally behind Dredd and the assault begins. 

If you thought this high-stakes adventure was enough, Wagner soon uses his trump card - another clone of Eustace Fargo. Yes! Aside from Dredd and Rico, there's another "brother", who just so happens to be at the Citadel too. Coincidence? Well, that's for you to read and find out. 

What makes The Citadel a decent read is that from its start right up to its conclusion, the action never stops. We see Dredd and his crew go through hell to reach their objective. The other aspect is that throughout the story Winterton starts to develop a form of PTSD as Dredd keeps pushing the already damaged squad to their physical and mental limits. There's a lot of death within this issue, which not only highlights just how destructive the Apocalypse War was, but also reaffirms the character change seen through Winterton and the Cit-Def teams. After all, this group are made up of inexperienced Judges and regular Cits, and the horrors of war must have affected them in some way. 

To an extent, these somewhat grudges that Winterton holds against Dredd do make him an unreliable narrator for this story. Wagner does a brilliant job in keeping you guessing right up to the inevitable payoff, however, it's also this revelation that's (as of writing) this story's weakest point. 

MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS!

I'm going to mention THAT Christmas Prog advert again. The Citadel is meant to be the story that changes everything we know about Dredd. While it does make you question whether OUR Dredd is Dredd, and who else is a Sov infiltrator, setting it all up within a 40-year old story doesn't necessarily work. Why? Well, the sheer amount of strips that have come after that deal with Dredd's past and that it's open knowledge that he and Rico are clones of Fargo. Also, Dredd would have surely told someone (Hershey, Giant, Anderson, Walter?) that there was a Sov clone of himself so why hasn't it come up sooner? 

While I don't doubt that Wagner and Rebellion have some plan up their sleeves, surely they're not going to ret-con everything since the Apocalypse War to fit in, is he? isn't he? clone story! I guess only time will tell...

Away from this and as I said before - at its core, The Citadel is a great Judge Dredd story. It's got plenty of high octane action, we get to see Dredd and his crew demolish many, many Sov Judges in some brutal and bloody ways. We're also shown that Dredd isn't really a "good guy" and that he's utterly devoted to protecting Mega-City One - even if it means sacrificing everyone - and himself to do so.

Dan Cornwell and Dylan Teague work wonders throughout this story with their respective art and colour work. Cornwell captures the horrors unfolding with some incredible expression work that captures the thoughts and feelings behind John Wagner's script. The action scenes also pack quite a punch as Cornwell utilises various viewpoints and ratios to keep the desperation and brutality flowing at a high tempo. Dylan Teague also works his magic with his unique blend of colours that perfectly captures the urban warfare taking place. There are so many brilliant scenes within this story, that it's hard to pinpoint an overall favourite! 

The second helping of Judge Dredd comes in the form of 'Removal Man'. Joining John Wagner this time are the superb Colin MacNeil and Chris Blyth. 'Removal Man' follows veteran human; Bick Bickford (clearly an alias) as he gets dragged into performing one final hit. Things then go from one extreme to the next as Bickford is seen by a Juvie whos in the wrong place at the wrong time. In "silencing" this Juvie, Bickford is then witnessed by a group of senior Cits on a murder tour. This then leads to a calamity of events as Bickford attempts to hide his involvement. The icing on this cake is that Dredd is also not that far behind. 

With 'Removal Man' Wagner gives us another classic Dredd tale that also makes you care for its antagonist. While this one was originally serialised through four parts, Wagner crammed enough character into Bickford that he made you want that happy ending. This is also seen through Bickford's personal life as his wife is dying and he needs the credits that this hit is paying to get her brain transplanted into an android body. Again, it's a typical Judge Dredd tale even though Dredd isn't really in the picture until the final act. 

Art comes from Colin MacNeil who doesn't need any introduction. As you can imagine MacNeil's work on 'Removal Man' is a gorgeous display of well-constructed scenes, with some superb character emotion. Chris Blyth works well with MacNeil as he utilises a lot of shadows and various textures to give life to Bickford's desperate situations. 

Moving on and the third and final part of this collection features 'Now That's What I Call Justice' also by John Wagner. This time however we have John Higgins on art, with colours by Sally Hurst. This strip focuses on "Justice Watch" a group that's targeting Judges for their indiscretions. However, a copycat killer is utilising the same modus operandi as Justice Watch to get his revenge on the Judges.

Centred around the top fifty countdowns of Judge killings on the TV show "View From The Chair" Now That's What I Call Justice is classic Dredd through and through. The vast amount of this strip features Dredd doing some old fashioned detective work as the copycat killer exacts his revenge on a seemingly connected group of Judges. 

With 'Now That's What I Call Justice', Wagner manages to tie up loose ends left from 'Letter From A Democrat' and 'Revolution', whilst also keeping that democracy fire smouldering away within the dark reaches of the Meg. 

We're also treated to another team-up from John Higgins and Sally Hurst whose previous work includes 'Dreadnoughts' with Mike Carroll over in the Magazine. The duo bring that same style from 'Dreadnoughts' with them as Higgins's linework and Hurst's muted pallette give everything a grime filled feel. 

All in all, Judge Dredd: The Citadel is a great TPB. Within its 132-pages, you get three very different Judge Dredd tales, that all come together to show why John Wagner's work on Judge Dredd is well revered. Dredd is Wagner's character, and he certainly knows what makes ol' Joe tick. Away from this and each story is brought to life by a fantastic display of linework and colour. While you always know that you're getting a great showing from MacNeil, Higgins and Cornwell pack a punch with their work too! Throw in Teague, Hurst, and Blyth, then this whole TPB is a very strong outing for Tharg's Droids. And who could forget Annie Parkhouse, whose letter work is the thread that holds every story together! 

Rating: 8/10 

Judge Dredd: The Citadel is heading to comic stores on 20th July 2022.