Fans who are now accustomed to reading their Judge Dredd in color, thanks to IDW's new series by writer Duane Swierczynski and artist Nelson Daniel, can breathe easy. Starting with a Free Comic Book Day issue May 4, the publisher is reprinting an array of classic Dredd stories with colors by Charlie Kirchoff, who also is the colorist of the current series.

The Judge Dredd Classics series will kick off with the FCBD issue's "Judge Death" story by writer John Wagner and artist Brian Bolland. The issue will feature a newly-colored Bolland cover.

From there, the series will continue with the "Block Mania"/"Apocalypse War" storyline written by Wagner and Alan Grant, and with art from Bolland, Mike McMahon, Ron Smith, Steve Dillon and Carlos Ezquerra. Each issue of the regular series will feature a brand new cover by artist Jim Fern.

2000 AD editor-in-chief Matt Smith issued this statement about the reprints:

"It's very exciting to see these classic Dredd stories given an extra dimension. New readers will get to see some of the seminal tales that established Dredd as the UK's most important comics character, and old-school fans of the future lawman can re-experience their favorite series in a whole new light."

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