Dark Horse Comics/IDW Publishing 2016
Written by John Layman
Illustrated by Chris Mooneyham
Coloured by Michael Atiyeh
Lettered by Michael Heisler
Dr. Reinstadt is hosting a party! AN APOCALYPSE PARTY! He's gotten his hands on some xenomorph DNA: a dream come true for a mad genetic scientist who's already built a clan of animal hybrids. He's also captured a Predator, and even his old acquaintance Judge Dredd has come knocking on his isolated labs door. Now that his friends are here and ready to go, the only thing left to do is hit the town! They're taking the party to Mega-City One and raising hell!
I’ll be honest i’ve never been a fan of Judge Dredd, he’s always been something of a highly testosterone filled gruff violent kind of character. That never really appealed to me all that brawn and little brain, okay that’s totally my perception of this. Here that he’s working with a team that balances that out is a nice touch though and I do like it. What John has managed to do is change my thinking somewhat on Judge Dredd here and that’s something indeed.
I like how this issue opens up with Archbishop Emoji and the actions that led up Judge Dredd chasing him into the woods where he encountered Dr. Reinstadt’s creatures in the beginning. To be honest i’d kind of forgotten about him but I liked this opening and it means something with this bizarre man is coming.
I really like the way John uses this issue to set up what’s coming next as well. That Dr. Reinstadt is so twisted and perverse and his plans so large is great stuff. I mean we have to go through Dredd and Anderson getting out of the predicament we saw them in last and they have to work with and befriend the Predator’s that have come to investigate the death of one of their own. So the bulk of this issue deals with all that and more!
I love Chris’ work on the interiors here. The creativity and imagination on display where the xenomorphs are concerned is really stunning. I think he perfectly captures Judge Dredd and the feeling we should get from looking at him. The use of page layouts through angles and perspective are spectacularly done. The use of backgrounds really add a nice mix of horror and that intangible extra that really sets the mood of what’s happening here. The attention to detail is incredible to see and only strengthens why i’m a fan of his work.
So the way that John is tying in the two worlds and these franchises together is extremely well done. There’s something about the way that whole Judge Dredd mythology fits in nicely when it comes to fighting alongside the Predator’s and the genius use of the xenomorphs. It really does feel like it’s one of the most natural crossovers that no one had thought of doing until now and you have to wonder why.
With a great premise and stellar storytelling wrapped up in some sensational interiors this is the crossover you never knew you needed to see!