The Law In Order: The Starborn Thing

People forget how Joe Dredd was once penetrated and impregnated by a visiting foreigner. Not to be outdone by his brother getting his end away, Dredd gave birth to a child genius who was way more interesting a character than the dull as dishwater Vienna. Dredd’s kid should have gone on to have its own series as a Judge or at least a star of Japanese hentai.

DATELINE:
April 2105 (Progs 309-314).
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?:
John Wagner and Alan Grant explore Dredd’s parental issues while Chuck Squirrel dials up the designs.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT (IN ONE SENTENCE)?:
An alien parasite attaches itself to Dredd for some breath play action.

WHO’S THAT IN THE HELMET?:
Chief Judge Hilda McGruder orders Dredd to check out the crash site with a bunch of redshirts.
Tek Judges Obei and Frisk are killed by warping rocks near Hossanjo Valley.
Tek Judges Runch and Deex are shot dead by an infected Dredd. The latter hesitates so probably deserved it.
Tek Judge Strang keeps Dredd’s alien baby in a tank. He needs to be on a watch list.

ANY LAW LORE?:
Tek Judges carry X-ray scanners and sensor devices.
Dredd has a personal communicator in his belt.

IT’S CULTURAL, INNIT?:
The Sound Of Music is a film about nuns and Nazis.
The implanted egg has more than a hint of Alien about it.

CANON FODDER?:
The Judge badges read “Tech”.
McGruder once again wears her red outfit. No collusion.
Dredd seems to have a fanny pack- I wonder what he keeps in it.
Runch’s bike is surprisingly easy to destroy. The bikes are meant to be much tougher than that.

WHAT THE DROKK?:
An intense magnetic field is one thing, but how would it make rocks come to life?
Dredd says the parasite controls his body but not his mind, but if that is so, how can he speak?
McGruder states the object is a UFO which technically it isn’t. at that point she thought it was a meteor and it wasn’t flying, it was falling.
How does the parasite know that there is a settlement nearby to get Dredd to? If it wants to spawn, why does it need to return to the ship?

WHAT’S THE ART LIKE?:
Tek Judges are given Ezquerra treatment but overall this seems a little pedestrian. There were some really good splash pages though and when it comes to alien design work, Carlos is king.

HOW MANY LINKS?:
I was eager for Runch to die as he was a fucking menace. It’s his bike that goes nuts, he is the one who gets hit by an alien and then finally he is the one that is grabbed by the parasite, causing it to get onto Dredd. The rocks coming to life (through magical magnetism) and with human features is oddly supernatural and jarring. I’d buy it if these were hallucinations brought on by the ship’s defences but the rocks actually come to life so this seems silly and a way to thin out the Judge numbers for reasons of plot. The general theme here is horrifying, since Dredd is watching this thing control him and is powerless to stop it, sort of like me at my wedding. His solution to cuff himself to the bike and then order it to ignore him is a genius move. Four links, not least for Dredd actually having sex (of sorts).