‘Dream Palace'
Mega City One Year: 2099
Published 20th August 1977, 2000ad Prog: 26 (Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01)
Parts: 1
Script: John WagnerArtist: Mike McMahonLetters: Tony Jacob
Synopsis
Citizens of Mega City One have lots of downtime due to low working hours. One of the ways they kill that time is at Dream Palace, where people are hooked up to dream machines and play out their fantasies in their heads. John Nobody is one such person, and is no stranger to the dream machines, cranking it up to dangerous levels to play out a fantasy of blowing up Mega City One’s Space Academy, lashing out at society as John wants to be anything but a nobody. Two days later, Dredd is presented a case where someone had indeed blown up the Space Academy the previous day.
Although having no leads, Dredd is flagged down by the Dream Palace that assisted John Nobody, and through experiencing Nobody’s recorded dreams for himself, Dredd not only identifies the perp, but also his next crime - to terrorise the upcoming Justice Day Parade, that includes a huge float of a standing Judge, holding a sword above its head. Nobody’s assault begins as he flies in with an armoured hover car. Dredd anticipates this from above, due to the detail provided in Nobody’s dreams, and the hover car crashes on the feet of the Judge float. The resulting crash dislodges the sword from above, plunging into Nobody just as he was lining up to shoot Dredd in the face.
Review
Another nice slice of futuristic science fiction that doesn’t feel a world away today, with the current state of VR technology, but will have back in 1977. We also learn that Mega-City One has 800 million citizens, and few people in the city work more than two hours a day. McMahon’s art is excellent, particularly the parade setup. There is obvious contempt from Dredd towards the Dream Palace, deriding people for spending many a dollar on its services.
Despite being just a five-page strip, the events within it take place over three days, and as a result is paced well, also reflecting Dredd’s desperation and determination to find the lead that finally presents itself. Another corker from Wagner that contains so much.
Line of the strip: Dredd: "Sweet dreams lawbreaker, you really are Nobody now "
Be back next time citizens for : “The Academy of Law - Part 1”