List of minor 2000 AD stories
Encyclopedia
This is a list of minor 2000 AD stories.
Ampney Crucis Investigates is a occult detective
story by Ian Edginton
and Simon Davis
starring the fictional investigator Ampney Crucis and his man servant Eddie Cromwell. It started in 2000 AD #1611 (2008) and up to the end of 2011 has spanned four parts.
The first trade paperback
, Vile Bodies, will be published in January 2012 (ISBN 1907992944).
Babe Race 2000 is a story written by Mark Millar
, with art by Anthony Williams
which ran in an eponym
ous story in 2000 AD #883-888 (1994) and a one-off, "Bounty Hunter Mom", in the 1995 2000AD Yearbook.
Bato Loco is a story written by Gordon Rennie
, with art by Simon Coleby
that had two outings in the Judge Dredd Megazine
. It featured Carlito "Bato Loco" Agarra from the Barrio Blocks who was introduced in the story "Bato Loco" in Judge Dredd Megazine #202 (February 2003).
Carver Hale was a story about a London mobster who gets possessed by a demon. It was written by Mike Carey with art by Mike Perkins
(with some fill-in inking by Dylan Teague). It came about because editor Andy Diggle
was commissioning more horror stories and Carey said he "was aiming to get some of the flavour of Hellblazer
, but in a more in-your-face, action-oriented story."
It was published in 2000 AD #1236-1240 and 1247-1249 in 2001 (split because of deadline problems), and collected into a hardback volume in 2005 (ISBN 1-904265-62-6).
Citi-Def by Tony Lee
, with art by Jack Lawrence
. The series is set in the Judge Dredd
universe, focusing on the City Defence units of armed militia. The first instalment as described as a good start with "cute" and "cartoony" art, and the second part was "an awesome romp" and "a fabulous idea, and here it's executed with great aplomb," although the reviewer felt it was pitched at a younger audience that usual. Another reviewer felt that while the artist "is pretty good at this sort of art, but I hate it" and reiterated concerns about the lack of sophistication but did acknowledge that "there are bags of fun ideas here."
The first story, "Field Trip", ran in Judge Dredd Megazine
starting in issue #279.
Cradlegrave is a horror comic story which ran in 2000 AD #1633-1644, written by John Smith
, with art by Edmund Bagwell.
It is set in the Ravenglade Estate (nicknamed "Cradlegrave"), somewhere in Lancashire. It follows the story of teenage Shane Holt, who has recently been released from Thorn Hill young offenders institution.
The story was collected into a trade paperback
, with a forward by Ramsey Campbell
(ISBN 1907992464).
Cursed Earth Koburn is a character who has appeared in an eponym
ous series in Judge Dredd Megazine
, written by Gordon Rennie
, with art by Carlos Ezquerra
.
Dinosty was the first series Pat Mills
and Clint Langley
had collaborated on (although Langley's first job at 2000 AD had been a Future Shock
with Mills) and they would go on to work together on Mills' long-running stories ABC Warriors
and Sláine
.
The story itself was originally supposed to appear in the spin-off comic Earthside 8 but this title never happened. However, this was not the end of the problems as the move to 2000 AD happened when Mills felt his relationship with the editors was breaking down and he came to believe that "Dinosty suffered from covert and non-verbalised editorial opposition, or maybe just disinterest." The story would eventually run in 1994, in issues #873 - 882.
Glimmer Rats is a military science fiction
story which appeared in 2000 AD, written by Gordon Rennie
, with art by Mark Harrison
. It was collected into a sixty page hardcover (ISBN 1904265006). Rennie has described the inspiration for the story as "Sven Hassel
novels and a certain oblique pretentiousness."
The Grudge-Father was a "lurid" 1994 story written by Mark Millar
, with Jim McCarthy
providing the art, which ran in 2000 AD #878-883.
published in Judge Dredd Megazine starting in January 2009. Abnett explains that "the actual brief was to bring to the Dredd Universe something of the epic war-in-space scale of the stuff I write for Warhammer 40K
. Tharg (Matt
to his friends) wanted a stonking big space war story that would suit the universe of the Mega-Cities".
He is joined by artist Colin MacNeil
, who has also worked on a number of Warhammer 40K stories, and one reviewer notes the similarities suggesting "MacNeil is reprising exactly the same art style that he used on the "Bloodquest" strip in the Warhammer Monthly
comic."
The reception has been positive with reviews of the first episode suggesting "With cracking art and a storming first episode I have to say ‘Insurrection’ has the potential to be the best Dredd off world spin-off ever" and "This was as good a first episode as I can remember reading and I can see Insurrection having the legs to deliver on that initial promise. " Reviews only got better after that, including: "Quite simply, this is the best non-Dredd story ever to run in the Megazine" and "glorious"
The first two instalment are being collected into a trade paperback
(ISBN 1907992499).
