Judge Dredd: The Movie - Comicbook Adaptation (2025)

Judge Dredd: The Movie - 30th Anni Ed (2025)

Author: Andrew Helfer (based on a screenplay by William Wisher Jr + Steve E. de Souza) | Illustrator: Carlos Ezquerra | Page Count: 80 [1]

NOTE: this post contains spoilers for the Judge Dredd (1995) movie directed by Danny Cannon.

Thirty years after the first Judge Dredd movie took a giant Flesh-sized shit on the franchise that inspired it, its comicbook adaptation got reissued. Why should anyone care? For one good reason: because it was illustrated throughout by Carlos Ezquerra.

Not the cover art - that's by Dermot Power and is the only time it really looks like Sylvester Stallone.

For reasons that I don't know but are probably to do with licensing and/or Hollywood egos, the interior art wasn't allowed to use Stallone's likeness.

But that turns out to be a good thing. The first 4 pages are particularity great. The Judge uniforms and Lawmasters are movie-specific, but otherwise the linework, angles, and colours all work together to make it feel like a proper Ezquerra 2000 AD strip. It's easy to imagine that the city and its people will feel similarly. But then Dredd appears in full on Page 5 and the illusion begins to crack... 🙁

Dredd: The Illustrated Script and Visuals (2014)

Dredd: The Illustrated Script and Visuals (2014)

Author: Alex Garland  |  Illustrator: Jock  |  Page Count: 240

"You were shit out of luck when you ran into the Ma-Ma clan."

If there'd been a poll asking what people would like to see in a book titled 'Illustrated Script and Visuals', everything that's already included would be on my list. As someone who enjoys reading Dredd comics, screenplays, and can happily waste an hour studying concept art, it seems almost tailor-made.

On the left hand pages is Garland's script, laid out in the usual format. It's also where you'll find trivia, concept art depicting various stages of evolution and full colour production stills, not all of which were used in the final version (unused hall of justice, judge badges, etc), with brief passages of text describing what each one is and how it fits into the overall structure. It's the 'Visuals' half of the book.

Dredd: Original Film Soundtrack (2012)

Dredd: OFS (2012)

by Paul Leonard-Morgan

Paul Leonard-Morgan's score to the film is evocative of the gritty, dirty underbelly of Dredd's violent world.

In that respect, it's a roaring success; but a repetitive, noisy and abrasive electronic punch in the face that flirts with dark ambient and industrial soundscapes is the kind of work that can alienate many casual listeners.

If your musical tastes include the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Front Line Assembly, and John Carpenter's film scores, there's a good chance you'll like Leonard-Morgan's work, too.

There's an occasional frail, textured wave of hope attempting to break through the overabundant distortion, but the thick bass keeps it cruelly subdued. Nevertheless, its presence is beneficial to the whole.

Dredd (2012)

Dredd (2012)

Dir. Pete Travis / Alex Garland (uncredited)

The Dredd film deserved more success than it got. It drew comparisons to Dir. Gareth Evans' The Raid (2011), with both films set inside of a single tower block, but I've not seen The Raid, so for me Dredd felt fresh and interesting.

The filmmakers made some minor changes to the comic's aesthetic, (e.g. the Lawmaster, Lawgiver, and iconic Judge costume each got a slight redesign, mostly for practical purposes), but crucially it remained faithful to the essence and core values of its esteemed comic source.

Even the poster art (pic right) takes inspiration from the page - recreating the stance of a towering Judge statue, a symbolic reminder for the citizens of Mega-City One that Judges are the ultimate law, perhaps most notably used to that effect in the classic America (2008) story.

Judge Dredd (1995)

Judge Dredd (1995)

Dir. Danny Cannon

Stallone appears with jutting chin and less than nine minutes later the helmet comes off. It ceases to be a Judge Dredd film and instead becomes a Sly film with a comedy sidekick. There's a decent amount of plot squeezed into the running time (96 mins), but it's full of inconsistencies and stupid one-liners.

To be fair, it's not all bad. Mega-City One was interesting, some of the Council of Chief Judges were good (especially McGruder) and the addition of Hershey was a nice touch, or it would've been if she'd not been there simply to hang some hurried plot advancements on.

If you somehow make it to the end of the movie you'll witness the worst part. Even Walter the Wobot would be appalled.

Judge Dredd: America (2008)

Judge Dredd: America (2008)

Author: John Wagner | Illustrator: Colin MacNeil | Page Count: 144

'Somewhere along the way childhood ended. Ami and I were drifting apart. I watched it happening, hating it. Powerless to prevent it.'

America is regarded by many Judge Dredd fans as one of the best Big Meg stories ever written, and with good reason. It's a mature telling of a small but significant event in the Megacity's history.

If you join the dots over a longer period of time it can even be seen as a precursor to an eventual re-evaluation of the Judaical system itself.

From the story's first panelled page it's clear that what we're getting is a deeply personal confession suffused with tragedy and a sharp, painful remorse that even time hasn't dulled. It puts us on the alert and reminds us that notions of hope and change are a dangerous combination when paired.

Batman / Judge Dredd (1991-98)

Judgement on Gotham (1991)

Authors: John Wagner / Alan Grant | Artist: Simon Bisley | Page Count: 61

"I'm goin' into an uncontrollable butt frenzy!"

Picking Judgement on Gotham off a shelf in '91 was the most excited I've ever been for a ridiculous comic crossover event. Joe Dredd and Batman! Whoa!

I imagined the personality clash to be like two worlds colliding. Okay, it's not quite that good, but it's still pretty awesome and revisiting it again despite being twenty+ years older gave me a similar kind of joy.

In previous years Batman had faced some twisted minds in his own world, but he'd never encountered anything quite like Judge Death before. When the superfiend D-Jumps from Mega-City One to Gotham it's going to take more than a glimpse of a winged mammal suit to save the city from being Judddgggged.

You'll need to be a fan of both characters to get the most from it. Authors Wagner and Grant had more experience writing for Joe, and it shows. They don't do Batman an injustice, they capture his personality well and don't compromise his integrity, but when weighed out it's mostly Dredd's story. I'm perfectly okay with that, but it's worth mentioning in case you're here solely for Batsy.

Judge Dredd: Necropolis (1998)

Judge Dredd: Necropolis (1998)

Author: John Wagner  |  Illustrator: Carlos Ezquerra  |  Page Count: 192

"If you bring them back, th-thousands will die!"

"I disagree. You’re setting your sights too low. All will die. Total annihilation – it’s the best way!"

In light of some poor decisions by the Justice Department, Chief Judge Silver makes another one that leaves the Big Meg vulnerable. Elsewhere, a door is being opened to a place where judgement of the guilty and the innocent returns the same sentence…the Sisters of Death are ready to move.

Ah, Necropolis. There have been bigger and some would say better Dredd epics since then but it remains my favourite for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it's not Dredd specific. The story, by original creators John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, is much too big for one man to carry on his own, even one with shoulders as broad and solid as Joe Dredd's.

Furthermore, the nature of the invasion means PSI Division plays an important role, which means Judge Anderson's talents are needed.