Sideshow Vote: Wow you look good for your age

[broodblik]

Many characters in the world of Dredd have been around for a long time. We also know that the world of Dredd is moving along time no reboots (thank you for that Tharg) or re-imaging of the world (thank you again for that Tharg).

So, what are we voting about this round it is quite simple we are revering to a certain PSI Judge's age Cassandra Anderson? The question do you believe that the way she is "illustrated" should reflect her age or not:
-   Yes, let's see her as a mature woman
-   No, let the artist/writer have free reign
-   Do not care, I just read the stories

[Rogue Judge]

No, let the artist/writer have free reign. Some artists draw Dredd looking like an old man while others like he hasn't aged for the past 20 years. It doesn't matter to me - I like the variety and artists interpretation. And if Dredd can re-juve to stay younger, why can't Anderson?

[Colin YNWA]

Yes, let's see her as a mature woman

Aside from the fact that we have a fandom that can lose its nut if Dredd doesn't have the right number of links in his chain, so representing a woman in their 50-60s as a woman in her 20s should drive them even more crazy.

Aside from the fact that cheesecake art is pretty sad at the best of time and we as a society need to grow-up and move on.

The main issue is comics aren't great at representing mature woman - aside from the occasion witch or similar - so Anderson supports the continued chance to improve representation.

[rogue69]

 Yes, let's see her as a mature woman

[Barrington Boots]

Yes, let's see her as a mature woman

I like looking at drawings of pretty ladies but if everyone else is aging in real time in Dredd, she has to as well. You can't have it both ways.
Plus, as Colin says, representation of mature women as the protagonist in comics (and a lot of other stuff) is severely lacking. There's a chance for 2000ad to be a real leader here.

[IndigoPrime]

I think my take here would be, at the very least, let's see her as a judge. Too often, artists let rip with their fantasies. Few seem to have a solid grasp on anatomy and how materials work over curves. (Hint: not skin tight to the level Anderson is often potrayed.) And then you'll get a few too many shots of her arse sticking out, because sexy woman. Plus there have been many strips where, for whatever reason, she's the only female judge. (This remains a problem in other Dredd universe strips as well. It's quite something how this future city appears to be primarily policed by white men, and consist primarily of a citizenship of average-bodied white men.)

Artists and writers also need to decide whether or not to follow in-strip continuity or whether to discard it. if they follow it, Psis are not eligible for rejuve treatment. That means Anderson ages like a normal person, for a given value of normal 122 years into the future. If she's in her 60s in the strip, you could at a stretch depict her realistically as a woman in her early 40s. Rendering her as a pin-up in her early 20s is ridiculous. Worse, it reduces the seriousness of her role. (And, yes, I know Anderson can be flippant, but again we've seen that this is part personality, but part her covering up an awful lot of horror.)

[broodblik]

Yes, both Indigo and Colin has summed it up pretty much on how I feel as well.

[sheridan]

mature woman - because the reason not to do this is a combination of ageism and sexism.

If you really must have a young, nubile female psi then create a new character, but don't pretend that a sixty-year-old without access to rejuve looks as young or younger than forty-two years and two months ago.

On a similar note - Hershey has looked younger in the last decade than when first appearing, in the same year that Cass did.  At least they look their age in the standalone series!

[IndigoPrime]

That's one of the things I like about Hershey: she looks grizzled.

[The Legendary Shark]

Mature woman, because...



That is all.

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

 The mature look is what Anderson should be modelling this, and every, year. If we need a young female judge to boost the strip's wankability, then one should be invented for that purpose. But surely we are a bit beyond that these days, aren't we?

SBT

[paddykafka]

No, let the artist/writer have free reign. (Although, that being said, had Anderson been portrayed a la Helen Mirren - sigh, in Prime Suspect, I might have been persuaded otherwise.  )

[AlexF]

Have her looking her age, but allowing for quite a lot of leeway in what that means. She's roughly the same age as Hershey, who looks a LOT older in her current form, but I think this makes sense both as an artistic choice but also as part of her personality - makes sesne to me that Chief Judge Hershey wants to look younger, but revenge-themed Hershey wants to look tough. Meanwhile active Judge Anderson may choose to presetn herself as younger, although as said by everyone else the world needs more 60+ sexy-looking leading women who look their age, and this is far from hard to achieve.

There's also the option to show Anderon's astrally projected form as her 'original' Debbie Harry looking self, as if that's her idealized verison of herself. And of course this version of Anderson is often nekkid.

Wonder how a now-in-her 40s Judge Judy Janus is getting on?

[Dark Jimbo]

Wonder how a now-in-her 40s Judge Judy Janus is getting on?

Seen just last year in prog 2250.

[norton canes]

Totally up to the artist (and writer). The character's been around long enough, and has had been realised by so many different creative talents, for visual continuity to be malleable.