Judge Dredd: Toxic #4 - IDW Publishing

JUDGE DREDD: TOXIC No. 4, January 2019

Despite providing a finale which is a far cry from the “shocking conclusion” publicised by “IDW Publishing”, Paul Jenkin’s storyline for Issue Four of “Judge Dredd: Toxic” still must have pleased the vast majority of its 4,101 readers in February 2019, with its entertaining mix of graphic violence and over-the-top politics. Admittedly, the twenty-page periodical debatably contains one of the most contrived set-ups seen upon the streets of Mega-City One as the titular character discovers the “entire cavern system” making up “literally half the Spillover” is actually an English-speaking, peace-loving extra-terrestrial entity which only wants to keep the humans safely protected from the poisonous sewage running beneath the metropolis.

But once this lazily manufactured premise has been explained, the British novelist’s narrative gathers pace at a pulse-pounding rate, especially when the hostile metal-eating environment leaves the three lawmen woefully under-gunned against a raging mob of die-hard anti-alien fanatics. In fact, the “suicide mission” of some “sixty to seventy armed individuals neither “harbouring symbiotes” or “the necessary protective gear” to survive their “one-way ticket” is undeniably the highlight of this publication, with the bearded Judge Scammon proving a thoroughly intriguing addition to the Grand Hall of Justice following the loss of his Lawgiver and admirable determination to at least “draw a few of the intruders below” with nothing more than two handheld batons; “Remember your training: Hand-to-hand against any perps who break through the outer cordon.”

Likewise there’s some delightful interplay between Cassandra Anderson and the titular “old curmudgeon” once the grim-faced Senior Judge finally accepts the underground monstrosity is trying to save the scrubbers, and actually goes so far as to politely thank the gigantic species “for your service” to his people. The telepath’s quips as to Dredd being a “closet Empath” and his stern retorts concerning the female Judge’s sentimentally doubtless brought many a smile to the lips of this comic’s audience, and additionally proves a welcome reminder as to just why the two heroes from the Apocalypse War work so wonderfully well together as a crime-punishing pairing.

Sadly this book’s somewhat rushed and sickly-sweet conclusion does debatably result in “acclaimed writer Paul Jenkins’ first Judge Dredd story” ending on something of a low note; albeit Scammon’s miraculous resurrection following his ill-fated meeting with a laser blade wielding maniac does offer the possibility of future adventures featuring the fearless Noah. For no sooner have “the pugilists taken their blows” than the entire sprawling city’s noxious skies are almost instantly cleaned, and having caused so much prejudicial hatred Citizen Spencer Richards, undoubtedly modelled upon American President Donald Trump, is unsurprisingly revealed to have been carrying an alien symbiote of his own all the time…

The regular cover art of "JUDGE DREDD: TOXIC" No. 4 by Mark Buckingham & Chris Blythe