"It was working."
That's the bittersweet way that 'A Better World' - the current arc of Judge Dredd, which concludes in this week's issue of 2000 AD - begins. Written by Rob Williams and Arthur Wyatt, and drawn by Henry Flint, it's the latest story in the long-running series to tackle the question of how exactly justice is served in the teeming future metropolis of Mega-City One.
Despite being ruled over by the ultra-authoritarian Justice Department, the city has been feeling the pull towards something approaching a form of democracy and increased police accountability for some time now. The Judges have naturally resisted this, but the need for meaningful change is growing more urgent with each passing year.
'A Better World' focuses on Maitland, an idealistic young Judge who is pushing for reform in the way Justice Department handles its business. Roughly speaking she believes in more education for the citizens of MC-1 and fewer bullets to the head. Justice Department is skeptical about this softer touch, but she's been given the chance to trial her ideas in Sector 304, formerly one of the most dangerous areas of the city. And it's working: petty crime, violent crime, and murder are all significantly down.
Of course, the rest of the Judges hate this and immediately plot to find ways to derail Maitland's program. One of her apparent allies, Judge Hernandez, in particular, spies an opportunity to turn this clear success into a very public failure, one that will shore up the Justice Department's hardline stance, and boost his own career in the process.
Likewise, elements within the media - notably broadcaster Robert Glenn, an obvious Alex Jones/Tucker Carlson analogue - are keen to stir up the mob, encouraging pro-Judge agitators to push for more violence, not less. The satire here is on-the-nose, but effective.
How Dredd himself fits into the story is interesting. He flits around the edges, rarely getting involved until towards the very end, and that gives him a unique view of the unfolding situation. One of the things that make him such an intriguing character is that, while he is by no means a good man, he is at least consistent. He doesn't particularly like what Maitland is doing, but he respects her as a colleague and the fact that she's operating within the law. By the end of the story, which we won't spoil here, he's perhaps the only one to see the injustice and corruption at the heart of the Justice Department, and he's outraged.
That's starkly contrasted with most of the other street Judges who are looking at things purely from a place of self-interest. As Michael Molcher notes in his excellent book, I Am The Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future, these future cops don't exist to serve the public, but simply to "preserve their world in aspic, a failed world, one held forever on the point of collapse."
Dredd's eventual response to Hernandez is likely setting up a future arc - 'A Better World' is the culmination of several plot threads, but it's also very clearly not the end of the story.
More pertinently, however, Williams, Wyatt, and Flint (who is doing absolutely stellar work here), have told an instant classic Dredd story, and one that feels perfectly of the moment. 'A Better World' looks at some of the issues facing the USA (where the comic is set) and the UK (where it is published) with a weary eye and finds both despair in the current political landscape and - just perhaps - a tiny glimmer of hope that one day things may finally improve. A better world is possible, but there's still some way to go before we get there.
Judge Dredd: A Better World runs from 2000 AD Prog 2364 to Prog 2372, which is available now from Rebellion. The complete 'A Better World' arc can be found in a bundle on their website here.
Want to get started reading the future lawman? Why not try some of the comics on our best Judge Dredd stories list?
