A handful of Predators, Judge Dredd himself and some nasty aliens all find themselves in hostile rural territory. We already know that the gung-ho Judge Dredd plans on trekking into the rugged terrain to investigate. But inside those secluded wooded areas something sinister brews. Evil scientists, man-hunting animals, and a new threat altogether is going to give Dredd all he can handle.

The artwork (provided by the perfect recruit in Chris Mooneyham) is amazing, and each issue comes decked out with a very slick cover illustration. But the greatest magic here may fall on writer John Layman who treats us to something familiar but refreshing. After all, there’s nothing quite like three legendary icons toeing the line!

The first book moves very quickly. Don’t anticipate a wealth of backstory, we get all that we require, for the time being. This is a story that’s going to slowly unroll, valuable bits of 411 stuffed in and around action sequences. That’s a hell of a way to tell a story, and I’m looking into book two ASAP, just to get an even better idea of where – beyond battle – we may go in this story.

Pick it up and read it. It’s worth your time.

Rating: 4/5