‘Judge Dredd: Anderson, Psi-Division Vol. 1’ Comic Review

Judge Dredd: Anderson, Psi-Division Vol. 1 is an upcoming release from IDW Publishing, collecting the four issue miniseries of the same name, and clocks in at a total of 104 pages. The writing duties are handled by Matt Smith, and Carl Critchlow capably handles the art. Starring the well known Psi-Judge Cassandra Anderson, and including a cameo by Judge Dredd himself, the ‘King of the Six Sectors’ story arc is set early in her career as a Mega-City One Judge. While the story is not an origin tale, it does touch on a number of elements from Anderson’s past, and adds to the character’s fictional history.

The story begins with a flashback sequence, as a young husband and wife rush to the hospital, the woman deep into the throes of labor. Unfortunately, they come upon a scene of mayhem and carnage, as psychically endowed Juves are rampaging through Mega-City One. Fighting through the destruction, they manage to arrive safely at the hospital, and a beautiful baby girl is born into the world…a girl named Cassandra Anderson. Flash-forward to the present, and Anderson is awakened by a premonition of impending doom taking place at the Megapolitan Museum of Modern History, one that hints at the involvement of a rogue psychic. Events play out per her psi-flash premonition, and despite throwing a wrench into their plans, the lawbreakers still succeed in their heist. The search for answers will send Anderson into the tainted reaches of the Cursed Earth, and, eventually, lead her back to Mega-City One…and point her towards events in her own past.

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This is the second time that I’ve reviewed a #1 issue of a series, enjoyed it, and then had the opportunity to look at the completed story arc. As a whole, the story keeps up the same pace contained within the first issue, and continues to build on the strongpoints that were present in the initial offering. The world of Mega-City One is a long and storied one, containing many strong characters and story arcs to draw upon, and this is a solid introduction to Judge Anderson by IDW and the team of Smith and Critchlow. Smith manages to mix just the right amount of action, mystery, and adventure into the four issues contained in the collection; while not reinventing the wheel, he still crafts a rather enjoyable tale.

Although Judge Anderson is one of the more complete characters in the Dredd universe, Smith still manages to work a number of previously unknown background details into the story, and more than capably portrays the Psi-Judge. Beautiful, tough, and dedicated to her job, Anderson is a more complex character than Dredd—and every bit as capable. The pacing of the story is well done, flowing along smoothly, with the requisite cliffhanger endings drawing the reader onwards to the next issue. The one caveat that I have with the collection is that it would have benefited from a longer run time. Many of the underlying elements are not fully explored, and the ending seems rather abrupt. A longer run would have allowed the plot elements to be more fully explored, and more of the universe could have been showcased. Minor quibbles aside, this was a solid, thoroughly enjoyable story.

Critchlow excels at character design, and his take on Judge Anderson is beautiful to behold. His line work is bold, he effectively uses light and shadow, and the action sequences are depicted in a dynamic fashion. His rendering of the characters’ facial expressions are fluid and spot-on, never leaving the reader to wonder what they are feeling, at any given moment. He ably moves the story along, with a rather direct panel composition, guiding the reader from one scene to the next. The only two areas that are a bit lacking both deal with the background illustrations.

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At far remove, details are heavily sketched in, with much less focus being applied to filling out the background. This carries over to the more focused-in panels, with the characters occasionally operating in a vacuum, with very little background detail depicted by the artist. This is a rather odd occurrence, since there are a number of times when Critchlow chooses to include highly detailed background art, and does it in a more than competent fashion. Possibly this is just a quirk in the artist’s stylistic approach, or a conscious choice in his method of visually telling the story, but his capabilities encompass a much more lush form of artistic expression. Despite the minor flaws, Critchlow delivers the goods, and his artistic direction is integral to the release. Good stuff.

When it comes down to it, this is a solid, well put together release. With an exciting, well-paced story, and beautifully designed, expressive artwork, Smith and Critchlow have a hit on their hands. Look past the minor flaws, and take a flyer on this collection, you won’t be disappointed. Good stuff, and recommended. Happy reading!

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