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2000 AD is a weekly
British science fiction-orientated comic magazine. As a comics anthology it
serialises stories in each issue (known as "progs" and was first
published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then
shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold to Robert
Maxwell in 1987 then Egmont UK in 1991. Fleetway continued to produce the title
until 2000, when it was bought by Rebellion Developments.
2000 AD is most noted for its Judge Dredd stories, and has been contributed to by a number of artists and writers who became renowned in the field internationally, such as Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Brian Bolland and Mike McMahon.
2000AD Progs #s 724,
725, 726, 727, 728, 729, 730, 731, 732, 733, 734, 735, 736, 737, 738, 729 &
740.
Each issue’s stories,
characters and their creators are described below.
Original Cover Price
45p
Condition is Very
Fine/Near Mint
Newsagent’s
handwritten address on most.
Comics are flat with
no roll. Covers are fully attached by firm spines without stress. Minimal spine, corner and edge wear. Colours are bright, clear and reflective,
undimmed by their near 40 years. Inside covers are pristine clean.
Internal
All pages clean,
unblemished, fully intact and firmly attached to spines without stress. Pages
are white with an occasional hint of margin tanning. Lots of ‘spring’ still
remaining at centre pages.
Absolutely Beautiful
Condition for 40 year old comics.
2000 AD 724
Published 30th
March 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
NOT INCLUDED bonus
Slaine booklet/fold-out poster. Features include Judge Dredd in "Bill
Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home" part 2 (script by John Wagner, colour
art by Vanyo), Nemesis and Deadlock in "The Enigmass Variations" part
2 (script by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner, colour art by Carl Critchlow), Robo
Hunter part 2 (script by Mark Millar, colour art by Casanovas), Bix Barton in
"Carry On Barton" part 2 (script by Peter Milligan, colour art by
James McCarthy), Tao de Moto in "Forbidden Fruit" part 2 (script by
Myra Hancock, colour art by Dave Hine), and Juneker part 10 (script by Michael
Fleisher, colour art by John Ridgway and Tim Perkins). Dermot Power cover.
2000 AD 725
Published 6th
April 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
NOT INCLUDEDs booklet/ fold out poster. Features include Judge Dredd in "Bill
Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home" part 3 (script by John Wagner, colour
art by Vanyo), Nemesis and Deadlock in "the Enigmass Variations" part
3 (script by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner, colour art by Carl Critchlow), Robo
Hunter (script by Mark Millar, colour art by Casanovas), Bix Barton in
"Carry On Barton" part 3 (script by Peter Milligan, colour art by
James McCarthy), Tao de Moto in "Forbidden Planet" part 3 (script by
Myra Hancock, colour art by Dave Hine), and Juneker part 11 (script by Michael
Fleisher, colour art by John Ridgway and Tim Perkins). Jim Baikie back cover.
Hine front cover.
2000 AD 726
Published 13th
April 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
Features include Judge
Dredd in "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home" part 4 (script by
John Wagner, art by Vanyo), Nemesis and Deadlock in "The Enigmass
Variations" part 4 (script by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner, art by Carl
Critchlow), Robo Hunter part 4 (script by Mark Millar, art by Casanovas and
J.R.), Bix Barton in "Carry On Barton" part 4 (script by Peter
Milligan, art by James McCarthy), Tao de Moto in "Forbidden Fruit" part
4 (script by Myra Hancock, art by Dave Hine), and Juneker part 12 (script by
Michael Fleisher, art by John Ridgway and Tim Perkins). Critchlow cover.
2000 AD 727
Published 20th
April 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
Features include Judge
Dredd in "Emerald Isle" part 1 (script by Garth Ennis, art by Steve
Dillon and Will Simpson), Nemesis and Deadlock in "The Enigmass
Variations" part 5 (script by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner, art by Carl
Critchlow), Robo Hunter part 5 (script by Mark Millar, art by Casanovas), Bix
Barton in "Carry On Barton" part 5 (script by Peter Milligan, art by
James McCarthy), Tao de Moto in "Forbidden Fruit" part 5 (script by
Myra Hancock, art by Dave Hine), and Juneker part 13 (script by Michael Fleisher,
art by John Ridgway and Tim Perkins). Steve Dillon cover.
2000 AD 728
Published 27th
April 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
All colour. Features
include Judge Dredd in "Emerald Isle" part 2 (script by Garth Ennis,
art by Steve Dillon and Will Simpson), Nemesis and Deadlock in "The
Enigmass Variations" part 6 (script by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner, art by
Carl Critchlow), Robo Hunter part 6 (script by Mark Millar, art by Casanovas),
Bix Barton in "Carry On Barton" part 6 (script by Peter Milligan, art
by James McCarthy), Juneker part 14 (script by Michael Fleisher, art by John
Ridgway), and Tao de Moto in "Forbidden Fruit" part 6 (script by Myra
Hancock, art by Dave Hine). Critchlow cover.
2000 AD 729
Published 4th
May 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
Features include Judge
Dredd in "Emerald Isle" part 3 (script by Garth Ennis, art by Steve
Dillon and Will Simpson), Nemesis and Deadlock in "The Enigmass
Variations" part 7 (script by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner, art by Carl
Critchlow), Robo Hunter part 7 (script by Mark Millar, art by Casanovas),
Tharg's Future Shocks: "Marksman" (script by Westley Smith, art by
Kev Hopgood), Tao de Moto in "Forbidden Fruit" part 7 (script by Myra
Hancock, art by Dave Hine), and Juneker part 15 (script by Michael Fleisher,
art by John Ridgway).
2000 AD 730
Published 11th
May 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
All colour. Features
include Judge Dredd in "Emerald Isle" part 4 (script by Garth Ennis,
art by Steve Dillon and Will Simpson), Rogue Trooper in "The Saharan
Ice-Belt War" part 1 (script by Michael Fleisher, art by Coleby and Hart),
the Mean Machine in "Travels With Muh Shrink" (script by John Wagner,
art by Richard Dolan), Robo Hunter part 8 (script by Mark Millar, art by
Casanovas), Tao de Moto in "Forbidden Fruit" part 8 (script by Myra
Hancock, art by Dave Hine), Juneker part 16 (script by Michael Fleisher, art by
John Ridgway).
