Dredd: The Illustrated Movie Script and Visuals (2014)

Author: Alex Garland | Illustrator: Jock | Page Count: 240

“You were shit out of luck when you ran into the Ma-Ma clan.”

If there’d been a poll asking what people would like to see in a book titled 'Illustrated Movie Script and Visuals,' everything that’s already included would be on my list.  As someone who enjoys Dredd comics, screenplays and can happily waste an hour studying concept art, it seems almost tailor-made.

On the left hand pages is Garland’s script, laid out in the usual format.  It’s also where you’ll find trivia, concept art depicting various stages of evolution and full colour production stills, not all of which were used in the final version (unused hall of justice, judge badges, etc), with brief passages of text describing what each one is and how it fits into the overall structure.  It’s the ‘Visuals’ half of the book.

The right hand pages display the ‘Illustrated Movie Script’ half.  Jock’s sketches give life to the scene as written on the left.  The monochrome art is somewhere between traditional storyboards (minus the giant arrows) and a regular panelled comic.  It's filled in places with black and white screen tones (repeating dot patterns often seen in manga).  Dialogue is included.  It’s the best of both worlds.

Had it been created after the film I’d have said there’s a vibrancy and urgency to the lines that capture and communicate the gritty, uncompromising and violent aspect well.  But it was made first, so it’s fair to say that the film captured those aspects of Jock’s sketches.  Had a non-comic artist been responsible, someone without a history of Dredd, the film might not have felt so authentic.

I found it more enjoyable to read the comic part in one sitting, and go back afterwards to concentrate on the left hand pages.  Doing that spilt the book into two distinct halves but the alternative was disruptive to the flow of the story.

People who bought Dredd: The Screenplay (2012) as an ebook might be a little sore double-dipping but if any of the additional content mentioned above is to your liking, there’s likely enough to warrant a repurchase.

5 Munce Box Meals out of 5

Judge Anderson: PSI Files Volume 4 (2014)

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

'Resyk was way past its limit – an’ the corpses just kept pilin' up.'

Anything goes (usually illegally) in Mega-City One, but esoteric concerns have always been better suited to Anderson's corner than that of the typical street judges. There's a lot of that kind of thing in Vol 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 not unique to 2000 AD and the Megazine, but certainly isn't commonplace in comics, is the acknowledgement that characters get older. 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 / Dredd specials, collectively featuring scripts by Mark Millar and Tony Luke with illustrations by Dermot Power and Russell Fox.

4 fields of death out of 5

Judge Dredd: Necropolis (1998)

Author: John Wagner  |  Illustrator: Carlos Ezquerra  |  Page Count: 192

“If you bring them back, th-thousands will die!”

“I disagree. You’re setting your sights too low. All will die. Total annihilation – it’s the best way!”

In light of some poor decisions by the Justice Department, Chief Judge Silver makes another one that leaves the Big Meg vulnerable. Elsewhere, a door is being opened to a place where judgement of the guilty and the innocent returns the same sentence…the Sisters of Death are ready to move.

Ah, Necropolis. There have been bigger and some would say better Dredd epics since then but it remains my favourite for a number of reasons. It’s not Dredd specific. The story, by original creators Wagner and Ezquerra, is much too big for just one man to carry. PSI Division plays an important role, which means Judge Anderson's talents are needed. It splits the reactions and resolutions in a number of different ways. That could've made it feel fragmented but John Wagner was too focussed to allow that to happen. The build up toward it was extensive (see below) and the aftermath shaped many aspects of the world and the works that followed. In short, it was a huge game changer.

It’s from an era when 2000 AD was commissioning fully painted artwork for many of its ongoing stories. There are time-saving colour blocks but it doesn't feel like a cop out; the colours used are often representative of deeper allusions (e.g. the colours of malady). Ezquerra’s art style will forever be associated with Dredd; those weird black dashes that he uses to outline certain characters became a part of that. I even began to miss them when they weren't there.

