Judge Dredd Classics #2 has the gritty feel of ’80-’90s comic books. Before comic book movies, when only the nerdiest of us read the comics, Dredd occupied a unique space in the comic pantheon; he was justice, justice that couldn’t be bribed or even stopped. He wasn’t a good guy, he wasn’t a bad guy, he was a force of nature, a force so many of the bullied were deprived of.

The art is a fantastic use of color and shading, depicting the gritty future with a surprising beauty.

The writing is solid, although since the book contains several parts of the story, specifically 6-9, the jumps between them are a little jagged. The story serves more as a prop for Dredd to do bada– jumps on his bike and shoot bad guys. It revolves around the continuing plot line of an epidemic, and Dredd’s attempts to stop the epidemic.

The book is a fun read, and if you started the series, I would recommend continuing it; however, if you are new, I might go back and pick up book one, lest you be a bit lost. Book one isn’t essential if you are familiar at all with Dredd’s plot lines and styles.