REVIEW: Dredd Uprise #2

STORY BY:Â Arthur Wyatt, Rob Williams
ART BY:Â Paul Davidson, RM Guera
COLORS BY:Â Chris Blythe, Giulia Brusco
LETTERS BY:Â Simon Bowland, Annie Parkhouse
COVER BY:Â Boo Cook
PUBLISHER: 2000AD
COVER PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE DATE:Â Wed, November 26th, 2014

The sequel to the movie comes to a conclusion in this issue as Dredd and his allies fend off Oemling“s sinister plot whilst there is all out war in the streets of mega city one.Â

Having a comic book sequel to a film that is in dire need of a full sequel is a great way to drum up interest in the more “grounded”“ version of Dredd that was seen in the movie a few years ago. It is great to explore this version of mega city one a little further with new characters, tech and a deeper look into other parts of the city. Wyatt gives us a high stakes tense plot that as it is revealed and comes to fruition over the last few issues that really allows Dredd to cut loose and do the thing we know him for, dispensing justice in the most brutal manner possible. Whilst the book is really fun, having only two issues to tell this story in make parts feel a little rushed and I felt that characters and story arcs could have been expanded a little more if the book had been given say a 4 issue mini-series instead of two. It“s a minor gripe at best however as the plot flows from one point to the next a reaches a natural satisfying conclusion, carrying on from where the movie left off giving us another day the life of Dredd instead of trying to build its own mythology.

Davidsons art fits the oppressive a brutal nature of mega city one perfectly, everything is dark, grim and not as future tech as you would first think, building on the designs from the show and really making them his own to give a us a beautiful rendition of the city and making Dredd look like the imposing totalitarian figurehead of the law that he is meant to be. Where he is allowed to cut loose is the designs of the robots, making them as detailed as the rest of his art but, again giving them a broken down, cobbled together feel. The clean pristine robots you see in Star Wars these are not, you can tell that these bots have been put together from scraps found in the city and the cursed earth and the designs are simply wonderful. Add in some wonderful inking and colour work and this book instantly transports you back to the world of the film and leaves you clamouring for more.

Dredd Uprise 2 gives us one last glimpse of the recent films mega city one and it“s Dredd, it is a fun plot with plenty twists and turns that will leave any fan satisfied. Whilst I think the overall story could have benefited from being a little longer to allow it play out and build the supporting cast a little more, it remains a fun ride and a great addition to the Dredd (movie) canon.

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Author Profile

Matt Deery

Matt Deery is an avid comic reader from the UK, relatively new to the writing scene but, enjoying being part of the Comic Crusaders team and getting to talk about some the books that I adore. Will read almost anything Marvel, with Spider-Man and Iron Man being my all time favorite comic book characters and has recently found a love for Image and Valiant books and generally anything Sci FI or Espionage related. Check out my twitter @brujah69ad if you want to stop by and talk comics, video games or movies!