The Journal of Luke Kirby was a long-running series, first appearing 1988 and running through to a last appearance in 1995. It was written by Alan McKenzie
and had art by John Ridgway
, Steve Parkhouse
and Graham Higgins. Luke Kirby predates other boy wizards, such as Harry Potter
and the Vertigo character Timothy Hunter
.
, one of Mark Millar
's major solo series at 2000 AD, the others being co-written with Grant Morrison
. It formed part of the "Summar Offensive" in 1993, along with Judge Dredd: "Inferno," Slaughterbowl, Really & Truly
and Big Dave
. The initial, eponymous story was drawn by Red Razors artist Steve Yeowell
, who would also draw the final story "Maniac 6," and other artists would work on the one-offs: David Hine
on "War Journal," in 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 1993, and Richard Elson
on "Maniac 6 Prologue", in 2000 AD Winter Special 1993.
Necrophim is a story by Tony Lee
, with art by Lee Carter
. The prologue ran in 2000 AD #1628-1632, with the main story starting in #1655.
Pulp Sci-fi was another Future Shock
-style series, designed by David Bishop
to replace Vector 13
. It would be the launch pad for other series like Rose O'Rion but failed to prove popular with writers and ended two years after it started.
Purgatory was a Judge Dredd
spin-off that focused on Judge Grice
and was written by Mark Millar
, with art by Carlos Ezquerra
. The series ran in 2000 AD #834-841 in 1993 and led straight into up the Judge Dredd story "Inferno," with Ezquerra remaining on art and Grant Morrison
taking over writing duties.
Rain Dogs is a science fiction
story set in a flooded New York, which appeared in 2000 AD, written by Gordon Rennie
, with art by Colin Wilson
. It was collected into a fifty-two page hardcover (ISBN 1904265014).
Rose O'Rion span out of Pulp Sci-fi and was written by Kek-W, with art by Andy Clarke
. The character returned in the 2000 AD fanzine
Zarjaz
#10 as an illustrated text story, with art from Dylan Teague.
Sancho Panzer is a story which ran in seven consecutive stories which ran in 2000 AD #1112 - 1123 in 1998. It was written by Dan Abnett
, with Henry Flint
providing the art, and featured the eponymous character who pilots a giant tank called Mojo with the assistance of his technician Tool. He is pursued by reporter Lynx Farren, who is trying to get to the truth behind the legend, and General Herman Spurn, who was defeated by Panzer and is looking for revenge. Everyone has to pull together when the planet, Vainglory Five, is invaded by giant worms.
Abnett had tried to repeat the success of Sinister Dexter
by seeing what worked and basing another story around those elements:
Silo was Mark Millar
's first series at 2000 AD which was greenlit after he had had just two Future Shocks
published, and it was drawn by Dave D'Antiquis, who had drawn the first of those. The story ran in issues #706-711 in 1990 and was reprinted in Extreme Edition #14 and involved two American soldiers in a nuclear missile silo apparently haunted by the ghost of Edward Bulwer-Lytton who was intent on ending the world.
Slaughterbowl is a story by John Smith
and Paul Peart
that ran in 2000 AD #842-849 as part of their "Summer Offensive." It featured convicts piloting cybernetic dinosaurs as a sport of the future.
Snow/Tiger was a story featuring "a mixture of paranoid politics and extreme violence"written by Andy Diggle
and was originally pitched to Vertigo but it was turned down as being "too mainstream". He reworked it, "I just took out the politics and left in the extreme violence", but the politics that remained still proved controversial, although Diggle concludes that "[the fact the story pissed people off on both sides of the political spectrum suggest I probably pitched it about right."
Only one story was published, "Pax Americana", in 2000 AD ##1336-1342 and it was collected in a free trade paperback given away in the Judge Dredd Megazine
#276.
Stalag #666 is a fifteen-part story, with a double-length (ten page) first instalment, by Tony Lee
, with art by Jon Davis-Hunt. Lee describes it as "a futuristic space story that happens to be set in a prison camp. and it's (and I'll be honest here) a mash of clichés and homages as let's be truthful here, you couldn't do a prison camp story and not be like that."
The story ran in 2000 AD #1600-1614 between August and November in 2008.
Tales from Beyond Science was a series of one-off Future Shock
-style stories all drawn by Rian Hughes
with the writers Mark Millar
, Alan McKenzie
and John Smith
. The story was devised by writer Millar and then editor McKenzie who brought Smith and Hughes in as the last members of the team.