2000 AD 731
Published 18th May 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
All colour. Features
include Judge Dredd in "Emerald Isle" part 5 (script by Garth Ennis,
art by Steve Dillon and Will Simpson), Rogue Trooper in "The Saharan
Ice-Belt War" part 2 (script by Michael Fleisher, art by Simon Coleby,
colour by Gina Hart), the Mean Machine in "Travels With Muh Shrink"
part 2 (script by John Wagner, art by Richard Dolan), Robo Hunter part 9
(script by Mark Millar, art by Casanovas), Tao de Moto in "Forbidden
Fruit" part 9 (script by Myra Hancock, art by Dave Hine), and Below Zero
prologue (script by John Brosnan, art by Kev Hopgood). Dillon cover.
2000 AD 732
Published 25th
May 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
All colour. Features
include Judge Dredd in "Emerald Isle" part 6 (script by Garth Ennis,
art by Steve Dillon and Will Simpson), Rogue Trooper in "The Saharan
Ice-Belt War" part 3 (script by Michael Fleisher, art by Simon Coleby,
colour by Gina Hart), the Mean Machine in "Travels With Muh Shrink"
part 3 (script by John Wagner, art by Richard Dolan), Robo Hunter part 10
(script by Mark Millar, art by Casanovas), Tao de Moto in "Forbidden
Fruit" part 10 (script by Myra Hancock, art by Dave Hine), and Below Zero
part 1 (script by John Brosnan, art by Kev Hopgood).
2000 AD 733
Published 1st June
1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
All colour. Features
include Judge Dredd in "Return of the King" part 1 (script by Garth
Ennis, art by Carlos Ezquerra), Rogue Trooper in "The Saharan
Ice-Belt" part 4 (script by Michael Fleisher, art by Simon Coleby, colour
by Gina Hart), the Mean Machine in "Travels With Muh Shrink" part 4
(script by John Wagner, art by Richard Dolan), Robo Hunter part 11 (script by
Mark Millar, art by Casanovas), Tao de Moto in "Forbidden Fruit" part
11 (script by Myra Hancock, art by Dave Hine), and Below Zero part 2 (script by
John Brosnan, art by Kev Hopgood). Coleby cover.
2000 AD 734
Published 8th
June 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
All colour. Features
include Judge Dredd in "Return of the King" part 2 (script by Garth
Ennis, art by Carlos Ezquerra), Rogue Trooper in "The Saharan Ice-Belt
War" part 5 (script by Michael Fleisher, art by Simon Coleby, colour by
Gina Hart), the Mean Machine in "Travels With Muh Shrink" part 5
(script by John Wagner, art by Richard Dolan), Robo Hunter part 12 (script by
Mark Millar, art by Casanovas), Tao de Moto in "Forbidden Fruit" part
12 (script by Myra Hancock, art by Dave Hine), and Below Zero part 3 (script by
John Brosnan, art by Kev Hopgood). Dolan cover.
2000 AD 735
Published 15th
June 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
All colour. Features
include Judge Dredd in "Return of the King" part 3 (script by Garth
Ennis, art by Carlos Ezquerra), Rogue Trooper in "The Saharan Ice-Belt
War" part 6 (script by Michael Fleisher, art by Simon Coleby, colour by
Hart), the Mean Machine in "Travels With Muh Shrink" paart 6 (script
by John Wagner, art by Richard Dolan), Winwood and Cord in an Indigo Prime
story, "Killing Time" part 1 (by John Smith and Chris Weston), Tao de
Moto in "Forbidden Fruit" part 13 (script by Myra Hancock, art by
Dave Hine), and Below Zero part 4 (script by John Brosnan, art by Kev Hopgood).
Weston cover.
2000 AD 736
Published 22nd
June 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
All colour. Features
include Judge Dredd in "Firepower" (script by Garth Ennis, art by
Colin Macneil), Rogue Trooper in "The Saharan Ice-Belt War" part 7
(script by Michael Fleisher, art by Simon Coleby, colour by Gina Hart), the
Mean Machine in "Travels With Muh Shrink" part 7 (script by John
Wagner, art by Richard Dolan), Winwood and Cord in an Indigo Prime story,
"Killing Time" part 2 (by John Smith and Chris Weston), Tao de Moto
in "Forbidden Fruit" part 14 (script by Myra Hancock, art by Dave
Hine), and Below Zero part 5 (script by John Brosnan, art by Kev Hopgood).
Macneil cover.
2000 Ad 737
Published 29th
June 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
All colour. Features
include Judge Dredd in "Teddy-Bear's Firefight" (script by Garth Ennis),
Rogue Trooper in "The Saharan Ice-Belt War" part 8 (script by Michael
Fleisher, art by Simon Coleby, colour by Gina Hart), Bix Barton in "Love
Sick World" part 1 (script by Peter Milligan, art by Jim McCarthy),
Winwood and Cord in an Indigo Prime story, "Killing Time" part 3 (by
John Smith and Chris Weston), Tao de Moto in "Forbidden Fruit" part
15 (script by Myra Hancock, art by Dave Hine), and Below Zero part 6 (script by
John Brosnan, art by Kev Hopgood). McCarthy cover.
2000 AD 738
Published 6th
July 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
All colour. Features
include Judge Dredd in "Garbage Disposal" (script by Garth Ennis, art
by John Burns), Rogue Trooper in "The Saharan Ice-Belt War" part 9
(script by Michael Fleisher, art by Simon Coleby, colour by Gina Hart), Bix
Barton in "Love Sick World" part 2 (script by Pete Milligan, art by
Jim McCarthy), Winwood and Cord in an Indigo Prime story, "Killing
Time" part 4 (by John Smith and Chris Weston), Tao de Moto in
"Forbidden Fruit" part 16 (script by Myra Hancock, art by Dave Hine),
and Below Zero part 7 (script by John Brosnan, art by Kev Hopgood). Cliff
Robinson cover.