Some backstory is needed if you're to fully understand the scope of what happens during the 26 chapter storyline, why it happens and how the Justice Department themselves were partly responsible. The minimum of which would be knowledge of the Morton Judd / Judda storyline and The Dead Man arc. The latter acts as an essential prelude to Necropolis and helps explain why Joe looks like someone has taken a huge acidic shit on his face.

It might sound like a daunting task tracking it all down but Rebellion made it easy by reprinting all past adventures in chronological order as The Complete Case Files. I don’t know which volumes you’ll need because I've not bought them yet, but if you’re still reading this then you’re well equipped to find the answers.

5 black hearts out of 5

EDIT: According to Wiki, the entire Necropolis story is in The Complete Case Files: Volume 14, along with The Dead Man arc that I mentioned above.

Batman / Judge Dredd: Die Laughing (1998)

Authors: John Wagner / Alan Grant | Artists: Glenn Fabry / Jim Murray / Jason Brashill | Page Count: 95

"Let the dead fluidsss flow!"

The fourth and (to date) final entry in the Batman/Dredd crossover reminds the reader why the pairing was a good idea in the first place. It’s almost twice as long as previous books. It uses that extra space to craft a great Dredd story worthy of his own monthly Megazine. It's atypical of a Batman story but there's reasons that I can't go into why that's less of a problem this time. Events spiral far out of control and it all gets a bit insane, but when you consider who the villains of the piece are then that’s all the more fitting.

The fully painted art is absolutely stunning and the attention to detail is lovingly attended to (Alfred’s coffee cup made me chuckle). I’d be happy to wait twice as long for an issue of something if it was able to meet the standards of what’s on offer here. It took considerably longer than that because it reportedly went into production around the time Judgement on Gotham (1991) was released, which perhaps explains why the two books in-between feel a little like filler.
I still prefer Bisley's work on the first book but it would be hard to top that.

Often with crossover events, when the two parties go their separate ways at the end everything returns to normal, but there’s a lingering feeling that for Dredd’s world the memory of what happened won't quickly fade.

Note: There was an Anderson story (Postcards from the Edge) with a brief allusion to Die Laughing. You can find it in Judge Anderson: PSI Files Volume 2 (2012) or, if you prefer, a screenshot of the panels can be seen HERE. It’s not essential. I include it just for fans who want a reminder. It's not a spoiler to the Anderson story, but I'm not at fault if you haven't read it and still choose to click.

4 black hearts out of 5

Batman / Judge Dredd: Judgement on Gotham (1991)

Authors: John Wagner / Alan Grant | Artist: Simon Bisley | Page Count: 61

“I can't stop! I'm goin' into an uncontrollable butt frenzy!"

As a young Faustus, picking this off a shelf in '91 was the most excited I've ever been for a ridiculous comic crossover event. Joe Dredd and Batman! Comic boner. The personality clash could be like two worlds colliding. While it's not quite that good, it's still pretty awesome and revisiting it again despite being 20+ years older gave me a similar kind of joy.

Batman has faced some very twisted minds in his own world, but he's never encountered anything like Judge Death before, so when the Superfiend D-Jumps from Mega-City One to Gotham it's going to take more than just a guy in a winged mammal suit to save the city from being Judddggged.

You'll need to be a fan of both characters to get the most from it. Wagner and Grant had more experience writing for Joe, and it shows. They don't do Batman an injustice, they capture his personality well and don't compromise his integrity in any way, but when weighed out it's mostly Dredd's story.

Each of the worlds has their own social problems. Dredd policies his with a stern take-no-bullshit attitude, and Batman does his best to keep the darkness from overtaking his in the usual pained, vigilante way. There's no buddy cop team up here. The two men don't even like each other, but that's usually what happens when two over-inflated egos are forced to occupy the same space.

There's a lot of humour throughout. Simon Bisley's fully-painted, blood-splattered style is able to be both aggressive and hilarious. He was the perfect choice to illustrate and highlight the severity of the story.

