19: Total War

So after years of build-up and small-scale violence killing dozens, Total War take things far beyond anything that could have been suspected in Volumes 1 and 2. In a lot stories, there are moments, events, choices of storytelling that are so big they can obscure everything around it. It's hard to look critically at this story without moving past the three nuclear explosions and the millions dead that form the shocking heart of what we're reading.

Writer John Wagner knows this, and each time the bombs go off, he lets artist Henry Flint take up multiple pages with blinding light and blackened carnage. The story pauses and takes a horrified breath, just as the citizens of Mega-City One not caught in the actual blast do. There's an audacity to this storytelling that still sets the reader back a step.

Yes, Wagner and others have done this kind of thing before in terms of original publication, but it's the first one we get in the order of Mega Collection Volumes. Even if they're now less shocking than they originally were, in an era of "world-shattering" and "game-changing" events that are rebooted and reset in most other series, it's still incredible to think this is one story, one continuity - what happens here matters to the story, and will continue to.

I'm looking big picture here, because zooming in reveals that the details aren't quite as good here. The story is a pure action thriller, a countdown against the terrorist bad guys. There's a tension here that works well, and Wagner is direct and straightforward in showing how Dredd and the Judges face the challenge. There are some other highlight moments, such as Hershey announcing the Judges will stand down in the face of more detonations. Even though we know it's a ploy, it's still effective. But the mechanics of the story aren't new or portrayed in interesting ways.

The Vienna and Nimrod subplot also jars with the main action, and doesn't really seem to go anywhere, or tell us anything new about Dredd or his relationship with his "family". But with so many stories in the Dredd universe, I'm OK with looking at ones like Total War in terms of its impact, and its atmosphere. On both of those points, it's a powerful story.

18: Terror

There are a lot of obvious parallels and callbacks to America in Terror. A lot of it is Colin MacNeil's moody painted artwork; the similarity between Zondra and America Jara; the bombings of terrorist group Total War. At the heart is a tragic love story entangled with violent terrorism that can have no happy ending.

But there's also more here than just a rerun of an old classic. Terror is about setting things up for the dramatic and explosive events of Total War, so needs to remind us about the terrorist group and their modus operandi. Doing it by reflecting "America" also gives us an idea of how Dredd and the Justice Department can't seem to definitely end this violent group despite their hardline efforts.

There's a cynicism and weariness floating over this story. America was America and Beeny's story, with Dredd and the Judges as dark forces tearing them apart. We saw their childhoods, their love story and its bitter aftermath - and through their daughter, their future. Zonda and Castinello have a love story here, but with none of the depth. John Wagner seems to be deliberately echoing his past classic, and uses the big ideas and themes there to make a larger point - for Dredd, nothing's changed. Despite everything that's happened since America, Dredd is still facing Total War and their blunt force tactics.

Worse, there can be no relief. Just as America Jara felt forced by her circumstances to join Total War, Castinello felt he had no other option. The system of harsh law enforcement can do nothing but create more broken people prepared to throw bombs. America can only continue to be echoed in the series.

17: Mega-City Confidential

John Wagner turns to the journalism-expose genre, with Colin MacNeil providing a masterclass effort in artwork that looks like a dark-hued and somber thriller movie. The idea that the surveillance we saw in SABs has now extended to an even more insidious and all-pervasive state is obvious but still effective, and we get another example of how far the Judges are willing to go to preserve their power.

One of the things that really stood out on reading this last story of the Volume is just how far Dredd has come as a continuous series. This Volume contains a story like Mega-City Confidential from 2014, mere pages away from 1986's Letter from a Democrat - and its a stark juxtaposition. Confidential is smooth, confident and polished. This is a series that knows what it's doing and is doing it with precision. The artwork is crisp and clear, Colin MacNeil still growing and sharpening his style.

But while it's fascinating to look at the differences between Dredd's early days and his present, it's impressive that he's still dealing with the same concerns. What are the rights of the citizens of the Big Meg? What is worth sacrificing to be safe - and is being safe a guarantee even with your freedoms curtailed?

By this point in Dredd's history the Judges are dealing with the fallout from multiple disasters, and have far less time and inclination to worry about those questions.

