Dredd accompanied by Lolo and a Judge helmet wearing pug is on route to ger her sisters back from the Yes Men, the men who won’t take no for an answer… He’s realizing how exhausted he truly is, after being tossed around from one place to another, and even more, his tiredness is mixing with reflection of why he’s there and what he remembers from the Angela Davis block.

It’s a strange book that’s finally revealed some of its hidden secrets. Somehow it managed to keep shrouded in mystery for four whole issues before giving enough of it away to make me come back for the next issue. Waiting four issues for a major revelation is not easy to pull off. Most comic book readers expect a big shakeup in the storytelling by at least the third issue. Where Judge Dredd succeeds is keeping the action moving and the pace of the comic alive, Joe would get tossed from one strange situation to another before even realizing how long he’s gone without sleep. The flow of the action, combined with the banter, the revelations of strange philosophies by several characters and the seeming randomness of it all makes for a strange tale with Judge Dredd in the middle of it all, trying to punch some sense into this new world. I can say this much, listening to Monster Magnet’s album Dopes To Infinity made for a great soundtrack to this story.

Dan McDaid and Ryan Hill are able to give great contrast to the then Mega-City One and what it’s turned into now. Expressions on the characters continue to enhance the story and give the emphasis needed to their dialogue. Which isn’t an easy task when drawing a room full of Judges talking about the law and ways to improve it. Then there is something as simply delightful as having a small Pug walking around a endless green field happily wearing a Judge helmet, which also puts Dredd’s new situation into perspective.

Judge Dredd #5 is worth the read as the bigger picture is brought back into focus. The big, strange philosophies take a step back for now without leaving a trace throughout the whole series so far.

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Judge Dredd #5 Writers: Ulises Farinas & Erick Freitas Artist: Dan McDaid Colorist: Ryan Hill Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 5/18/16 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

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