A great well narrated story I love dread and this is the first audiobook I have tried and certainly wont be the last

Let me tell you, the production, the full-cast audio, the narration, the entire package was just superb. I thoroughly enjoyed this short action packed audio book. It really was a treat.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t know much about Judge Dredd, which meant I had no preconceptions going into this story (which was possibly a good thing considering some of the feedback I read).

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK Audio for a review copy.

I'll start by saying that I'm not the biggest fan of audiobooks. I honestly don't know how people prefer this to reading as my mind wanders or I get distracted and then I have no idea what has been said. But, listening to some good old 2000 AD? I'm going to try my hardest to keep my mind focused!

The first I listened to was Judge Dredd: America, and what a great choice to be adapted into an audiobook. It has a two-hour runtime and the story flows along nicely with little bits of music and FX now and then. It's a straight adaptation of the source material. I've read America a few times in my life and I'm pretty confident in saying that you could pick the comic up and read along with the narration, which is perfect as it's arguably the best Dredd story ever made (if not, it's certainly right up there) and it doesn't need many, if any, additions or removals. It's perfect as it is, even if Dredd is wholly unlikeable in the story. Who said Judges are meant to be liked though?

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As for the performances, the standout is Matthew Jacobs-Morgan’s Benny Beeny with his tragic narration in the second half of the book really selling the darkness of this story and how it has affected people along with his guilt for betraying America.

The real talking piece of this though will be Joseph Fiennes' portrayal of Judge Dredd. He's a good actor and I was looking forward to seeing what he would bring, but unfortunately, I'm not buying it. He comes across as soft-spoken with the occasional bit of sounding grumpy. Maybe it's me and my expectations, but when I read Dredd in the pages of 2000 AD, he's a lot gruffer sounding. One of the bits I truly loved about the 2012 Dredd film was that Karl Urban talked like I've always read Dredd speaking and that's what I want. Fiennes is great, it's a solid performance, but it's not how Dredd sounds to me.

All in all, it's a great listening experience for newcomers and fans of Dredd alike, providing you can accept a softer-spoken Dredd that is. I cannot it seems. It was so close to being perfect and everything I wanted. I still like Fiennes though, and I feel like his Dredd will split opinions. Some will love it, some will be like me and can only accept Dredd sounding deeper and rougher. If this is the standard that they're adopting for their audiobooks though, then I'm very interested in what other comics they'll adapt (other than the 4 others already announced/released).

Growing up my group of friends was obsessed with America and all wanted to move there. They had all been taken in by the glossy American films and TV shows that suggested that even if you were unemployed, you would own a swanky loft apartment. I had relatives who live there and was far more aware of the other side of the country; the race tensions, of families living in a single Motel room, the lack of a safety net. I was not the only cynic and John Wagner’s Judge Dredd: America for Judge Dredd Magazine was a powerful reminder how the medium of Science Fiction and Comics can perfectly distil a contemporary story but set it in the future. Would this excellent run translate into audio?

Mega-City One is one of the few liveable environments on future Earth and houses billions of residents all under the rule of the Judges. Democracy is a thing of the past as ever citizen is a potential criminal. Even so, the idea of a free vote floats to the surface. How will the Judges deal with these radical ideas? With an iron fist or do they give the people what they think they want?

The original America storyline have rightly become some of the most loved Judge Dredd runs and rightly so, as they are excellent. To translate them to a vastly different medium is a risk, but one that Penguin Audio has approached in the right way. For one thing, the quality of the audio mix and acting is exceptional. This is less an audiobook and more audio play. A series of actors play the different roles, and the brilliant use of background noises and audio tricks give you a sense of Mega City One. Close your eyes and you can almost feel yourself living in this oppressive future.

Joseph Fiennes playing Judge Dredd and is the best-known name, but there is not a bad turn by any of the actors. Even those who played numerous roles did an excellent job of differentiating between the characters. The sheer quality of the acting and sound mix makes this a sumptuous listening experience, but also an uncomfortable one. The story that the listener is drawn into is a very dark one.

America has different elements to it, but all have common themes – democracy and America. The stories question the autocratic rule of the Judges, but also queries whether democracy is better. Written in 1990, this storyline is over 30 years old, but it is as relevant today as it was then, if not more so. Sections based on a referendum will remind Brits of a recent decision that this country made. Wagner was able to hold a broken mirror up to the process decades before it was even dreamt of.

