STEVE DILLON - 1962 to 2016

Sadly one of the most popular comic book artists Steve Dillon died today.

Born in Luton (England) in 1962 Steve Dillon began his career drawing for Marvel UK's Hulk magazine. His best known works, though, are 'Judge Dredd' and 'Rogue Trooper' drawn for the 2000 A.D. comic.

He has also contributed to the Dr Who magazine and 'The Punisher' as well as being the co-creator and artist for the 'Preacher' series.

Steve Dillon died today in New York City aged 54.

JUDGE ANDERSON: PSI DIVISION

It is no co-incidence that artist Brian Boland drew John Wagner's creation to resemble Debbie Harry (Blondie).

Judge Cassandra Anderson first appeared in the 2000 A.D. comic in 1980 - and then only as a back up in the Judge Dredd story 'Judge Death'. At the time Anderson was the only psychic Judge and her abilities played a vital part in containing Judge Death - that was until the Dark Judges rose to engineer Death's release.

From about 1985 writer Alan Grant took over the storylines with the art coming from Arthur Ranson.

Although Judge Anderson shares Dredd's dedication to the law she is not afraid to see the weaknesses in the system and voice them. She also has humanity and a sense of humour - but is a forminable foe to those who break the rules. Maybe, that is why she and Dredd make such a good team.

Although Judge Anderson has appeared as Cadet Anderson in two stories and as Judge in 'My Name Is Death', her stint in the 2000 A.D. comic ended in 2001 - only to resurface in the 'Judge Dredd Megazine'. She has also 'guest appeared' in 'Judge Dredd and Batman'.

Having faced so many trials and tribulations in the fight against the forces of the Dark Judges and saving Mega-City One Cassandra Anderson became disillusioned and quit. However, as is often the case something wicked would come along that would draw her back.

The story 'Something Wicked' contains some more insight into her character. She wears a uniform that cages her in and, with the combination of the gun, also gives her power. That people fear and respect her but do not know anything of the person behind the uniform.
Up for assessment she finds that her assessor is to be Judge Dredd who is critical. She quips that she and Joe (Dredd) had known each other for twenty years - he tells her that she is quite delusional if she thinks that there is anything between them and that he is her senior officer. Oh, well, someone's in denial there.

In 2006 and 2007 saw the publication by Black Flame of three Judge Anderson novels written by Mitchel Scanlon and appeared in the Judge Dredd novels 'Dredd Dominion' and 'Dredd vs Death' (and as a playable character in the videogame of the same name).

Olivia Thirlby plays Anderson in the 2012 movie version of 'Dredd'.

The character of Judge Anderson has also won two Eagle Awards.

The 2000 A.D. comic was written for boys - or a predominently male audience - and a difficult market to crack. Somehow, Judge Cassandra Anderson managed to break through that barrier and, over the last thirty odd years, has made her mark.

JUDGE DREDD: THE CURSED EARTH

The Judge Dredd tale The Cursed Earth was, for its time, the most ambitious comic strip that lasted 25 issues of the 2000 A.D. comic from May to October 1978. The premise was simple the 2T(FRU)T virus was flooding Mega-City Two situated on the west coast of America. An attempt to get an antidote, that had been developed in Mega-City One, had failed due to the airports in Mega-City Two being overrun by violent plague victims. So a bunch of Judges led by Judge Dredd set out in a Land Raider across the treacherous wastes of the cursed earth. If anyone finds this story vaguely familiar then think Roger Zelanzny's novel 'Damnation Alley' transformed into a Judge Dredd adventure. Although the storyline has a continous thread it is also a series of short stories where such 'baddies' as The Lawgiver, Brotherhood Of Darkness and the Alien Finder General discover that when Judge Dredd says 'I am the law' he means it. Of course, it wasn't all plain sailing as the publishers encountered some enraged fast food moguls who objected to the way Ronald MacDonald and Burger King were portrayed in the two part story 'Burger Wars'. Eating the wrong burger or spilling a milkshake could lead to a bloody execution. I don't think I could stomach a 180lb Judge Burger. Five issues later and the intrepid Judge found himself in a kind of Dr.Moreau world with a green giant and Mr.Cube (as in Tate & Lyle's mascot) but the green giant was not so jolly when, once again, the publishers found themselves back in court over the story 'Soul Food'. Even Judge Dredd couldn't get them out of the mess and an apology was issued and a promise made that the offending parts 11 & 12 and 17 & 18 would never be republished. This was, of course, in the days before the internet where these stories can now be found intact. But the best 'baddie' has to be Satanus, a tyrannosaur from the Dinosaur Theme Park. This was 12 years before the movie 'Jurrasic Park'. And the conceived world of Las Vegas where the Hall of Justice Casino was run by mafia style Judges who believed that it was foretold that there would be a Second Coming and that a God Judge would rule over their world. Dredd declined the offer - after all there was still a vaccine to get to Mega-City Two. With all this macho stuff going on the most sympathetic character has to be Tweak - a sort of kangaroo with pincers - who reveals that he can speak. Rescued by Dredd from the Alien Finder General Tweak repays his rescuer by becoming a pivotal character towards the end of the story. The writers Pat Mills and John Wagner between them, with the help of illustrators Mike McMahon and Brian Bolland, have created one of the iconic stories in comic history. Maybe, it is because I'm that bit older but I can see some hidden stuff like racism, a swipe at the history of slavery, DNA and genetic engineering - and was 'Burger Wars' just about trademark violations? Maybe, maybe not - and maybe, it is just my imagination. The Cursed Earth forms part of Volume 02 of The Complete Case Files (or should that read 'Incomplete' as four parts are missing).