Judge Dredd wakes up in an old timey town, with his full gear on and full of gentlemen who look straight out of a Billy Wilder movie; unfortunately this is less His Girl Friday and more I Bought This Girl Last Friday. Dredd is inside a shared virtual reality with the rest of the Yes-Men and all run by a man who remembers Mega-City One.
Writing is divided here. There are tight moments of story and some dialogue-filled ones. Not unusual for this Judge Dredd run so far but noticeable. There is a lot of social commentary on this issue, from all sides there are allusions and parodies to those on the other side of the argument discussed here. Men wearing fedoras, calling themselves “the nice guys,” and being “Friend Zoned,” using the real life arguments of some to place these characters and unlikeable antagonists is a very effective way to make the Yes-Men into a despicable group and putting Joe Dredd in the right side of the law and equality, #NotAllJudges.
The problem with this approach was that although the social commentary was effective in driving its agenda forward, it did little to move the story, leaving little space for moments that should have had more impact in the story. Big reveals were happening that felt glossed over or should have deserved a bigger panel for the reader to stop for a beat and take it in.
Jesus Redondo takes over the penciling and inking duties on this issue and the difference is notable. Line work is a lot cleaner, easier to follow with busier pages which would have taken two or three looks at the page in order to get the full visuals in earlier issues. Ryan Hill’s colors continue to make for great pages and he is proven adaptable to work with McDaid’s rough and tough styler as well as Redondo’s more traditional one.
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