Written by: Alan Grant, John Wagner
Art: Brett Ewins
Released: 1989
Published Fleetway/S.Q.P.
Reprint of Revenge, a.k.a. The Four Dark Judges, originally published in 2000AD in 1985.
Reprint of Revenge, a.k.a. The Four Dark Judges, originally published in 2000AD in 1985.
A top tier Judge Anderson story which follows on from her first encounters with the Dark Judges way back in 1980 and 1981. This time around, Anderson’s psyche is infiltrated by Judge Death in a neat twist that sees Mega City One’s favourite telepath having her mental space invaded; but are her visions only bad dreams, psychic echoes, or are Death and his crew lurking in the shadows of her mind, readying for revenge? Using the Dark Judges’ Dimension Globe, she enters Deadworld, the scene of the climactic showdown that saw her put an end to the Dark Judges’ reign of terror. Or so she thought, and as she soon finds out, this is no bad dream!
Great panel layout and art by Brett Ewins (just check out the first glimpse of the Deadworld Hall of Justice), and thankfully reprinted in the original black and white, as opposed to the colourised reprints that Quality Comics and the U.S. editions usually opted for. Grant and Wagner’s writing is superb too, and a huge part of the appeal in reading these old 2000AD stories over again is the feeling you get of being in on their jokes; the Dark Judges’ first stop in their quest to purge the guilty is the Ronald Reagan block for the aged and infirm. Reagan, as anyone who read these strips back in the ‘80s knows, was a doddering old fool, and as one of the residents futilely attempts to flee his sentence, he cries, “Dodder for it!” Now that’s funny!
This is the kind of story Judge Anderson deserves, she was always too cool to stay under Dredd’s wing for long. Well recommended, and a welcome reminder of just how unique and cutting edge 2000AD was, and still can be.
Reviewed by Christopher Witty