2000 AD 739
Published 13th
July 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
All colour. Features
include Judge Dredd in "Watchdogs" (script by John Wagner, art by
Cliff Robinson, colour by Gina Hart), Rogue Trooper in "The Saharan
Ice-Belt War" part 10 (script by Michael Fleisher, art by Simon Coleby,
colour by Hart), Bix Barton in "Love Sick World" part 3 (script by
Peter Milligan, art by Jim McCarthy), Winwood and Cord in an Indigo Prime
story, "Killing Time" part 5 (by John Smith and Chris Weston), Tao de
Moto in "Forbidden Fruit" part 17 (script by Myra Hancock, art by
Dave Hine), and Below Zero part 8 (script by John Brosnan, art by Kev Hopgood).
Robinson cover.
2000 AD 740
Published 20th
July 1991 by IPC/Fleetway.
All colour. Features
include Judge Dredd in "Talkback" (script by Garth Ennis, art by
Glenn Fabry), Rogue Trooper in "The Saharan Ice-Belt War" part 11
(script by Michael Fleisher, art by Coleby, colour by Gina Hart), Bix Barton in
"Love Sick World" part 4 (script by Peter Milligan, art by Jim
McCarthy), Winwood and Cord in an Indigo Prime story, "Killing Time"
part 6 (by John Smith and Chris Weston), Tao de Moto in "Forbidden Fruit"
part 19 (script by Myra Hancock, art by Dave Hine), and Below Zero part 9
(script by John Brosnan, art by Kev Hopgood). Coleby cover.
See below for more info on 2000 AD, its contents, characters and their creators >>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
All comics are from my
own collection which I am disposing of.
All photographs are of
the comic you are bidding on. I do not use stock shots.
I have additional
cover and internal photographs, please send me your email address and the
issues you are considering biding on and I will send you copies.
I try to create short
sets - usually with 6 or less related issues – to provide the reader with a
complete or near complete story arc or theme.
This provides a better reading experience and can also encourage a jump
in point for new companies, characters or titles.
I aim for honest
grading and will always describe any shortcomings including the presence of
price stickers.
All are packed
securely.
I identify “my
favourites” as such. This doesn’t
necessarily mean that they are better than my other listings - although I guess
I would argue that they are!! You judge.
I will always combine
postage costs for multiple purchases.
Hope you enjoy reading
them as much as I have collecting them.
In December 1975, Kelvin Gosnell, a sub-editor at IPC Magazines, read an article in the London Evening Standard about a wave of forthcoming science fiction films, and suggested that the company might get on the bandwagon by launching a science fiction comic. IPC asked Pat Mills, a freelance writer and editor who had created Battle Picture Weekly and Action, to develop it. Mills brought fellow freelancer John Wagner on board as script adviser and the pair began to develop characters. The then-futuristic name 2000 AD was chosen by the publisher, John Sanders, as no-one involved expected the comic to last that long. The original logo and overall look of the comic were designed by art assistant Doug Church.
Author
Biography John Wagner is, to many fans,
the very heart of 2000 AD. Involved from the earliest days of the Galaxy's
Greatest Comic, he co-created Judge Dredd, as well as a whole cast of other
memorable characters. His Paradox Press graphic novel A History of Violence was
made into a major film by director David Cronenberg, and Judge Dredd adapted into
a film twice, most recently in DREDD by Alex Garland and Pete Travis.Perhaps
the most popular 2000 AD artist of all time, Brian Bolland's clean-line style
and meticulous attention to detail ensure that his artwork on strips including
Dan Dare, Future Shocks, Judge Dredd and Walter the Wobot looks as fresh today
as it did when first published. Co-creator of both Judge Anderson and The
Kleggs, Bolland's highly detailed style unfortunately precluded him from doing
many sequential strips -- although he found the time to pencil both Camelot
3000 and Batman: The Killing Joke for DC Comics. br Although Mike McMahon may
not have illustrated as many strips as other 2000 AD creators, his importance
to the comic cannot be overstated. It was McMahon who co-created perennial
classics A.B.C. Warriors and The V.C.'s, and it was also McMahon who gave Judge
Dredd his classic, defining, big boots look. McMahon has also illustrated
One-Offs, Ro- Busters, and provided a classic run on Slaine. Outside of the
Galaxy's Greatest Comic, he has pencilled Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
and The Last American, which he co-created with John Wagner. br Dave Gibbons is
one of 2000 AD's most popular artists, having co-created Harlem Heroes and
Rogue Trooper. He has also pencilled A.B.C. Warriors, Dan Dare, Judge Dredd,
Mega-City One, Ro-Busters, Tharg the Mighty, Tharg's Future Shocks and Time
Twisters, as well as having scripted several Rogue Trooper stories - making
Gibbons one of the few 2000 AD creators to have served as writer, artist and
letterer! Beyond 2000 AD, Gibbons is unquestionably best known for his work on
the award-winning classic Watchmen (with Alan Moore), but he has also pencilled
A1, Batman, Doctor Who, Give Me Liberty, Green Lantern, Superman, Star Wars and
War Story. His recent graphic novel The Original won an Eisner award and he is
currently scripting several titles for DC comics. Ron Smith drew many 2000 AD
stories including some of the epic Judge Dredd tale The Day The Law Died. His
other work for 2000 AD includes Chronos Carnival and Tales of The Dog House.
2000 AD is a weekly
British science fiction-orientated comic magazine. As a comics anthology it
serialises stories in each issue (known as "progs" and was first
published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then
shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold to Robert Maxwell
in 1987 then Egmont UK in 1991. Fleetway continued to produce the title until
2000, when it was bought by Rebellion Developments.
2000 AD is most noted
for its Judge Dredd stories, and has been contributed to by a number of artists
and writers who became renowned in the field internationally, such as Alan
Moore, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Brian Bolland and Mike McMahon. Other
characters in 2000 AD include Rogue Trooper, Strontium Dog and the ABC
Warriors.
2000 AD has been a
successful launchpad for getting British talent into the larger American comics
market.
1970s
Pre-publication
In December 1975,
Kelvin Gosnell, a sub-editor at IPC Magazines, read an article in the London
Evening Standard about a wave of forthcoming science fiction films, and
suggested that the company might get on the bandwagon by launching a science
fiction comic. IPC asked Pat Mills, a freelance writer and editor who had
created Battle Picture Weekly and Action, to develop it. Mills brought fellow
freelancer John Wagner on board as script adviser and the pair began to develop
characters. The then-futuristic name 2000 AD was chosen by the publisher, John
Sanders, as no-one involved expected the comic to last that long. The original
logo and overall look of the comic were designed by art assistant Doug Church.
