Summer Specials. They were a magical gift whereby the writing duty was usually given out to the weird kid who worked in the basement and then trotted out before an unsuspecting public without any hope of continuity. Technically this abortion dropped onto the ground around the time of the Robot Wars so here we go. How bad can it be?
DATELINE:
June 2099 (Summer Special Supercomic).
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?:
The artwork is Kevin O’Neill but the script’s origins are mercifully unkown to me.
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT (IN ONE SENTENCE)?:
An injury means a trip to the Judge Assessment Centre for Dredd.
WHO’S THAT IN THE HELMET?:
Chief Judge Clarence Goodman oversees things noting that Dredd’s recovery hinges on this assessment and that if he doesn’t have a decent trigger finger he would be better off dead. Yeah, cheers for that, Chief.
ANY LAW LORE?:
The Judge Assessment Centre is known as the Judge’s Graveyard as it sees the end of many careers.
The Law-Rod has an infra-red sight attachment.
IT’S CULTURAL, INNIT?:
“Film stars” Kelvin Gosnell, Pat Mills and “director” Jan Sheperd all worked on 2000AD at the time.
DAMAGE REPORT:
Dredd is critically injured stopping a terrorist bomb and appears to have some lacerations, a head injury and a shattered wankingright hand.
ANY TEETHING TROUBLES?:
Times Square is mentioned as the place where Dredd was injured, yet this is in the Undercity in later stories.
The Assessment Centre is mentioned as being in the “Washington Sector” meaning that sectoring numbering system has not yet been established.
Dredd says “Drekk it!”, presumably as Drokk hasn’t been finalised.
WHAT THE DROKK?:
For some reason (possibly to stop him suing the Department) the Assessment Centre is run by Dimitrov who is a guy that Dredd shot and injured by accident five years earlier.
How can Dimitrov see Dredd when he is in hospital? The operation is over by this point so it isn’t being broadcast.
In one panel the Law Rod is referred to as the Lawgiver.
WHAT’S THE ART LIKE?:
Ropey as hell in some places and though the layouts are ok, it looks nothing like a Dredd tale. The city, the citizens and even the tech have a half baked feel to them.
HOW MANY LINKS?:
Overall it is pretty weak sauce. Dredd’s character is completely off at the end with shitty lines like “you yellow rat” and his statement about making this a suicide in his report. One paltry link.
Everything Comes Back To 2000AD 