Judge Dredd: Origins (2000 Ad) by John Wagner

History is written in this land-mark Dredd story. The severed hand of Chief Judge Fargo, the very first chief judge, is delivered to the Grand Hall of Justice with a ransom note. Dredd and his team must travel into the Cursed Earth to try and recover the body of the Judge Father. But this is more than just a journey across America, this is a journey into the past and into the history of the Judges and Mega-City One itself!