On February 26th 1977 a science fiction oriented comics anthology hit the news stands all over the UK. This magazine offered a free space spinner and stories featuring the new Dan Dare, Space Age Dinosaurs and a guy named M.A.C.H-1 just to name a few. As the weeks, months and years went on it would become the must read weekly anthology, full of science fiction thrills and quality stories. It would win awards, it’s characters would be adapted into films and video games and would introduce the world to Judge Dredd. The comics magazine I speak of is the legendary 2000 AD. And with this week’s release it celebrates a very special milestone – 2000 issues or, as they like to call them, progs.
Over those almost 40 years the magazine has brought us an eclectic line-up of science fiction comics. From the mega popular Judge Dredd, who has appeared in almost every prog, to Rogue Trooper, Nikolai Dante, Strontium Dog, ABC Warriors and many others, 2000 AD is hotbed of ideas. If you’ve ever wanted to dive into some quality science fiction comics then 2000 AD should be your first port of call.
Not only is it a hotbed of great ideas, but also one that introduced us to some of the comic book industries biggest creators. 2000 AD has been a breeding ground for writers of the likes of Grant Morrison, Alan Grant, Alan Moore, Al Ewing, Mark Millar, Garth Ennis and artists such as Mick McMahon, Frank Quietly, Glenn Fabry, Cliff Robinson, Chris Burnham, and Dave Gibbons.
To consistently run a weekly magazine with as many moving parts as comics is no easy feat, let alone doing it for 2000 issues! To put that another way, that’s almost 40 years worth of awesome comics. This is an amazing achievement and everyone who has ever contributed to the comics anthology should be congratulated and celebrated.
So to everyone at 2000 AD, past and present, I congratulate you. Keep up the great work and here’s to another 2000 progs!
So What’s In 2000 AD Prog 2000?
And that’s exactly what they are going to do. To celebrate Prog 2000, 2000 AD is going all out by bringing back classic creators to do stories of some of their most popular titles. You can find more details about the contents below:
Dredd: Private Contract [1]
Creative Team: John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra.
Mega-City One, 2130 AD. This vast urban nightmare on the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America is home to 400 million citizens, every one a potential criminal. With lawlessness rife, only the Judges can prevent total anarchy. These future lawmen are judge, jury and executioner. Toughest of them all is Judge Dredd – he is the Law!
Nemesis the Warlock: Tubular Hells [1]
Creative Team: Pat Mills and Kevin O’Neill.
Termight, capital of a vast Terran empire, thousands of years in the future. This teeming underground city was once ruled by the evil Torquemada, who pledged to eradicate all alien life from the galaxy. Opposed to his tyrannical bigotry was freedom fighter NEMESIS THE WARLOCK, who battled to save millions from Torque’s brainwashed Terminator army. But in a final conflict the two became melded together for eternity…
Rogue Trooper: Ghosts of Nu Earth [1]
Creative Team: Gordon Rennie and Richard Elson.
Nu Earth, just one planet among many caught up in a galactic war between the Norts and the Southers. Strategically vital, both sides are desperate to secure it but use of chemical weapons has rendered the atmosphere poisonous. Only Genetic Infantrymen like ROGUE TROOPER, the last of his kind, can survive on its surface — and he, together with his biochip buddies, is hunting for the Traitor General that betrayed them…
Anderson: A Dream of Death [1]
Creative Team: Alan Grant and David Roach.
Mega-City One, 2138 AD. Psi-Division is a section within Justice Department that specialises in Judges with accentuated psychic talents — from precognition to exorcism, it deals with all manner of unusual crimes, and is at the forefront in the fight against supernatural foes. Cassandra ANDERSON is Psi-Div’s top telepath, and has tackled many paranormal perps, most notably the alien superfiend Judge Death…
Sinister Dexter: Replica [1]
Creative Team: Dan Abnett and Mark Sexton.
Gun-sharks Finnigan SINISTER and Ramone DEXTER are the best hitmen money can buy in the future city of Downlode. You pay, they slay. Having spent the last year offworld hunting for Holy Moses Tanenbaum, a ganglord from an alternate dimension whose presence threatened the very fabric of reality, they’ve returned home — but by wiping out Tanenbaum, it seems that no one now knows who they are…
Counterfeit Girl: Counterfeit Girl [1]
Creative Team: Peter Milligan and Rufus Dayglo.
The near future. In a city ruled by the multinational corporations, your identity is crucial — no one can get anywhere without being monitored and statuschecked. Even roaming bands of Wellbeing Droids ensure that the unhealthy are quarantined. But if you want a new I.D. then you can go to the ‘simmers’ —backstreet I.D. thieves that can create new personas by stealing the identities of others…
Along with these stories we also get interlude pages from classic 2000 AD artists including: Brian Bolland, Mick McMahon, Dave Gibbons, Robin Smith and others.
I almost forgot, it will also feature awesome covers by Glenn Fabry, Cliff Robinson and Chris Burnham. You can see all of these littered throughout this post.
Where Can I Buy 2000 AD?
2000 AD is available from September 28th at UK newsagents, all good comic book stores, the 2000 AD online store and digitally on the 2000 AD app.
Have Your Say!
Will you be reading this milestone issue? Do you have a special 2000 AD memory you’d like to share? Let me know in the comments below or via our Facebook or Twitter.
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