The easiest way to get a hold of this one is in the recent Batman / Judge Dredd Collection (2013), but it's been reduced in size, making it closer to a typical American comic.  To soften the blow, the collection also includes all 3 sequels, Vendetta In Gotham (1993), The Ultimate Riddle (1995), Die Laughing (1998) and the hard to find Lobo / Judge Dredd: Psycho Bikers Vs. Mutants From Hell! (1995).

4 swansongs out of 5

*Click the pic above for a wallpaper of the wraparound Biz cover.*

Judge Anderson: PSI Files Volume 3 (2013)

Authors: Alan Grant / Peter Milligan / Dan Abnett / Andy Lanning |  Illustrators: Arthur Ranson / Steve Sampson / Charles Gillespie / Angel Unzueta / Ian Gibson / Trevor Hairsine / Eddy Cant / Mick Austin / Anthony Williams | Page Count: 304

"...My blood's so red, and the ground is so far, far away..."

Alan Grant drags Anderson even deeper into the realms of philosophy and religion in this volume.  Her hitherto discoveries about her past, coupled with a recent changed perception of what ‘Justice’ is, have opened her consciousness to previously unexplored concerns affecting Mega City One.  She begins to experience visions that lead her into the unknown.  The iconography used will be familiar to everyone but the associations are Anderson specific.

There’s quite a lot of Dredd in this one.  It’s interesting to see Old Stony in Anderson’s world.  It distances him a little from the typically masculine arena he usually embodies.  Grant knows that Joe needs to present the appearance of a non-conformist with a controlling influence but there’s also an almost parental guiding attitude present.  He won’t accept failure from Anderson but he’s more than happy to step aside to let her prove herself, or team-up if the Law permits.

The two main artists are Arthur Ranson and Steve Sampson.  I've mentioned my love for Ranson in previous reviews so I’ll skip over that this time.  Steve Sampson has a radically different style.  His use of thick, bright colours contrasts with Ranson’s more subdued, realistic palette but it works beautifully.  Sampson’s portrayal highlights a different side of Cassandra.  She has a glow about her, as if her emotions are shining out from within like a beacon or a redeeming light.  His panelling is equally vibrant when necessary; the more space he allows himself the more impressive his final product.  He's my 2nd favourite Anderson artist.

As usual there's some random one-shots from annuals and yearbooks to close the book that neither match up to the main stories in terms of quality or continuity.

I’d encountered most of this volume before on first printing but it was shortly after the last multi-part work that Grant put Anderson on hiatus, and (for unrelated reasons) I stopped buying the magazines, so Vol 4 will be mostly new to me.  I can’t wait for it to appear.

4 Books of Man out of 5

Judge Anderson: PSI Files Volume 2 (2012)

Authors: Alan Grant / John Wagner  |  Illustrators: Arthur Ranson / David Roach / Kevin Walker / Mark Wilkinson / Charles Gillespie / Xuasus / Ian Gibson / Enric Romero / Mike Collins / Steve Sampson / Tony Luke  |  Page Count: 304

‘Nine years old and already they’re learning they’re a breed apart.
They belong to the Law.  They don’t take part in life.  They watch it.  When they grow up, they’ll judge it.’

Volume 2 continues the reprint of the Judge Cassandra Anderson stories in (mostly) chronological order, and unlike Volume 1 (2009) the majority of this one’s in colour.  Cassandra can kick ass if she wants to but her stories deal with subjects more emotional, cerebral and far-reaching than Dredd’s.  Old Stony Face pops up occasionally but it’s either as fan-service or simply as a device to keep alive a connection to the judicial system.  Everyone’s favourite asshole, Judge Goon, also pops his ugly head up when least wanted.

Up until now we've primarily viewed Anderson as the thing that didn't fit into the world, she was at cross-purposes with her calling and an affront to the times.  The book shifts more to her perspective and shows that it’s the world that’s gone to hell, and she is perhaps the only free thinker in a sea of oppression.

