Megacity Undercover: Low Life - The Deal (#1750-1761)

"The alternative was reality which simply hurt too much" - Dirty Frank

Let's finish out this month of 2000AD flavoured goodness with another of my favourite characters, Dirty Frank.  Frank is a Judge who works in the "Wally Squad", the undercover Judges of the Megacity One judicial system.  Frank is also severely mentally ill, he refers to himself in the third person and often sees visions and hears voices, and yet he's one of the best and most incorruptible Judges there is.  In the previous Low Life arc - Hostile Takeover - that incorruptabiity was tested when he discovered that most of his fellow Wally Squad were in bed with the organised crime bosses of the area of the city the operated in, The Low Life. As the affair unravelled, another Wally Squad Judge Aimme Nixon, a somewhat troubled and conflicted woman was taken by the yakuza of Hondo Cit and it very much looked like she had handed the yakuza the Low Life on a plate as the rest of Frank's former friends and colleagues were either arrested because of his investigation or killed as the yakuza took over ousting the former crime bosses with some ruthlessness.  The storyline ended with Frank's career as a Judge hanging in the balance as the panel of Judges reviewing the events decide what to do with him now the Wally Squad has become so utterly compromised.  This story picks up from there as Frank makes the titular deal to keep his job if he alone can bring Aimee Nixon back from Hondo Cit a mission that is as surely as suicidal as take the "Long Walk".  This storyline is collected in Megacity Undercover Vol. 3.

Just a quick note, throughout this story Frank is being followed by a persistant hallucination of a Judge with "SJS"  (Special Judicial Squad) on his helmet.  They are the internal investigations department of the Judge system and you can find out more about them here.  Anyway, let's begin.  Frank is sleeping and suffering a nightmare which ends with him surrounded by samurai and a man say "We have taken everything from you... your home... your friends...your life. Come. Take it all back".  But all Frank can say is "I can't.. I'm scared" and the man stabs him while Dredd says to him "because it's not death... is it Frank?" and Frank smashes his way out of the sleeping tube he's in.

We then cut to Frank, clean and tidy in his Judges uniform listening to the assessment and judgement being passed upon him.  He is told that although his achievements in a highly dangerous arena are impressive, his "eccentricities" had made his superiors think it was time to end his tenure as an active Judge in the past and only the intervention of his Wally Squad handler had saved him.  However with his handler revealed as corrupt during the yakuza takeover of the Low Life  now it isn't the finest endorsment.

The Long Walk?

The speaker says it has now fallen to them to decide whether he should be allowed to return to his undercover duties.  Does he think that his eccentricities can be curbed to fight departmen standards of practice. 

Frank: "Dirty Frank - ahem - Judge Frank believes his actions as a Judge should speak for Dirty Frank."

Judgement is then passed. He will not be returned to undercover work, a "clean slate" is needed in the Low Life.  And as his more "esoteric character character traits" can't be ignored and he is found to no longer be "mentally competant to hold the badge."  His tenure as a Judge is now over and he has the option of taking the "Long Walk" if he wishes.  Frank intially does decide to do that and as he walks towards the gate leading out to the Cursed Earth, he stops right on the edge, turns and says "Dirty Frank has a deal for you".

We rejoin Dirty Frank sitting on a commercial flight to Japan's Hodo City aimably telling a terrified woman his theories about destiny and death and what might be the final thoughts of everyone if the plan crashed or extra-dimensional zombies ran amok inside, before thoughtfully confessing "Dirty Frank has never had sex."   As the plane reaches Hondo Cit we get a flashback to the deal he offered.

Arriving in Hondo-City, Japan.

He told the panel of Judges that he'd be dead in days after taking the Long Walk. He says although it is a noble end for a uniformed Judge, he is Wally Squad.  He deserves his own "unconquerable undercover challenge" and sending him to Hondo to infiltrate the yakuza's operations within their own Low Life and bringing back Aimee Nixon would be his.  What do they have to lose?  One Judge says it would be suicide, Frank says so is the Long Walk, so once again "what do you have to lose?" And so they accept.

He leaves the airport and is distracted by his first vision of the SJS Judge and a hover car runs him down. "This is all mildly disappointing" he thinks to himself as he lies in a pool of blood.   He sees angels in the sky and is about to "ascend" when a large man grabs him and a woman tells him to get Frank in the roadster before the Judges get there. Frank is chucked in the boot and as Frank contemplates the pain he feels in his legs and abdomen they drive off and he finally passes out.

Rescued by Yukiji and Mini-Inamoto.

He wakes briefly to see a masked surgeon standing over him "but mostly there is nothing... nothing but relief". Then he wakes again to the shouting of a the woman who abducted him saying "you just give up an lie there?  Their first move is enough to beat you?  You come here just to die?"  Things go dark for Frank again as he just thinks "yes."

Finally he wakes properly to find his shattered legs have been repaired and he is sporting bionic leg braces.  He stands and follows the woman out of the recovery room and she says that the yakuza have infiltrated every part of Hondo Cit life including the Judges.  If the ones at the airport had got to him he'd be dead by now.  They new he was coming and the hit-and-run was an assassination attempt.  She introduces herself as Yukiji:

Yukiji: "There is not a walk of life in this city where someone is not 'one of theirs'. No one can be trusted.  My name is Yukiji.  Ex Hondo-City Wally Squad. The yakuza tried to murder you with a drunk cab driver, Judge Frank. They didn't even bother sending  a hitman. What do you intend to do about it?"

When he explains why he is here, she can't believe that he is alone.  That they have sent just "one pungent, overweight, slow, mentally ill, one-eyed, pungent..."  She says that in Japanese, Frank imagines that the word she said twice was "handsome".

Yukiji lays it all out.

He then finds himself in a sumo wrestling ring with small balls attached to his body facing a sumo wrestler also covered in balls.  They start wrestling as Yukijo says they saved him because they think he can hurt the yakuza.  She tells the sumo wrestler to finish Frank in Japanese, while Frank says he's flattered by her romantic interest in him.  She furious yells, "Kill him! Shut him up for Buddha's sake!"  He says he hopes she doesn't mean it, she tells him the stakes are "bigger than your annoying little jokes Judge Frank."

We then see that their wrestling is being projected into huge kaiji monsters via the balls attached to them using futuristic motion capture. Yukiji then tells Frank a familiar story.  Her Wally Squad was infiltrated and taken over, honest Judges were betrayed and murdered, so she and her friends deserted and went underground in order to survive.

Yukiji: "The yakuza could not be fought.  They were simply everywhere.  They are this society.  We are no longer Judges. We are criminals to be shot on sight.  We are a resistance. And a pitiful one at that."

They here Mega-City One was sending a Wally Squad Judge to infiltrate the operation and they expected a "Super Judge". They knew he would be targeted the moment he arrived in Hondo, so they risked their lives to save what turned out to be a "useless, pathetic old fool."  He must prove he is worthy of their help or there'll be one more dead Judge on the streets of Hondo.  At that, Frank knocks down his opponent then waves his bum at him saying he's "hitting him with my giant atomic lizard tail".

This is awesome.  I want this to be real.

Later she and another ex-Wally Squad take Frank to the Kaiji wrestling arena, his job is to fight well enough that a Mr Kadokawa who is a patron and talent scout of the circuit, to select him for his personal kaiji wrestling team.  Down in the ring under where the monsters battle, Frank has the motion capture balls stuck on him again and faces off against his opponent.  The monster he chose was "one that encapsulates the heroic and noble heart of the pantheon- dwelling warrior that is Dirty Frank".  It's a six-eyed thing that exudes oily residue.

Frank's avatar.

