Getting Started with Judge Dredd

[Lord David the Denied]

First off, it's not what you think.

I've always liked Judge Dredd but never read any of the comics or books except Predator vs Judge Dredd years ago. I'm hoping some of the fans here can direct me to the easiest/cheapest ways to get into the setting and read the stories.

That's it actually, all I wanted.

[IanBruntlett]

Well... there have been some Judge Dredd compilation books. Look on Amazon for "Judge Dredd Complete Case Files" and you'll find plenty.

The Judge Dredd material I do covet, however, is my small collection of Judge Dredd novels - look on Amazon for "Judge dredd dread dominion" and scroll down to the bottom of the page for info on other Dredd novels.

HTH!

[thediceabide]

The Judge Dredd Complete Case Files are a good start, but you have to accept going into it that these are very short (3-5 pages) stories, frequently with little continuity, as well as an annoying comic relief robot with a lisp. Just remember that the context of these was a weekly magazine with many short stories for kids in it. I do recommend reading them though, they are quite entertaining.

If you want something a bit more grown up, the Dredd Year One series is pretty decent, talking about the earlier points in his career, as well as the Judge Dredd Vol 1-3. The illustrations in The Batman/Judge Dredd Collection are also incredibly high quality, and it's a pretty fun read.

[Lord David the Denied]

I knew there were some novels, and to be honest I'd be far more interested in that sort of thing than comics. The medium has never really done much for me. Are the novels tied into the other stories or could they be read on their own?

[DyN]

The novels were mostly pretty good. It helps to have some background knowledge but I don't thin it is vital. One thing I did notice is that the novels do have very different spins on the city - some show the shiny 'city of the future' with the humour of arresting people for sugar etc, with others show a dark city on the edge of of collapse where even murders can be too unimportant for Judges.

[Lovejoy]

I feel prompted to post, because I don't recognise the above comments describing the casefiles (in general) as being true at all..only containing one off stories? eh? No offence, but it sounds like someone has read the first and given up. I've been working through them (up to 12 now from the beginning), so I can safely say that the posters opinion is only true of the first volume, which covers the early days when Dredd was finding its feet.
Since the casefiles document all Dredd stories, they are the true Dredd representation and as they progress you are getting all the huge, epic and as time progresses quite adult stories in there.
In my opinion Dredd Year One is really not the best representation, and you are best off getting the real deal - it's an effort by a interloping writer who doesn't really get what Dredd is. It's not even by Wagner/Grant. I also felt Batman/Dredd stories are essentially played for laughs and do not really feel like either Batman or Dredd stories, certainly not the latter. Just my opinions though, your mileage may vary.
I would pick up Casefiles 4 for the Judge Child Quest, certainly 5 for the incredible Block Mania and Apocalypse War arc. 2 is also of interest for The Cursed Earth saga, but its not as incredible as people say. After that, up to you, since the casefiles are consistently decent from that point.
But look for the big sagas such as Necropolis, Day of Chaos etc.
This page is a great place to start:
http://io9.com/5944097/top-11-essential ... dd-stories