Judge Dredd: The Cam Kennedy Collection Volume 1

Judge Dredd

by John Wagner, Cam Kennedy (Illustrations)

Return to the legendary tales from Mega-City 1 in this first collection of tales illustrated by Cam Kennedy! Reprinted in classis black-and-white, this collection features stories such as "The Suspect," "The Falucci Tape," "Something Abnormal About Norman," and more.

248 pages, Hardcover

First published June 25, 2013

About the author

John Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since. He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, for which he created Judge Dredd. He is noted for his taut, violent thrillers and his black humour. Among his pseudonyms are The best known are John Howard, T.B. Grover, Mike Stott, Keef Ripley, Rick Clark and Brian Skuter. (Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Giles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, let's get the contents out of the way,

Suspect
I Beast
Saturday Night Fever
Midnight Surfer
Back on the Streets
Something Abnormal About Norman
Magnificent Obsession
The Warlord
The Secret Diary of Adrian Cockroach
The Falucci Tape
The Big Sleep
The Art of Kenny Who?
The Taxidermist
The Genie
La Placa Rifa
Auld Aquaintance
Bad Mother
Finger of Suspicion


Featuring Dredd stories written over 21 years, the bulk of which formed the core of the golden age. Mostly penned by John Wagner and Alan Grant, these are, with two exceptions, spectacular: succinct prose, taut three act plays and all drawn perfectly by Cam.

All but one originally featured as weekly episodes in 2000AD and vary in length from one offs like The Genie and Suspect, to longer tales like Midnight Surfer and The Taxidermist.

Even when the scenarios are surreal to the point of reckless absurdity : The Fattest Man in the World Contest; a kitchen health inspection from the point of view of a cockroach; human taxidermy as high art, they are handled with such care and attention to story detail they are a joy to read.

Never read any Dredd before? This is where to start.

[Luke Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good fun to be had with an imaginative rogues gallary as always. My only complaint some of the stories were too short. Carlos Ezquerra is a superior writer in terms of themes and world-building but worth a look

[Jefferson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kennedy's artwork is amazing, and perfectly suited to Dredd.