Speaking of comics, Rebellion recently published a "comic book sequel" to Dredd as part of their campaign to get a film sequel off the ground. Written by the prolific 2000 AD scribe Arthur Wyatt with art by Henry Flint and covers from wunderkind Jock (who provided concept art for Dredd), the one-shot Dredd: Underbelly sold out immediately when it was first release, and has since sold out its multiple reprints. Which is saying a lot considering it's not that good. Obviously Underbelly has the immediate issue of being, weirdly, a comic book sequel to a movie adaptation of a comic book. As such, it sort of misses the point of bringing Dredd into a cinematic context; we've already see thirty-odd years of Judge Dredd in comic book form, so seeing one more story isn't as special as seeing it on the big screen would be! The comic format doesn't help with the pacing, either, as the story - which picks up where the "designer drug" angle of the first film lets off - is rushed through in the short time it takes to read the comic, as opposed to a 90-minute film. The characters don't get as fleshed out as they do in the film, the action sequences aren't as thrilling, and the lack of colourful slo-mo parts means it's pretty grey and drab to look at. There are some neat art tricks and it certainly feels like the world of the film, but it's not really a sequel to Dredd. It's too short, too brief, and - crucially - not a film.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
