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Judge Anderson: The PSI Files Volume #1
Judge Anderson: The PSI Files Volume 01
SHE KNOWS WHAT YOU'RE THINKING!
Cassandra Anderson is a member of Psi-Division, the psychic section of the Justice Department. A precognitive telepath and empath, she can detect crimes before they are committed!
This bumper volume contains over 400 pages of thrilling action, with stories written by Alan Grant (Batman, Lobo), John Wagner (Judge Dredd) and features the stunning artwork of Brett Ewins (Bad Company), Mark Farmer (The Incredible Hulk) and Arthur Ranson (Button Man) amongst others.
Cassandra Anderson is a member of Psi-Division, the psychic section of the Justice Department. A precognitive telepath and empath, she can detect crimes before they are committed!
This bumper volume contains over 400 pages of thrilling action, with stories written by Alan Grant (Batman, Lobo), John Wagner (Judge Dredd) and features the stunning artwork of Brett Ewins (Bad Company), Mark Farmer (The Incredible Hulk) and Arthur Ranson (Button Man) amongst others.
384 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 2009
12 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
John Wagner
1,287 books191 followersJohn Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since. He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, for which he created Judge Dredd. He is noted for his taut, violent thrillers and his black humour. Among his pseudonyms are The best known are John Howard, T.B. Grover, Mike Stott, Keef Ripley, Rick Clark and Brian Skuter. (Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 18, 2015
Collects "Four Dark Judges," "The Possessed," "Hour of the Wolf," "Contact," "Beyond the void," "Helios," "Triad," "Engram," "The Prophet," "The Random Man," "Screaming Skull" and "The Haunting"
It's an okay collection, mired by a lot of short unconnected stories that take away from the collection's cohesive aesthetic. But that aside, these are my favourite stories in the collection, these really stand out, "Engram," "The Random Man," and "Triad"
It's an okay collection, mired by a lot of short unconnected stories that take away from the collection's cohesive aesthetic. But that aside, these are my favourite stories in the collection, these really stand out, "Engram," "The Random Man," and "Triad"
February 22, 2021
After Judge Dredd, Judge Anderson is another favourite 2000AD character. Judge Anderson was introduced in a Judge Dredd story about the Dark Judges as a Psi Judge, with psychic powers to read people's mind and to get psychic flashes that may fortell the future.
This first collection of story serves to introduce Judge Anderson as a stand-alone character who uses her psychic powers to aid her in her job as a Judge of Mega-City One (Judge Dredd gets a cameo appearance in a few stories).
With stories that deal with the return of the Dark Judges, the escape and attempted revenge of Orlok (the East-Meg One Judge that helps to nearly destroyed Mega-City One during the Apocalypse War), they show Anderson as a capable but highly emotional Judge. Probably the main story here would be the two part "Engram" story near the end with reveals that Anderson has repressed memories of her childhood. Why they were repressed and how she deals with them would show a very human Judge Anderson that suffered emotional pain in her childhood.
This first collection of story serves to introduce Judge Anderson as a stand-alone character who uses her psychic powers to aid her in her job as a Judge of Mega-City One (Judge Dredd gets a cameo appearance in a few stories).
With stories that deal with the return of the Dark Judges, the escape and attempted revenge of Orlok (the East-Meg One Judge that helps to nearly destroyed Mega-City One during the Apocalypse War), they show Anderson as a capable but highly emotional Judge. Probably the main story here would be the two part "Engram" story near the end with reveals that Anderson has repressed memories of her childhood. Why they were repressed and how she deals with them would show a very human Judge Anderson that suffered emotional pain in her childhood.
August 15, 2020
A bumper collection featuring twelve stories about the pretty young Psi Judge from 2000AD. The stories vary in length and come in the episodic style of British comics. This is a good thing as having to fill twenty pages, say, can lead to padding. Here each story is only as long as it needs to be.
The British origins also mean a blessed lack of soap opera themes. Instead, there is black humour as in ‘Four Dark Judges’ when Judge Death is slaughtering the residents of the Ronald Reagan Block for the aged and infirm. ‘Dodder for it!’ cries an alarmed oldster. Alan Grant scripted most of these stories but John Wagner co-wrote the first three. Whoever’s responsible it’s a great line. The Dark Judges are from an alternate dimension and decided long ago that since only living people committed crime eradicating all life was the best policy. Logically they should have committed suicide once that was done. Instead, they came to our dimension. They were defeated and this is their return. The second tale ‘The Possessed’ features demonic possession, which I find odd in a science-fiction setting but it was well done.
There are thirteen stories and to go through them all one by one would involve a tedious repetition of superlatives. Suffice to say they are all good and several are excellent. A short tale about Judge Corey and a whale entitled ‘Leviathan’s Farewell’ is probably the best in the book and also the best story of any kind I’ve read for a while. It should have won awards. ‘Engram’ is a longer story which gives us and Anderson revelations about her childhood. Very moving stuff for a ‘comic’.
Alan Grant does have fun too. ‘Triad’ features a murderous skeleton and the Block Ness monster so Anderson has to consult the Department of Fortean Events. ‘The Random Man’ has a chap who throws dice to decide what he will do next. Unfortunately, the dice keep telling him to kill people. Anderson catches up with him in Luke Reinhart alley, for where Grant riffs and spoofs on other writers work he does acknowledge it.
‘Prepare to die, fleshy one!’ shouts killer ‘robot’ Bill as he attacks the Judge. This is unkind and untrue for she is slim and lovely. Bill, a.k.a. ‘The Prophet’ believes he is the chosen one, preparing the way for those who will come after by killing all the fleshy ones. Bill is bonkers but the story is fun.
The art is at least 80% of the graphic novel form, I think, and a great story won’t get transmitted without pleasing pictures. Happily, Wagner and Grant are well served by the numerous talents gathered here. Brett Ewins deserves an honourable mention for the first two tales and David Roach does a bang-up job on several others. The honourable exception to my enjoyment was Carlos Ezquerra, though he only drew ’The Random Man’ so there wasn’t much of him. He’s honoured because he co-created Judge Dredd and the whole look of Mega-City one but I personally don’t much like his style.
2000AD has made a huge contribution to the genre over the last few decades and these bumper collections offer an excellent chance to grab the best of it at bargain rates. They are an Essential Showcase (geddit?) for the best of British and this one, in particular, is a really good read.
The British origins also mean a blessed lack of soap opera themes. Instead, there is black humour as in ‘Four Dark Judges’ when Judge Death is slaughtering the residents of the Ronald Reagan Block for the aged and infirm. ‘Dodder for it!’ cries an alarmed oldster. Alan Grant scripted most of these stories but John Wagner co-wrote the first three. Whoever’s responsible it’s a great line. The Dark Judges are from an alternate dimension and decided long ago that since only living people committed crime eradicating all life was the best policy. Logically they should have committed suicide once that was done. Instead, they came to our dimension. They were defeated and this is their return. The second tale ‘The Possessed’ features demonic possession, which I find odd in a science-fiction setting but it was well done.
There are thirteen stories and to go through them all one by one would involve a tedious repetition of superlatives. Suffice to say they are all good and several are excellent. A short tale about Judge Corey and a whale entitled ‘Leviathan’s Farewell’ is probably the best in the book and also the best story of any kind I’ve read for a while. It should have won awards. ‘Engram’ is a longer story which gives us and Anderson revelations about her childhood. Very moving stuff for a ‘comic’.
Alan Grant does have fun too. ‘Triad’ features a murderous skeleton and the Block Ness monster so Anderson has to consult the Department of Fortean Events. ‘The Random Man’ has a chap who throws dice to decide what he will do next. Unfortunately, the dice keep telling him to kill people. Anderson catches up with him in Luke Reinhart alley, for where Grant riffs and spoofs on other writers work he does acknowledge it.
‘Prepare to die, fleshy one!’ shouts killer ‘robot’ Bill as he attacks the Judge. This is unkind and untrue for she is slim and lovely. Bill, a.k.a. ‘The Prophet’ believes he is the chosen one, preparing the way for those who will come after by killing all the fleshy ones. Bill is bonkers but the story is fun.
The art is at least 80% of the graphic novel form, I think, and a great story won’t get transmitted without pleasing pictures. Happily, Wagner and Grant are well served by the numerous talents gathered here. Brett Ewins deserves an honourable mention for the first two tales and David Roach does a bang-up job on several others. The honourable exception to my enjoyment was Carlos Ezquerra, though he only drew ’The Random Man’ so there wasn’t much of him. He’s honoured because he co-created Judge Dredd and the whole look of Mega-City one but I personally don’t much like his style.
2000AD has made a huge contribution to the genre over the last few decades and these bumper collections offer an excellent chance to grab the best of it at bargain rates. They are an Essential Showcase (geddit?) for the best of British and this one, in particular, is a really good read.
