2080 isn’t that far away, and as a result there are aspects of the novels that feel close to the bone in a way that the comic often doesn’t (current Dredd strips take place in the year 2136). Once I started reading, though, the justification became clear. As with any prequel, I wondered how this trilogy was going to justify its look backwards.
The Judge Dredd: Year One ebook trilogy, which falls into that second category, is set in the year 2080 – 19 years before the first published Dredd comic takes place. Novelizations and expanded-universe novels, therefore, hold a special place in my nerd heart. Stackpole’s Erisi Dlarit was a male-gaze bad girl fantasy rather than an actual character. She even managed to finish the terminally boring Black Fleet Crisis and, albeit not in so many words, agreed that Michael A. Mom and I would often share the Star Wars EU books, so they were a point of connection as well as entertainment. That way I could get more of the characters and universe I loved and discover new characters as well (Mara Jade was one of my first fictional idols). When I saw Star Wars, I moved on to novel expansions of licensed properties. Thus I read the kids’ novelized adaptation of Batman: Knightfall, which I still can’t believe exists – “You know what would be great for grade-school children? A book where someone gets his spine broken and a lady with psychic powers loses her mind!” – and the novelization of Batman: No Man’s Land, in hardcover.
The same went for long story arcs in comics even at eight years old, I knew there was no way that any adult would spend money for me on multiple years’ worth of crossovers and tie-ins. When my mom wouldn’t let me see certain movies or wouldn’t rent/buy them on VHS once we’d already seen them, the novelizations would get me up to speed. Judge Dredd: Year One Omnibus Authors: Matt Smith, Michael Carroll, Al Ewing
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