Judge Dredd: Anderson Psi-Division
Written by: Matt Smith
Art: Carl Critchlow
Published by: IDW Publishing
Here it is, the penultimate issue in Judge Anderson’s tale of the King of the Six Sectors. What has so far, been a solid offering from IDW, at the hands of Smith & Critchlow, has hit a competent 3rd issue, at a canter. The plot has been sustained through the first 2 motions of this 4 part story and, again, Smith dots the I’s and crosses the T’s with his customary aplomb.
As Cassandra battles her way to the shadowy puppeteer known as Ashberry, she comes up against reluctant superiors and a legion of criminal scum. Matt Smith has weaved a clever tale, the set up in the first book was accomplished and, throughout, Smith has remained faithful to the 2000AD characters.
On art we have Carl Critchlow, who again turns in a very nice set of pages for this book. The partnership has worked well throughout this mini-series, and the final issue should be as gorgeous to look at as issues 1-3 have been.
My only areas of concern with this issue relate to the reveal at the end of the issue – in terms of the story I’d have liked to have held that back for the final issue – there is always risk when bringing a creature from the shadows into the light for all to see, can the bogeyman live up to the anticipation?
While the action in this issue is perfectly fine and fits in nicely, there is a feel that the pace is slightly down here. It doesn’t damage the quality of the story and you feel that the energy here is a little down compared to previous installments.
With the impending culmination to this tale looming, the mind automatically tries to read ahead, to see how Smith and Critchlow will pull the various elements here together to end this story. With the explosive start to this story, the intrigue and dogged pursuit by Judge Anderson, you hope that the series wraps to a satisfactory conclusion, as the work so far has been of the highest caliber. Smith has constructed a worthy story as a backdrop to Cassandra Anderson.
