Geek Culture Reviews

In the long shadow of comic book adaptations, Dredd stands as a lean, gritty, and faithful tribute to one of the most iconic antiheroes in comic history: Judge Dredd. Far removed from the neon kitsch and narrative misfires of the 1995 Judge Dredd film starring Sylvester Stallone, Dredd is a stripped-down, brutal, and grounded take on the lawman of Mega-City One. But more than just a hard-edged action flick, Dredd is deeply embedded in the lore and philosophy of the original 2000 AD comic series. Dredd is a film that doesn’t just adapt the character it’s portraying —it understands him. The being that would become synonymous with the faceless reality of justice first appeared within 2000 AD issue #2 back in 1977, and was the brainchild of writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra . Conceived during a time of political unrest and growing authoritarianism, Judge Joseph Dredd was a dark satire of fascism wrapped in the skin of a futuristic law enforcer. Set within Mega-City One, ...

Death has finally caught up to Barbara Hershey, and Mega-City One will never be the same… The final chapter of Hershey by Rob Williams, Simon Fraser and Simon Bowland hit the pages of 2000 AD Prog 2349 this Wednesday, and brought with it quite a significant change to the ‘Dreddverse’.  Barbara Hershey is no more!  Created by John Wagner and Brian Bolland in 1980, Hershey has been a mainstay of Judge Dredd's world ever since – a street Judge who attained the city's highest position, a friend and foe to Dredd, and someone whose lifetime of service is ending with a tale of revenge and retribution. Having previously faked her death, Hershey was seriously ill from an incurable virus as she attempted to deal with an alien outbreak that could destroy her beloved city. Her past and uncertain future fused together in the third and final book of Rob Williams, Simon Fraser and Simon Bowland’s ‘Hershey’, as seen in the concluding chapter of their run in Prog 2349. Only a few people knew t...

You cannot kill what doesss not live – but you can put it on your shelf!  Judge Death will be the second in the new line of six-inch figures based on the world of Judge Dredd.  Following the announcement of a 1/12 scale Judge Dredd figure, and their acclaimed 1/18 four-inch range of articulated figures based on classic Judge Dredd characters, the HIYA EXQUISITE SUPER Series 1/12 Scale Six Inch Judge Death will retail at $89.99 (USD). Hailing from another dimension, Judge Death is the undead mass murderer who has declared that as crime is committed by the living then life itself is a crime! Judge Death and his fellow Dark Judges are Judge Dredd and Anderson’s greatest nemeses, undead zombie Judges hellbent on extinguishing all life! This figure is based on the iconic character design and art by co-creator Brian Bolland, as well as the work of artists Cliff Robinson and Garry Leach.  These hyper-detailed figures feature all-new accessories and materials, incl...

  I am the (pint sized) Law… The first sponsored content between myself and Heroes - Comics, Games, and Collectibles is now up on the channel and ready for your viewing pleasure.  In this first video, Heroes kindly sent me a box jam packed with figures from the HIYA Toys Judge Dredd range. Now as anyone who’s followed Geek Culture Reviews already knows - opening this box was like Christmas!  So, check out the video in the link below where we unbox the likes of The Dark Judges, Mean Machine Angel, Judge Hershey, and many more… The figures shown in this video are also available right now over at Heroes - Comics, Games, and Collectibles. So what are you waiting for?  For more video content please subscribe to the YouTube channel.  Big thanks to Heroes for allowing me this opportunity. Make sure to keep reading for what other content we have planned.  Liked this review and want to support the blog further? Please head on over to: Ko-Fi.com/GeekCultureRev. Thank...

'I Am The Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future' with Michael Molcher... When it comes to the inner workings of 2000 AD , Brand Manager Michael Molcher is a well-known name. From being the go-to droid for PR inquiries to being a chap you'd happily have a pint with down the pub, Michael Molcher is as much the face of 2000 AD as Tharg himself. So when the opportunity arose to chat with him about his debut novel, we'll it was a no-brainer. Hi Michael, thank you for agreeing to answer a few questions about ‘I Am The Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future' . For those who don’t know you, could you tell us a bit about what you do? MM -  It’s a pleasure! By day, I’m the Brand Manager for  2000 AD  and Rebellion’s Treasury of British Comics – which covers everything from running our social media channels to drumming up press coverage to licensing to merchandising. In other words, I am permanently busy! Those who follow you on social media will have see...

Remember when DC Comics published Judge Dredd?... 1995 was a particularly poignant year when it comes to 2000 AD's Lawman of the future, Judge Dredd. Danny Cannon 's Hollywood feature film had attempted to turn baby-faced Sylvester Stallone into the rough-and-ready Joe Dredd, to then team him up with the God-awful Rob Schnider . While Cannon 's film is mainly remembered for its portrayal of Mega-City One, and many terrible Stallone quotes ("I knew you would say that!"), it wasn't the only attempt that year to open Judge Dredd up to a wider audience. To capitalise on the hype to the feature films' potential success - and to establish a foothold overseas - 2000 AD licenced Judge Dredd to American comic book publisher DC. Of course, this wouldn't be the last time Judge Dredd went stateside as IDW would also attempt their own 'Dreddverse' in 2012.  What then followed is ' Judge Dredd: Legends of the Law ', a 13-issue series tha...

Geek Culture Re:Read Judge Dredd: America... America is arguably one of – if not THE  greatest Judge Dredd story. Originally published way back in 1991, it has become the definitive story for anyone being introduced to Judge Dredd and his world. Anyone who's read any of my weekly 2000 AD reviews will know that I'm a sucker for the more political Judge Dredd tale. The world of Judge Dredd is incredibly complex and seeing snippets of the internal politics of both the Justice Department and the system they're sworn to uphold is often quite interesting. There's been plenty of stories that feature this in some shape or form throughout Dredd's 45-year history. One's that spring to mind for me are The Small House, Titan, Apocalypse War , and  Origins, but there are many more. These quite often revolve around the notion that portrays the Judges as the fascist regime they are rather than a force for good. Instead of the usual high-energy ultra-violence tha...

Rob speaks to 2000 AD writer Kenneth Niemand about Kyle Asher's return in 'An Honest Man'... Back in Prog 2225, we were introduced to ex-Judge Kyle Asher, who's returned to Mega-City One after spending the last twenty years on Titan. Throughout the 6-part story, we saw Asher fall foul of the Special Judicial Squad and their "Welcome Wagon" - a conspiracy which saw the SJS increasingly harass Titan returnees until they left the Meg - or worse. Naturally, this action also caught the steely eye of Judge Dredd, and as such, the Lawman aimed to close the project down. Jump forward to Prog 2281 and Kyle Asher our ' A Penitent Man ' is back in ' Judge Dredd: An Honest Man '. This time around we follow Asher as an ordinary Resyk clean-up turns into anything but... I recently spoke to writer Kenneth Niemand about what he has in store for Asher in Judge Dredd: An Honest Man , and what's coming up from the seasoned writer in t...

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 t...