Judge Dredd Reading Order
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Judge Dredd Reading Order

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Cover art Judge Dredd Megazine 423

In Mega City-One, one man is the law: Judge Dredd! Created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra in the second issue of the British weekly anthology 2000 AD (1977), Judge Joseph Dredd is a lawman in a massive dystopian city where crime is rampant. In this world, Dredd is a judge, jury, and police officer – he can arrest, convict, and execute criminals. And he is the toughest of them all! As we already said: he is the law!

Judge Dredd exists to bring justice and is constantly working. He’s never without his signature helmet, though he has no secret identity and no life outside of work. He’s here to deliver instant justice in a city on the verge of chaos. And he has done it since 1977, getting older as the years pass. It’s been 66 years of active service for Dredd, and 46 years worth of stories!

Through decades of comics, Judge Dredd became one of the most popular comic book characters of all time, and one the most famous satire of American and British culture, exploring authoritarianism, policing, mass surveillance, and every other aspect of society.

It’s no surprise that Judge Dredd was adapted into other media. The first movie was an American film in the nineties with Silvester Stallone in the main role who failed to capture the essence of the character and made the mistake of showing his face!

More than 15 years later, Dredd was once again back on the big screen, with Karl Urban as Dredd and Olivia Thirlby as Judge Anderson, in an adaptation given a truer representation of the character. There are also several Dredd books, audiobooks, and video games, as well as board games and collectible card games. There is no live-action TV show for the moment, though one has been in development since 2017.

So maybe, you have seen one (or both movies), played a game, or read a few comics at some point or another. Or maybe you know nothing about Judge Dredd and it’s time to change that fact! Following is a massive reading order guide to help you read Judge Dredd!

Judge Dredd Reading Order

This reading guide is a work in progress. It’s a major project, it will take time to complete it.

First of all, there are several ways to read Judge Dredd, as there have been several collected editions, so here’s a little bit of introduction about the different publications:

  • 2000 AD / Judge Dredd Megazine. The Judge Dredd stories are first published in the weekly British anthology 2000 AD and its sister publication Judge Dredd Megazine. We invite you to check out the 2000 AD shop to explore the catalog (and you can also find free issues on the website if you want to have a look before buying or subscribing.)
  • Judge Dredd: The Mega Collection. This collection made of 90 volumes by Hachette Partworks was released between 2015 and 2018, containing thematic collections of Judge Dredd stories but also a variety of spin-off stories set in the same universe. As it was successful, it was joined by 2000 AD: The Ultimate Collection, focusing on other characters from AD with a Judge Dredd books (but nothing already included in the Mega Collection).
  • The Complete Case Files. Re-discover Judge Dredd in this collection collecting all of Dredd’s adventures in chronological order. This collection is at the heart of our reading order!,
    • in the same line, we also have The Restricted Files and Judge Anderson: The Psi Files
  • The Daily Dredds. Collecting the comic strips published in the Daily Star newspaper.
  • Essential Judge Dredd. This collection launched in 2020 is a curated line for new readers. More on that in our ‘Where to start?’ section!
  • Judge Dredd (IDW Publishing). An alternate version of Judge Dredd published by IDW made of an ongoing series and several miniseries. 
  • And a lot of Judge Dredd in paperback collections or hardcovers! There are too many of them to count, though this has no vocation to give you a complete chronological order for Dredd. The trade collects particular story arcs, the work of a creator, or thematic stories.

Don’t forget, Judge Dredd is still delivering justice!

Where to start with Judge Dredd? An Essential Reading Order

You know nothing about Dredd and want to know what are the best stories to start with? 2000 AD has your back with Essential Judge Dredd, a curated line of graphic novels showcasing the very best storylines:

