Batman Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham; A Hardcore Review

Written by Alan Grant and John Wagner and illustrated by one of my favorite artists Simon Bisley, this one shot graphic novel that crosses over characters from both sides of "the Pond." This visually gritty and intense story begins with Judge Death finding his way into Gotham via a dimension hoping belt. Confronted by two Gotham police officers, Judge Death makes short work of the boys in blue. And the pointy eared freak in tights is on the scene. Judge Death somehow drops the dimension belt and Batman finds it. Upon picking it up, he finds himself suddenly in Mega City One, and within a heartbeat facing off with Mean Machine Angel, last of the Angel clan. And with proper amounts of property destruction who should show up but Judge Joe Dredd. Playing the usual strong arm of the law, Dredd provokes Bats into taking a swing at him, and then consistently piles it on by revealing the additional sentence time for each strike. Pretty funny stuff. Two worlds collide with Batman truly believing in justice, well his definition of justice, and Dredd delivering quick justice, without the whole pesky due process or a trial by jury of your peers kinda waste of tax dollars. It's Judge Anderson who actually settles the boys down, sorta.
She ends up breaking Batman out of custody and dimension hoping back to Gotham City with the Caped Crusader to track down Death. Dredd finds out and does a little "Pond" hoping himself. Catching up with Anderson and Batman is first on his list, but he runs across Death's Gotham running buddy The Scarecrow. Ol' Stawhead blast Dredd with his fear gas, causing Dredd to hallucinate fluffy bunnies and unicorns. But it's when Batman, Dredd and Anderson combine their efforts that they take down both Scarecrow and Death. Although there was a panel where it looked as if Death lingered in Gotham City.
The gritty and insanely rendered artwork by the enigmatic Bisley is as always, spot on. And Grant who has been writing the Judge in 2000 AD comics for years is brought more to the attention of the American populace by way of incorporating the opposite side of the justice coin in Batman. The dialog at points seems cheesey, as Dredd keeps spouting off. And then there was the scene where Death kills a rock band. That was memorable for it's heinous wordsmithing. But in all this is a great, quick read. No need for pesky back stories, as both characters, whether you know their histories or not, are pretty much made quite clear in the early stages of this book. Recently I have been considering how Batman would physically look given the things he does on a nightly basis. Would he honestly have time to train? Lift weights, do insane cardio and obstacle courses and fighting techniques on a regular basis all the while spending the night hours patrolling the city. And yes, I realize it's a fucking work of fiction, and that something like this could have little actual relevance in the existing world. However, given the idea, would Bats have the insanely muscled body that Bisley gives him in the book? Or would he be leaner and built more like a mixed martial artist? Like it really matters, but this is my god damn review and I'll take a fucking detour if I want to.
I am almost certain this is the first Bisley project I have ever reviewed. And what a way to kick this off than with grading it based upon one of the best bodies in the wrestling business. Having been out of the public light for eight months rehabing a torn quadriceps muscle from about May 2001, Triple H had left doubters wondering what he would look like when he came back. Would he be the same wrestler who had dominated the previous two years? It was planned in the December 2001 pay per view, called Vengeance that Hunter would do a run in. A preview poster was printed up and everything. However Triple H wasn't quite ready and needed about two more weeks to be up to snuff. So on January 7, 2002 in the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, in front of a sold out crowd and with millions watching at home. After the very last, pain inducing commercial break Raw was back on. And just as you couldn't wait any more, his amazing entrance music, "The Game," by Motorhead blasted through the PA system. And the crowd went absolutely apeshit insane. I have to say for the majority of the two hour show, as a Triple H mark (at the time) I paced the limited floor of my studio apartment with my sledgehammer propped up on my shoulder. Hearing the music blare, and seeing my hero back on television brought chills. It has been said even to this day, eight years later that Madison Square Garden or any other venue hasn't experienced that kind of pop since "The Game" came home.