My Judge Dredd comic knowledge is spotty.  I’ve been aware of him since first reading comics back in the 80s, but mostly knew him through extra-comic material, like recruitment posters hanging up in a shop, or the two films, or general geek-culture osmosis.  More recently I’ve been trying to actually read some of the original comics, mostly in the form of some trade paperbacks I’d acquired over the years.  Death Aid is one such book, and it’s a fun, if grim read.  

Writer Garth Ennis and artist Carlos Ezquerra are, if memory serves, considered one of the better team-ups to work on the character.  And they definitely seem to have a good handle on the world and the tone of things.  The story of Death Aid is properly campy and horrifying.  A sort of social club for murderers puts together a charity contest to kill as many people as possible in a certain amount of time, “for the children.”  The judges then have to figure out why there’s a sudden upswing in killings, and find who’s responsible.  

The premise would make a fantastic adventure idea for a Cyberpunk 2020/Cyberpunk Red game.  Somebody more driven and productive than I should get on that.  

There are two supplemental stories contained in the volume, as well.  Return of the King and Christmas With Attitude are both fine, though not as memorable as Death Aid.

There’s a larger, ongoing story in the Judge Dredd universe, and this book takes place in the aftermath of the Necropolis storyline, which had Dark Judges from another reality invade Mega City One and kill a ton of people.  So, there’s a lot of reference to that.  I’ve long been aware of Judge Death, but I’ve not read that storyline.  I may have to try to track it down one of these days.  That said, Death Aid would be a fine place to start.  I think you get enough info to know what you’re getting into.  

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