Title: Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham

Written by: John Wagner & Alan Grant

Art by: Simon Bisley

Cover by:  Simon Bisley

Positives:

• Good art style
• Great characters
• Good story
• Good writing

Negatives:

• n/a

Plot: The premise Batman who must stop Judge Death, Scarecrow, and Mean Machine from destroying Gotham, while evading pursuit of Judge Dredd. The story goes at a pretty fast pace with Death entering with a gruesome entrance. The interrogation sequence between Batman and Dredd is pretty intense, especially when it comes to their different views on justice. The Scarecrow teams up with Death to bring terror to Gotham, and the pair are a pretty good match. The story does come to a satisfying ending with the two parting ways with an understanding of the other. (3 out of 5)

Characters:  Batman is pretty badass and he has to deal with a new type of enemy as well as a new type of law.  Dredd is pretty cool, though a bit flat, and he has to deal with a new type of “criminal”.  Anderson is likable, has personality, and definitely compliments Dredd’s more serious tone.  Death is really cool and a good antagonist and his introduction is great.  Scarecrow is pretty cool too. (3 out of 5)

Art Style:  The art style is actually pretty good.  The blotchy paint and color pencil style does look messy but it does give the background a unique look.  It is also good at silhouetting the characters.  An example of this is Judge Anderson being naked but it doesn’t show the details.  Also, it looks great with the gore as well as fire. Death’s design has a grotesque, rotted look that makes him look sinister.  The Batman design is good especially with the elongated ears which makes him look menacing.  Dredd’s design is decent but the armor looks clumsy.  Even Scarecrow looks really badass with the overcoat and the wide brimmed hat.  The cover art looks really good. (4 out of 5)

Writing:  The writing is good and story progression goes at a pretty good pace. The dialogue is good. Despite the gruesome sequences there’s a bit of humor here and there. Pretty good approach when it comes to John Wagner and Alan Grant’s writing which feels grounded, especially with the portrayal of the characters. (3 out of 5)

The Verdict:  In the end, Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham is a good graphic novel.  Watching Batman and Judge Dredd go at it for the first time is awesome, the story is cool, the art design is great, and the writing is good.  Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham gets 3 out of 5.