This audio version of America is so impressive as it has been able to take the dark humour and cynicism of the comic and recreate it perfectly. You still get that wonderful 2000AD sense of British humour and manners being painted onto an American setting. How Wagner sees America is perfect for Judge Dredd and he uses this series to ask whether Dredd is a hero, or the villain. If this is anyone’s first taste of the character, you may think that Dredd has no redeeming features, they are few and far between, but they do exist.

I can heartily recommend Judge Dredd: America to any fan of hard-edge science fiction. It is an excellent marriage of quality source material with wonderful production. Fans of the character will gain the most from listening as it as close to being immersed in Mega-City One until a VR experience is released as you are going to get, but the standard of writing, acting and audio are so high, that anyone will enjoy it.

For well over forty years now, 2000AD comic’s futuristic law enforcer, Judge Joe Dredd has fought a never-ending battle to impose a semblance and order onto the chaotic 22nd century American metropolis of Mega City One.
Yet there has always been a dark undercurrent to the story. The Judges – effectively futuristic policeman who also have the power to determine an arrestee’s guilt and to impose instant sentencing – clearly rule over what is effectively an undemocratic police state with an iron fist.
Rarely was this more obvious than in John Wagner and Colin MacNeil’s beautiful and heart-rending story, America, which first appeared in 2000AD spin-off, Judge Dredd The Megazine, in 1990. Judge Dredd takes only a villainous supporting role in the tale of the tragic life a young woman, America Jara, told from the point of view of her best friend Benny, who clearly loves her. America devotes her life to fighting a hopeless struggle for the values once embodied by her first name. Sadly, we soon learn that in Mega City One, these noble principles no longer apply, the American Dream is already dead.
This is a first-class audiobook dramatization of the comic story with high production values. Shakespeare in Love star, Joseph Fiennes is not an obvious choice for voicing Dredd but Paterson Joseph proves a strong narrator.
Where I do have strong reservations, however, is in the inclusion of several other democracy-related Dredd stories without any explanation or context. Although they are all good stories and are also adapted well here too, they are clearly not directly part of the America story and it was a mistake to lump them all in together here without any introduction or even any chapter headings.
This failing aside, this is a winning audio version of a classic Dredd tale, which has been given added poignancy by subsequent political events in the years since the stories included were first produced.

America, quite rightly, is one of the most famous and oft-reprinted Judge Dredd stories and so it came as no surprise that it was one of the five stories chosen to headline 2000AD and Penguin Audio’s new range of audio dramas. Despite its ubiquity, I was very intrigued to hear the story adapted into a new medium, especially after enjoying the Doctor Who and Torchwood audio adventures over at Big Finish. As the story of America is well-known to existing Judge Dredd fans, I will focus less on the actual plot and narrative, and instead concentrate more on this specific audio production and how effective it is at conveying the same atmosphere as the original comic book format.

Rather than focusing solely on the America storyline, the audio sets the scene with a chilling adaptation of “Letter from a Democrat” (Prog 460) as Hester Hyman narrates the letter she wrote to her husband before her martyred protest against the Justice Department. It’s an effective and bold introduction to the storyline, and is summarily followed by “Revolution” (Progs 531 – 533) which shows the Judges resorting to dirty tricks to prevent a peaceful march on democracy from taking place. This is a notable moment in Dredd’s history as he bends the law to achieve Chief Judge Silver’s wishes, and as a result, it is actually uncomfortable listening to hear him threaten citizens with trumped up charges and blackmail given how he is usually portrayed as a staunch upholder of the Law.

America views the Justice System from a different perspective compared to the stories that preceded it, positioning Dredd and his fellow Judges as fascists stepping on the freedoms of the individual for the perceived security of the whole. Even now, thirty years after its initial publication in Judge Dredd Megazine, the story is even bit as relevant as it was then. Dredd is wholly unlikeable here, a stark contrast to the heroic side seen when he is tackling criminals, mutants and undead horrors from alternate dimensions. The other Judge Dredd title in this range is the sweeping epic, “The Pit”, and I wonder how differently he is depicted in that storyline considering that he is cleaning up corruption amongst his fellow Judges.

