I ordered Vol 1 and 2 from Amazon,and it will not ship until some time in October or November. Trying to figure out if I should go ahead with the order or cancel it.

This will be late for you, but it mgiht be of benefit for other users-

The Complete Case Files are as the name implies a total collection of Dredd's appearances in 2000AD, and in later prints, the Megazine. Case Files 01 I would say is not a good introduction for newcomers- this is the period when the writers of Judge Dredd were unsure as to what direction to put the character in. It's more interesting for fans to see the early days of Judge Dredd and its development more than anything else. It's really not indicative of the later stories either, being a bit more light hearted and even portraying Judge Dredd as more of a hero. Case Files 02 is however when it starts to get interesting- you get two of the first big story arcs, the Cursed Earth and the Day the Law Died which are pretty good. After that Dredd begins to get more consistent as to the direction of the character and world. After those, Complete Case Files 05 is also worth looking at, has a good mix of the short Dredd stories and the Block Mania and Apocalypse Wars arcs. Everything beyond 05 are harder to find in the states, though if you find 14 for a good price it has Necropolis- another good arc.

@mercz:

Thanks for your reply. I am currently enjoying "The Cursed Earth". I went and bought volume 3,4,5 from Amazon after reading these were the volumes when the series started getting good. I think now I want to find some newer comics about Dredd.

@JoeEddie said:

@mercz:

Thanks for your reply. I am currently enjoying "The Cursed Earth". I went and bought volume 3,4,5 from Amazon after reading these were the volumes when the series started getting good. I think now I want to find some newer comics about Dredd.

Well, then you are a lucky man. Judge Dredd #1 by IDW comes out next week (21/11/2012)!

@JoeEddie

Glad to hear that. Case Files 03 is mostly short stories but is notable for the first appearance of Judge Death. Case Files 04 contains the "Judge Child" arc is also big in its own right, though it has a much more pronounced sci-fi angle. It also introduces the Angel Gang, one member of which Mean Machine will become a well known Judge Dredd enemy later. Case Files 05 is a good mix of short stories and the Block Mania and Apocalypse War arcs, which are essentially one large story anyways. Everything between 05 right up to Necropolis in 14 is pretty good reading material. After 14 though it kind of gets messed up as new writers take their shot at Dredd and isn't, for what ever reason, as appealing to me. It starts picking up again with "The Pit" story for me, which I enjoyed. Some of the other stuff from this period is harder to find though- the 90s in general was kind of messed up for 2000 AD because of the failure of the Stallone movie and writers unable to move beyond Dredd's reputation from the 1980s.

I'm not sure where you live obviously, but recent material is difficult to find as of right now if you're not in the UK. There is a company that is re-publishing the case files for American comic sellers which have become marked down on Amazon.

If you really want to you can sometimes find other Dredd books for *reasonably* cheap on second hand sites like bookdepository, half price books, or half/ebay. Thhe foreign editions of the Case Files are exactly the same as the ones the American market is getting, just a difference in cover. The early stuff is printed on that telephone book-like paper, while the later editions (starting with 13 or 12, I can't remember) that are in color is on glossy paper and as expected, more pricey. I recommend Origins and the two Tour of Duty collections, Backlash and Mega-City Justice. The most recent story is "Day of Chaos", which is going to be collected in three (!) volumes, presumably because they'll have a lot of prequel stories to that arc in the first volume.

Had the Dredd movie been more successful in the box office, we could have expected publishers to be more willing to bring Judge Dredd over to the United States, but that won't happen, not right now.

As @tomlikesfries said IDW is preparing to launch a Judge Dredd title which is going to hit the stands on the 21st. This is targeted at North American audiences and will be set in a different continuity. As I understand it, they'll start in Dredd's earlier years but will tread the same general time line, but say that the readers are going to have an influence in how certain events play out like the Apocalypse War. I will be waiting to see what people think of the first issue.

From

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/11/04/did-the-apocalypse-war-happen-in-idws-dredd-reboot-only-you-can-decide/

Posted onNovember 4, 2012byRich Johnston

Comments

At Long Beach Comic Con, IDW also talked about the new Dredd comic they’re publishing – out how it works in continuity.

While describing it as “something of a reboot”, they state that Dredd is five years out of the academy so it doesn’t interfere with current canon. Each issue will have backup stories that set up a larger story. And that Mega City Two exists – but they will let the readers decide if the Apocalypse War happens… or not.

The classic 2000AD Judge Dredd arc saw Mega City One invaded by the Soviet East Meg One, halving the city’s population to only four hundred million.

The fate of the Mega City is all down to you..

@mercz:

Great post!

Americans are not a fan of the Judge