  • Essential Judge Dredd: America – Considered one of the best stories of Judge Dredd and often recommended as an introduction, America explores what happens when the citizens of Mega City One fight for democracy.
  • Essential Judge Dredd: The Apocalypse War – When the citizens of Mega-City One’s massive city blocks declare war on each other, Judge Dredd realises it is merely a prologue to an all-out nuclear attack by East Meg One.
  • Essential Judge Dredd: Origins – An unusual delivery is made to the Grand Hall of Justice, a package that will force Dredd to lead a mission into the Cursed Earth and into the darkest recesses of the history of the Judges and Mega-City One. This is Judge Dredd: Year One, 30 years after his first appearance!
  • Essential Judge Dredd: Dredd vs Death – This volume introduces Judge Death, the Dark Judges and wisecracking Psi Judge Cassandra Anderson.
  • Essential Judge Dredd: Necropolis – The ultimate Judge Dredd Vs The Dark Judges storyline.
  • Essential Judge Dredd Judgement Day – Sabbat the Necromagus resurrects every corpse in the whole world as a zombie horde and Judge Dredd teams up with Strontium Dog to stop the walking dead!
  • Essential Judge Anderson: Shamballa – The Essential Judge Dredd collection expands with a new line dedicated to iconic science fiction heroine, Judge Anderson!
  • Essential Judge Dredd: Tour of Duty Book 1 – After Dredd discovered a mutant branch of his bloodline during Origins, the lawman started to take a closer look at the Justice Department’s treatment of those unfortunates warped by the legacy of the Atomic Wars.

Judge Dredd: The Early Years

The year is 2099 and Judge Dredd is judge, jury, and executioner, a merciless far-future lawman delivering justice with an iron fist on the mean streets of Mega-City One. Discover Dredd’s early cases including the epic ‘The Cursed Earth’ and the first appearances of some iconic characters including Judge Death and Psi Judge Anderson. And it was just the beginning as soon enough, Dredd rides into action for some iconic stories with Judge Death Lives, Block Mania, The Apocalypse War, The Graveyard Shift, and Cry of The Werewolf.

‘The Cursed Earth’ is a storyline that ran from 2000 AD #61 to #85 in which his famous Judge going on a road trip and found himself against some characters caricaturing icons of American consumer culture (like Ronald McDonald and Burger King). For legal reasons, two episodes were always omitted of any collection until 2016. This is when the complete version was finally reprinted by Rebellion in The Cursed Earth Uncensored:

Cassandra Anderson is a member of Psi Division, the psychic section of the justice Department. A precognitive telepath and empath, she can detect crimes before they are committed! She made her debut n February 1980 as a supporting character in the story “Judge Death” (2000 AD #150). Her popularity led her to star in her own series, Anderson: Psi-Division, since 1988.

Judge Dredd in the ’90s

Dredd continues to deliver justice in the ’90s more than ever. Started in 1990, The Judge Dredd: The Megazine is a sister title to 2000AD, released monthly with new stories set in the world of Dredd.

This is also at this time that Wagner took a break from writing Dredd for more than three years. He was replaced by Garth Ennis (around Case Files 16), Grant Morrison (Case Files 19), Mark Millar (Kick-Ass), Dan Abnett and more. Wagner makes his return in Case Files 21 where you’ll find the Wilderlands storyline, introducing Judge Volt and Judge Castillo.

The 90s were also marked by several crossovers, with Judge Dredd crossing paths with Batman and facing The Riddler and The Joker!

Judge Dredd enters the noughties with Rebellion

Rebellion Developments purchased 2000 AD from Fleetway Publications, making it their first foray into comic books. A few years later, they released the game Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death and made a deal with DC Comics to reprint some stories. Not long after that, DC left the venture and Rebellion launched his own line of American graphic novels and created the Case Files series, reprinting almost every appearance of Judge Dredd in chronological order. 

This era is marked by several major storylines, including “Origins” which explore how the Judge system was established (not collected yet in Case Files) as well as Dredd facing the famous Xenomorphs.

The Complete Case Files and our reading order stop here for the moment. There are still a lot of Judge Dredd stories to be added, so stay tuned for more!

Judge Dredd IDW

This is an alternate version of Dredd or another continuity. From 2012 to 2020, IDW published a Judge Dredd ongoing series, and several limited series based on the Judge Dredd from 2000 AD. The series, which lasted 30 issues, was from writer Duane Swierczynski and artist Nelson Daniel.

Last Updated on March 12, 2024.

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