Judge Dredd Classics to Get IDW Reprints

IDW announced today that they will begin a reprint program for classic Judge Dredd material not dissimilar to the way they've been reissuing Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles originals in high-quality reprints. The program, which is set to launch alongside their new ongoing Judge Dredd monthly comic, will begin in November with Judge Dredd: The Complete Brian Bolland, a hardcover, black-and-white reprint that collects all of the Dial H cover artist's classic Dredd tales. The book will be available in an oversized, black-and-white hardcover for $49.99. "Fans have been very vocal to us about wanting to first see Bolland's amazing pages in pristine black-and-white," said IDW's Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief and Judge Dredd editor Chris Ryall in a statement. "The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimate Collections presented the original Eastman/Laird stories in gorgeous black and white, and that's what fans have told us they'd like to see here at the start, too. We're happy to give them what they want, especially since Brian Bolland's art is so stunning even without color." However, a color version will be available for fans who would rather see the book presented that way; it will be printed later, and not immediately solicited. "In the spring, we'll do as we did with Classic Doctor Who and TMNT Classics, and release the best Dredd stories as monthly color comics," said Ryall. "So anyone who loved what we did with that material—applying the most modern coloring techniques to these beloved pages—will also be able to re-experience these Dredd tales in vibrant color." While Dredd has been widely available in a number of different formats for decades now, the film version coming out in September has sparked new interest in American audiences, who haven't had a regular ongoing Dredd comic in a number of years. "I first experienced Judge Dredd in the form of the Eagle Comics reprints from the early '80s, so it'll be fun to pay that forward and let a new generation of readers also experience that material in monthly color comics, albeit with the benefit of 21st century coloring and printing techniques," Ryall said.