A large part of this volume is about religion.  Living life by a code written in a book that’s part truth and part lie (which part is which?) is something Cassandra has been doing all her life, so it’s a natural fit to bring religion into it, and doing so helped further place her as a tiny speck in the enormity of the world; the mote in God’s eye.  She often finds herself feeling sympathetic to people with any kind of faith because her own is wavering, and ironically the more truth she uncovers the more her faith collapses, or is subjugated by a large green boot.

The best story here is the magnificent Shamballa.  It’s one of Grant’s most successful studies of self, and an absolute perfect fit to the talents of artist Arthur Ranson.  Shamballa is the finest Anderson story I've ever read.  It's also the only one taken from the pages of 2000 AD.  The remainder comes from the Judge Dredd Megazine (with some bonus one shots gathered together at the end, culled from the Judge Dredd annuals (1985 – 88)).

The Megazine launched in 1990, and quickly established itself as a platform for more adult stories than 2000 AD.  The format wasn't afraid to take chances both in narrative and in the art department.  There are 11 different artists on display here, and each of them offer a unique view of what Anderson is.

Partway through the book is the Childhood’s End storyline that I've reviewed already (HERE).  After that things take a different route, literally.  The narrative manages to be both self-analytical and more open-ended.  It’s like a road trip that takes regular stops at Cassandra town.  Each part is self-contained and also part of the arc that takes her into the unknown.

5 death symbols out of 5

Judge Anderson: PSI Files Volume 1 (2009)

Authors: Alan Grant / John Wagner

Illustrators: Brett Ewins / Cliff Robinson / Robin Smith / Barry Kitson / Jeff Anderson / Will Simpson / Mark Farmer / Mick Austin / David Roach / Arthur Ranson / Carlos Ezquerra / Kim Raymond |  Page Count: 384

‘I’m hurting inside ... in the secret places only the PSIs know.’

When something is considered too weird for the regular Judges of Mega-City One to deal with they’ll often step aside and call in PSI Division. The PSI Judges have abilities that enable them to literally get inside the minds of criminals.

The best of them, Judge Cassandra Anderson, is a psychic and a telepath, with some limited precognition powers. Being receptive to the thoughts of others makes her a little eccentric. She’s accountable to the law the same as everyone but sometimes PSI Judges are granted special dispensations; she has been known to take advantage of such things.

Since Rebellion acquired 2000AD they’ve been re-releasing some long out of print material in very attractive editions with a large page count that would make any shelf envious. This first volume collects together Anderson’s earliest adventures in chronological order.

She has an outspoken nature from the beginning, but it’s not until tragedy hits her that she begins to really take shape as a unique character, so stick with it. There are a few missteps along the way but mostly the stories are entertaining and help distance her daily routine from that of Dredd’s. The early adventures that she shared with him, the ones that introduced her to the world, aren't in this volume, you’ll need to get the separate Judge Dredd Case Files for those. What it does have is the ‘Engram’ storyline that contains one of the most important revelations about the character; one that changed her forever in a deeply unsettling way.

It’s black and white art, which hopefully won't put anyone off. That’s how the original stories were published and that’s how they should remain. I’d have been very disappointed if they’d coloured it.

4 horrific truths out of 5

Judge Anderson: Triad (2003)

Author: Alan Grant | Illustrators: Arthur Ranson / David Roach / Mick Austin / Mark Farmer | Page Count: 112

‘Childhood… the only real innocence any of us ever know…’

There are five stories in this one; one long and four short.  The long one is the best of them, and is the one the book’s named after.  It teams author Alan Grant with artist Arthur Ranson, which, for me, is a match made in comic heaven.
Grant’s writing is better when he has room to develop a deeper narrative.  He writes the PSI Judge strong but sensitive, heavy handed when necessary, while remaining responsive to a victim’s emotions.
Ranson’s work is black and white, and I mean black and white – no greys.  His ability to add emotion and fear to a face with the minimum of lines is part of why I love his style.  His version of Anderson is my favourite.