Mills' experiences
with Battle and Action in particular had taught him that readers responded to
his anti-authoritarian attitudes. Wagner, who had written a Dirty
Harry-inspired tough cop called One Eyed Jack for Valiant, saw that readers
also responded to authority figures, and developed a character that took the
concept to its logical extreme, imagining an ultra-violent lawman patrolling a
future New York with the power to arrest, sentence, and if required execute
criminals on the spot. Meanwhile, Mills had developed a horror strip, inspired
by the novels of Dennis Wheatley, about a hanging judge, called Judge Dread
(after the reggae and ska artist of the same name). The idea was abandoned as
unsuitable for the new comic, but the name, with a little modification, was
adopted by Wagner for his ultimate lawman.
The task of
visualising the newly named Judge Dredd was given to Carlos Ezquerra, a Spanish
artist who had previously worked with Mills on Battle, on a strip called Major
Eazy. Wagner gave Ezquerra an advertisement for the film Death Race 2000,
showing the character Frankenstein clad in black leather, as a suggestion for
what the character should look like. Ezquerra elaborated on this greatly,
adding body-armour, zips and chains, which Wagner originally thought over the
top. Wagner's initial script was rewritten by Mills and drawn up by Ezquerra,
but when the art came back a rethink was necessary. The hardware and cityscapes
Ezquerra had drawn were far more futuristic than the near-future setting
originally intended, and Mills decided to run with it and set the strip further
into the future. By this stage, however, Wagner and Ezquerra had quit.
IPC owned the rights
to Dan Dare, and Mills decided to revive the character to add immediate public
recognition for the title. Paul DeSavery, who owned Dare's film rights, offered
to buy the new comic and give Mills and Wagner more creative control and a
greater financial stake. The deal fell through, however, and Wagner walked.
Mills was reluctant to lose Judge Dredd and farmed the strip out to a variety
of freelance writers, hoping to develop it further. Their scripts were given to
a variety of artists as Mills tried to find a strip which would make a good
introduction to the character, all of which meant that Dredd would not be ready
for the first issue. The story chosen was one written by freelancer Peter
Harris, extensively rewritten by Mills and including an idea suggested by
Kelvin Gosnell, and drawn by newcomer Mike McMahon. The strip debuted in prog
2.
The opening line-up
Mills had created
Harlem Heroes, about the future sport of aeroball, a futuristic, violent
version of basketball with jet-packs. Similar future sport series had been a
fixture of Action, and the similarly-themed film Rollerball had been released
the previous year. Wanting to give the new comic a distinctive look, Mills
wanted to use European artists, but the work turned in on Harlem Heroes by
Trigo was disappointing. Veteran British artists Ron Turner and Barrie Mitchell
were tried out, but the newcomer Dave Gibbons won the editor over with his
dynamic, American-influenced drawings and got the job. Mills wrote the first
five episodes before handing the strip to Roy of the Rovers writer Tom Tully.
Dan Dare was
extensively revamped to make it more futuristic. In the new stories he had been
put into suspended animation and revived several centuries in the future.
Several artists were tried out before Mills settled on Italian artist Massimo
Belardinelli, whose imaginative, hallucinatory work was fantastic at visualising
aliens, although perhaps less satisfying on the hero himself. The scripts were
endlessly rewritten in an attempt to make the series work, but few Dan Dare
fans remember this version of the character fondly. Belardinelli and Gibbons
later switched strips, with Gibbons drawing Dare and Belardinelli drawing the
Harlem Heroes sequel Inferno. When Gibbons took over Dare in Prog 28 the strip
was refashioned as a 'Star Trek' style space opera.
The other opening
strips were M.A.C.H. 1, a super-powered secret agent inspired by The Six
Million Dollar Man; Invasion!, about a "Volgan" (thinly disguised and
originally billed as Soviet, but changed before printing to a
"neutral" antagonist) invasion of the United Kingdom opposed by tough
London lorry driver turned guerrilla fighter Bill Savage; and Flesh, a strip
about time-travelling cowboys farming dinosaurs for their meat.
After 16 issues, Mills
quit as editor and handed the reins to Kelvin Gosnell, whose idea it was in the
first place. Gosnell appeared as the fall guy in the Tharg photostrips that were a feature of the comic
in its early years.
Early years
Wagner returned to
write Judge Dredd, starting in prog 9. His "Robot Wars" storyline was
drawn by a rotating team of artists, including McMahon, Ezquerra, Turner and
Ian Gibson, and marked the point where Dredd became the most popular character
in the comic, a position he has rarely relinquished. Dredd's city, which now
covered most of the east coast of North America, became known as Mega-City One.
Dredd had also been unmasked in issue 8 in a story drawn by Massimo
Belardinelli, but the decision was made to make out that Dredd's face had been
scarred and the panel had a 'censored' banner slapped on it. After this Dredd's
face was never attempted to be shown again.
A new story format was
introduced in prog 25 – Tharg's Future Shocks, one-off twist-in-the-tail
stories devised by writer Steve Moore. 2000 AD still uses this format as filler
and to try out new talent. One early Future Shock was drawn by 2000 AD's then
art assistant Kevin O'Neill.
Wagner introduced a
new character, Robo-Hunter, in 1978. The hero, Sam Slade, was a private
detective-type character specialising in robot-related cases. José Ferrer was
the original artist, but the editorial team were not happy with his work and
quickly replaced him with Ian Gibson, who redrew parts of Ferrer's episodes
before taking over himself. Gibson's imaginative, cartoony art helped drive the
series' style from hard-boiled detective to surreal comedy. As the series continued
Sam was joined by an idiot kit-built robot assistant, Hoagy, and after a
crack-down on smoking in IPC comics, a Cuban robot cigar, Stogie, designed to
help him cut down on nicotine.
Other ongoing strips
included The Visible Man, detailing the misfortunes of Frank Hart, a man whose
skin had been made transparent due to exposure to nuclear waste, and Shako,
(which followed the same formula as Hook Jaw from Action but with less success)
the story of a polar bear pursued by the Army because it had swallowed a secret
capsule.
