Judge Dredd's first cover!Dredd is so tiny, he might as well not appear on it at all. It's hard to get a sense of danger for him because the reader is so distant from the action. The cover must have been drawn before the first published Dredd story because the city doesn't resemble Mega-City One at all. It looks too static and not 'organic' enough. Heck! Some of the building look like martini glasses!
It does get bonus points for featuring a giant robotic ape though.
Below is Brian Bolland's cover for a US Dredd reprint title. The title reprints the 'Krong' Dredd story inside and while Prog 5's cover tells the story better, the cover would have stood out more if the artist (Barry Mitchell) or management had approached it the Bolland way. Artwise, it's unfair to compare both (not many people can compete with a Bolland cover) but just from a layout perspective, not necessarily the humor angle, it's definitely more up close and personal.
Love that Bolland cover.
Krong does make a re-appearance 30 years later in a Judge Anderson story: Big Robots (Judge Dredd Megazine 257 - 264).
