The Law In Order: The Stupid Gun

Sometimes one feels that the world has been affected by some sort of orbital stupid gun. Just this week in Aotearoa, flat earth idiots from around the planet have convened for the Flat Earth Conference. Many had flown here and during the trip, they had the opportunity to glance out of the plane window at the curvature of the Earth. They have all been stuped up, I tell you. 

DATELINE:
May 2105 (Progs 316-318).

WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?:
John Wagner and Alan Grant fire up the satire while Ron Smith brings his A game.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT (IN ONE SENTENCE)?:
A gun that turns victims stupid is stolen by mobsters.

WHO’S THAT IN THE HELMET?:
Judge Rawls helps Dredd with the investigation.
Judge Unger is turned stupid and scoffs his microphone.
Judges Coleman and Dale discover the unfortunate Unger.

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

IT’S CULTURAL, INNIT?:
Nat Hiken was an American radio and television writer, producer, and songwriter who wrote the Phil Silvers Show.
Jonathan Luther “Casey” Jones was an heroic locomotive engineer and railroad worker who gave his life to save passengers.
Peter Parker was the teenage boy who was bitten by a highly radioactive spider and died of leukaemia eight months later.

CANON FODDER?:
Both Dredd and Rawls have 2 guns.
For the first time ever, Dredd’s Lawgiver (conveniently) jams.

WHAT THE DROKK?:
Why would a zoom train have a detachable wall mirror?
The angle Muttox fires the gun at accidentally is an impossible shot given the perspective.
Dredd’s Lawgiver coincidentally jams and instead of pulling out his second gun (which we have seen him with in this very story) he resorts to the bootknife.

WHAT’S THE ART LIKE?:
There’s a nice panel of Dredd blazing away at a block war and the interblock zoom is fantastic, but the key thing here is that Ron Smith is again let loose on the denizens of the Big Meg, drawing a variety of stuped up mooks. He excels at this.

HOW MANY LINKS?:
This is a classic featuring a great intro to the story via a recorded message from Muttox while dribbling simpletons grab the legs of the Judges. As a biting satire the whole thing comes together brilliantly, the pacing is nice and the art suits it well. Six links.