At what point in the history of my pulse-pounding publication did you first encounter that severe-looking young Judge with the bob haircut?
Maybe you’re a long-term Squaxx and you were there for her debut in The Judge Child in 1980; perhaps you caught up a little later when she reappeared across the decades in stories like Destiny’s Angels, The Graveyard Shift or The Doomsday Scenario, after which she ascended to the highest office in Mega-City One. Or there were the series of solo adventures that were a regular part of the Megazine’s line-up during the nineties.
Either way, Judge Barbara Hershey has been a significant and iconic character for many, many years, both a reliable ally for Dredd and in more recent years someone with whom he clashed over policy. But now we wave farewell to Hershey as her post-Smiley mission has come to an end, and the pathogen that has been slowly consuming her can no longer be fended off.
Terrans, I bid you to raise a glass (or polystyrene cup, your choice) and say goodbye to Hershey — bringing the law to the lawless until death!
Cover: Simon Fraser
- Judge Dredd - A Fallen Man (Part 8) (Ken Niemand - Tom Foster)
Mega-City One, 2145 AD. Home to over 200 million citizens, this urban hell is situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America. Crime is rampant, and only future cops the Judges — empowered to dispense instant justice — can stop total anarchy. Toughest of them all is JUDGE DREDD — he is the Law! Now, former Judge Kyle Asher is attempting to flee the city, having betrayed his Mob employers…
- Tharg’s 3rillers - Die Hoard (Part 3) (Eddie Robson - Nick Brokenshire)
Three episodes, one complete, self-contained story — a condensed hit of super-charged Thrill-power beamed to you directly from the Nerve Centre! Earth, the twenty-second century, in the aftermath of a brutal war with an alien race called the Imishoi. A house-clearance team are assessing the hundreds of items that have been hoarded in a reclusive millionaire’s mansion — but the house’s A.I. is still active…
- Azimuth - Afflicter of Sorrows (Dan Abnett - Tazio Bettin)
Welcome to the city of AZIMUTH, a data-driven metropolis, where anything is possible. Ruled by an aristocracy of the New Flesh, such concepts of life, death, and body-forms are fluid. Anyone can take any shape, if it can be conceived by the imagination. The New Flesh masters have been troubled by strange dreams and portents, which have predicted the coming of a stranger — none other than Ramone Dexter…
- Hershey - The Cold in the Bones (Part 8) (Rob Williams - Simon Fraser)
Barbara Hershey was a respected young officer before she became Chief Judge. Leading the city through numerous challenges, the ‘Small House’ affair and the revelation of Judge Smiley’s clandestine operations on her watch made her re-evaluate her position. Seriously ill from a microbial virus, she’s faked her death to deal with his legacy, and now, with the case closed, her time is almost up…
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