I came across this “100 Issues Ago” panel in an old Justice League of America and thought I’d tidy it up and re-purpose it. If one month = one issue, what was I reading 100 Issues Ago?

It’s a bit of a cheat, this one, as it’s a trade rather than a single issue but, back in November 2009, my comics collection was dominated by Blackest Night and the aftermath of Final Crisis so instead of picking out yet another issue of Power Girl like last month, I figured I’d grab this one.

While I’d grown up reading 2000AD, I stopped reading it sometime around the mid to late 80s – this was during my comics drought years when I was discovering the joys of beer and (not very successfully) women – so was surprised one weekend in 1990 when a friend called round clutching this issue:

He’d seen that cover – a scarred, disfigured man holding Judge Dredd’s badge – and been intrigued enough to buy it and share it with me. Even though we hadn’t read any issues running up to it, the story of Dredd taking the Long Walk, being attacked by the Sisters of Death and struggling to survive and regain his memory was great.

Almost twenty years later, with the release of The Dead Man collection, I finally got to read the whole story. By that time, the publisher Rebellion had been producing lovely reprints in Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files as well as other collections so I’d read the story that The Dead Man led into – Necropolis – but it was nice getting the background and being able to finish the story.