He thinks to himself as the fight begins that if he does get picked he'll be entering the inner workings of the yakuza and his intial misson goal will be complete.  But the idea of impressing the man sickens him, the man is criminal scum that invaded his city, murdered his friends and tore his life apart then only sent a drunk driver to kill him because they didn't think he was worth anymore.  "And Dirty Frank is supposed to impress him?" he thinks angrily and he smashes his monster's fist down through the ring and through the ceiling of the room he is in.   And his monster takes ahold of Mr Kadokawa and then they run off through the streets, Frank closely followed by the monster he is still controlling.

Kadokawa: "You are still wearing the motion-capture balls, you fool!  The amorphous and gooey giant monster mimics your movements!"

Frank: "How often have we all heard that sentence before?"

Kadokawa threatens Dirty Frank saying he'll track down and kill Frank's family, even relatives he didn't know he had.  So Frank drops him and demands to know who headed up the yakuza invasion of Mega-City One's Low Life saying he'll use Kadokawa as a "kaiju monster enema" if he doesn't 'fess up where he is.

Kadokawa tells him it's a mansion called "The Espers" in Otomo province.   Dirty Frank thanks him, the shoves him up the monster's bottom anyway for threatening his Uncle Heinrich.  Then the monster is fired on and lots more sumo wrestlers with their own monsters come chasing after him.  Frank runs, "Dirty Frank robo-legs don't fail him now!"  As he runs the SJS Judge tells him he can't run forever, sooner or later he's going to have to do "the deal."

Aimee Nixon.

Frank runs into a blockade of Judges and scrapes the balls off himself which causes his monster to collapse on them and allow Frank to make his getaway.  We then cut to Aimee Nixon she is being congratulated for integrating so well into the yakuza's business.  The man asks if she is content, "I do not need to concern myself with your loyalties?"  Aimee says he doesn't, "would I lie?"

We then join Frank with Yukiji and Mini-Inamoto, the huge guy who bunged him in the boot of the hovercar, buying tickets for Otomo province.  Yukiji is somewhat annoyed with Frank's rather direct approach to gathering information as well as grudgingly congratulating him on his swift grasp of Japanese.  Frank says, "Dirty Frank rides the daffodil ointment with great aplomb".

Yukiji: "You play the insane buffoon very well so others underestimate you. It's an excellent Wally Squad tactic. I respect that.  But you can still be hugely stupid it seems."

She tells him that she and Mini-Inamoto are risking their lives for him, then gets annoyed that Frank doesn't seem to be listening.  Actually he is seeing the SJS Judge again and it's distracting him.  She asks if when he boarded the flight to Hondo did he honestly expect to survive.  "Good question" responds Frank.

They arrive and recon the mansion, it is heavily guarded.  Yukiji asks Frank if the person he is after is worth it even though he must know she is dead "in one form or another."  Frank says they came to his home, killed his friends and "took away the only thing Dirty Frank knew or could ever be good at."  Mini-Inamoto finally speaks, saying Frank is there for revenge.

Frank with a hard choice to make.

As the others sleep for a bit. Frank then has a talk with the SJS Judge hallucination.  It encourages him to do a deal, Yukiji and Mini-Inamoto are on the yakuza's Most Wanted list.  If he sacrifices them he could get into the house that way.  He tells Frank he knows he's be thinking it, it's the way the world works.  If anyone wants something badly they have to make sacrifices, it's just the way the world works.

SJS Judge: "Corrupt Judges.  Turncoat Judges.  Wally Squad pretending to be something they're not.  Breathing lies like air. There's no idealists in this world.  Not right or wrong.  Just what you are willing to give up to get what you want."

The SJS Judge goes on to tell him to walk up to the gate and tell them where the other two are, it'll be the only way he gets past the gaurd.  Frank takes the "Long Walk" to the front and tells them he has something important to tell them.  But instead of giving up the two ex-Judges he says it's about Aimee Nixon.

Inside the mansion, while several guns are pointed at him, Aimee says it's good to see Frank again. The man in charge is Masahisa Yamaguchi, the man in charge of the Mega-City One Low Life, "albeit from a considerable distance."  Masahisa says how did he find them and what is he doing to Aimee.  She doesn't answer right away until a large man holds a knife to her throat.

She then spins an epic yarn about Frank being the Low Life's secret crime boss.  Masahisa tells the man to let Aimee go and the guards to put their guns down, he says any Mega-City One operation would have to be cleared with the Hondo Judges and as they aren't aware of the reasons Frank is here, Aimee might be telling the truth. She goes on to say that Frank took her under his wing when she joined saying anger could be her cover like madness was for him.

Aimee bluffs on a lethal hand.

One day she was shown that Frank and his crew were so good at pretending to be organised crime they became the organised crime of the Low Life.  She agreed to his terms of joining his team with extra creds in their pockets until his ideas became too eccentric. He was breaking his own first rule and bringing down too much noise and had to go, so she contacted the yakuza to suggest a "buyout of our very profitable organisation".  She was taking Frank to a hit when the yakuza stepped up their aggression and interupted her plan for him.

The large man, Daichi, demands to know why she didn't tell them before, she had said that she was the "big man".  Aimee yells at him that she gave them the Low Life didn't she?  She sold them every connection they had. Masahisa tells them to stop:

Masahisa: "Aimee Nixon has been an exemplary pragmatic and driven ally... after our intial somewhat unpleasant disagreement on terms. Her knowledge of the inner workings of the Low Life has been vital to our operations in Mega-City One."

He says it is an intriguing story, then shoots Frank in the leg.  Aimee babbles that Frank could work with them, he has connections she could only dream of.  He'll make the Low Life more profitable for them.  Masahina shoots Frank again saying "I believe that is a lie."

As Frank writhes on the floor in pain the SJS Judge taunts him, saying that his whole "wacky insane-for-laughs act goes out of the window when you're about to die."

SJS Judge: "That is. If it is an act. Strange Frank. Here you are about to check out and you look terrified it's true. But not because you're about to take a bullet between the eyes. I asked you once what you were scared of.  So what are you scared of Frank?"

Aimee starts sweating profusely, Masahina says this is a pivotal moment for her.  He says she has impressed him and excelled in the yakuza the way she has.  Frank is part of a past, "and your past is dead and gone."

Aimee has to choose.

He says that she needs to embrace her future and commit to it.  So her choice, ask him to spare Frank and their business relationship will be at an end.  Tell him to fire and she will have his total respect as a peer and her star will continue to rise within the yakuza.  He says he is freeing her of a life of conflict, "peace can only be achieved by coming to terms with who we truly are."  He says she knows the answer and has always known, so who is she really?

As the SJS Judge looks on with a bowl of popcorn, Frank pleads with Aimee to save his life, not for him but for her.  She turns away saying "drokk you Frank. Drokk you for coming here. Kill him".   Before Masahina can fire though there is a barrage of gunfire which takes out all the guards and Daichi.  Masahina gets up and sees who it was and finds the dead bodies of Yukiji and Mini-Inamoto who launched the suicidal attack.

Aw, I liked those two.

Frank stands thanks to his robo-leg braces and grabs Masahina saying their names and how they thought he could hurt the yakuza. Yukiji told him to prove that he was worthy of their help.  He then declares Masahina under arrest and for all those he killed in the Low Life and all he killed here, "the sentence is death" and he breaks Masahina's neck. He goes over to Aimee who has sustained a wound to her side and has passed out and he picks her up and carries her out of the mansion and into the countryside.

The SJS Judge tells him he's on his very own Long Walk. Also he looked like a "cold-blooded, super-assassin badass back there".  He could have arrested the guy, but what he did looks awfully like "revenge".  Frank says he'd never had made it out with him as a prisoner, "so Dirty Frank delivered judgement within the statutes of the law." The SJS Judge then says he thinks he knows why Frank didn't go into the Cursed Earth.

SJS Judge: "That place is chaos - and you've got enough of that rattling around in yer smelly head, right? You claim you're an idealist.  But really you bought into the law because you need it. It's what tethers you.  Because you know, without it..."