Joseph Fiennes’ portrayal of Judge Dredd is somewhat different to the other live-action and audio approaches to the character, and I can see it being divisive amongst audiences. He lacks the same deep gravelly voice often associated with the character (the ‘dread’ in Dredd) but after a while, I grew accustomed to his softer-spoken take on the character. There are hints of Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry in there (one of the original inspirations behind Dredd) and a surprisingly strong American accent underneath, which makes sense considering Mega City One is a future version of the Eastern Seaboard. Fiennes’ take on Dredd drips with contempt for the idea of democracy and he delivers some of the iconic monologues from America with style, although I found it difficult to reconcile his voice with the image of Dredd from the comics (and even the cover art of this release).

The voice actors for Bennett Beeny (Matthew Jacobs-Morgan) and America Jara (Becca Stewart) are phenomenal at conveying the heart of the story, and the sequence of the audio that adapts the actual America storyline is easily the highlight of the whole piece. Jacobs-Morgan does a fantastic job at narrating his tragic relationship with America and his guilt at ultimately betraying her and her cause. This is where the audio drama really comes into its own and helps the emotion resonate off the printed page, bringing Wagner’s words and MacNeil’s visuals to life in a whole new way. Incredibly faithful and accurate to the source material, I was surprised at how well it translated from a primarily visual medium to a solely aural one and most of that success lies at the feet of the incredible soundscaping and voice acting performances. Paterson Joseph supports the story with his smooth narration, but it is used very sparingly here, with character monologues and news reports instead serving to transition the story from scene to scene.

As mentioned, this audio drama exceeds that actual America storyline and instead encompasses the major story beats of the “Democracy Now” story-arc that ran over multiple years in both 2000AD and Judge Dredd Megazine, with the final half hour of the audio focuses on the referendum to give some closure to the events of America. While it works as a narrative, it feels like a sudden jump as it skips over the events of Necropolis and The Dead Man story-arc (although they are mentioned), so Dredd’s shift from anti-democracy to endorsing the referendum doesn’t feel as natural as it does in the comics. The decision to remain faithful to the actual comics here actually disjoints the narrative and perhaps the inclusion of “A Letter to Judge Dredd” (Prog 661) would have helped explain Dredd’s change of heart. This ‘directors cut’ of America and the inclusion of earlier and later stories helps to enrich the story and give it a sense of context within the wider Judge Dredd timeline, as opposed to an isolated tragedy.

Overall, this is a brilliant reimagining of Judge Dredd: America, offering something new and different to a story that has been re-released numerous times. The audio direction is flawless, with Chris Thompson’s sound design accurately reflecting the urban sci-fi metropolis that is Mega-City One. The tone of the release was utterly authentic to the actual comics, capturing the unique blend of satire and pathos that shines through each week in 2000AD. This might be the most accurate representation of Judge Dredd’s world seen outside of the comics themselves.

A strong companion piece to the original story, and an exciting new way to experience Judge Dredd, these 2000AD & Penguin Audio adaptations have gotten off to a fantastic start and I can’t wait to listen to the other stories in the range.

In Mega-City One, the judges rule and democracy is a dirty word. But a rebellion is brewing and the Judges don’t want change. Some citizens are willing to do anything for that change, but resistance can be merciless especially when the Judges are determined to cling to their power and stamp out revolution. You don’t want to cross Dredd, he will make sure that you never dream of freedom again!

I had requested this audiobook as I was intrigued at the cast dramatisation idea and I felt it worked really well. I don’t think it would’ve interested me so much if it had been a straight narration of the graphic novel. The ensemble casts voices blend in really well with each other, and it’s expertly produced with effects and music that are perfectly suited to the story.

Not only will this series of audiobooks from 2000AD appeal to die-hard readers, but it will also attract passing fans like myself who just want to listen to something that bit different.

This is the first audiobook I've listened to in this style. It's almost like listening to a TV show or film. Lots of characters with different narrators and lots of sound effects and background music/noise. This would be a great listen on a long journey that all the family could enjoy. Very dramatic, lots of fun and a great storyline.

Outstanding audiobook featuring the one person you would not want to meet if you get caught jaywalking 😱 doesn’t matter if you are a judge dredd or 2000ad fan this is a highly entertaining story that is excellently narrated and a joy to listen to