M.A.C.H. 1 was killed
off in 1978 but a spin-off, M.A.C.H. Zero, continued into the 1980s. Flesh had
a sequel in 1978, set on the prehistoric oceans, and Bill Savage appeared again
in a prequel, Disaster 1990, in which a nuclear explosion at the north pole had
melted the polar ice-cap and flooded Britain.
In 1977 2000 AD
launched the annual 48-page Summer Special, including a full length M.A.C.H.
Zero story drawn by O'Neill. The yearly hardcover annual also started in 1977
and would continue till 1991.
Pat Mills took over
writing Dredd for a six-month "epic" called "The Cursed
Earth", inspired by Roger Zelazny's Damnation Alley, which took the future
lawman out of the city on a humanitarian trek across the radioactive wasteland
between the Mega-Cities. McMahon drew the bulk of the stories, with occasional
episodes drawn by Brian Bolland. The story saw Dredd moved to the colour centre
pages for the first time while Dan Dare was given the front page.
IPC had launched a
second science fiction comic, Starlord, which was cancelled after only 22
issues and merged into 2000 AD. As Gosnell was editor of Starlord and 2000 AD
at the same time, 2000 AD sub-editor Nick Landau largely edited the latter
comic himself during this time.[4] Two Starlord strips strengthened 2000 AD's
line-up: Strontium Dog, a mutant bounty hunter created by Wagner and Ezquerra,
and Ro-Busters, a robot disaster squad created by Mills. Ro-Busters gave
O'Neill the chance to spread his artistic wings and led to the popular spin-off
ABC Warriors. Dan Dare was suspended while "The Cursed Earth" was
finished in time for the merger. Wagner returned to Dredd following the merger
to write "The Day the Law Died", another six-month epic in which
Mega-City One was taken over by the insane Chief Judge Cal, based on the Roman
emperor Caligula. Another cancelled title, Tornado, was merged with 2000 AD a
few months later, contributing three stories to 2000 AD: Blackhawk, an
historical adventure series about a Nubian slave in the Roman empire which took
a science-fictional turn in 2000 AD with him becoming a gladiator in an alien
world; The Mind of Wolfie Smith, a coming of age/psychic story of a runaway
teenager, and Captain Klep, a single-page superhero parody.
2000 AD featured an
adaptation of Harry Harrison's novel The Stainless Steel Rat, written by
Gosnell and drawn by Ezquerra. Adaptations of two of Harrison's sequels, The
Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World and The Stainless Steel Rat for President,
would follow later. The appearance of the main character, galactic thief
"Slippery" Jim DiGriz, was based on James Coburn, evidently a
favourite of Ezquerra's; Coburn was also the inspiration for Major Eazy, which
Ezquerra drew in Battle, as well as Judge Koburn, a Dredd-universe reworking of
the Major Eazy character, who first appeared in 2003. Gerry Finley-Day
contributed The V.C.s, a future war story inspired by the Vietnam War, drawn by
McMahon, Cam Kennedy, Garry Leach and John Richardson.
A feature of the early
years of 2000 AD was the opportunities it gave to young British comic artists:
by the time the title celebrated its 100th issue Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons,
Ian Gibson, Mike McMahon and Kevin O'Neil were all established as regulars.
Steve MacManus took
over from Gosnell as editor in 1978.
1980s
In 1980 Judge Dredd
gained a new enemy. Writer John Wagner realised that Dredd's habit of shooting
just about everybody he came up against meant that it was difficult to create a
recurring villain. The solution was Judge Death, an undead judge from another
dimension where, since all crime was committed by the living, life itself was
outlawed. The law had been thoroughly enforced on his own world, and now he had
come to Mega-City One to continue his work. Judge Death first appeared in an
atmospheric three-parter drawn by Brian Bolland which also introduced Judge
Anderson and Psi Division, a squad of judges with psychic powers.
Dredd soon began
another epic journey in "The Judge Child". A dying Psi Division Judge
had predicted disaster for Mega-City One unless it was ruled by a boy with a
birthmark shaped like an eagle, so Dredd set off into the Cursed Earth, to
Texas City, and into deep space in search of the boy, Owen Krysler, and his
kidnappers, the Angel Gang. The Angels were some of the most memorable villains
Wagner had yet devised, but suffered the same mortality problem that had
plagued the strip so far. All of them were killed during the course of the
story, however the Mean Machine, was later resurrected by Krysler during
"Destiny's Angels". "The Judge Child" was drawn by Bolland,
Ron Smith and Mike McMahon in rotation, and the later episodes marked the
beginning of Wagner's long-running writing partnership with Alan Grant. The
pair would go on to write Strontium Dog, Robo-Hunter and many other stories for
2000 AD, as well as for Roy of the Rovers, Battle and the relaunched Eagle in
the United Kingdom, and a number of comics in America.
With prog 178 all
current stories, with the exception of Judge Dredd, were wound up, and a new
set of stories was launched simultaneously, consisting of Mean Arena, set
around a violent high-tech street football game, Meltdown Man, whose hero was
transported to a genetically engineered far future by a nuclear explosion, the
return of Strontium Dog, featuring a mutant bounty hunter character inherited
from the short-lived Starlord title, and Dash Decent, a Flash Gordon parody.
Pat Mills introduced
Comic Rock, which was meant to be a format for short stories inspired by
popular music. The first story, inspired by The Jam's Going Underground, was
drawn by Kevin O'Neill and featured an insane underground travel network on a
planet called "Termight", in which a freedom fighter called Nemesis
battles the despotic Torquemada, chief of the Tube Police. All that was seen of
Nemesis was the outside of his vehicle, the Blitzspear. The story was a
reaction to an earlier tube chase sequence Mills and O'Neill had done in
Ro-Busters, which management objected to.
The only other Comic
Rock story was a follow-up called "Killer Watt", in which Nemesis and
Torquemada fought on a teleport system. This led to a series, Nemesis the
Warlock, in which it was revealed that Termight was Earth in the far future,
Torquemada was a despotic demagogue leading a campaign of genocide against all
aliens, and Nemesis was the leader of the alien resistance. Mills and O'Neill
were on a roll and produced a stream of bizarre and imaginative ideas, but
ultimately O'Neill was unable to continue the level of work he was putting into
it on 2000 AD pay. He left to work for DC Comics in America, and was replaced
on Nemesis by first Jesus Redondo and then Bryan Talbot.
