Smith has already covered some of this ground with the e-novella Judge Dredd: Year One – City Fathers released earlier this year.
“Dredd's a notoriously difficult character to get the
voice right—and it becomes even more of a challenge when you're writing him as
an eighteen year old, fresh out of the Academy,” said Smith. “But it's been
great fun charting his early cases, feeding into the stories the elements that
will go on to make him Mega-City's most feared lawman. And it's terrific to
have Simon Coleby on board, a superb artist and well experienced in portraying
the madness of the future metropolis.”
In “The Long, Hard Road,” Smith and Coleby tell a tale
where “all the young juves, carry the news,” only in this case, that news is
that juves across sector start manifesting psychic abilities. Dredd must team
up for the first time with Psi-Division to combat the spreading chaos. But just
what is causing the psi-outbreaks as it crosses the dimensions—and what does it
have in store for Mega-City One?
“Matt Smith has been doing a masterful job of steering
Judge Dredd’s exploits for years, and his e-novella showed he was equally adept
at serving as chronicler as well as editor,” said Chris Ryall, IDW’s Chief
Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief. “And the story Matt’s telling in this
miniseries is a very different tale of Dredd’s first year than his prose story,
but both combine to add relevant details and backstory to the character of
Judge Dredd.”
JUDGE DREDD: YEAR ONE #1 will be in stores March 27, 2013.