Frank silences him and says the pandas he can see are trying to communicate using the power of pointing. There is a yakuza hovercar racing behind him.  He puts down Aimee and faces down the car with a gun.  His legs are riddled with bullets but he manages to take the car out. Unfortunately another one is approaching and he is out of bullets.  Then Aimee stands up and takes it out with a rocket fired from one of her bionic arms.  She starts dragging him saying she misses the Low Life.

Aimee wants to go home.

We then get a description of what happened next from Dirty Frank's case notes.  They had found a roadster by trading with a local farmer "in return for some magic beans" and were trying to figure out how to get out of Hondo, Aimee knew too much and could not be allowed to leave. The airports were under heavy guard. Frank was in shock from the pain in his legs and hallucinating, although he managed to tie up and gag the SJS Judge hallucination. Actually the roadster was probably stolen by Aimee, for a greater good, "yet another deal." 

Frank: "For a second Dirty Frank wonders if he wants to live on in a world where idealism is either extinct or never truly existed.  Then he started giggling.  And Aimee passes out".

The roadster goes out of control, they roll and spin off the edge of the freeway as Frank contemplates that in such a postion humans beings will desperately grip onto something, anything "for Dirty Frank it was the purity and clarity of the law.  That was, and remains his totem.  Without them he would simply be... well... insane."

Aimee crawls out of the crashed roadster which as landed on top of a train followed by Frank.  She starts to walk away saying she can't come back with him, "we both know what I am.  They'll send me to Titan".   He crawls after he as she says she hopes he'll make it.  He manages to grab her ankle and dangles her over the edge saying "You.. Are... Under arrest!"

Oh shit Frank...

She points one of her arm guns at him saying she'll do anything to survive, "That's who I am!  I'm the Big Man, remember?"  Frank points out that if she shoots him she'll go under the tracks.  He pulls her up and as they face each other, she shoots him in the chest.  This enrages him and he lunges at her and begins choking her.

Frank: "You!  You betrayed Thora and Mortal! You betrayed the Low Life! Dirty Frank was your friend!  Dirty Frank trusted you!"

The life starts to drain out of Aimee and the SJS Judge reappears and tells Frank he actually likes him and so just this once "I'm going to do you a solid.  Look up".  And Frank, in a spash of vivid colour sees his badge shining in the sky, "oh.  Thank you." he says tearfully.

*angelic chorus*

He lets go of Aimee and when the Hondo Judges try to arrest them, he dives off the train with her saying "corruption has no authority over idealism... not today at least".  And they land in the sea.

The story wraps up with a taxi driver delivering Frank and Aimee to the Mega-City One embassy.  After urgent medical treatment he and Aimee were snuck out of Hondo-City before news of them still being alive could reach Hondo ears. Aimee did a deal to avoid Titan for an Iso-Cube instead.  She was able to give information on the yakuza in Hondo and the Low Life.

Dirty Frank thinks how he felt no accomplishment or joy at returning successfully.  He'd lost another friend and Yukiji and Mini-Inamoto's death weighed heavily, also bullet holes "really bloody hurt, it turns out".

Frank: "He also had no idea if he would be welcomed back into the Justice Department upon returning home.  Beloved justice, that which saved him.  But he was alive, and he was Dirty Frank.  He knew this.  Not many of us can say the same"

Anothre deal and Frank returns home to an uncertain future.

And that brings this arc to an end.  There is a downbeat one-shot set at Christmas which sees Frank back at work but suffering insomnia and PTSD on top of everything else, and losing yet another friend on top of all he's lost before.  The rest of Mega-City Undercover volume 03 is a Lenny Zero story, someone I haven't talked about before because I skipped the first collection.  Check out a future UK comics month to catch that one.  Anyway, this arc is superb.  It manages to juggle a lot of gags and surreal situations with genuine pathos and in-depth character study.  I've said before that Dirty Frank is one of my favourite characters and it's because he is mentally ill.  To often mental illness is treated as something that equals evil, check out Batman's rogue gallery for many examples. But Frank is rigidly moral, cares deeply about his friends, idealistically devoted to the principal of the law and although his condition results in some amusing jokes and situations you never feel like he's the butt of the joke.  You're always pulling for Frank to succeed and despite being the most unlikely hero ever, that's exactly what he is, a mentally ill hero.  Speaking as someone who suffers from mental illness, it's a breath of fresh air to see it being shown that if you find the right niche in life you can survive and thrive even under the often debilitating symptoms of whatever mental illness that is afflicting you.  Of course the whole thing with the visions of the SJS Judge is Frank arguing with himself, recent events have shaken him but just when he is about to kill Aimee in a furious rage his own pysche comes to his rescue and reminds him what's important.  He is Dirty Frank, that's all he needs to know.  I also enjoyed the fun Japanese stuff, all the various cities of the Dreddverse are a mish-mash of current cultural stereotypes and satirise them mercilessly. The art by D'Israeli is amazing, full of warmth and humanity, he is able to draw daft stuff like kaiji wrestling as well as the minutiae of facial expressions and body language beautifully and writer Rob Williams also deserves praise for his continuing work in exploring Dirty Frank's character as part of a fast paced and exciting story.  Highly recommended stuff.

Judge Dredd: Trifecta (2000AD #1803-1812) PART TWO

"I think Mega-City just got replaced" - Acting Chief Judge Hershey

So, where were we?  This is part two of my look at the collected 2000AD storylines that make up the Trifecta book.  Highlighting the three most popular lawmen in Mega-City One, Judge Dredd, Jack "The Simping Detective" Point and Low Life's Dirty Frank. The crossover started with three individual stories for each character which I looked at the majority of in the first post on this volume.  The Simping Detective's "Jokers To The Right"; Low Life's "Saudade" and Judge Dredd's "The Cold Deck". This second post will cover the rest of the individual storylines and the final merged story "Trifecta".  The stories are connected by one main thread, a file is stolen from the Justice Department computers, it contains the list of all the undercover "Wally Squad" Judges currently in operation in the city.  First it is passed to Jack Point, who is left with no option but to sell it on for five million creds before attempting to flee offworld. It is sold onto a crazy sharkheaded businessman called Mr. Overdrive who is building a secret city on the moon, and it is here that Dirty Frank found himself a fully paid up member of Overdrive Inc's board but his cover has been blown and he's been captured.  Judge Dredd for reasons yet unknown allowed the file to be transferred to the moon, and his enemy within the department - the head of Black Ops, Judge Bachmann - is going to have her Judges massacre the Wally Squad to have a nice juicy tragedy that can be blamed on Dredd and consolidate her power grab for The Wally Squad and other undercover departments.  However there seems to be a mystery person pulling the strings of our three heroes, revealed only as someone sipping tea and dunking biscuits...

The Judge Dredd story is written by Al Ewing and the art is by Henry Flint.  The Simping Detective is written by Simon Spurrier and has art by Simon Colby and Low Life is written by Rob Williams and has art by D'Israeli.  For the final united storyline, all three writers are credited while the full colour art is by Carl Critchlow.  The front cover to this lovely hardback edition is a lenticular one which shows Judge Dredd and when tilted Dirty Frank and Jack Point appear reflected in his visor. And big thanks again to my very good pal Lucy who lent me this book and is a walking repository of all knowledge 2000AD.

The oranges of Dirty Frank

There is a flashback to when Dirty Frank was rescued are a mission on an ice planet went wrong in a call back to one of his stories in Mega-City Undercover 2: Living The Low Life.  He has lost his eye.  The mysterious tea drinker is there, he strokes Frank's face and says "you were the only one to make it back.  I'm very proud of you".  And he smiles.  Frank rambles about seeing a snowflake, he can still see it even though his eyes are covered.  The strange man says:

Mysterious Man: "You know if an individual makes the total decision to become someone else. There is really no need to remember who one was previously.  Or what one saw.  Wally Squad. I think Judge Frank I could use someone in Wally Squad."

