10 Judge Dredd Comics You Must Read Before You Die

10. The Day The Law Died

There is no doubting that this 1978 story, starring Judge Cal as its lead protagonist, is heavily influenced by the life and times of the Roman Emperor Caligula.

From the way he looks, all the way down to the mad actions of this tyrant, The Day The Law Died perfectly captures one man's descent into madness as his absolute power corrupts absolutely.

When Judge Dredd returns from the Cursed Earth he finds that he is being accused of the murder of a journalist, and the evidence is pretty overwhelming. Caught on camera performing the act, there is no doubt that the person caught on tape is Mega-City One's chief protector, after all, there's only one Dredd and it's blatantly him. Except, as you'd imagine, it's not.

It turns out that Judge Cal had engineered a robot to look, act, and, for all intents and purposes, be Dredd, and it's this machine that is sent to perform the deed. This is all part of Cal's power play to take over as Chief Judge and throughout a series of excellent stories, he will come close before Dredd finally puts him down.

If you want to take a closer look at Dredd's past then The Day The Law Died is the perfect jumping on point.