Judge Anderson: The PSI Files: Volume 04 (2014)

Judge Anderson: The PSI Files: Volume 04 (2014)

Author: Alan Grant  |  Illustrators: Steve Sampson / Arthur Ranson  |  Page Count: 304

'Fear is for scaredy cats. I say it to myself ten times. But I sleep with the light on.'

Anything goes (usually illegally) in Mega-City One, but esoteric concerns have always been better suited to Judge Anderson's corner than that of the typical street judges. There's a lot of that kind of thing in Volume 4 and she's at the centre of it.

The first part finishes Steve Sampson's excellent run on art duties. He returns the reins to series regular Arthur Ranson for a multi-part epic that manages to be set present day (for the Meg) and simultaneously be tied into an event that happened prior Necropolis. It could've been a mess but it isn't, it works and it references a lot of history while doing so. It's also bloody and gruesome in places.

Being a senior PSI means Anderson's often relied upon to make the big decisions, but for her sometimes the personal ones are the biggest of all, and there's nothing more personal than the world that's formed when you retreat into the confines of your own mind. With imagination having no boundaries, the vastness can be terrifying; more so when your deadliest enemy has also spent some time there.

If she's to be saved then the decision-making will need to fall to someone else, followed by consequences carefully weighed and action taken. It's fortunate she has a good working relationship with the current Chief Judge.

Something that's not unique to 2000 AD and the Megazine but certainly isn't commonplace in comics is the acknowledgement that characters age. They have a finite period of usefulness. For Judges that means it’s only a matter of time before they’re either dead or forced to take the Long Walk into the Cursed Earth. Anderson isn't at that stage yet, but it’s on the horizon.

As usual there are brief 'bonus stories' at the back of the book taken from various 2000 AD or Judge Dredd specials, collectively featuring scripts by Mark Millar and Tony Luke with illustrations by Dermot Power and Russell Fox.

Includes the stories:

Horror Story (2000 AD Progs 1132-1137)

Semper vi (2000 AD Prog 1140)

R*evolution (2000 AD Progs 1263-1272)

Half-life (Judge Dredd Megazine 214-217)

Wmd (Judge Dredd Megazine 221-226)

Lock-in (Judge Dredd Megazine 227-230)

City of Dead (2000 AD Progs 1087-1089)

The Most Dangerous Game (Judge Dredd Yearbook 1992)

Baby Talk (Judge Dredd Mega Special 1992)

George (Judge Dredd Yearbook 1993)