2000 AD would
occasionally take a gamble on non-science fiction material. For example, Fiends
of the Eastern Front was a World War II vampire story by Gerry Finley-Day and
Carlos Ezquerra which was probably originally intended for Battle. Its hero was
a German soldier who discovered that some of his Romanian allies were vampires.
Later in the war, when Romania changed sides, he was the only one who knew
their secret.
A readers' poll
revealed that future war was a popular topic, so Gerry Finley-Day was asked to
come up with a new war story. He, editor Steve MacManus and artists Dave
Gibbons devised Rogue Trooper, a "Genetic Infantryman" engineered to
be immune to chemical warfare hunting down the traitor general who had betrayed
his regiment, who debuted in 1981. He was supported by bio-chips of the
personalities of three dead comrades, which, slotted into his equipment, could
talk to him. Gibbons left the strip early on and was replaced by Colin Wilson,
Brett Ewins and Cam Kennedy. Rogue Trooper replaced Meltdown Man, which had
recently ended its run.
Another new strip in
1981, inspired by the brief CB radio craze, was Ace Trucking Co., a comedy about
pointy-headed alien space trucker Ace Garp and his crew by Wagner, Grant and
Belardinelli.
In the Judge Dredd
series, Mega-City One had grown too large and unwieldy: therefore authors
Wagner and Grant they planned to cut it down to size. "Block Mania", in
which wars broke out between rival city-blocks, turned out to be a plot
orchestrated by the Russian city East-Meg One, and led directly to "The
Apocalypse War", another six-month epic and a hard-hitting satire on the
concept of Mutually assured destruction. East-Meg One, protected by a
warp-shield, softened up Mega-City One with nuclear warheads before invading.
Dredd spearheaded the resistance, leading a small team to East-Meg territory,
hijacking their nuclear bunkers and blowing East-Meg One off the face of the
earth. "The Apocalypse War" was drawn in its entirety by Carlos
Ezquerra, making a return to the character he created.
A new writer, Alan
Moore, had started contributing Future Shocks in 1980. He wrote more than fifty
one-off strips over the next three years, while also contributing to various
Marvel UK titles and the independent magazine Warrior. In 1982 he gained his first
series, Skizz, a less sentimental take on the same basic plot used in E.T. the
Extra-Terrestrial, set in Birmingham and influenced by Alan Bleasdale's Boys
from the Blackstuff. The series was drawn by Jim Baikie.
Moore wrote another
series, D.R. and Quinch, spun off from a one-off Time Twister. Drawn by Alan
Davis, the strip featured a pair of alien juvenile delinquents with a penchant
for mindless thermonuclear destruction. He went on to create The Ballad of Halo
Jones with artist Ian Gibson. Halo was an everywoman in the far future, born
into mass unemployment on a floating housing estate, who escaped the earth and
became involved in a terrible galactic war. Three books were published, and
more were planned, but Moore's demands for creator's rights and his increasing
commitments to American publishers meant they never materialised.
A new character,
Sláine, debuted in 1983, but had been in development since 1981. Created by Pat
Mills and his then wife Angela Kincaid, Sláine was a barbarian fantasy strip based
on Celtic mythology. Kincaid was a children's book illustrator who had never
worked in comics before, and her opening episode was drawn and redrawn several
times before the editors were satisfied. Other stories were written for artists
Massimo Belardinelli and Mike McMahon, but these could not see print until
Kincaid's episode was ready.
In 1985, after
appearing as a supporting character in Judge Dredd, Judge Anderson finally
appeared in her own series, written by Wagner and Grant and initially drawn by
Brett Ewins. New artist Glenn Fabry debuted on Sláine, but due to his notorious
slowness was rotated with David Pugh. In the Judge Dredd story "Letter
from a Democrat", Wagner and Grant introduced a pro-democracy movement in
Mega-City One, which is after all a police state. This would provide plotlines
for years to come.
In 1986 the comic
reached its 500th issue. A new Sláine story, Sláine the King, began, entirely
drawn by Fabry. Peter Milligan, a writer who had been contributing Future
Shocks, began two series, the bleak future war story Bad Company (based partly
upon John Wagner's Darkie's Mob strip in Battle) and a strange, psychedelic
series called The Dead. In 1986, 2000 AD was selling 150,000 copies a week.
In 1987 IPC's comics
division was hived off and sold to publishing magnate Robert Maxwell as
Fleetway. 2000 AD was revamped, with a larger page size and full process colour
on the covers and centre pages. Richard Burton became editor. Kevin O'Neill
returned for a short Nemesis series called "Torquemada the God". Not
long after came the debut of Zenith, 2000 AD's first serious superhero strip,
by new writer Grant Morrison and artist Steve Yeowell. The title character was
a shallow pop singer with superhuman powers, caught up in the intrigues of a 1960s
generation of superhumans and the machinations of some Lovecraftian elder gods.
Wagner and Grant began
a new Dredd Epic, "Oz", featuring Chopper, a popular supporting
character. Chopper was a skysurfer who had been imprisoned for competing in an
illegal surfing competition a few years previously. A legal
"Supersurf" race was being held in Oz, the future Australia, and
Chopper escaped to compete. Dredd also went to Oz, partly to deal with Chopper,
but mostly to investigate the Judda, a clone army created by Mega-City One's
former chief genetic engineer. The Judda were defeated, and Chopper narrowly
lost the race to Jug McKenzie. Dredd was waiting at the finish line, but
McKenzie distracted him and allowed Chopper to escape into the outback. This
ending was apparently the cause of some dispute between Wagner and Grant, and
was a contributing factor (it was The Last American, a mini series for Epic
Comics which would mark the end) in ending their regular writing partnership.
Wagner kept Dredd, while Grant continued Strontium Dog and Judge Anderson.
However the pair would still come together for occasional collaborations.
The "Oz"
storyline had some lasting implications. Kraken, a Judda cloned from the same
genetic material as Dredd, was captured by Justice Department, who had plans
for him. Chopper also spun off into his own series, written by Wagner and drawn
by Colin MacNeil.
