Random Happenstance

This probably seemed like easy money at the time: with a movie and a regular series coming, why not another series, in the rotating creative team format of Legends of the Dark Knight? Kick it off with the two main writers for the character, and Brent Anderson art and Dave Dorman covers? With violence, grotesque monsters, a fan-favorite character, and musical numbers--wait, what was that last one? From 1995, Judge Dredd: Legends of the Law #4, "The Organ Donors, part 4: Stop the Music, I Wanna Be Sick!" Written by John Wagner and Alan Grant, pencils by Brent Anderson, inks by Jimmy Palmiotti.

We mentioned their musical/sing-along work back when we looked at the classic Wagner/Grant the Last American, but this one features even more prominent muscial numbers! (Note to self: keep an eye out for Grant's the Demon #6.) For singing doctor Euphoriah Bliss, having Judge Dredd and Cadet Anderson on the case are the least of his worries, as the "offal" of discarded corpse parts has clumped together and come for him. Probably a psychic thing. Anderson convinces the dead to go in peace, after they've harvested a few parts from Bliss and done a song. The issue ends with not one but two pages of what almost passes for slapstick in a Dredd comic: Dredd berates a couple victims for not obeying his orders and getting themselves parted out, then goes to repo a heart and charge the recipient with "receiving stolen goods." Wagner and Grant had done the organ piracy bit--and much harder--some time back, in 1983's 2000 AD #300 if not earlier: they seemed pretty sure organ "donations" would be either by bribery or force, and their track record of predictions isn't quite "Simpsons called it" but I wouldn't bet against them.

Strangely, I think this is the first issue of Legends of the Law that I've read! I did try the first issue or three of DC's alternate-continuity Judge Dredd, and would get the rest of it from the quarter bins years later. (We saw the last issue, too: writer Gordon Rennie would later write proper Dredd comics.) The two series may have lasted about the same amount of time--no, a bit longer, than the time from when the Stallone Judge Dredd premiered to its release on VHS. I think I've mentioned before; every couple of years, I think there's no way Judge Dredd could possibly be as bad as I remember...it is, drokk it! It sucks so much! The production values fool you, and then Rob grudding Schneider shows up. I saw it in theatre, I'm probably still bitter.