IDW’s new Judge Dredd mini-series tries to weave a tale that satirizes the current political moment, taking on subjects of asylum and illegal immigration. Is “Judge Dredd: Toxic” #1 able to effectively take on these issues while still taking place in the world of Mega-City One? Read our review to find out. But be careful, as there will be some spoilers
Written by Paul Jenkins
Penciled by Marco Castiello”Judge Dredd: Toxic” #1
Inked by Vincenzo Acunzo
Colored by Jason Millet
Lettered by Shawn Lee
Celebrated British writer Paul Jenkins takes his first shot at Judge Dredd! The death of a genetically modified toxic waste worker leads to a startling discovery that fuels anti-immigration fervor and threatens to spill over into the streets of Mega-City One.
Judge Dredd has always been a vehicle to satirize current politics. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Not all political issues are able to translate as easily into the environment of Mega-City One. However, the topics of immigration and asylum seem like they would be an almost perfect fit for Judge Dredd. Dredd as a character is someone that is entirely committed to the letter of the law, even when that law is inhuman, or hurts the citizens he is supposed to protect. It seems like this would be an almost perfect allegory for the current immigration crisis that is facing the United States, including the problems that the country will soon have facing asylum. And, when “Judge Dredd: Toxic” #1 is actually addressing those issues, it does a pretty good job. Where the issue runs into some problems are in the set up.
“Judge Dredd Toxic” is a miniseries, not connected to the larger Judge Dredd continuity, and because of that, it seems like writer Paul Jenkins wanted to give readers a lot of context on the world of Mega-City One. This is where this issue runs into its main problem. It spends so much time setting up context, and takes so much time on exposition, that the issue is almost a fourth of the way over before it even gets to the main action. The issue is so front loaded with exposition, that by the time the issue really gets going, it ends.
Which is too bad, because when “Judge Dredd: Toxic” #1 is actually telling its story, it does a good job. The narrative of the story, that a race of parasites have taken hosts in the mutated sewer workers of Mega-City One, is both an interesting take on a refugee crisis, and enough of a separate concept from the real world that it works on a story level as well.
The pencils by Marco Castiello and the colors by Jason Millet do a good job of selling the filth of Mega-City One. The streets and the scenery always feels a bit dirty. There is an inescapable grime present in every single page of “Judge Dredd: Toxic” #1. But each of these locations is differentiated as well. Millet’s coloring does a great job of this. The coloring and shadows of the toxic sewer plant that Dredd has to visit, when compared to the streets where Dredd tries to calm down a crowd of protesters, are both unique, yet keep the feeling that nothing in this city is nice or clean.
There are some pages where the inking feels a bit inconsistent. In some panels in the issue, characters faces feel a bit off model, or are rendered strangely. I don’t know whether that is a specific artistic choice, but it makes some panels in the issue just feel a bit off. Aside from this, though, the issue looks good. The team works well to create a consistent mood and feeling for the series. It’s a view of Mega-City One that I like getting to spend time in, even if it isn’t a very pretty one.
There is also a caricature of Donald Trump present in the crowd of the issue, which feels a bit in bad taste. This is satire, of course. And issues of immigration are connected very closely to Trump in the United States right now. However, throwing him into this issue as a character in the middle of a protest feels a bit too on the nose. It takes the allegory of the issue and turns it literal. It makes the problem of immigration and asylum, which until that point in the issue were treated straight faced and seriously, into something that could be almost laughed off. The inclusion of Donald Trump is a choice that takes away from the issue, and one that I hope they avoid going forward.
“Judge Dredd: Toxic” is a mixed bag. The issue takes far too long to get started, but once it does, works pretty well. The story, once the issue makes it passed all of the exposition that starts off the issue, is an interesting one. It’s one that I’m excited to see continue. Hopefully, future issues of this series are able to move on, with the exposition dump that started this issue out of the way. This seems like a series with a lot of potential, if it can shake some of the problems this issue runs into.
Final Verdict: 6.5 – When “Judge Dredd: Toxic” #1 works, it’s an interesting satire. But the issue takes far too long to get going.
