There is no greater evil than old comics and those who push them. Why, if I had my way I’d torch the entirety of the Burdis collection to prevent him spreading the evil once the bombs drop and the digital domains are finally destroyed. In this post, the seedy world of comics is brought to the fore and it seems that only the Judges have the right to view them. Wait, what??
DATELINE:
July 2099 (Prog 20).
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?:
John Wagner writes it and Mick McMahon throws it on the page.
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT (IN ONE SENTENCE)?:
The Justice Department cracks down on comic pushers.
WHO’S THAT IN THE HELMET?:
Judge Lean gets in on the comic act.
Judge Strong acts as Goodman’s comics bitch.
Chief Judge Clarence Goodman makes some odd command choices.
IT’s CULTURAL, INIT?:
An advert for New Coke suggests it is “the surreal thing”, riffing on the popular drink’s tagline.
ANY LAW LORE?:
Old comics are illegal in Mega City One. I can understand if it was anything written by Mark Millar.
Dredd’s nark Max Normal appears for the first time.
ANY TEETHING TROUBLES?:
Dredd apparently carries at least 10,000 creds on his person which seems inconsistent with how things are run later.
WHAT THE DROKK?:
Dredd breaks the fourth wall when discussing the comic 2000AD, so this goes quite meta.
Max is apparently a young man, even though he dresses like a 40 year old merchant banker from Hounslow.
The Chief Judge thinks it is beneficial to see the comics so they know what the suckers on the streets are buying. I wonder if he does the same with illegal donkey porn that they seize?
WHAT’S THE ART LIKE?:
Quality stuff and it’s great that we are finally getting to see a bit more of the weird and wonderful citizens of the Big Meg.
HOW MANY LINKS?:
A solid three. Max Normal is immediately likeable as a character and served the early stories well as a reflection of Dredd’s interactions with those who are not criminals or other Judges. I’d love to see a proper revisit of the world of Max Normal from the early days of the strip and find out how he became the Pinstripe Freak.
Everything Comes Back To 2000AD 
I agree this is leagues above most of what had been published up until this point. Maybe because Wagner’s imagined audience for his in-jokes are fellow comic professionals, the sophistication of the narrative, dialogue and characterisation are on the right side of the pre-teen/teen reader equation.
That introductory image of Max Normal is also the first time I can see the McMahon I’d later come to love shining through the enforced Carlos mannerisms:
https://i.imgur.com/75UoH5V.png?2