The ABC Warriors
finally had their own series again in 1987 as a spin-off from Nemesis. This was
written, as ever, by Pat Mills, and drawn by two artists in rotation, newcomer
Simon Bisley and science fiction artist S.M.S..
In 1988 Grant and
artist Simon Harrison began a new Strontium Dog story, "The Final
Solution". It took nearly two years to complete, and ended with the death
of Johnny Alpha, who sacrificed his life to save mutants from extermination.
Original artist Carlos Ezquerra did not agree with the decision to kill the
character off, and refused to draw it.
The number of colour
pages was increased, allowing for one complete strip per issue to be painted.
Initially the colour pages were reserved for Judge Dredd, but were later given
over to a new Sláine story, "The Horned God", fully painted by Simon
Bisley. The series was collected as a series of three graphic novels, then as a
single volume, and has remained in print ever since.
In 1989 the colour
pages were increased again, allowing for three colour stories and two black and
white in every issue. One of the colour series was Rogue Trooper: the War
Machine, written by Dave Gibbons and painted by Will Simpson. The original
Rogue Trooper series had run out of steam after the Traitor General had been
dealt with, though continued with Rogue's adventures on Horst and the 'Hit'
series, so Gibbons revamped the concept, creating a different genetic
infantryman, Friday, in a different war, albeit in the same universe.
One of the black and
white stories, "The Dead Man", was a low-key beginning for a major
event. In the Cursed Earth, villagers come across a man, burnt from head to
toe, with no memory of who he is or what happened to him. As he tries to piece
his memories back together, he is being hunted by the evil beings who left him
in that state. A creepy, atmospheric horror-western, it was drawn by John
Ridgway and written by "Keef Ripley", a pseudonym for John Wagner. By
the end of the series the Dead Man had discovered his identity: he was Judge
Dredd.
1990s
As "The Dead
Man" ended, a new Judge Dredd story, "Tale of the Dead Man",
explained how Dredd had ended up in that position. Dredd was getting older and
the democratic movement was causing him to doubt his role, so Justice
Department had groomed Kraken, the former Judda cloned from his bloodline, to
replace him. Kraken was now ready for his final assessment, and Dredd himself
was chosen to assess him. Although Kraken performed faultlessly, Dredd thought
he perceived a hint of his former allegiance to the Judda in him, and failed
him. He then resigned as a judge and took the 'Long Walk' into the Cursed
Earth. There he met the Sisters of Death, and only barely survived the
encounter. This could mean only one thing: Judge Death was back.
This set up the latest
six-month epic, "Necropolis". After Dredd had left, Justice
Department had put Kraken through one final test, and given him Dredd's badge.
But the Sisters of Death, spirit beings from Judge Death's dimension, were able
to use Kraken's inner conflict to take control of him and use him to bring
Judge Death and the other Dark Judges back from the limbo dimension Dredd had
exiled them to. The Sisters possessed all the city's judges and began to
enforce Death's twisted law. Out in the Cursed Earth, Dredd had recovered his
memory and returned to defeat the Dark Judges. He then tried to lance the
democratic boil by holding a referendum on whether the Judges should continue
to govern the city. The judges won, by a small margin on a desultory turnout,
and Dredd was satisfied.
2000 AD gained an
influx of talent from other comics. Garth Ennis and John Smith had come to
prominence writing for Crisis, a 2000 AD spin-off for older readers, while
artists Jamie Hewlett and Philip Bond were the stars of Deadline, an
independent comics and popular culture magazine founded by Steve Dillon and
Brett Ewins. Smith created Indigo Prime, a multi-dimensional organisation that
polices reality, whose most memorable story was "Killing Time", a
time travel story featuring Jack the Ripper. Garth Ennis and Philip Bond
contributed Time Flies, a time-travel comedy, and Hewlett was paired with
writer Peter Milligan for the surreal Hewligan's Haircut. Writer John Tomlinson
and artist Simon Jacob created Armoured Gideon, an action-comedy series about a
giant killer robot charged with keeping demons from invading earth.
The Judge Dredd
Megazine, a monthly title set in the world of Dredd, was launched in October
1990. With John Wagner focusing his attentions there, Garth Ennis became the
regular writer of Dredd in the weekly.
American writer
Michael Fleisher, who had written The Spectre and Jonah Hex in the 1970s, was
recruited to write the continuing adventures of the new Rogue Trooper, along
with several other strips, none of which went down very well. Another new
writer who failed to set 2000 AD on fire was Mark Millar, whose revival of
Robo-Hunter was particularly unpopular. Millar has since gone on to become a
successful writer of American superhero comics such as The Authority and The
Ultimates.
2000 AD went
all-colour about this time (prog 723, dated 23 March 1991), in response to a
short-lived new colour weekly, Toxic!, launched by Pat Mills and many of the
core 2000 AD team of creators. Toxic! only lasted 31 issues but many of the
creators who had worked on the comic eventually found their way to work for
2000 AD. Button Man, a contemporary thriller by John Wagner and Arthur Ranson,
was originally intended for Toxic! but ended up in 2000 AD.
A new ABC Warriors
series, written by Mills and Tony Skinner and painted by Kev Walker, began in
1991, in which Deadlock took over the warriors with his "Khaos"
philosophy.
Robert Maxwell died in
late 1991, and Fleetway was merged with London Editions, a Danish-owned company
which owned rights to Disney characters, to become Fleetway Editions.
In 1992, 2000 AD and
the Judge Dredd Megazine ran their first crossover story, "Judgement Day",
in which zombies overran Mega-City One. Written by Garth Ennis and drawn by
Carlos Ezquerra, Peter Doherty, Dean Ormston and Chris Halls, the story teamed
Judge Dredd with Johnny Alpha through the medium of time travel. John Smith and
artist Paul Marshall created Firekind, a slow-paced story about dragons and
alien societies, which was accidentally published with its episodes in the
wrong order.