16: John Cassevetes Is Dead

A simple story that is effectively told with Colin MacNeil's stark black-and-white line work, John Cassevetes is Dead works to reinforce one of the key features of totalitarian states - the attempt to eliminate the past that didn't include that state. Setting the strip in the 22nd Century allows John Wagner to use the present day as the distant past, and the idea that publications we read today - even just simple newspapers - might one day be banned publications reinforces the idea that the world of Judge Dredd is only just over the line of implausibility.

This story could be a manual in how to tell an effective story in just 5 pages. Once again we get a little snapshot of life in Mega-City One, and the freedoms that have been lost in the name of "safety" under the Judges. Most chillingly, Dredd doesn't even seem to know why they've banned these publications. This little story marks another chink in the armour against Dredd's world and what he stands for.

15: Direct Action

In terms of placement within the Mega-Collection, Direct Action feels like its a direct response to my small issues with SABs. Overall, its the same story. Dredd and the Judges take down some democratically-minded citizens on skyboards. But where SABs felt a bit too clean-cut, "Direct Action" packs some real punch.

The first point of interest is a juve who calls herself Mercy Shakespeare, and thinks she is the daughter of famed skysurfer and Dredd nemesis Chopper. She's actually an orphan who has "adopted" Chopper as her father, but has something like his skill with a board and a very similar attitude to authority. Writer Gordon Rennie doesn't hammer home any point or meaning with her inclusion, but given this is well after he last encountered Chopper, I get the sense that Rennie is using Mercy to reinforce to Dredd that this battle will never really end. No matter what the Judges do, no matter how much of a necessity Dredd believes they are, there will always be citizens who fight back. Chopper may not be a perp he has to worry about anymore, but here's a juve literally taking on his legacy.

But despite the effective introduction of Mercy and her interactions with Dredd, it's two deaths that really signal this is not just a simple case of "catch the crooks". The first is a rookie Judge Dredd sent in to infiltrate Mercy's juve gang, and the second is a juve that Dredd takes out with a sniper rifle. These are both pretty shocking moments that aren't overplayed with melodrama, but clearly have an affect. It's one of those moments where we have to remind ourselves that Dredd is the lead character of the series, nominally the "hero", and he's just gunned down a child - bluntly dismissing her as a "Judge-Killer".

It's those sort of uncomfortable moments that make you realise how this series is still going strong over 40 years after it started. There's always complications and grey areas to pursue.

14: SABs

The rise of the surveillance state was always ripe for exploring in the world of Judge Dredd, and SABs is a pretty solid look at a specific example of where a police state can take you. CCTV cameras are ubiquitous now in most major cities today, so of course they are widely used in Mega-City One.

SABs is pretty straightforward and uncomplicated, with our sympathies largely lying with the Surveillance Action Brigade group that are trying to retain a modicum of personal liberty. As John Wagner so regularly does, he adds a layer of complication in with one of the SAB members taking a small baby out with her. This is challenging to our sensibilities on the surface, but highlights how much of a struggle living in Mega-City One is for the ordinary citizens. This also gets to add some complexity to Dredd as he struggles to ensure the infant is not harmed while taking out the lawbreakers.

Overall I don't have much strong feeling about this one. It feels a little over-stretched to meet three episodes, and doesn't linger much in the memory after reading.

13: Raider

Another story from Garth Ennis, and one that I really quite liked. Ennis's tendencies towards melodrama and overly dramatic dialogue actually work well when applied to a more "noir" format, and when Dredd is a bit more in the background. I've pointed out before (and will no doubt tackle it again) that Ennis's almost hero-worship of Dredd is a bit uncomfortable at times, but in creating the flawed character of Karl Raider he's able to shift the focus to the flaws of the Justice Department.

The legal and justice angle of the Judge Dredd series lends itself to telling noir-based tales, and all of the tropes are hit on here. The misanthropic hero hated by both criminals and the law, the mob boss, the past lover, the questionable approach to women. But as usual with elements intruding into the world of Dredd - Dredd always wins. He's a more limited presence here, but there's some interesting looks back to his time at the Academy with Rico, and Karl.

The only thing that doesn't really work here is how women are used as fairly cliched props to serve the story. Not only Raider's past flame that has left him all gloomy, but Judge Lola Palmtree (who is given a really striking look by artist John Burns) who is used as a prop by both Dredd and Raider. Yes, this was written a long time ago but it stands out like a sore thumb now.

But all in all I was a little surprised how much Raider rattled along and was enjoyable. Ennis is demonstrably capable of writing great things, and he's able to demonstrate a strong approach to a particular style here.