5 out of 5

This is the one.

The initial PSI Files were clearly carving out Cass’ identity and function, away from the shadow of Dredd; with volumes 2 and 3, she fully becomes Alan Grant’s character… and subject to his indulgences. If you’re a fan of his religious interests and philosophizing, this is probably rich stuff, and there are definitely some very heavy themes and concepts, but that material is pretty hard for me to get through. The indulgence is what sticks out over the ideas, and any interesting story point feels inorganic, crafted instead for supporting some intellectual exercise.

Volume 4’s stories totally flip that script: plot and action are back to drive things, and then Grant gets to dust the edges with all his favorite topics. And I’d say this works because he knows Cass’ voice so well, and because it builds on what she’s gone through, both directly (following on Judge Death business, and her “retirement” at the time) and indirectly, using the explorations of those earlier stories to give her confidence in her mission. That doesn’t make me feel the need to reread TPB’s 2 and 3, but I’ll allow that the tales in 4 wouldn’t feel nearly as powerful and cool without them.

This is also all very linear, giving this collection more of a typical trade paperback sense of evolution than a lot of 2000 AD trades, which are, by the anthology nature of the mag, generally somewhat fragmented. Here, we buildup from Anderson’s Judge Death recovery – involving an extended but fascinating dive into her mental landscape – to several incidents that happen as a result, when a disease left by Death as a trap, Half-Life, is loosed upon the world. Arthur Ranson is once again here on cart, and while occasionally we’re stuck behind photo reference, I’m overall blown away by how Ranson was able to adapt this style to some insane settings and designs, bringing even Grant’s most surreal ideas to life, while also nailing the intensity and violence of the action. “Surreal” is probably a key point here: several of these stories use the psychic landscape / psi-powers to provide Grant a platform for open-ended ideas that don’t have to feel so forced, and he can toss some of his philosophical musings in there as well.

The set opens with some Steve Sampson-illustrated tales that kind of act as a palette cleanser for what’s to come; focused bits that give us Anderson’s attitude, but stand mostly alone, warming us up for the interconnected stories following. We also get some bonus stories, which we’ll view as truly that: some good work, and then some wildly experimental stuff and a text tale that read like the odds and ends they are.