The Strontium Dog
world was eventually spun out to encompass a wider field, gaining the plural
name Strontium Dogs - characters such as female vampire Durham Red, the albino
Feral Jackson, and former Johnny Alpha sidekick The Gronk - the latter,
normally a timid creature with weak 'heartses', became a gung-ho action
character upon learning of Alpha's death. However, in the 12-parter The Darkest
Star, it transpires that the one to actually kill him was the Gronk himself;
changed into a form designed by a cadre of Lyran necromancers to bring him
endless agony, Alpha asked his friend to end his torment.
The "Summer Offensive"
was an eight-week experiment in 1993, when new editor Alan McKenzie gave free
rein to writers Grant Morrison, Mark Millar and John Smith, to a mixed
reception. Morrison wrote a Dredd story, "Inferno", and a
drug-influenced comedy adventure, Really & Truly. Smith contributed
Slaughterbowl, in which convicted criminals on dinosaurs are pitted against
each other in a deadly sport, with the survivor being paroled for a year and
granted wealth – but being forced to enter the Slaughterbowl again the next
year. Millar wrote Maniac 5, an action-packed series about a remote controlled
war-robot. During this run was a satire of British tabloid attitudes titled Big
Dave, written by Morrison and Millar and drawn by Steve Parkhouse.
John Tomlinson became
editor in 1994, and a second crossover between 2000 AD and the Megazine,
"Wilderlands", began. Written by Wagner and drawn by Ezquerra, Mick
Austin and Trevor Hairsine, it followed on from "Mechanismo", a
series of stories in the Megazine in which Justice Department, opposed by
Dredd, tried to introduce robot judges. With Wagner writing, Judge Dredd was
again the flagship strip.
Former Megazine editor
David Bishop became editor of the weekly in 1996 but sales continued to
decline. Unsuccessful series were dropped, and a number of new series were
tried out, some more successful than others. Writer Dan Abnett introduced
Sinister Dexter in 1996, a strip about two hitmen influenced by the film Pulp
Fiction, which became a regular feature. In 1997, writer Robbie Morrison and
artist Simon Fraser, who had worked with Bishop on the Megazine, created
Nikolai Dante, a swashbuckling series set in future Russia starring a thief and
ladies' man who discovers he's the illegitimate scion of an aristocratic
dynasty. There were also gimmicks, like the "sex issue", sold in a
clear plastic wrapper, The Spacegirls, a series attempting to cash in on the
popularity of the Spice Girls, B.L.A.I.R. 1, a parody of Tony Blair based on
M.A.C.H. 1, and an adaptation of the Danny Boyle film A Life Less Ordinary.
A new Dredd epic,
"Doomsday", appeared in 1999 and again ran in both 2000 AD and the
Megazine. Wagner had been laying the foundations for this story for several
years, introducing the main villain, semi-robotic gang lord Nero Narcos, and supporting
characters like Judge Edgar of the Public Surveillance Unit, and Galen DeMarco,
a former judge who had quit after falling in love with Dredd and become a
private eye.
1999 also saw the
return of another character, Nemesis the Warlock. After a break of ten years,
writer Pat Mills decided to bring the story to an end with "The Final
Conflict". The series was drawn by Henry Flint in a style that recalled
Kevin O'Neill's early work on the series, as well as Simon Bisley's ABC
Warriors work.
The decade ended with
a special 100-page issue called "Prog 2000". Behind a cover by Brian
Bolland, Nemesis wrapped up for good in a final episode drawn by Kevin O'Neill.
War broke out in Nikolai Dante, and writer Gordon Rennie and artist Mark
Harrison introduced future war story Glimmer Rats. Another old favourite,
Strontium Dog, was revived by Wagner and Ezquerra, telling new stories of
Johnny Alpha set before his death, with the conceit that previous stories had
been "folklore" and the new stories were "what really
happened", allowing Wagner to revise continuity.
2000s
The publisher has been
owned by Rebellion Developments since 2000, with editors Andy Diggle and Matt
Smith at the helm. Rebellion continues to develop stories (and computer games)
based on classic characters such as Rogue Trooper and Judge Dredd, and has also
introduced a roster of new series including Shakara, The Red Seas and
Caballistics, Inc.. It has also published a tie-in to the film Shaun of the
Dead in a story written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright.
The comic continues to
uncover new British talents, including Boo Cook, Dom Reardon and Al Ewing. It
has also benefited from an improved dollar-pound exchange rate that has meant
the comic can now afford to re-employ some of the talent thought lost to
America.
A number of shorter
self-contained stories, partly created by the new wave of talent, have run
including London Falling, Stone Island and Zombo. Other developments include a
revamping of the Judge Dredd Megazine which has included a section acting as a
showcase for British small press comics. Starting in program 1500 was the Judge
Dredd story "The Connection", a 'prelude' to a 23-part Judge Dredd
epic "Origins" which filled in a lot of the details about Dredd's
past.
In prog 1526, dated 28
February 2007, 2000 AD celebrated their 30th anniversary. The issue saw the start of two new
storylines: Nikolai Dante (by Robbie Morrison and Simon Fraser) and Savage (by
Pat Mills and Charlie Adlard), along with a one-off episode of Flesh (by Pat
Mills and Ramon Sola). The run-up to this saw the first arcs of new series
Stickleback and Kingdom.
2000 AD was also made
available online through Clickwheel, another Rebellion Developments-owned firm.
Starting in December 2007, the latest issue was made available to download as a
PDF. In early 2008 it was announced that
an archive of the 2007 issues would be added to the service. The Clickwheel Comics
Reader was launched in July 2008 which would allow the digital versions of the
comics to be downloaded and read on the iPhone and iPod Touch.
2010s
On 19 March 2012 the
Royal Mail launched a special stamp collection to celebrate Britain's rich
comic book history, which included Judge Dredd from 2000 AD.
In 2015 a documentary
about the history of the comic was made, called Future Shock! The Story of
2000AD.
On 1 October 2016,
signings were held at comic shops in the UK, Ireland, Australia and the USA to
mark the publication of the 2000th prog. In the same week a 40th birthday
convention was announced, which was held in Hammersmith, London in February
2017. At the convention itself, it was announced by the Kingsley brothers that
Rebellion would be willing to speak to outside software developers on
developing 2000 AD's intellectual property.
In 2017, founding
editor Pat Mills published his memoirs, Be Pure! Be Vigilant! Behave! 2000 AD
and Judge Dredd: The Secret History.