We then return to the present.  Frank has been stripped to his undies and his arms manacled above his head. Mr. Overdrive is vexed that they have been torturing him for almost a day "and still not crying.  It's undermining my enormous position of authority."  Frank is zapped again and Mr. Overdrive demands to know who Frank is as he is not on the list and did spend millions to join Overdrive Inc.

Mr. Overdrive: "Who sent you? WHY ARE YOU HERE!"

Frank: "Genuinely haven't a clue chum."

"Bah" responds Mr. Overdrive saying he is displeased by Franks lack of ability to please him. Then a freaky looking telepath creature reads Frank's mind and informs Mr. Overdrive that, "he was not lying. He genuinely is an idiot."

Frank gets to kick arse in his pants.

But it can detect a psychic block in Franks mind.  It pushes at it while simulteneously pressing the lump on the back of Franks head.  This causes lasers to erupt from Frank, releasing the manacles and stunning nearly everyone there.  Frank takes down the crocodile guard, while repeating the mysterious mans words to him back when he lost his eye.  He brings up the list of Wally Squad Judges and asks if they are being eliminated.  A dazed Mr. Overdrive says yes.  "Nice one" grins Frank.

Back with Jack Point, he is still at the Church of Simpology, reflecting on the high level of Simping there that puts him to shame.  He is led to a machine that will have him undergo "idiocy auditing" so he can be fully initiated right away.  The woman tells him to "Surrender to the heart of the God City".  Jack wonders why people keep saying that, then is zapped by the machine.  He is shown that:

Jack: "Real Simping's not about blending into a mad city.  It's all about serving it"

The city needs support, needs sacrifice.  The Church Of Simpology is the first wave, sending people to spread the word and when the Meg is full of believers, "turn their eyes to other flocks."

Jack: "Joy through jokes.  Serenity through stupidity.  Obedience through idiocy."

After this brain washing he is left alone in a room to process it.  He reflects that it's dumb but isn't hurting anyone and that he also "looks forward to bringing the true and mighty word of the God City to the heathen masses."

Wonderful use of colour.

His shuttle is almost prepped for takeoff so he can "spread the word of the Urban Paraclete as intended".  He leaves a message for DeMarco saying he is running away.  He opens the door and the mysterious man who has been stalking him is in the doorway.  They briefly struggle, then the man shows him his Black Ops Judges badge.  He tells Jack to yield and Jack does so.  The Black Ops Judge raises a blue sword up behind Jack and Jack says "go for it. Amen".

Judge Dredd goes to Bachmann's office and places her under arrest for crimes against Mega-City One.  For embezzlement, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, sedition and aiding and abetting in the murder of Judge Franklin Breyer.

She says she hopes he as evidence for all these accusations or it won't look good for him.  He says "I've got enough".  He then flashes back to a radio conversation with the mysterious tea drinker.  The mysterious man says he intercepted the Wally Squad list and swapped it for a "kill list".

Mysterious Man: "Everyone you have marked for death in the brave new world of ours.  The neer-do-wells.  The problem children.  Those making our post chaos world more chaotic."

Back in the present, Dredd tells Bachmann she never had the Wally Squad list and the people on it were people Black Ops would have killed eventually.

When she says he has no proof, Dredd says on the list was a paranoid gun runner who had a recording device in his leg and he taped the Black Op Judges appearing, calling him Wally Squad then shooting him.  Bachman says that is circumstantial.  Dredd says they also have proof that she was embezzling funds to an off-world corporation that bought the list and was to execute Jack Point.

Bachmann blusters and enters into a mental conversation with her telepath, and tells her to scan the moonbase.  The telepath says there is a mole there who has discovered the list.  She also says "our partner's starting to panic - I think he's about to launch early".  Bachmann says to tell him to hold off, but the telepath can't reach him.  Dredd says Bachmann has gone quiet, she says her "silent partner is about to do something very silly... time for plan B".  Several Black Op Judges reveal themselves and there is a gun battle that results in Bachmann shooting Dredd several times.

Bachmann's hostile takeover begins.

On the moon, while Frank tells the reader the list isn't a list of Wally Squad, several Black Op Judges burst into a pair of gun runners room and execute them.  Frank gloats to Mr. Overdrive that he was sold a dummy list to draw his plan out into the open.

The Black Op Judges close in on his location and Frank shoots a warning shot at Mr. Overdrive to get him to close the doors.  He downloads all financial and employee records as well as blueprints of Overdrive Inc. 

Chomp!

He tries to get Mr. Overdrive to tell him who his contact in the Justice Department is but Mr. Overdrive bites him.  Dirty Frank pistol whips him and is let go then makes his getaway back to Luna-1 in a taxi.

Mr. Overdrive: "They know!  Intiate Operation Overdrive! NOW!"

While Frank zooms back to Luna-1 the ground starts to rumble and his taxi is knocked over.  Dirty Frank spills out, still clad in his clinging space suit layer and sees Luna-2 bristling with guns, and rising up.

Frank: "Well Dirty Frank didn't see that coming".

We return to Jack Point.  His would-be assassin says he doesn't understand why Jack wasn't on the list they bought. Jack thinks that the "God-City's deemed my clogs gotta pop", and he is willing to be killed.  Then his computer slate beeps and it's a message from DeMarco, she says she doesn't want to lose him.

DeMarco: "I love you.  You...you ridiculous Gruddamn mess.  Don't you go anywhere.  Don't you give up.  On anything."

Jack gets his own back.

This snaps Jack out of it.  Meanwhile his assassin has been distracted by a call that phase two of the operation may launch early.  He is told to "complete your present mission.. converge on the Grand Hall and prepare for war."

As he is told this, Jack grabs his blade and stabs him through the throat.  He thinks to himself afterwards:

Jack: "I've defied the Mighty Metropolis.  And all the fleshy fem fantasies in the world won't fix that.  How do ya break a holy hypno habit?"

He realises Judge Folger had the same indoctrination.  He feels enormous guilt as he defies his conditioning.  He goes to Mr. Turner, the Archmime's office and it is empty.  He overhears Turner saying everyone gets an accelarated revelation.  There will be a need for cannon fodder on the street.  Jack Point thinks about the city and comes to a conclusion.

Jack: "Mega-City One man.  It's about being part of the machine.  Not above it. Not below it.  In-drokking-vested. You don't need religion to make it work.  Not anymore 'n you need a Gruddamn badge."

And he accesses Mr. Turner's computer records and discovers he has supplied sleep machines to every Judge Sector House in the Meg.  He sees something names "Full Revelation Protocols" has been activated and that Turner has been brainwashing Judges.  Then he is told his shuttle is ready to take him off-world.

A brainwashed army of Simps.

Back with Dredd's story, Bachmann's Judges are converging on the Grand Hall.  Hershey calls a lockdown but Bachman calls her to say:

Bachmann: "Carolyn Bachmann here.  Just calling to tell you that I'm ready to take over running the city now.  Short notice I know..."

She also tells her she has Dredd, badly injured but alive.  Hershey says "for Grud's sake.."  But Bachmann says Grudd is outdated.  She has invented a diety, The God City. Good citizens will live in Heaven above the city in Luna-2.  Meanwhile the old city, Mega-City One, will be Hell, "an endless prison for those who resist me."

She tells Hershey Mega-City One "doesn't work.. it's as simple as that."  She offers Hershey ten minutes to surrender.  She orders the triggering of the indoctrination program from the altered sleep machines which will put more Judges on their side. "In ten minutes I want a wave of fresh bodies as brainwashed as you are" she tells her Black Op Judges.

Bachmann outlines her plan to Hershey.

She then gloats over Dredd who struggles to speak.  He tells her "There are no rules, all there is -  is the law."  He then speaks the message "Bullet to King Four".  He tells Bachmann she made two mistakes, one was underestimating him, the other was picking an office next to accounts.

Suddenly a hole is blown in the wall by a Judge Maitland who says "Accounts Division.  Consider this an audit."  She fires a smoke bomb and in the confusion she and Dredd make their getaway.  Bachmann sends some goons after then, ordering their execution in the name of the God City.  Maitland and Dredd stagger along, Dredd though is more injured than they realise and he collapses and falls down a flight of stairs.

Accounts to the rescue!

Dredd's "Bullet To King Four" message is also heard by the tea sipping Judge who says "Saudade".  Frank also hears the message and it opens the psychic blocks in his mind and tells him his purpose.  He recalls being in a meeting with Dredd and the mystery Judge.  They knew Bachmann was connected to what was going on on the moon. So Dirty Frank was given a memory wipe and a psi-chip in the lump on his head for protection.

Frank returns to the present and notes he is bleeding badly and the space plastic won't allow him to stop it.  He contemplates the chip in his hand with the records of Bachmann's wrong doings on it.  But Luna-2, bristling with guns has taken off to attack Mega-City One.

Frank takes a running leap off the surface of the moon to catch Luna-2 but flies past it.  Thinking he is going to die he bursts his space plastic suit and the blast of released air pushes him towards the city.  He finds an airlock door and thinks to himself:

Frank: "Everyone has to have faith in something.  Damaged, brutalised and diseased perhaps. But it's still Dirty Frank's city.  And it will not die today!"

Walking on the moon.

Jack's story shows us that Mega-City One has gone into panic over the approach of Luna-2.  Jack says it's not his problem anymore.  His shuttle takes off, but is shot down by Luna-2. Mr. Turner reports this fact to Bachmann.

But Jack is still alive, he insists he has a premonition and didn't board the shuttle because of that and not what is being done to his city.  He discovers a room full of indoctrination machines and realises the people from the Church Of Simpology were just "guinea pigs".  He wonders what caused the "kink" that forced the hand of whoever is behind this.  He aborts the Revelation procedure and then opens the door to make his getaway only to be confronted by an angry Mr. Turner.

Mr. Turner is displeased.

That concludes all the separate storylines.  The story now merges into one full colour strip starring all three protagonists drawn most excellently by Carl Critchlow, who manages to be blend the three art styles extremely well.

We get a quick catch-up of the situation with the three characters.  Dredd is still injured, Jack Point is fighting Mr. Turner and Frank has a rapidly depleting air supply and is trying to get into Luna-2 the flying city.

Frank: "A giant shark shaped supercity, heavily laden with alarming weaponry, descending on your beloved city with the intent to destroy and presumably replace it."

He manages to get inside, helped by the crocodile headed guard who fixes up Franks arm to pay him back for the kindness he showed him as part of Overdrive Inc. board.  Frank asks to use a phone.

Judge Smiley revealed.

The injured Dredd flashes back to the mystery Judge being introduced to him year ago as Judge Smiley, head of Black Ops.  Then later he was considered missing presumed "ate" during a zombie attack on Mega-City One.  Then he reappeared when it became clear Bachmann was planning a coup and bought Frank and Dredd in on his plan.

Judge Maitland patches up Dredd best she can, as the brainwashed Judges attack they move on with Maitland saying that one minute she was filing cards next she remembers everything about "working to bring down Black Ops with a guy with a biscuit fetish".  Dredd says Smiley put the hypno-implant in her mind blocking the memories until the right trigger phrase was heard via the radio in her tooth.

Maitland: "Seriously? I had brain surgery for you?"

Dredd: "Not for me Maitland.  For the Law."

She asks if it is just them and "Mr. Biscuits" against an army of religious ninjas.  While Frank finds a phone and contacts Dredd informing him of the situation.  Luna-2 was built with Overdrive and Bachmann's money, there are many armed mercenarys aboard, it has cutting edge weaponry "we have nothing that can stop them".  Dredd responds, "we have you".

The Simping army.

We return to Jack Point who is losing his fight with Mr. Turner.  Then suddenly someone shoots Mr. Turner dead.  It is one of the Simps Jack reversed the mind control on.  When they ask what to do next Jack wants to escape.  But then something in Mr. Turner's pocket starts making a noise.

It is the tooth removed from Jack when the joined the Church.  It broadcasts the message "Bullet to King Four" and he remembers his part in this, being told by Smiley he'll be "useful".  He needs only to receive an artefact and fall from grace.  In the present, Jack realises he is still a Judge in that case, "Gruddamit!"  He orders the Simps to gather weapons and deputises them.

Hershey and the other Judges holed up in the Grand Hall spot Luna-2.  They realise they cannot win in a battle against it.  She tells them to launch everything they have at it bar nukes anyway.  But they can't penetrate the city's shields.  Luna-2 opens fire in response.

On board Frank has another flashback to Judge Smiley telling him "there is something very important I need you to remember eventually."  Frank recalls the word "Saudade".  he uses it to bypass the security on the computer he is trying to access as the guards close in on him.

Quick, Dirty Frank!

Back with Dredd and Maitland, they are in a firefight with the brainwashed Judges.  Jack arrives on the scene with his armed Simps.  Dredd tries to arrest him but Jack says he is "parta the team".  He says if he can reach Control he can reverse the brainwashing sleep machines. 

Dredd can't believe Smiley "sent a Simp to save the day".  Jack calls Larf who isn't dead and DeMarco appears and hugs him.  Dredd sends them to Control while he and Maitland will make their way to Hershey and hopefully Frank can succed in his attempt to sabotage the city.

Jack and DeMarco make it through the chaos to Control and deactivate the sleep machines. Jack reflects that Judge Smiley knew he'd act out of self-preservation and used that, "knew I'd play the whole thing selfish".  And that he'd find the Church of Simpology and when it came down to it he'd "do the right thing drokking thing.  Stay with my city."  He apologises to Larf for abandoning him before and Larf licks him.  He leaves the Simps holding the fort as he has something he has to do.

The battle for Mega-City One.

Onboard Luna-2, Mr. Overdrive confronts Frank telling him he wants to see him die.  Frank says "Saudade.. silence all weapons and disable shields.  Stop firing, that is an order."  Frank is now the majority shareholder in Overdrive Inc as of twelve minutes ago when he bought out the rest of the board members and he now controls Luna-2.

The shields down, Mega-City One's missiles start hitting the flying city.  Mr. Overdrive, enraged beyond belief lunges at Jack.

Mr. Overdrive: "You are not successful.  Name one thing you have that I cannot buy!"

Frank: "Justice"

Mr. Overdrive is also displeased.

And someone off panel shoots Mr. Overdrive through the head.  Some Judges have flown up to the city and it appears it was one of them who shot Mr. Overdrive.  Frank tells them to get the crocodile headed guard and the members of Overdrive Inc off the city as it crashes into the ground outside Mega-City One.

Dredd and Maitland make it to the Grand Hall where Hershey is still alive.  After bringing her up to speed with events, Jack Point and Dirty Frank also arrive on the scene and together they go to take on Bachmann.

Badass team-up.

Bachmann appears saying they are in hell right now, that hell being Mega-City One.  She wanted a "pristine floating heaven" a heaven for everyone.  She manages to fight off Jack and Frank and tosses a stun grenade that floors Hershey and Dredd.

She starts beating Dredd with her fists, but he just tells her she shouldn't have got distracted and Judge Smiley shuts her up by blowing her brains out.  He introduces himself to Hershey. He's been living in the walls for twenty years:

Smiley: "I was put in place as a failsafe, you see. A Judge to judge the Judges - that was my role.  I felt I'd perform it more efficiently from behind the scenes."

Checkmate from Smiley.

Frank confronts Smiley saying he could have had him take over Overdrive Inc right from the start but he allowed things to play out to draw out Bachmann and countless people died.  Smiley makes reference to Frank seeing something in a blizzard and stymies Frank for now.

Hershey meanwhile is angry at Dredd for nearly allowing a coup to take place, "because you didn't trust me."  Jack and DeMarco take off for some sexy time together, while Dredd, Maitland and Frank contemplate the city.  Dredd says maybe it is hell, but Frank says they'll never abandon it, "it is... home."

Dredd: "Come on.  We've got work to do."

The Big Meg always endures.

And that brings this epic to an end.  What an awesome book this is.  Just the art makes me drool, one of the reasons I found mainstream US comics so hard to enjoy back in the day was the uniformity of the art in that bland "Marvel" style, I preferred DC at the time because they seemed a little more adventurous with their artists and the indies of course like Cerebus, American Flagg and the Turtles.  But I loved 2000AD so much for having no set house style allowing artists to express themselves indivdually and giving me something new with each story.  Having four artists working on this series shows the continuing strength of that approach, it's all wonderful stuff even if I do have to pick a favourite and say I can never get enough of Rob Williams and D'Israeli's Dirty Frank the grubbiest lawman in the Big Meg.  But really it's all fantastic.  And the writing does the art justice, an interesting MaGuffin linking the storylines, a shadowy figure pulling the strings, a clever plan to trick a corrupt senior Judge, a crazy plan to use a mooncity and brainwashed Judges to bring about a change in rule of law in Mega-City One and a fantastic climatic storyline seeing Frank, Jack and Dredd coming out triumphant at last.  Of course there was a heavy cost, but that's 2000AD for you, if you want sunshine and rainbows read Adventure Time (not a diss against Adventure Time, just noting it's more upbeat nature). Wonderful stuff, a real epic treat that is everything good about 2000AD in one hardback volume.

And that's it for this year.  The first full year I have written this blog and I do enjoy sharing the somewhat random collection of comics from my bookcases with you sexy, sexy people.  Join me in 2016 for more Obscure Alan Moore, blatant Garth Ennis favouritism, manga, superheroes, hot babes, hunky men, guns, swords, political commentary, cute animals, boobs, blood and lots of fighting.  Merry Christmas all, have a seasonal kitty cat pic with bonus geek reference.  See you in the New Year!

Judge Dredd: Trifecta (2000AD #1803-1812) PART ONE

"It's a dead end. You stupid, fey, upright man crocodile!" - Dirty Frank

This is a story of all branches of the Law in Megacity One, an epic tale that ran in three series - Judge Dredd, Low Life and The Simping Detective - set in the aftermath of the massive series "Day of Chaos" that wiped out a big proportion of Megacity One.  Judge Dredd the fascist lawman surely needs no introduction.  I've covered the antics of Judge "Dirty Frank" the quirkiest member of the extremely quirky undercover "Wally Squad" from the "Low Life" series in a previous post.  The third character who I am not so familiar with is "Jack Point" the titular "Simping Detective", another Wally Squad Judge undercover as private investigator who likes to "Simp" as part of his diguise, the word meaning to dress like a fool or a simpleton in Megacity slang (and of course it's a play on the title of the famous Dennis Potter play "The Singing Detective").  The three stories start out seemingly seperately.  Judge Dredd dealing with a potential powergrab from within the system.  Dirty Frank waking up on board a space station to find himself a board member of an organisation called "Overdrive Inc" and Jack Point given a mysterious doll to keep safe.  Gradually the three strands begin to weave themselves together into an explosive finale.  The collection has the chapters in the order they should ideally be read in, meaning it jumps back and forth from colour to black and white and each series has it's own distinctive artwork. The credits are as follows: Judge Dredd is written by Al Ewing and the art is by Henry Flint.  The Simping Detective is written by Simon Spurrier and has art by Simon Colby and Low Life is written by Rob Williams and has art by D'Israeli. The front cover of the hardback collection is a lenticular one that shows Judge Dredd, and when tilted Dirty Frank and Jack Point appear as reflections in his visor, very cool. I'd also like to thank my very good friend Lucy McGough for lending this book to me.  Cheers Lucy!

Due to the packed nature of the collection I have split it into two posts.  This first one covers the most of the indivudual storylines - The Simping Detective's "Jokers To The Right"; Low Life's "Saudade" and Judge Dredd's "The Cold Deck". The second one will cover the rest of the individual storylines and the final merged story "Trifecta".

Kazan.

The story begins with a prologue chapter - "Bullet To King Four" - with Judge Dredd arriving at the Grand Hall Secure Wing.  When one of the Judges present questions the need for so much security Dredd orders him reassigned.

Dredd: "We're not taking any chances with the clone of War Marshal Kazan".

Dredd speaks to the prisoner, Kazan is a little old man with a chessboard.  Dredd asks him about someone called "Borishenko".  Kazan says he never met him and that as Dredd's enemy he had "little to look forward to but my death.  Hence my defection".

He became a valued itelligence asset but Dredd says he never told them anything about Borishenko they didn't already know.  Kazan says he has been confined for seven years, "my knowledge of underground guerilla factions is not what it was."  Dredd says he's "dead weight" then.  Kazan assumes Dredd has lobbied to have him executed.

Dredd: "I've tabled it.  The sooner you're gone the better I'll like it.  Unfortunately we've other fish to fry."

Kazan says he has heard of the Council changes and maybe his gift for strategy can be useful to Dredd still.

Mega-City Justice business.

At an Interim Council Meeting several hours earlier, the assembled Judges discuss Dredd's petition to have Kazan, who let them down, executed.  Dredd is ordered to meet him again by the acting Chief Judge Hershey and once she has an updated report she'll make a decision.,

They then move onto plans to merge all the seperate Judge divisions into larger entities.  There will be a new Undercover division uniting the Wally Squad, PSU, SJS and Black Ops, and headed by someone called Bachmann.  Dredd is not happy about this, "it's like putting a cockroach in charge of the exterminators".  But the Acting Chief says he has no proof.  She says the Chief Judge position is open still if he wants it, but if he doesn't want to burdens of Council membership, he doesn't get to make decisions.

Back with Kazan, he sets up the chessboard but his comment to Dredd, "perhaps you cannot see the real game at all" causes Dredd to shoot the chessboard to pieces.  Dredd then leaves and gets a strange message over his radio from "a little glowing friend".  Dredd seems to recognise who it is and the voice says, "let's you and I sit down and have a nice chat."

Mr. Mystery contacts Dredd.

We then join Jack Point, somewhat hungover.  In his best Raymond Chandler style he introduces himself as being "all about the funny" and that in "a city like the Big Meg, crazy's a kind of camouflage".  He goes outside and bumps into a hugely fat woman, who says she's supposed to give something to a "badgepoint, a prophet of Megatopia".  Jack is confused and when the woman thinks he is signalling someone she gets angry and attacks him.

They fight and Jack calls his backup, an alienform velociraptor called "Larf".  The woman is subdued and as she lies dying she addresses him as "Judge Point".  She hands him a small doll in the shape of a jester and she pleads, "please! Take it!  The Broomcupboard bitch wants it".  She tells him that someone made her steal it. Then she dies and under her torn clothes is revealed a Judge's badge.  Jack takes the doll as someone spies on him from afar and thinks:

Jack: "This job? You weren't already a fool, youda quit years ago."

Jack Point meets the disguised Folger.

Then the action cuts to Dirty Frank dreaming he is back working the streets.  He is woken up by a robot butler.  He gets out of bed confused and walks to the window to find he is on a moonbase. "Oh.  Well that explains it" he says to himself.

The butler returns telling him "they are waiting for you" and Frank puts on a suit.  He goes into the boardroom and the robot introduces him as the newest boardmember of Overdrive Inc, "as per the terms of his recent contribution."  When a somewhat disbelieving boardmember questions this and asks Frank his net worth, Frank says "Dirty Frank has teddy."

Dirty Frank somewhat out of his depth.

The robot directs everyone to check their tablets for details on Franks contribution and they are all impressed.  He comes and sits at the table and it takes off to another location with everyone sat round it.  As they travel, Frank finds a large lump on the back of his head.  They stop at a new location and are introduced to the CEO of Overdrive Inc, "Mr. Overdrive" a humanoid shark.

Frank: "Dirty Frank is genuinely scared now".

Back with Jack Point he returns to his office, depressed that he killed a fellow Judge he starts to drown his sorrows.  He's called by his local Sector Chief who calls him and "abomination and a travesty" and that he has something he wants - the doll.  The Judge has taken something of Jack's in retaliation.  And shows him a tied up fellow PI called DeMarco, "kinda my girlfriend" thinks Jack.

He agrees to trade the doll for her safety and goes to where she is being held.  He hands over the doll, but the Judge betrays him and decides to kill them both.  But DeMarco shoots him with a laser hidden under her tongue and kills him.  Freed, she departs telling Jack to throw the book at him.

DeMarco is grateful for her rescue.

Jack admits to himself he has no idea what's going on.  A jester doll, a fat chick "and a buncha radrooks talkin' religious."  He thinks it's a setup and is rewarded by a gang of armed religious fanatics turning up saying "Hallelujah" and they detain Jack. "Aw hell" he grumbles to himself.

Dredd meanwhile is out doing his job, but is distracted.  A Judge called Buell comes along and informs him that the acting Wally Squad head Folger has been found dead in a "chem pit".  Forensics say she had "deep tissue body alteration" so she was undercover but shouldn't have been, she was strictly admin only.

As Dredd deals with more perps, Buell asks if he wants the "worse news".  Before she died, Folger withdrew some "gold clearance file" data.  It's a non-copy file, when it's moved it's gone until it's put back.  Buell says he is reluctant to report it up the chain of command because it means it will end up with Bachmann.

Bachmann!  *shakes fist*

She'll use it as an excuse for a power grab, consolidating the Wally Squad, SJS and PSU under her purview as well as Black Ops.

Buell: "Best case scenario?  Give it five years we're looking at a new Chief Judge who makes Sinfield look like... well, like you... and that's if she wants to play nice."

As he and Dredd talk, we see a bald Judge telepathically monitoring them, "he still thinks we don't know" she says.  Bachmann who is with her smiles, "does he? Good. Very good."

We return to Jack Point. The fanatics point guns at him and cry "Crimes against God! Righteous execution!"  Jack takes off his clown nose and tosses it at them, it explodes and allows him to make a getaway.  He returns to his office and finds his current status is "Rogue.  Detain on sight".  He laughs almost hysterically, "Hahahahahahahaha!  I'm out. I'm out.  I'm out!".

He goes to see a woman called Anne, saying he needs help.  She says the underworld is buzzing, "Stolen artefact.  Collectors offering biiiiig cred".  He shows her the doll and she examines it, while he he asks for a face changing machine, some cash, two weeks in a sleep pod and a route offworld.

Jack Point on the run.

She gives him back the doll saying it's "the real deal".  Only one like it in the world.  She then asks over the intercom if they can help him, but a silky voice says no.  So she shows Jack out, but shakes his hand.  Outside he finds a small, folded piece of paper in his hand, the note says the "helmets" will come for him and to sell the artefact to the buyer whose number is given.

Over to Dirty Frank.  Mr. Overdrive tells the board members he could "rip them to shreds with my awesome teeth" but he won't because he values them.  He then speaks directly to Dirty Frank and a man called "Lom" saying he has not "had the chance to intimidate either of you" before.

He then plays a short film which shows how he made his billions, by patenting the phrase "Don't be a shark, be a great, great white shark" before having his DNA bonded to a real great white shark.  He then went to Luna- 1 and bought all the struggling businesses there and asset stripped them.

Frank is startled.

Dirty Frank manages to get away while this is going on.  Down the corridor he is confronted by a guard with a crocodile head.  He cowers in fright but the crocodile man asks if he has come to check the new arrivals?  Frank blusters that he has and is taken to the teleporter. There are many people there, "illegal arrivals not being processes by Luna-1 customs" muses Frank.

He asks for access to a com unit and accesses his Judge file which says he has no current case on the go.  Bewildered Frank doesn't understand why he is there if not on Judge business.  Then "Lom" grabs him saying how stupid he is for calling up the Judge computer and he's blowing three years of undercover work in Overdrive Inc.  Mr. Overdrive appears and confronts them both saying he knows Lom is Wally Squad and blows Lom's brains out.

Tough luck "Lom".

Now with Judge Dredd, he is with a crippled Judge called Roffman who is having his lower body repaired.  He is a "valued strategic resource" so was put at the head of the queue for body repair.  Dredd muses on the hundreds, thousands rotting in med bays because they weren't considered useful.

They discuss Folger's death, the transponder she had fitted wasn't standard issue anymore because she had moved to admin.  They figure out when she was dumped, but lack a "who" and "why".  Dredd gets impatient and says if Roffman can't find the perp "he'll find someone who can".

Roffman, using the time the transponder activated tracks a robot truck passing by the pit at the time of the dump.  He accesses it's audio memory and gets a fragment of speech, local and which Dredd thinks he has heard before.  "Patois indicates the south-west part of the sector" says Dredd.  Roffman says give him an hour and he can come out with a programme that'll match the voiceprint next time the person opens his mouth.

Dredd gives him fifteen minutes to do it. We cut to the telepath with Bachmann still monitoring them.  She wants access to Dredd's mind but his "mental defences are up".
Bachmann: "No, of course they are.  The man's got a mind like a clenched fist.  I doubt he relaxes to pee."

The file is sold on as Dredd listens.

Dredd is out on his bike when Roffman calls him saying he matched the print and taps into "a robo-janitor at the No-Tell motel opposite Gavin Leahy block. Third floor".  Dredd moves out and gets to the building.  The voice Roffman matched is engaged in a deal for the "Gold Clearence File".  It is being bought for five million creds.  Dredd waits outside the room but for some reason holds back until the file has been sold and moved elsewhere, then the buyer points a gun at the mystery person who sold it to him and Bachmann listening in is pleased the file has been sold.

Roffman: "I don't believe this!  Dredd what in Grudd's name were you waiting for-"

Dredd: "That'll do Roffman.  I'm going in."

Dredd busts in and finds Jack Point as the seller.  He threatens the buyer with getting rough if he doesn't tell him where the file is going and tells Jack:

Dredd: "Charge is treason against Mega-City One.  Solicitation and sale of classified information... and murder of Acting Wally Squad Chief Folger."

Dredd crashes the deal.

While Dredd is distracted by his radio, Jack and the buyer decide to create a distraction and one leaps out of the east window, the other out of the west one.  Dredd decides to chase the buyer, and calls in units to apprehend Jack and if he won't come quietly, they can kill him.

Jack is confident he can't be found on "my streets".  Then he has a strange vision of a tea cup.  "What the hell's wrong with my brain?" he mumbles.  Then he is confronted by another of the religious nutters who has a gun trained on him. "The Urban Parachete demands sacrifice" he says.

Before he can kill Jack, he activates his whoopee cushion which calls Larf who attacks the armed man.  Jack makes his getaway and decides to stop Simping.  Wondering who can help him, he suddenly is confronted by a huge sign for "The Church Of Simpology".  He grins and puts his red nose back on.

Meanwhile on the moon, Mr. Overdrive says he values loyalty and undercover Wally Squad activity is definitely disloyal, hence the need for disciplinatory murder.  Frank has a flash vision of someone sipping tea from a teacup.  "Are you listening to me?" shouts Mr. Overdrive.

Frank: "Sorry.  Dirty Frank drifted off for a bit due to blind panic.  Where were we?"

Overdrive asks him if he should accept Justice Department infiltration at "such a key point of The Project?"  Dirty Frank starts chanting "All hail The Project" and the rest of the board members who have wandered up to see what's going on join in.

