Preview: ‘Essential Judge Dredd: Judgement Day’ – Turning It Up To Eleven In A Dredd Epic

by Richard Bruton

The Essential Judge Dredd graphic novel series continues with Judgement Day, as Garth Ennis and Carlos Ezquerra bring together two of 2000 AD’s greatest characters in a zombie classic!

So far in the Essential Judge Dredd series, we’ve had plenty of action and intrigue, but ‘Judgement Day’ really does take all that and up the ante – a lot.

Effectively, ‘Judgement Day’ is a zombie tale, but a zombie tale done Dredd style. With John Wagner and Garth Ennis plotting together and Ennis scripting, they have a classic villain in Sabbat the Necromagus bring back every single corpse across the world to serve as his zombie army. He’s insane of course, but Wagner and Ennis play him so well, a completely over-the-top, out-of-control villain to rank with the very best of the Dredd villains.

After the dead are brought back, Dredd gets some unexpected (and unwanted) assistance from the other great 2000 AD character, Johnny Alpha, the greatest of the Strontium Dogs, who comes back in time on a massive job to bring Sabbat down and stop the world falling to the zombies.

It’s truly ESSENTIAL Dredd and quite rightly sits amongst the likes of ‘America’, ‘The Armageddon War’, and ‘Origins’ as part of this series of Essential Dredd graphic novels.

Sure, it’s not got some of the subtleties of some of those works, but in terms of looking for an absolutely out-and-out action great, ‘Judgement Day’ can’t be beaten.

The Essential Judge Dredd: Judgement Day.

Written by Garth Ennis

Art by Carlos Ezquerra, Peter Doherty, Dean Ormston, Chris Halls, and Anthony Williams.

Published by 2000 AD / Rebellion on 11th April 2023

Contains the storylines:

‘Judgement Day’ – 2000 AD Progs 786-799 and Megazine issues 2.04-2.09

‘Plot’ by John Wagner and Garth Ennis, script by Garth Ennis. Art by Carlos Ezquerra, Peter Doherty, Dean Ormston, and Chris Halls. Letters by Tom Frame

‘The Kinda Dead Man’ – 2000 AD Prog 816

By Garth Ennis and Anthony Williams, letters by Tom Frame

Now, a little preview for your delectation…

First, the coming of Sabbat, ‘Judgement Day‘ Part 1, art by Peter Doherty…