So yeah, it looks like we’re not getting a sequel to the excellent
“Dredd” movie, but do we really need one when there’s a constant supply of
first rate Dredd stories in the 2000AD and Megazine? Well, yes, I know we
REALLY want another film regardless, but at least the chaps at head office have
met us half way with this official sequel, carrying on a little while after the
movie left off.
I suppose the first thing that has to be said is that this
32 page downloadable comic genuinely does the job well. It’s a tight, solid
story concerning drugs, psychics and the
fact that Mega City One doesn’t let mutants in, meaning they have to be
smuggled in by nasty people who aren’t likely to just let them go with a pat on
the back and a sythi-banana.
The script, by 2000AD stalwart Arthur Wyatt, is crisp and
easy to follow, and long term artist Henry Flint produces some gritty visuals
that suit the set up, as this is Mega City One not some shiny seventies
dazzling city of the future. Judge Anderson, now part of the burgeoning “Psi
Programme”, has gained some of the sass she is known for in the comics (where
she first appeared back in 1980, three years after Dredd), whilst Dredd himself
is his usual stony faced self, accepting of Anderson’s new fangled approach but
still preferring to kick in doors and punch faces until a crime is solved. You
know – the old fashioned way!
Overall, “Underbelly” is a successful attempt to flesh out
the world of the film and even move it on a little. A good script and art make
up for the fact that it’s rather short, but even then the length makes sure it’s
tight and never outstays its welcome.
I have reviewed this as a digital download, which you can
get for under two quid, but it IS available as a one shot physical comic book
as well. The thing is, it sold out in about four nanoseconds, which means that
wankers on Ebay are asking silly money for it. The good news is there’s going
to be another print one, so if you really want it on paper don’t go to the rip
off merchants, okay? It should be available from 18th February so go
to your local comic shop and put an order in.
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