Mr. Overdrive shows off his new city.

Mr. Overdrive says he likes the cut of Dirty Frank's jib and says because he didn't object to him killing Lom, he can't be Wally Squad as well.  Not that he thought he was, he has a partner high up in the Justice Department and Dirty Frank was checked out thoroughly.  He takes him to a window and shows him The Project.  It is a city.  All the people illegally transported in are working on it.

Frank: "You're building Luna-2 in a giant moon crater and no one knows about it."

Mr. Overdrive tells FRank it's a "mega-city for this generation" engineered purely for profit.  Mr. Overdrive sheds a tear as speaks of this:

Frank: "And lo.  Even great white sharks shall weep.  Which is a top name for a future Frank power ballads album."

Mr. Overdrive thanks him saying he is moved and says he was right to accept Franks huge donation, for "revolution" doesn't come cheap.

Then someone drops some sort of memory device into Mr.Ovedrive's hand and something "is confirmed from Mega-City One".  The person handing it over says they successfully purchase "the list".  Mr. Overdrive says there is "blood in the business waters".  Frank asks how much.  "Lots" responds Mr. Overdrive:

Mr. Overdrive: "Because Overdrive Inc has just successfully purchased the true identities of every single Justice Department Wally Squad operative and International Secret Agent".

Dirty Frank is determined to save his fellow Judges.

Left alone, Frank realises this is why he was placed on the moonbase with a cast iron backstory.  Because the company are planning the murders of his fellow undercover cohorts.  He tries to call the Justice Department, but the comms are jammed "for the foreseeable future."  Another board member confronts him saying he suspected Frank of something.  Frank muffles him and tells the crocodile guard to eat him.

Frank: "This is how boardroom takeovers are done, yes?"

Back with Dredd he has caught the files buyer and he is interogating him about who he passed it onto.  The perp manages to blurt out it's "the corporate guy from the vids?  You know the guy - he's got a face like..."  Then Bachmann orders a sniper to fire a blast from a "nightmare gun" at him.  The perp sees Dredd transform into something monstrous from his childhood nightmares and dies of a fear induced heart attack.

The Nightmare Gun in action.

Grimly Dredd realises that one of the organisations who use such a gun is the Justice Department.  He calls Rothman to tell him he is going after Jack, but it is Bachmann who replies.  She says Rothman passed on details of the case to her, and she's passed it onto the Chief Judge.

Bachmann: "She's not best pleased.  In fact we'd like you to explain the matter with you in some depth.  Bring your badge.  We may be needing it."
On the moonbase, Frank tries feeding the board member to the crocodile guard, but his gag reflex prevents this, so he ties him up and puts him in an airlock.  "Truly the ruthless business world is a ruthless... business" thinks Frank.  Frank asks the guard where Mr. Overdrive has gone and is told he is off inspecting his new statue and palace in the new city.

Suddenly the alarms go off and the guard comments he has new orders that Frank is to be "captured or shot on sight."  The man in the airlock was able to use a local comm unit to reveal Frank's duplicity.  Frank speeds off as the rest of the guards come after him shooting.

Frank goes space walking.

He burst through a hole in the side of the building and into the outside.  He is coated in a thin plastic space suit which will allow him to "drift pleasantly to the Luna-2 construction site".  As he floats over to it the guards fire cannons at him.  The lump on the back of his head is itching and as he scratches it he gets a flash of a man saying he has a job for Frank.

Frank: "Whoever that is.  Dirty Frank would like to give him a right slap."

He reaches the Luna-2 site and floats down onto a building.  He confirms to himself he needs to find the disc and destroy it, "easy peasy".  As he clambers into one of the buildings though he is greeted by a motley array of alien looking guards and captured.

We return to Jack Point, who has arrived at The Church of Simpology, an obvious parody of the "Church" of Scientology.  He goes to register with a donation and submits to a security check where they find a "bugbot" in one of his teeth which they pull out.  Jack has no idea how it got there.  They believe him and welcome him into the Church.

Mr. Turner - The Archmime.

He is led deeper into the building and is told the mindreader detected he is filthy rich.  So he is being taken to meet "The Archmine", Mr. Turner.  Who turns out to be a man in a tall hat with an extra set of robot arms.  He mimes his speech and the hat translates and speaks it.  He knows all about Jack's woes as the "psi-sweep was remarkably revealing".  Left alone, Jack notes all the drugs and guns Mr. Turner has.

Mr. Turner: "Let's not Drokk around Jack.  My sleazy little cult exists primarly to liberate creds from rich retards, and I'd feel awful about that... if the repugnant skin wastes didn't wind up happier, calmer and more fulfilled in the bargain."

He says he is cynical, but who is Jack to judge, joining a Church just to get a ticket off-world.  And by funny coincidence that ticket will cost five million creds, "ha ha ha" he says.

Tough times for Acting Chief Judge Hershey.

The Acting Chief Judge Hershey is sat in a budget meeting where nationalising the collapsed banks is being suggested.  She flashes back to some prior events about finding a special boy while her mind wanders. Then she snaps back to reality to be told the city is "running on fumes".  She realises Mega-City One is in no position now to demand money from other cities.  It is dying "and she was stuck haggling over a defibrillator".
Dredd is shown in, he passes a Judge Maitland who greets him then has a flashback to having found an overspend in the Black Ops department and unexplained income of a private firm of the exact amount.  She is reporting it to a mystery person drinking tea and seems to have been made to forget it as she shakes her head and wonders if she dreamt it.

Judge Hershey is pissed at Dredd for allowing the list of Wally Squad operatives out into the wild.  She tells him she remembers something he told her when she was eighteen:

Hershey: "I remember you saying the Chief Judge must be pure. Above corruption, and I remember thinking... really?"

She says when you take on the job you quickly become compromised by the deals you need to make.  Also that Kazan's execution has been rejected thanks to Bachmann.

Hershey says Bachmann has been useful to her, "her and her 'specials' - her little psi-talents".  Dredd asks if she ever suspected her.  Hershey says there was nothing to suspect.  Bachmann might be powermad but she has never shown any evidence of illegality and Dredd hasn't been able to provide proof to the contrary.

Hershey is pissed at Dredd.

Hershey says she gave her a council seat to force her into the light.  Now due to Dredd and Buell's actions "she has all the ammuntion she needs."  She is aggrieved that Dredd didn't trust her, she could have forgiven him if he had managed to retrieve the list but he let it slip through his fingers in a mistake even a rookie wouldn't have made... why?  She asks him is he knew it was the Wally Squad list when he let it go.

Dredd: "I won't dignify that with a reply Chief Judge".

She dismisses him "for now".  We then cut to Bachmann who says a "nice juicy tragedy" blamed on Dredd and Buell will allow her to restock the Wally Squad with more suitable people.  She then gives the order to her Black Ops Judges:

Bachmann: "Give the word to all operatives - total annihilation.  I want every name on that list dead.  In less than fifteen minutes the Wally Squad as we know it will no longer exist!"

Dun Dun Duuhh!

And I'll leave Part One on that cliffhanger for now.  What good stuff this is.  The art is remarkably good, especially Rob Williams and D'Israeli's Dirty Frank who has to be one of the greatest recentish creations to come out of 2000AD, and I love the depiction of Mr. Overdrive and their interactions as well.  The Simping Detective parts are as gritty as they need to be and there is an incredibly effective use of small splashes of colour to enhance important details here and there and finally it's good to see Judge Dredd hasn't changed since I last read him, a man with a strict code but some sympathetic qualities as well and an uncanny ability as a detective to use the right resources avaliable and put together clues that other might miss, we know he has a plan it's just a matter of waiting to see how it's going to play out.  The stories are still unwinding separately ready for the final uniting of the three protagonists in "Trifecta" so join me in a few days for the concluding part of this epic crime tale.