By Alan Grant and Arthur Ranson

Buy Judge Anderson - Shamballa

Review by Alex Frith

Let's get this out of the way - this collection is not a continuation of the Anderson: Psi Division collection issued by DC/Rebellion way back when. Instead, it's better to think of it as Anderson - the Arthur Ranson collection. Now, I certainly would like Rebellion to give ol' Cassie Anderson the Case Files treatment - and indeed it appears such a thing is on the cards for the end of 2009! But for the moment, it's all Arthur Ranson all the time.

So, what does that leave us with? Well, a rather neat package as it goes, and for what it's worth, probably the most 'grown up' collection of 2000 AD strips yet published (well, except for Halo Jones perhaps). This collection doesn't reprint Triad, Ranson's first, black and white, Anderson effort, but it does collect every Arthur Ranson Anderson strip from Shamballa up to R*Evolution, including a number from Volumes 2 and 3 of the Judge Dredd Megazine. All in full colour, lavishly reprinted with so much stark black ink that you can feel it as you caress the pages. Ranson always was the bright knight shining in 2000 AD's brown period, and the vibrancy is no less noticeable in this collection.

But, there are a number of Anderson stories that come before Shamballa, and in between the strips reprinted here which are 'missing'. And if you know your Anderson history, some of those omissions feel a bit off. But the collection as a whole is still entirely intelligible.

The lead story - Shamballa - very quickly established Arthur Ranson as the definitive artist for the character. I think it was a combination of his decision to depict Anderson as a real person (rather than a pin-up model a la Bolland or action heroine a la Ewins), and the incredible amount of detail he put into his backgrounds, be they Mega City 1 or the wild mountains of the orient. In any event, his fully painted work stood out a mile and generally went down very well. Since then, I get the impression that writer Alan Grant has been sure to commission Ranson for what he considers his best Anderson offerings. Of course, I could be completely wrong about this!

For all that Grant enjoys writing big, important stories about his heroine, one thing that has plagued the adventures of Judge Anderson is the sense that they're never as important as those of her more famous colleague, Judge Dredd. Grant pits her against some pretty major foes - worldwide outbreaks of monsterism in Shamballa, or an attack by Satan in Satan, to name but two. But Dredd scribe John Wagner never seemed to acknowledge these at the time they were going on, despite the impact they have on Mega City 1. The effect of this can be to diminish the sense of threat felt in any given Anderson story. You already know that the main character is going to win (well, 95% of the time), but even more than that, we know that the Judge system, and the city she lives in, are going to get by unscathed - because anything bigger would happen in a Judge Dredd story, wouldn't it?

So, on the one hand, a lot of these stories lack a little in the suspense department. On the other hand, they're packed with character development. Judge Anderson is a very rare beast in comics - someone who is able to remain consistent in each new story, and yet is able to change. Grant takes great pains to drop Anderson into a variety of emotionally draining situations, and to show how these affect her. That's what makes me think of this collection as more mature than the average 2000 AD collection.

This trend probably began with the story of Empath Judge Corey - a friend of Anderson's who committed suicide in a tale that has yet to be reprinted. But it's developed fully in Shamballa. Ostensibly the story is about Anderson's mission to rid the world of a plague of monsters and occult happenings. But it's also about the difference between the rigid world of street Judges and the more carefree world of Psi Judges. And along the way, our hero gets a taste of romance with an East-Meg Psi - handled expertly by Grant.

And then in a series of one-offs represented here for the first time, Anderson explores the idea of innocence lost, whether vampires might not be all bad, and, most memorably of all, has a brush with Christianity. True Christianity, that is, not the usual future-satire concept of religion that's glimpsed in Judge Dredd tales every now and then.

In all this, Arthur Ranson weighs in heavily with his own brand of intellectualising. He employs a number of stylistic devices to show Anderson's psychic abilities - diving into the realm of astral projection, mind-melding with people and so forth - and also to explore the emotional impact it all has on poor Cassie. There are a number of standout full-page illustrations with incredibly detailed patterns, borders and general pauses for thought. If I'm being honest, at times this kind of artiness is too arty for me, and the emotion a little too clinical, but it certainly makes me think. Of course, the more standard storytelling panels aren't to be ignored. As ever with Ranson, there's beautiful detail to behold in the landscapes, and the figurework feels exceptionally realistic - although again if I'm honest, at times the poses come across as awkwardly static. But his faces always have a remarkable subtlety of expression.

Back to the stories themselves. As well as Shamballa, there are two other long works: Satan and R*Evolution. Satan features Dredd alongside Anderson, and their interplay is always fun to see. The story of their fight with Satan on the edge of the city is ok, but inevitably it comes down to a sort of metaphysical battle of wits rather than an actual one and the conclusion at best is trite, and at worst doesn't really make sense. And as ever, I'm underwhelmed by all efforts to render the Devil since Chris Weston's definitively nasty God and Devil pairing from Canon Fodder. His devilish dialogue's pretty good, though.

R*Evolution is a much more straightforward thriller, in which Anderson meets a man with seven minds, and inside who's head she eventually gets lost. It's a clever conceit for a psychic powers based strip, and somehow it gives Ranson an excuse to draw a gorilla both as a slaughterhouse worker and as a lawyer. Read it to find out how that makes any sense!

It's a shame that this adventure ends up feeling like the weak link in the book. It's clever, funny, unexpected and features - in villain Vernan D'Arque - a character that could have become as iconic as Gargarax. I think the problem is that this is 'just' a straight adventure. Unlike all the other stories in this collection (which also includes the rather wonderful 'protest' two-parter at the end), Cass doesn't much need to reflect on who she is, or what is right and wrong with the world. Or if I'm being mean, it could be that Grant (for all his strengths with dark humour, weird ideas and political satire) just isn't very good at pacing an action story.

Overall, this collection is one to recommend to a) any of your highbrow friends who need reminding that comics aren't for kids, but also want to read something more entertaining than Jimmy Corrigan or Black Hole. And b) to all fine art lovers. I've praised Grant here, but it's clear that this collection is really Ranson's show.

I can't help but think that any long-term fans of Judge Anderson might want to hold onto their groats until the Psi Files arrive. It's very possible to read through this collection without needing to know what happens in the 'missing' stories, but some of those are pretty key to knowing Anderson as a whole - Engram, in which we find out how she became a Judge; the aforementioned Corey story; Childhood's End, in which Anderson goes to Mars; and Something Wicked, which is basically a long prologue to Satan.

Buy Judge Anderson - Shamballa