Judge Dredd: Anderson Psi-Division
Written by: Matt Smith
Art by: Carl Critchlow
Published by: IDW Publishing
Following hot on the heels of the previous issue of Judge Anderson: Psi-Division , we jump straight into the action in this sizzling second issue. We left Judge Anderson, at the end of #1, in a dire peril in the Cursed Earth. Anderson has followed a lead
from an explosive case that began in the first installment. Following the progression of her investigation in the Cursed Earth our Psi Judge is very happy to be back in her more accustomed environs of the Mega City.
As in #1 the quality of the writing is spot on. In Matt Smith we have a confident voice for this series, one that manages to build his story and flesh out the plot perfectly. The judges, including a brief Dredd appearance, are authentic and do justice to their formidable history in the pages of 2000 AD. On pencils, we have Carl Critchlow who turns in a quality series of pages for this book. The scenes are beautifully laid out and I particularly enjoyed the murder scene in the swamp; the gore was deliciously handled. As in the first book, the different environments were handled nicely. So far, Carl has handled the pencils faultlessly and the anticipation for this to continue in the remaining books of this mini-series is high.
When the story moves back into the Mega City, the plot begins to unravel, we hear the name Ashberry for the first time; Ashberry is a shadowy underworld figure from Dredd’s past, an almost mythical criminal overlord that has remained hidden for a long time. Anderson delves into the seedy underbelly of the city as she chases down leads on Ashberry, using her abilities to great effect and enlisting an old contact of hers. Just as her investigation is building, Smith drops the ending right on top of proceedings. As Judge Anderson herself pointed out in her meeting with her potential ally Zoller: “…he’s planning something. Something big, maybe.” And with that a mysterious figure enters the scene, one with a shocking effect on events.
The early promise of this mini-series is amply maintained by a quality creative team. The action is well handled and the plot is being developed at a pace that engages the reader, while the closing section delivers an ending to ensure eager anticipation for the 3rd installment.
