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Judge Anderson: The PSI Files Volume #2
Judge Anderson Psi Files TP Vol 2
An impending psychic apocalypse, mutant vampires, an alien threat on Mars. It's enough to make a seasoned PSI Judge disillusioned with her job. From the streets of Mega-City One to the outer fringes o
Comic
First published February 16, 2012
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About the author
Alan Grant
1,738 books143 followersAlan Grant was a Scottish comic book writer known for writing Judge Dredd in 2000 AD as well as various Batman titles during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is also the creator of the character Anarky.
Alan Grant first entered the comics industry in 1967 when he became an editor for D.C. Thomson before moving to London from Dundee in 1970 to work for IPC on various romance magazines. After going back to college and having a series of jobs, Grant found himself back in Dundee and living on Social Security. He then met John Wagner, another former D.C. Thompson editor, who was helping put together a new science fiction comic for IPC, 2000 A.D., and was unable to complete his other work. Wagner asked Grant if he could help him write the Tarzan comic he was working on; so began the Wagner/Grant writing partnership.
The pair eventually co-wrote Judge Dredd. They would work on other popular strips for the comic, including Robo-Hunter and Strontium Dog using the pseudonym T.B. Grover. Grant also worked on other people's stories, changing and adding dialogue, most notably Harry Twenty on the High Rock, written by Gerry Finley-Day. Judge Dredd would be Grant's main concern for much of the 1980s. Grant and Wagner had developed the strip into the most popular in 2000AD as well as creating lengthy epic storylines such as The Apocalypse War. Grant also wrote for other IPC comics such as the revamped Eagle.
By the late 1980s, Grant and Wagner were about to move into the American comic market. Their first title was a 12-issue miniseries called Outcasts for DC Comics. Although it wasn't a success, it paved the way for the pair to write Batman stories in Detective Comics from issue 583, largely with Norm Breyfogle on art duties across the various Batman titles Grant moved to. After a dozen issues, Wagner left Grant as sole writer. Grant was one of the main Batman writers until the late 1990s. The pair also created a four issue series for Epic Comics called The Last American. This series, as well as the Chopper storyline in Judge Dredd, is blamed for the breakup of the Wagner/Grant partnership. The pair split strips, with Wagner keeping Judge Dredd and Grant keeping Strontium Dog and Judge Anderson. Grant and Wagner continue to work together on special projects such as the Batman/Judge Dredd crossover Judgement on Gotham. During the late 1980s, Grant experienced a philosophical transformation and declared himself an anarchist. The creation of the supervillain Anarky was initially intended as a vehicle for exploring his political opinions through the comic medium. In the following years, he would continue to utilize the character in a similar fashion as his philosophy evolved.
Grant's projects at the start of the 90s included writing Detective Comics and Strontium Dog, but two projects in particular are especially notable. The first is The Bogie Man, a series co-written by Wagner which was the pair's first venture into independent publishing. The second is Lobo, a character created by Keith Giffen as a supporting character in The Omega Men. Lobo gained his own four issue mini series in 1990 which was drawn by Simon Bisley. This was a parody of the 'dark, gritty' comics of the time and proved hugely popular. After several other miniseries (all written by Grant, sometimes with Giffen as co-writer), Lobo received his own ongoing series. Grant was also writing L.E.G.I.O.N. (a Legion of Super-Heroes spin-off) and The Demon (a revival of Jack Kirby's charac
Alan Grant first entered the comics industry in 1967 when he became an editor for D.C. Thomson before moving to London from Dundee in 1970 to work for IPC on various romance magazines. After going back to college and having a series of jobs, Grant found himself back in Dundee and living on Social Security. He then met John Wagner, another former D.C. Thompson editor, who was helping put together a new science fiction comic for IPC, 2000 A.D., and was unable to complete his other work. Wagner asked Grant if he could help him write the Tarzan comic he was working on; so began the Wagner/Grant writing partnership.
The pair eventually co-wrote Judge Dredd. They would work on other popular strips for the comic, including Robo-Hunter and Strontium Dog using the pseudonym T.B. Grover. Grant also worked on other people's stories, changing and adding dialogue, most notably Harry Twenty on the High Rock, written by Gerry Finley-Day. Judge Dredd would be Grant's main concern for much of the 1980s. Grant and Wagner had developed the strip into the most popular in 2000AD as well as creating lengthy epic storylines such as The Apocalypse War. Grant also wrote for other IPC comics such as the revamped Eagle.
By the late 1980s, Grant and Wagner were about to move into the American comic market. Their first title was a 12-issue miniseries called Outcasts for DC Comics. Although it wasn't a success, it paved the way for the pair to write Batman stories in Detective Comics from issue 583, largely with Norm Breyfogle on art duties across the various Batman titles Grant moved to. After a dozen issues, Wagner left Grant as sole writer. Grant was one of the main Batman writers until the late 1990s. The pair also created a four issue series for Epic Comics called The Last American. This series, as well as the Chopper storyline in Judge Dredd, is blamed for the breakup of the Wagner/Grant partnership. The pair split strips, with Wagner keeping Judge Dredd and Grant keeping Strontium Dog and Judge Anderson. Grant and Wagner continue to work together on special projects such as the Batman/Judge Dredd crossover Judgement on Gotham. During the late 1980s, Grant experienced a philosophical transformation and declared himself an anarchist. The creation of the supervillain Anarky was initially intended as a vehicle for exploring his political opinions through the comic medium. In the following years, he would continue to utilize the character in a similar fashion as his philosophy evolved.
Grant's projects at the start of the 90s included writing Detective Comics and Strontium Dog, but two projects in particular are especially notable. The first is The Bogie Man, a series co-written by Wagner which was the pair's first venture into independent publishing. The second is Lobo, a character created by Keith Giffen as a supporting character in The Omega Men. Lobo gained his own four issue mini series in 1990 which was drawn by Simon Bisley. This was a parody of the 'dark, gritty' comics of the time and proved hugely popular. After several other miniseries (all written by Grant, sometimes with Giffen as co-writer), Lobo received his own ongoing series. Grant was also writing L.E.G.I.O.N. (a Legion of Super-Heroes spin-off) and The Demon (a revival of Jack Kirby's charac
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 25, 2021
The second Judge Anderson Psi Files starts with "Shambala", an end-of-the-world story where killing psychic phenomenon start appearing around the world. Anderson is assigned to get to the bottom of it. In the process she forms a psychic (and romantic) connection with a Sov-Block Judge also on the case. But she would have to make a sacrifice when the cause of the phenomenon is revealed and how to stop it.
A religious-themed story also appears in the form of a Christian preacher who preaches about the coming golden age. When Anderson probes his mind, she discovers something she's never encountered before that starts to change her opinion about being a Judge and to become more cynical about the Mega-City Justice System.
It would all come to a head when she is sent to Mars as part of a team investigating the sudden opening of the infamous "Face of Mars" (here, taken to be a real alien artifact). The investigative team would face killings, a traitor and an encounter with aliens that threatens to destroy much of mankind.
The encounter would be too much for Anderson who resigns as a Judge and goes on a voyage of discovery throughout the galaxy. She would discover 'inner peace' and a psychic flash about an impending danger towards Mega-City One, leading her to return as a Judge after being pardoned by the Chief Judge, much to the disgust of Dredd.
The artwork in these series of stories is more stylized, making Anderson's appearance change from story to story. Anderson herself is shown to be a more vulnerable person with questions about who she is and whether it is worth it to be a Judge.
A religious-themed story also appears in the form of a Christian preacher who preaches about the coming golden age. When Anderson probes his mind, she discovers something she's never encountered before that starts to change her opinion about being a Judge and to become more cynical about the Mega-City Justice System.
It would all come to a head when she is sent to Mars as part of a team investigating the sudden opening of the infamous "Face of Mars" (here, taken to be a real alien artifact). The investigative team would face killings, a traitor and an encounter with aliens that threatens to destroy much of mankind.
The encounter would be too much for Anderson who resigns as a Judge and goes on a voyage of discovery throughout the galaxy. She would discover 'inner peace' and a psychic flash about an impending danger towards Mega-City One, leading her to return as a Judge after being pardoned by the Chief Judge, much to the disgust of Dredd.
The artwork in these series of stories is more stylized, making Anderson's appearance change from story to story. Anderson herself is shown to be a more vulnerable person with questions about who she is and whether it is worth it to be a Judge.