July 6, 2020
This book collects the first twelve stories about Judge Cassandra Anderson and is a great start for the character if you dig the delicious black and white art of that period like I do. Out of the whole bunch two immediately come to mind. One is about the dying ecology and has a previously appearing character take her life and this is the best of Alan Grant, I'd say. He often tried to repeat the same ecological themes in the DC Batman and later, Anarchy comics, but of course, nobody would ever let him do a comic book about suicide there. Plus the DC setting is rooted in the modern world. Sure, Amazonian rainforests were dying, but they weren't dead. In the case of Mega-City One, however, the world is mostly a post-nuclear wasteland, so there is lots of room to show how humanity squandered everything they've had.
The second one is the last one in the book. It's pretty big for a 2000AD story, taking ten parts to complete. It's called Engram and it hints at the character's childhood. This one has Anderson go into her own mind to see what is being locked down there. There are scenes that look like they've come straight out of a Hammer horror movie production, visions of cemeteries, little girls, and Cass walking around in a maidenly dress flapping in an unearthly wind.
Almost half of the book is a repeat of a "Judge Anderson: Anderson, PSI-Division - Volume 1". Three large stories there and I love the first two the most. In fact, reading it prompted me to buy this book. Overall, there are lots of investigations, which I'm a fan of, a decent amount of action, psionics-related plots, and, as they've said it somewhere, "an attempt to add more humane side to the Judge Dredd universe".
May 1, 2022
Excellent VFM.... it arrived like a doorstop so maybe you might like an e-book version for comfier reading and at times the text is a bit small...
However, there is a moot point here... the book begins with the come back of the DJs so by implication they had been around before. Of course they had, and you can read that epic debut in the GN or comic. So the Case Files is not quite the JA debut... I wonder why? Maybe because the DJ debut is a Dredd story.
Also, to be pedantic JA's debut was in the movie "Dredd" was it not? But that is recent compared to the stories herein. Ho hum... but you might happen upon the story of Ma Ma on your web travels which is also worth a read.
However, there is a moot point here... the book begins with the come back of the DJs so by implication they had been around before. Of course they had, and you can read that epic debut in the GN or comic. So the Case Files is not quite the JA debut... I wonder why? Maybe because the DJ debut is a Dredd story.
Also, to be pedantic JA's debut was in the movie "Dredd" was it not? But that is recent compared to the stories herein. Ho hum... but you might happen upon the story of Ma Ma on your web travels which is also worth a read.
October 18, 2022
A stack of decent stuff, elevated significantly by the thoughtful and emotional Engram strip near the end, where we see a little of Anderson's backstory. Obviously, the dark judges stuff is great too.
September 1, 2018
Collects Judge Anderson's solo adventures. Some great, some not so great, but overall pretty enjoyable. Recommended just for having "Leviathan's Farewell".
October 3, 2018
Anderson is my favourite judge, she's not as blindly loyal to the letter of the law like Dredd and is willing to put herself on the line time and time again to save MC1 and its citizens.
June 28, 2021
Enjoyed, a section was a bit blurry, maybe this reflected the original. I think they could have redone as we are not buying a collectable just want to enjoy the old stories.
February 17, 2023
The Dark Judges are almost always fab
February 17, 2024
Always like Judge Dredd, the dystopian backdrop of PSI Anderson holds the same feel and banner.
July 16, 2016
Judge Anderson is probably the most well known character in the world of Judge Dredd besides Dredd himself and Judge Death. A powerful psychic who first appeared in a Dredd story but went on to have her own spin off – PSI- Division.
This book collects together some of the early outings for PSI-Division.
There are numerous reasons why Judge Anderson is a great character but one of the the main ones is in contrast to the approach of most American comics Anderson isn't hyper sexualised or wearing a woefully impractical and revealing costume just to cater to a readership that traditionally consists mainly of teenage boys. Another major factor is Anderson isn't a helpless damsel in distress constantly in the need of being saved by men, she's strong willed, to the point of actually getting in trouble for it. and can deal with the day to day life of being a judge on the brutal mean streets of Mega City One.
Alan Grant is a treasure trove of story (with assistance from John Wagner) and there are numerous great artists to be found here like Arthur Ranson, David Roach and Caloz Ezqueera to name a few.
This book collects together some of the early outings for PSI-Division.
There are numerous reasons why Judge Anderson is a great character but one of the the main ones is in contrast to the approach of most American comics Anderson isn't hyper sexualised or wearing a woefully impractical and revealing costume just to cater to a readership that traditionally consists mainly of teenage boys. Another major factor is Anderson isn't a helpless damsel in distress constantly in the need of being saved by men, she's strong willed, to the point of actually getting in trouble for it. and can deal with the day to day life of being a judge on the brutal mean streets of Mega City One.
Alan Grant is a treasure trove of story (with assistance from John Wagner) and there are numerous great artists to be found here like Arthur Ranson, David Roach and Caloz Ezqueera to name a few.
February 1, 2016
So I started reading this just over two years ago. At first I found it quite difficult to get into. The serialised stories seemed just too choppy to really get in to and it was a bit like a superhero comic in that it was mostly fighting and not much else. So I put it aside. However, listening to the Judge Anderson audio the other day made me want to go back and read it again and I finished the last 2/3rds in a couple days. I really enjoyed it more this time around. The stories got more coherent and longer. There were some surprisingly good and emotional things that happened, her best friend committing suicide, was very emotional, even if it was hardly ever dealt with again. It is a great setting and Anderson is a great character. There were spooky, supernatural stories, stories about more mundane evil. But I really enjoyed it and now want to get the 2nd volume of the collected stories. Which hopefully won't take me two years to read!
January 26, 2016
A spin-off from Judge Dredd, Judge Anderson actually proved to be a more compelling character than the lead from her source material. While there are many inconsistencies regarding her appearance, every few stories sees her not only with a new hairstyle but a different face, and her adventures lack the satire of Dredd, the overall quality of stories is high.
Concerned with the supernatural, her adventures tend to have a broader scope for entertainment than Dredd's (not that he doesn't occasionally find himself up against the occult from time to time too), and generally make for a more fascinating and engaging read. As a character much more human than Dredd we get to experience not only her lowest ebbs (her best friend commits suicide, we discover Anderson was abused as a child and murdered her father) but also her lighter side which involves her upbeat, spunky and sassy persona.
Concerned with the supernatural, her adventures tend to have a broader scope for entertainment than Dredd's (not that he doesn't occasionally find himself up against the occult from time to time too), and generally make for a more fascinating and engaging read. As a character much more human than Dredd we get to experience not only her lowest ebbs (her best friend commits suicide, we discover Anderson was abused as a child and murdered her father) but also her lighter side which involves her upbeat, spunky and sassy persona.
August 22, 2014
Damn good fun. Fond memories from my childhood of this stuff. A little more interconnected with story arcs than I remember. Contains the rather poignant Judge Corey story line which was definitely something unusual from 2000AD type stories. Some truly awful stereotypical psychic power type stories, and some cleverly done stuff. Looking forward to the next volume, which brings some more intelligent stories and of course color.
August 10, 2015
Picked this up as I happened to catch the movie 'Dredd' on tv the other day and recalled how much I liked the Anderson character.
Some great storytelling, an enjoyable read and it was great to find out more about Anderson's background.
Some great storytelling, an enjoyable read and it was great to find out more about Anderson's background.
November 16, 2015
While I like Cassandra as a character, I don't find her compelling enough to carry a series by herself. She's far better when she's teamed up with Dredd. I found the series a bit repetitive and without Dredd for her to play off, I found the series a bit dull.
April 22, 2012
The transphobic story killed this for me. I always preferred Dredd anyway. I'd like to hope comics have moved on from there.
October 23, 2012
Absolutely classic. Any book that throws in Judge Death on page 1 is going to be pretty special, and Triad is absolutely sublime, with Arthur Ranson's artwork just incredible.
December 31, 2014
A great collection of the earliest Judge Anderson tales. Always loved 2000AD, so it was a lot of fun to find this. Enjoyed it immensely, especially her fights with Judge Death.
April 16, 2015
Great stuff from the most sexy of the Judges. Good story telling with some incredibly b/w art.
January 31, 2016
Patchy but an interesting addition to the Mega City 1 patchwork. Anderson is a nice, relatable foil to Dredd's stony-faced character.
December 15, 2016
Classic Alan Grant writing with a great range of artists. Definitely a volume worth picking up.
September 11, 2023
Llorando. Un volumen tremendo, con algunos capítulos flojitos pero nada que estropee la experiencia.
Necesito más de la Jueza Corey, la historia de la ballena no la voy a olvidar nunca.
Necesito más de la Jueza Corey, la historia de la ballena no la voy a olvidar nunca.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews