#machine law

[judgeanon]

Thoughts on the finale of Machine Law and the more or less return to status quo minus two well-liked characters?

Really enjoyed it. Harvey went out like a motherfucking hero and made Dredd look like a grumpy muppet as a result. Dodging the usual “And then the Mechanismo went haywire” thing was extremely welcome. Also, it wasn’t mentioned in the story but I found it amusing how Logan made the same mistake as Dredd back in Tour of Duty: forcibly impose a big change thinking everyone would eventually come around to him quietly and severely underestimating how much it’d piss off not just the citizens, but the judges.

Far as status quo goes, I think there’s gonna be more to this story as it develops. Wagner’s taken a few pieces off the board but there’s still a ton of them in play. Hell, I wouldn’t even count Hershey out just yet, considering that last chat between her and Dredd. So I’m excited for what comes next, but I’m a bit worried it might take a while. There was a long time between these two stories...

All that said, this fucking panel cracked me the fuck up:

Look, I love John Wagner. I love John Wagner. But every now and then, he just churns out a line of dialogue ripped straight out of 1979 and I lose it.

[judgeanon]

Yo, just curious on what you think the allegory of the most recent Dredd arc is going to be. I'm still trying to figure out wheter the mek-judges are supposed to be stand a stand in for drone warfare or victims of workplace prejudice, and right now it could go either way (and knowing 2000ad, that could be deliberate). What do you think?

To be honest, I hadn’t even considered there being an allegory. Maybe it could be read as an analysis of the mechanization of work creeping into more and more human places, but instead of presenting it as a completely terrible thing, it kinda puts the humans a bit to shame by showing machines being more comprehending and sympathetic than them. 

Of course, the question of whether that comprehension comes from any genuine feelings or if it’s just part of their programming hovers over it all, represented in a way by Dredd’s staunch refusal to accept machine law, even when disguised as humane. He believes that judgement always has to come from a human’s own sense of justice and that that cannot be programmed.

But, in typical Dredd fashion, things are simply not as clear-cut. And it’s worth asking if programmed empathy is really that bad compared to the judges’ usual brand of brutal apathy and disdain.

I’m rambling a bit away from the initial question but I do think there may be some of that in there. Ultimately, I think the best Dredd stories are the ones you can question and question endlessly and never quite get a "proper” answer.