March 18, 2022
Collected Anderson stories from 2000AD comics. Variable art, would be 5 stars if Arthur Ransom did the art on all the stories. All good fun though and lots of other great art.
May 3, 2016
This Judge Anderson collection didn't take me nearly as long to read as the first. I loved how they dealt with her friend's death, as that seemed really significant in the first volume, but also seemed to have zero impact then. The stories were on the whole longer and more interesting. However, for some reason, I just wasn't really into the stories that took place off Earth. The aimless travelling just felt a bit aimless, and the universe less well defined than that of Earth. I will definitely get the 3rd volume though as she's still a great character.
April 3, 2020
it was good but it felt like it was treading water somewhat between books 1 & 3, though there are some good stories in this collection and an interesting sequence where Anderson quits being a Judge for while, but goes back to the job again at the end of it. I'm really hoping there will be a 6th volume in the range as there must have been more than enough Anderson stories released by now to fill one if not three more...
May 29, 2012
This is the second volume of collected stories featuring Judge Anderson taken from 2000AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine. All except one was written by Alan Grant (the exception being a collaboration between Grant and long time writing partner John Wagner) and features three longer stories with a number of short tales interspersed among them. There are a number of artists involved including Arthur Ranson, Steve Sampson, Kevin Walker, Ian Gibson among others.
The first of the longer stories is called Shamballa and sees Anderson and academy colleague, Rickard, travelling to Tibet with two East-Meg 2 psi operatives to investigate the source of a worldwide spate of psychic visions of mythic creatures that are causing death and destruction where they appear. They end up travelling to the region formerly known as Tibet to track down a forgotten race of people with extraordinary psi abilities. The art on this story was by the great Arthur Ranson.
After a number of stories that slowly erode Anderson's faith in the justice system she eventually cracks and attacks a particularly brutal judge. In the second of the long stories, Childhood's End, she is sent on a mission to Mars to cool off. On the Cydonian plane, the head monument has opened a portal. Anderson is one of a number of assembled experts who make the expedition into the structure. While inside she must confront a deadly enemy of old and the return of an ancient race determined to wipe out humanity.
The third long story, Postcards from the Edge continues on from the last one and sees Anderson, having resigned as a judge, bumming round the inhabited worlds of the galaxy looking to find herself. This walkabout storyline is the most disjointed, having several different artists contributing to it, and with individual stories of variable quality and interest. Having said that I like the chapters with the distinctive art of Steve Sampson which are good to look at even if they are not necessarily good to read.
The beauty of this volume is that it allows an alternative look at the judges and the justice system of Mega-City. The sometimes brutal tactics of the street judge are questioned here by an increasingly doubtful Anderson as she struggles to get over the suicide of her friend, the empath Judge Corey, and assimilate some the spiritual experiences she goes through in this book and the philosophical questions they raise. Taken all together it is a worthwhile addition to the library even though some of the standalone stories and parts of Postcards from the Edge are not quite as good as the rest.
The first of the longer stories is called Shamballa and sees Anderson and academy colleague, Rickard, travelling to Tibet with two East-Meg 2 psi operatives to investigate the source of a worldwide spate of psychic visions of mythic creatures that are causing death and destruction where they appear. They end up travelling to the region formerly known as Tibet to track down a forgotten race of people with extraordinary psi abilities. The art on this story was by the great Arthur Ranson.
After a number of stories that slowly erode Anderson's faith in the justice system she eventually cracks and attacks a particularly brutal judge. In the second of the long stories, Childhood's End, she is sent on a mission to Mars to cool off. On the Cydonian plane, the head monument has opened a portal. Anderson is one of a number of assembled experts who make the expedition into the structure. While inside she must confront a deadly enemy of old and the return of an ancient race determined to wipe out humanity.
The third long story, Postcards from the Edge continues on from the last one and sees Anderson, having resigned as a judge, bumming round the inhabited worlds of the galaxy looking to find herself. This walkabout storyline is the most disjointed, having several different artists contributing to it, and with individual stories of variable quality and interest. Having said that I like the chapters with the distinctive art of Steve Sampson which are good to look at even if they are not necessarily good to read.
