Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham (Batman / Judge Dredd, #1) by John Wagner

Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham (Batman / Judge Dredd, #1) Reviews

• 
  Ill D

  Let me tell you about a cool cat named
  Stewart. Not only does he read all the hip comics these days but, always has a groovy recommendation to share. So when he recommended me the first Batman/Judge Dredd crossover I was all over it.
  
  What starts as an erstwhile Batman hunts-down-the-bad-guys-affair swiftly devolves into a cacophonous otherworldly journey into the dimension(?) of Judge Dredd's plane. Phenomenally well put together art works straddles the line between the hallucinatory and the ribaldry realistic. Glints and gleams of both worlds in character and art enflesh this story of epic proportions.
  
  When Judge Death hooks up with Scarecrow (natch) it's up to Batman and his newfound otherworld ally to save the day. First spikes and then an utter deluge of the subconscious roars across the pages with unfiltered atavism. With more right hooks than the Thrilla in Manilla, your eyeballs will be overwhelmed by the sheer illustrated force of this comic.
  
  The typical comic book hijinks graft themselves unto a plot so diabolical in nature it threatens the very nature (also natch) of Gotham City. Will the Batman be able to save the day? Will Mean Machine be able to fix his clock of doom so he can be right more than twice a day? And will Judge Dredd be able to administer justice upon a crime so demented and foul?
  
  You'll just have to read it yourself and find out.
  
  One and a half guilty thumbs up.
• 
  Daniel

  Boy, I have mixed feelings with this one.
  The plot isn't anything special, but I liked some bits of it. You don't really get to see Judge Dredd and Batman a lot in this. A big chunk of the story revolves around Judge Death teaming-up with the Scarecrow, and, occasionally, you see Batman with Judge Anderson. I am glad, however, that it's not the Joker. It's always a custom that the Joker has to be in every team-up/crossover or big event etc. The book is really gorgeous from beginning to end, due to its metal art by Simon Bisley.
  I think they could have trimmed it down a little shorter.
  I don't know, maybe after another read it will grow on me more.
  As of now:
  
  6/10
• 
  Juho Pohjalainen

  On one hand, Dredd is even more unreasonably hardline here than usual, drawing a lot of artificial conflict out of his strange need to put Batman behind bars. On the other hand, there's Judge Death's greatest fear and his brief stint as a rock musician. They balance each other out I guess.
• 
  Frank Schorr

  One of the biggest reasons I got into painted comic books. A slew of less than stellar ones came out after this one and never made the same impact. Only the works of Dave McKean and Bill Sienkiewicz arguable could match or excel this particular work of art. The story was funny and moved you along, but the book is about the art. It can almost stand on it's own, but the writing can't do that. I rate it 5 stars because it's a landmark book and in the 90's it jump started the craze into international more adult kind of books and open up the doors or help bring those talented "Bastiches" to the American audiences in a big way. This one did a lot because of Batman. If he weren't there it wouldn't be as monumental a work of art.
• 
  Alex

  Batman, Dredd and Anderson vs Death, Mean Machine and Scarecrow on the dark streets of Gotham, the perfect setting for the macabre and bizaree worlds of these two anti-heroes to collide. As the protagonists come to blows (vigilantism is, of course a crime in MC1) the gigantic personalities are amelorated wonderful by Anderson's comic interjections. The villains of the piece meanwhile are wonderfully psychotic and the imigary of 'what would scare death himself?' is a beautiful counterpoint to the brutal setting of Gotham.
• 
  James

  This was decent. Had some cool/weird art going on. Some creature called judge death, warped to this dimension and was causing trouble. Batman swoops in and stops him only for his spirit to leave looking for another host. Bats grabs this guys stuff and gets warped to his dimension only to be locked up by some Judge Dredds. From here it was all about getting out of that pickle and getting back to Gotham to stop this Judge Death. Not the best comic in the world but not the worst.
• 
  Timothy Boyd

  Very good team up story. Batman and Judge Dredd are both tough crime fighters and work well together in a story. Recommended
• 
  Mat Davies

  2nd time and still rocks!
  
  This was a funny and beautifully drawn crossover. This is my introduction to Simon Bisley's art and he sure did not disappoint. It was really cool to see Alan Grant and John Wagner as scriptwriters, too! It does work, most importantly! Then again, you could stick Judge Death and Butting Head Man in My Little Pony and it would get a thumbs up.
  
  Speaking of My Little Pony - brill joke with Judge Death's nightmares courtesy of the Scarecrow!
• 
  Jack Aguilar

  “THE CRIME ISSS LIFFFFE— THE SSSENTENNCCCE ISSS DEATHHH!”
  
  God, I loved this book. Two of my favorite comic book characters, Batman and Judge Dredd, together for the first time, and what a ride it was! I adore when books like this don’t take themselves too seriously. The world of Dredd is deeply satirical (though it varies from writer to writer), and he’s best written as an over-the-top critique of the American judicial system and our culture’s police worship. Judge Dredd, good guy with a gun? Eh.... When compared to Judge Death, though, he must be. Judge Death is one of my absolute favorite comic book villains (and the supplier of the quote you see above). What is he? Where did he come from? Not very important. He’s here to do the devil’s business, and he has a blast the whole time he’s doing it. The whole story was fast-paced and deeply, darkly humorous, with so many scenes of laughs undercut by shocking and purposely excessive violence. The art helps in this regard, as it perfectly matches the tone of the book, all of its surrealism and excess. I’ll have to look more into this Simon Bisley guy, because he reminds me of some of my favorite artists of his era, like Dave McKean or Bill Sienkiewicz (did i spell that right?). Anyway, it may be blasphemy to give this pulp the same amount of stars as The Great Gatsby, but I just adored every second of reading this. Definite recommend to anyone that loves absurd 90’s comics with crazy art and a plot that doesn’t matter much compared to the joy you feel reading it.
• 
  Ian

  Whilst Judge Death is set loose in Gotham and forms an unholy alliance with the Scarecrow, Batman finds himself transported to Mega-City One, where he runs afoul of Judge Dredd.
  
  Batman and Dredd are two of my all-time favourite comic book characters and their respective narrative tones compliment each other very well.
  That said, thanks to 2000AD legends Grant and Wagner, the overriding tone here is that of Dredd's world. There's a grimness to the violence and horror, whilst also maintaining a certain dark humour too. In fact, my favourite scene in the whole book is a perfect example; wherein Judge Death murders Scarecrow's henchman but is then subjected to fear gas which reveals his darkest fear to be cuddly, Disney-esque cartoon animals.
  
  Don't get me wrong, this book is very short (you'd definitely be better off finding the collection 'The Batman/Judge Dredd Files' instead) but what there is of it is great fun to read.
  On top of that, Simon Bisley's artwork is always an absolute feast for the eyes.
  
  * More reviews here:
  https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com/ *
• 
  Bruno Poço

  Um ser diabólico de nome juiz death lança o caos em gotham e só o batman o consegue parar mas com isso vai parar a uma outra dimensão , à dimensão do juiz dread , batman coloca se em confusões com o bandido anjo vil dessa realidade e terá de lidar com o júri e juiz dread que o quer encarcerar ao mesmo tempo que em gotham juiz death faz parceria com o espantalho preparando se para lançar o caos em gotham
  
  Que história louca , tão parva eu só me ria , do mais tresloucado que já li , mas no bom sentido , tem muitas vibes de marshal law , que eu adoro
  
  A arte , um desbunde , n Sou fã desta arte mais estilizada em mensais de super heróis , mas aqui casa na perfeição , bisley está monstruoso
• 
  David Grimstone

  My final read of 2021 was a graphic novel I loved as a teenager: Judgment on Gotham. I was always more of a Batman fan than a Judge Dredd fan but as an avid reader of 2000AD, I didn’t really care who won in this clash of the titans….as long as it wasn’t Scarecrow, Judge Death or Mean Machine from The Angel Gang. Beautiful artwork by Simon Bisley makes this a real nostalgia trip and completely brilliant as a standalone read: it certainly refreshed my memory, especially when Judge Anderson arrived! Fantastic storytelling by Alan Grant and John Wagner. If you love Batman, Dredd or both then you should definitely check it out.
• 
  Devero

  Troppo cara per le mie tasche all'epoca dell'uscita in Italia, me lo sono recuperato per caso.
  Probabilmente se fossi un fan dei personaggi, l'avrei apprezzata maggiormente anche se la trama di Grant non è niente di particolare, e i disegni virati sul grottesco di Bisley non mi hanno mai conquistato. Inoltre la colorazione è troppo satura.
  2 stelle.
• 
  Konstantine

  feel like batman does best when embracing the sort of gothic atmosphere around his character, the camp aspect, or in an over the top punkish setting and dredd essentially embodies all three of those so naturally it brings out the best in both. very much elevated by simon bisley’s art but the writing is still very fun regardless
• 
  Kelvin Green

  Less a crossover, more a Judge Dredd story with a Batman guest appearance, this is often stupid, always violent, and pretty funny throughout. Grant and Wagner refuse to take any of it seriously and Bisley proves equally good at both ultra-violence and comedy timing. This is great fun, and the world needs more funny Batman comics..
• 
  Timo

  Ensinnäkin: Kuvitus on jumalaisen kaunista, Bisleytä parhaimmillaan. Toiseksi: Tarina tutustutti sopivasti kaikki henkilöt niille, jotka ovat huonoja eivätkä hahmoja entuudestaan tunteneet. Kolmanneksi: Kirjoittajat tuntevat hahmot, joten osasivat käyttää heitä oikein. Neljänneksi: Juoni on hyvä, nokkela ja täynnä hyvää. Viidenneksi: Suomennos yrittää liikaa ja on huono.
• 
  Chris

  My first experience with a Judge Dredd comic. While probably not a typical example of JD, it was an enjoyable story.
• 
  Your_Average_Magical_Girls_Fan

  One of the very few inter-company team ups to actually work. Fantastic art and humorous story. Recommended.
• 
  D.

  Wacky ultra-violent fun.
• 
  Sean Keefe

  Classic in every sense.
• 
  Chris

  It's a fun idea but it's too short to gain substance in its narrative. Equivalent of a fun summer action movie.
• 
  Ville-Markus Nevalainen

  Absolutely terrific.
  
  The art is breathtaking, a distorted painting on each page, and the story is stupid as all hell.
  
  Love it.
• 
  John Funderburg

  3.5 stars. The story is fun, and the art is outstanding.
• 
  Mark Young

  For me a great introduction to Judge Dredd and co. Twisted and laced with dark humour.
• 
  Doc

  BOK!