Day of Chaos
Eric S Brown
Judge Dredd is an iconic character. Created in 1977, his adventures continue to this day in both the UK and America, and one of the most important story arcs is The Day of Chaos (a trilogy- The Fourth Faction, Endgame, and Fallout- available from Rebellion Publishing). However even though it is a modern arc, the groundwork for it was laid around thirty years ago. In the early days of Judge Dredd, the Sovs attacked Mega City One, doing a great deal of damage to it. Judge Dredd and Judge Anderson struck back, destroying the East Meg and nearly wiping out the Sovs completely. Four factions of the Sov military survived and thirty years later, the Fourth Faction returns for its revenge.
When Day of Chaos takes place, Judge Dredd is a member of the ruling council of judges. He learns of the attack being planned and sets out to stop it. Aided by a young Precog, Dredd learns that the Sovs have returned but he is stymied by other members of the council who disagree with him, costing him time he doesn’t have. As Mega City One’s election day approaches, Dredd finds himself one step behind the Sovs’ Fourth Faction, and ultimately fails to stop the attack. Many iconic parts of the city, such as the Hall of Justice, are destroyed and then then comes the true horror. A deadly virus called the Chaos Bug is unleashed in the streets. Over three hundred and fifty million people are dead by the virus runs its course and only Dredd’s actions prevent the entire population from being annihilated.
The Day of Chaos arc is truly a world altering one for the Judge Dredd series. Mega City One falls from being the world’s superpower to a place struggling to survive. Dredd steps down from the ruling council of judges,Judge Hershey returns to take his place, and together they strive to find a way to help the city recover while putting the past destruction behind them.
This is an excellent review! Thank you!
Definitely makes me want to read this one, can I find it as a novel.
No. It’s only available in the original magazine the stories were published in or the three collected trades as mentioned in the article. If you like Judge Dredd though, it’s worth the effort to track them down.