The beauty of this volume is that it allows an alternative look at the judges and the justice system of Mega-City. The sometimes brutal tactics of the street judge are questioned here by an increasingly doubtful Anderson as she struggles to get over the suicide of her friend, the empath Judge Corey, and assimilate some the spiritual experiences she goes through in this book and the philosophical questions they raise. Taken all together it is a worthwhile addition to the library even though some of the standalone stories and parts of Postcards from the Edge are not quite as good as the rest.
December 6, 2016
The world of Mega City One is far more similar to our own than we'd like to admit. Therefore, Anderson's dilemmas, doubts and fears about life and society are much closer to ours then most I've seen in mainstream comics.
Good superheroes comic books work as a great allegory but their world is much more black & white, no matter how real its authors try to portray it. Anderson is not Batman. She's not all-powerful like Superman. She's human and can't control or even influence the world around her, and what's worse, she's a cop and in a very strict, fascistic system so she often must make decisions she quickly regrets.
She has to play by the rules but she doesn't want to. And therein lies her problem. She's doesn't want to be a conformist but she's forced to be by her programming, by her upbringing and training. Dredd has a clear agenda - he follows the law to the letter. And although he had his doubts about the Judge system lately, he's still a much happier person because he believes in the Law.
Anderson is totally opposite and when I first discovered that I immediately identified with her character. I love Dredd, I don't necessary like him as a person but his adventures ask a ton of moral and social questions. Anderson's too but at the same time they're more psychological.
I've spent too long on a steady diet of US superhero comics trying to find mainstream comic books that talk about real life but now I've discovered the true quality of 2000AD comics it's not likely I'll be going back to them any time soon. I've been looking for a home for a long, long time and it looks like I found it in the worlds and characters written by John Wagner, Alan Grant and Pat Mills.
Good superheroes comic books work as a great allegory but their world is much more black & white, no matter how real its authors try to portray it. Anderson is not Batman. She's not all-powerful like Superman. She's human and can't control or even influence the world around her, and what's worse, she's a cop and in a very strict, fascistic system so she often must make decisions she quickly regrets.
She has to play by the rules but she doesn't want to. And therein lies her problem. She's doesn't want to be a conformist but she's forced to be by her programming, by her upbringing and training. Dredd has a clear agenda - he follows the law to the letter. And although he had his doubts about the Judge system lately, he's still a much happier person because he believes in the Law.
Anderson is totally opposite and when I first discovered that I immediately identified with her character. I love Dredd, I don't necessary like him as a person but his adventures ask a ton of moral and social questions. Anderson's too but at the same time they're more psychological.
I've spent too long on a steady diet of US superhero comics trying to find mainstream comic books that talk about real life but now I've discovered the true quality of 2000AD comics it's not likely I'll be going back to them any time soon. I've been looking for a home for a long, long time and it looks like I found it in the worlds and characters written by John Wagner, Alan Grant and Pat Mills.
October 23, 2012
Volume 2 largely ditches the more lightweight tone of some of the early Anderson/Dredd stories, as Cass starts to doubt the Justice system and takes a bit of a gap year. There's a lot of space travelling introspection as she finds herself, and some of the more experimental art is a bit hit and miss, but the quality of the writing is superb throughout.
It also features easily my favorite Anderson tale, and one of my favorite comic stories of all-time, the fantastic Childhood's End, which is worth the price of admission alone. Luckily that story is in very good company.
It also features easily my favorite Anderson tale, and one of my favorite comic stories of all-time, the fantastic Childhood's End, which is worth the price of admission alone. Luckily that story is in very good company.
February 13, 2017
At times there is a little too much emphasis on Anderson's grief over her colleague who committed suicide, but overall it is what drives her character through most of these stories and it is what makes her more of a well-rounded person than Dredd - this volume is really dedicated to her questioning her life, world and profession. While her appearance may change from chapter to chapter (do artists never check out previous issues?) the artwork is generally of a high standard, with only the occasional misfire in the name of experimentation.
January 14, 2017
Great continuity with stories and I really loved that high drama there was. Great art also, really smooth but also a bit experimental and rough.
Sadly all that niceness was shot to bits with those, again, god awful Annual stories. Those were just pointless.
Sadly all that niceness was shot to bits with those, again, god awful Annual stories. Those were just pointless.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews