It's just a comic.

So this man is Judge Dredd, the guy I've been spending a lot of time watching, reading and sometimes dreaming I am. He's a total git, and not a very nice guy, but as I said before, he does his job well and he's just trying to make Mega City One a better place.

But one thing that keeps making me laugh, and I'll probably never stop laughing about it, is his hatred of Batman.

He really hates the guy, because he's a vigilante and because Judge Anderson who is perfect stole him instead of him doing time because Dredd was being a sulky bitch and refusing to actually help him save Gotham. The first time they meet, they actually spend the first few pages fighting and insulting each other. I could have read an entire comic about it. There's a picture some way down of their meeting.

Today, I wandered downstairs for breakfast and tea, and there was another Dredd and Batman comic waiting for me, and I swear - and this is a show of how they feel toward each other - that the plot is Dredd cutting across universes to get revenge, because he's still bitter that Batman didn't serve his time. He really hates vigilantes.

I didn't open the comic, because it's in a plastic sleeve, and there's old yellowed tape holding it shut so dust doesn't get on it. The comic itself looks to be in pretty good condition, and the tape doesn't look like it's been touched in years. So yeah, it's probably there for me, but I can't be sure. My brother came downstairs and asked if it's mine, since it wasn't his. I'm guessing dad left it there, or some wonderful being heard I like Dredd and left me a gift, either way.

From 'Judgement on Gotham'. They really have issues.

When I explained why I haven't opened it, he said the tape isn't that well put on, so why not. He doesn't get that stuff like this, it's special to me. I want to protect comics. I have two or three original Thor comics that are in dire need of being put in some sleeves, and it worries me to think about them.

His words, and you may have guessed them from my title were 'it's just a comic'. Really offhand, like there was nothing interesting about the book on the couch.

But to me, it really isn't. Like everything I love, a comic is a way to escape for a little while. It's a way to find out more about a character I adore. Dredd's a right bastard, to be sure, and we're not supposed to really be on his side, because although I don't break laws, he's probably hate my outlook on life. Batman compares him to the Gestapo at some point, which is probably more accurate that I'd like to think about.

But it isn't just a comic. It never is. People have put a lot of time and effort into every comic that comes out, scripting it, plotting it, drawing and inking. The epics, the stories that cover months, they take careful planning. Calling it that, like it's nothing, is not only disrespectful to the way I had been laughing and voicing my thoughts minutes before-hand as I tend to do when overrun with emotions about something, excited as I looked at the cover and murmured 'Joe what the fuck do you think you're doing, this isn't how a Judge is meant to behave, you're such a git', but it's also disrespectful to the people that put the work into it.

I have a lot of feelings for comics, for the way they transport the reader for a litle while, and how safe and comfortable I feel when I'm in a comic store. It's quickly becoming a small hope of mine to work in one when I move. Brighton has to have a comic store. If it doesn't, I'll try for Orbital Comics in London, I don't mind.

So it's never just whatever it is that somebody is claiming not to be important. It exists because people put care and time into it, and that makes it something.

He is the law.

I think, at this stage in my interests, it’s about time to discuss Judge Dredd. Sorry in advance, but this is a comic series I have a lot of love for right now. That, and I'm several days behind on blog posts. So you'd better watch out, I'm going to throw a lot of my own thoughts and ideas around now.

Once of the best things about Dredd is the realism of it. It’s set in Mega City One, after most of the world has been destroyed for some reason that might be about chemicals or something. Outside the mega cities is the Cursed Earth where nobody lives or goes. Mega City One stretches from what used to be Washington to Boston, and there are a lot of people living there. Like, 75,000 citizens. Entire megablocks that can house cities in themselves, full of everything so you don't even need to leave the block if you don’t want to.

It presents a future where everything has gone to shit, and sure, it isn't a great one, but it’s also creepily accurate with the way our world is coming along. And that’s what’s awesome. It doesn't show off a fancy future where everything is lovely, like in Star Trek. I still love Trek, don’t get me wrong. But Mega Cities seem more like where life is heading. Not that we can't extend outwards into the stars, too. Hell we'd need to.

And Joe Dredd – whose name I will never get used to, it’s the lamest thing – is just a normal guy. He’s human, he’s got his own problems. If you cut him, he’ll bleed. And his life is dedicated to cutting down the lawbreakers in the city. It’s not a glamorous job, or a nice one, but somebody has to do it, and he’s the best of the best.

He pretty much has a weird friendship with a woman named Judge Anderson, too, which is sweet. But he’s totally human, he gets angry at things, he understands the law better than himself, and he frowns really really hard at literally everything. And he's sarcastic/sassy as hell.

But an awesome thing about the comic is that he ages properly.  Every year that passes in this world, passes in his own. So he’s actually getting on a bit. There are jokes at the moment that maybe he should let someone else take over, and I think he got diagnosed with some cancer or brain issue fairly recently, but it can be resolved with surgery, so he'll be alright. He has been going a long time.

And the gender equality is wonderful. Judge Anderson is a psychic, and when she's interrogating a criminal in a cell and he starts fighting back, two Judges outside consider helping, but one says she's capable and to not bother, and that's fantastic. Sure, she's also drawn in the half-light with only what barely counts as underwear on in Judgement On Gotham, but it's drawn classy as fuck, and you don't actually see anything, even if it's unnecessary, and Dredd gets a full body shot where his leathers are very tight between his legs, so it feels evened out a little.

The Dredd stories are rarely happy, and I'll be the first to admit they often end badly. But that's another good point in my eyes. The hero is a normal guy wrapped up in armour behind a visor, but he still goes out every day and fights. In one of the christmas annuals, this guy sets off a bomb in a megablock, and they stop the other two, but not that one. And it sucks, it really does, but it mirrors how things really are. They can't get to everyone, he isn't always going to win. And that's usually read by kids around Christmas. The stories never pretend everyone can be saved.

I have a gold - slightly smaller than regulation - Dredd badge on my coat, and I've never worn a badge so damn proudly, because I feel like I can get a lot of strength from him. There are 12 serious crimes reported every minute in that city. That's 17,000 per day, and the Judges only get to around 6%, but that doesn't stop him going every day, fighting crime and being the best of the best. His belief in right and wrong amazes me, and I'm endlessly admiring of him.

As I stupidly told my parents yesterday, and received a short 'don't become obsessed' speech from them for my efforts, Dredd is my hobby at the moment. Dredd's my life, because I've mentioned before about doing what works for you. You do you. And right now, Dredd works, keeps me going. I have a massive amount of comics to go through now, and while it stems from the Karl Urban starring movie from last year, I love the comics in a way I haven't loved comics for a while. I said I wanted to get back into that genre, and here it is.