''Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham'' is the first of four Batman and

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of '' 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology comic. He is the magazine's longest-running ...

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

s, published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

and Fleetway Publications in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

. It was written by

John Wagner John Wagner (born 1949) is an American-born British comics writer. Alongside Pat Mills, he helped revitalise British comics in the 1970s, and continues to be active in the British comics industry, occasionally also working in American comics. ...

and Alan Grant, with art by

Simon Bisley Simon Bisley is a British comic book artist best known for his 1990s work on '' ABC Warriors'', '' Lobo'' and '' Sláine''. Early life Simon Bisley began drawing when he was six years old. He is self-taught, with only a short one-year stay a ...

Publication history

''Judgment on Gotham'' was released as a

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

() and has been reprinted a number of times since.

Synopsis

Judge Death This is a list of characters in the British comic strip ''Judge Dredd'' appearing in '' 2000 AD'', ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' and related publications. They are listed alphabetically by surname, in categories. (Major characters have their own art ...

makes a dimensional jump to

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List of Batman supporting characters#Bat-Family, allies and List of Batman fa ...

, murdering two lovers and a police officer. Batman defeats Death, who flees in spirit form. Among the remains of his host body, Batman finds a dimensional jump belt that he accidentally activates, transporting him to

Mega-City One Mega-City One is a fictional city that features in the ''Judge Dredd'' comic book series and related media. A post-nuclear megalopolis covering much of what is now the Eastern United States and some of Canada, the city's exact geography depends ...

, where he is confronted by Mean Machine Angel. As Mean Machine attacks Batman, they are both confronted by

. Mean Machine flees to Gotham using the belt, then wanders into the city looking for Judge Death. In Mega-City One, Dredd arrests Batman for possession of illegal weapons (the contents of his

utility belt A police duty belt (sometimes referred to as a gun belt, "duty rig" and/or kit belt) is a Belt (clothing), belt, typically constructed of nylon or leather used by Police officer, police, Prison Officer , prison and Security guard, security offi ...

) and accuses him of vigilantism. Batman is frustrated at his inability to explain himself to Dredd, until

telepath Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

Judge Anderson Judge Cassandra Anderson is a fictional law enforcer and psychic appearing in the British science fiction comics '' 2000 AD'' and the ''Judge Dredd Megazine''. Created by writer John Wagner and artist Brian Bolland, Anderson made her debut as a ...

scans Batman's mind to ensure that Death is not "hiding" in his brain, and explains Death's nature and motives to Batman. Batman insists on returning to Gotham immediately, and Dredd insists on Batman first serving a 20-year sentence for his "crimes". Batman breaks his bonds and punches Dredd to the floor, before being subdued by several other Judges. Anderson breaks Batman out of custody and drives him to a functioning dimensional gate. Dredd calls for them to be stopped and, when this fails, follows them to Gotham. In Gotham, Batman's enemy the

Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley ...

, and his henchman, Benny, break into the City Morgue to steal the raw materials for his hallucinogenic "fear-toxin". Promised a "feast of fear" in exchange, the Scarecrow becomes partners with Judge Death. After killing Benny, Death attempts to turn on the Scarecrow, who stops him with a dose of his fear toxin (exposing Death to visions of cute, fluffy bunnies and '' My Little Ponies'') and directs him to a heavy metal concert featuring a band called Living Death. Meanwhile, Mean Machine demolishes a bar and is directed to the same concert. As Death slaughters the heavy metal band, Batman, Anderson, and Dredd appear. In the battle that follows, Death is on the verge of killing Dredd when Batman uses a batarang to destroy his physical body while Anderson imprisons his spirit in her mind. Mean Machine, stuck in a berserk frenzy that demolishes the stage, is subdued after a pinpoint shot from Dredd destroys the mood-controlling dial on his head. The Scarecrow is likewise captured. Dredd prepares to take Anderson and Mean Machine back to Mega-City One, and insists that Batman come along to complete his "sentence". They are close to blows when Anderson persuades Dredd to drop the charges against Batman, especially since she warns that Death must be delivered to proper containment before he successfully breaks free from her mind. As they depart, Dredd admits that Batman is a "bit of a tough guy", implying some respect.

Character handling

In this version, the Scarecrow is given a ghoulish, almost phantom-like look, as compared to his contemporary appearance in DC Comics wherein his costume resembled that of a conventional scarecrow. Unmasked, Batman has a number of distinctive grey hairs. Alec Worley, who wrote a trilogy of novellas chronicling Cassandra Anderson's first year as a Judge, wrote in his foreword to the omnibus edition that he first became captivated by her character based on her appearance in ''Judgement on Gotham'', noting that Bisley had chosen to draw her as "more like a musclebound

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

than the chic Debbie Harry lookalike she had been under Brian Bolland".

Reception

Igor Goldkind was ''2000 AD''s marketing consultant at the time and recalls one successful event: ''Judgment on Gotham'' won a number of comics industry awards, including the 1992

UK Comic Art Award The UK Comic Art Award was a British awards for achievement in comic books. Winners were selected by an open vote among British comic book professionals (creators, editors, and retailers); the awards were given out on an annual basis from 1990 to 1 ...

for Best Original Graphic Novel. In addition, Bisley's work on the book garnered him the Best Artist Eisner Award and UK Comic Art Award for 1992. ''Judgment on Gotham'' was also nominated for the 1992 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New, losing out to

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...

's ''

To the Heart of the Storm ''To the Heart of the Storm'' is an autobiographical graphic novel by American cartoonist Will Eisner released in 1991. It tells of Willie's youth as the son of an immigrant family up to World War II. On its release, writer Tom De Haven gave ...

''.

Other Batman/Judge Dredd crossovers

This was the first of four joint adventures, all by the same writers – the other three were: * ''Batman/Judge Dredd: Vendetta in Gotham'' (1993), art by

Cam Kennedy Campbell ("Cam") Kennedy is a Scottish comics artist. He is best known for his work on '' 2000 AD'', especially the flagship titles ''Judge Dredd'' and ''Rogue Trooper''. Biography Following work in commercial art in his hometown of Glasgow, ...

* ''Batman/Judge Dredd: The Ultimate Riddle'' (1995), art by

Carl Critchlow Carl Critchlow is a British fantasy and science fiction comic illustrator. He is best known for his character Thrud the Barbarian, which originally appeared in ''White Dwarf'' magazine, and for his work for the ''Lobster Random'' comics. Car ...

and

Dermot Power Dermot Power, originally from County Waterford, Ireland, is a movie concept artist who started his career as a comic book artist working for British anthology comic '' 2000 AD''. Biography He got his break in comic books when he was commiss ...

* ''Batman/Judge Dredd: Die Laughing'' #1-2 (1998), art by

Glenn Fabry Glenn Fabry (; born 24 March 1961) is a British comics artist known for his detailed, realistic work in both ink and painted colour. Career Glenn Fabry's career began in 1985, drawing '' Slaine'' for '' 2000 AD'', with writer Pat Mills. He also ...

and Jim Murray

References

External links

''Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham''
at 2000 AD online * *
Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batman Judge Dredd: Judgment On Gotham 1991 graphic novels 1991 comics debuts Batman graphic novels British graphic novels Comics by Alan Grant (writer) Comics by John Wagner Intercompany crossovers Judge Dredd storylines 2000 AD comic strips Team-up comics