20: After the Bombs

As we'll see with future epic turning points in Volumes to come, John Wagner likes to explore the aftermath of big events in Mega-City One. After the Bombs follows up the carnage of Total War by touching on how long and slow the clean-up after the nuclear blasts is, and wraps up the loose ends of the terrorist organisation itself by obliquely showing Dredd and the Judges take down the remaining leaders.

As usual, Wagner doesn't choose the obvious route to do this. After the Bombs takes one of the leaders of Total War, Gaia Innocenti, gives her amnesia and a sudden ability to see the future, and then puts her at the pointy end of a very, very cranky Judge Dredd.

The story itself is pretty dark and brutal, and this is backed up by Jason Brashill's smooth, cartoony renderings - almost like some sort of ultra-violent Pixar movie. The art isn't exactly to my taste, but Brashill is clearly enjoying himself with some of the over-the-top touches.

The ending is pure Judge Dredd, and another grim reminder that although we were forced to side with the Judges as they faced the nuclear destruction of their entire City, they are not the good guys. The final page where Gaia's shrapnel, the "antenna" that allowed her to see the future", is forcibly re-inserted so that Psi-Division can make up for their failure to foresee the events of Total War is nasty stuff.

Total War strayed a little more into "good guys versus bad guys" than is usual for John Wagner. After the Bombs feels like a subtle course-correction, with some sympathy evoked for one of the leaders of the terrorist organisation that killed millions of people, and another reminder what lengths the Justice Department will go to in order to stay one step ahead.