It adds to the arc that was slowly developing in all of the longer works.  It took years to fully flourish, and being aware of it now while rereading gives the whole series extra depth.  I'm guessing Grant knew early on where he would eventually take her but I'm not sure he knew quite how tough he'd make that journey.

The events of Hour of the Wolf (2003) are a prelude to Triad so read it first if you can.  However, like Wolf, the story has an unresolved aspect; it’s another small snippet of a larger whole.

The remaining four stories vary in quality.  Sometimes it feels like Grant puts very little thought into his short work.  They helped keep Anderson in the consciousness of the weekly 2000AD readers but they're mostly throwaway.

3½ bad dreams out of 5

Judge Anderson: Hour of the Wolf (2003)

Authors: Alan Grant / John Wagner | Illustrators: Barry Kitson / Ian Gibson / David Roach  |  Page Count: 128

‘...always in the background, the pained static generated by the desperate, homeless dreams of 400 million unhappy people.’

There's 2 main parts to this book; there's a few short pieces too but I’ll be focussing on the 2 two multi-part stories that have been collected together, despite being written 2 years apart (1987 and 1989).

The first is the titular Hour of the Wolf, penned by John Wagner and Alan Grant.
PSI Judge Cassandra Anderson begins to experience unsettling visions of a wolf attacking the City.  Naturally she sets out to find the reasons why.
The story unfolds slowly, and while it doesn't really go anywhere satisfying it sets up events for something that’ll resurface further down the line.
I enjoyed it for one very specific reason that I can’t even hint at because it’ll be major spoiler.  All I can say is that it has ties with something that significantly shook Mega-City One in the past.

It highlights the only real problem I have with the Anderson PSI stories in general: they occasionally rely on knowledge of the larger Mega City.  If you've not followed her adventures when she teams with Judge Dredd in his own stories, you’ll be a little lost at times; this is one of those times.  Fortunately, I did know what was going on but I can sympathise with readers that don’t.

The second story, Helios, written solely by Alan Grant, is much better if all you want is a self-contained narrative.  It teams Anderson with her close friend Judge Corey, and pits her against a different kind of threat.
The two stories couldn't be more different.  Put side by side they present a contrast that helps the book just as much as it divides it.

I’d forgotten how much I love black and white comic art.  It’s much more dramatic than coloured work when done correctly.  Each of the artists has their own style but the focus is always the same, which ties it all together.

3 ricochet bullets out of 5

Judge Anderson: Childhood's End (1995)

Author: Alan Grant | Illustrator: Kevin Walker | Page Count: 64

‘There was a simple method of finding out our worth.  Every year, they locked one hundred of us in a Gulag with food for only fifty.’

PSI Judge Cassandra Anderson had a rather severe crisis of faith in the events leading up to this book.  The incident left her unsure of her role in the Justice system, and equally unsure of the system itself.  To distance her from the system that made and fears her, she’s shipped off-world to explore the famous Head of Mars.  For half a million years the head has held mysteries, and it’s time for them to be revealed.

The important moments in Anderson’s development have been handled almost exclusively by Alan Grant.  He took her to dark places within herself that weren't light reading.  Childhood's End is a critical step in that evolution; it’s the step that takes her over the line.  It feels as if it was written to contain one hugely significant act that would go on to shape Anderson from that point onward, but the story that’s built around that act isn't sufficient to carry the weight of it.

I loved Kevin Walker's work on ABC Warriors but his Anderson has a sinewy and overly masculine physique.  Judges are required to be at the peak of fitness at all times but she’s a bit too chunky for my liking.  I prefer Arthur Ranson’s approach, where her strength is more reliant on the ferocity of her convictions.  I think she works best when contrasted with a more traditionally skewed male view of what femininity ought to be, as the seemingly weaker female, so when she revels her true self and crushes those preconceptions it’s much more dramatic.

The book collects together Anderson: Childhood's End from Judge Dredd Megazine: Vol II: Issues 27 - 34.

2½ intelligent apes out of 5