The series was published in 1992 in 2000 AD #774-779 and as part of a couple of special issues. Hughes has had these stories collected, along with new material, and published by Image Comics
(ISBN 1607064715).
Thirteen was a one-off story written by Mike Carey, with art by Andy Clarke
. The story had been on Carey's mind for seven years before appearing in the comic. The writer has said "I wanted to do a story that was an insane, over-the-top space opera combined with the seventies paranoid thriller. I also had this idea for a narrative structure that would start small and then just keep on opening outwards like Chinese boxes until it was working on a cosmic level"
The story appeared in 2002 in 2000 AD #1289-1299 and has been collected into a trade paperback
(ISBN 1-904265-36-7)
Tyranny Rex is a story by John Smith
and Steve Dillon
. The main character is a artist and reptile, whose story crossed over with Indigo Prime
. The stories appeared between 1988 and 1994, with a number of artists including Will Simpson, Dougie Braithwaite, Steve Sampson
, Duncan Fegredo
, Mark Buckingham
, Paul Marshall and Richard Elson
, and the character made a comeback in 2004, with Steve Yeowell
on art duties but no further stories appeared.
Witch World is a series that appeared twice in 2000 AD, written by Gordon Rennie
, with art provided by Siku
and Paul Johnson
.
Rennie describes the origins of the story (one of his first in 2000 AD after stories being published in the Megazine): "It came about when I and a number of other writers were asked to put together pitches for a new fantasy strip, with guidelines suggested by the editor". However, he does not rate the story highly:
Zombo is a story written by Al Ewing
, based on ideas by Henry Flint
, who also provided the art. It is set on a "death planet", one of a number of hostile and malevolent living planets, where the eponymous character has to lead the passengers of a crashed space ship to safety.
Zombo began in 2000 AD #1632.
Ampney Crucis Investigates
Ampney Crucis Investigates is a occult detective
Occult detective
Occult detective stories combine the tropes of the detective story with those of supernatural horror fiction. Unlike the traditional detective the occult detective is employed in cases involving ghosts, curses, and other supernatural elements...
story by Ian Edginton
Ian Edginton
Ian Edginton is a British comic book writer.He is one of the few British comic talents to follow the reverse trajectory to the one usually taken: becoming successful in American comics before returning to work for 2000 AD.-Biography:...
and Simon Davis
Simon Davis (comics)
Simon Davis a British comics artist best known for his fully painted art work on Sinister Dexter, Black Siddha and Stone Island...
starring the fictional investigator Ampney Crucis and his man servant Eddie Cromwell. It started in 2000 AD #1611 (2008) and up to the end of 2011 has spanned four parts.
The first trade paperback
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
, Vile Bodies, will be published in January 2012 (ISBN 1907992944).
Babe Race 2000
Babe Race 2000 is a story written by Mark Millar
Mark Millar
Mark Millar is a Scottish comic book writer, known for his work on books such as The Authority, The Ultimates, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Civil War, Wanted, and Kick-Ass, the latter two of which have been adapted into feature films...
, with art by Anthony Williams
Anthony Williams (comics)
Anthony Williams is a Welsh comic book artist.-Biography:He broke into comics at Marvel UK, drawing for the series Action Force, The Real Ghostbusters and Transformers, among others...
which ran in an eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous story in 2000 AD #883-888 (1994) and a one-off, "Bounty Hunter Mom", in the 1995 2000AD Yearbook.
Bato Loco
Bato Loco is a story written by Gordon Rennie
Gordon Rennie
Gordon Rennie is a comics writer, responsible for White Trash: Moronic Inferno, as well as several comic strips for 2000 AD and novels for Warhammer Fantasy....
, with art by Simon Coleby
Simon Coleby
Simon Coleby is a British comic book artist who has worked mainly for British sci-fi comic 2000 AD and Marvel Comics.-Biography:...
that had two outings in the Judge Dredd Megazine
Judge Dredd Megazine
Judge Dredd: The Megazine is a monthly British comic magazine, launched in October 1990. It is a sister publication to 2000 AD. Its name is a play on words, formed from "magazine" and Dredd's locale Mega-City One.-Content:...
. It featured Carlito "Bato Loco" Agarra from the Barrio Blocks who was introduced in the story "Bato Loco" in Judge Dredd Megazine #202 (February 2003).
Carver Hale
Carver Hale was a story about a London mobster who gets possessed by a demon. It was written by Mike Carey with art by Mike Perkins
Mike Perkins
Mike Perkins is a British comic book artist known for both his inking work and full art duties on comic books such as Captain America, Ruse and Stephen King's The Stand.-Career:Mike Perkins began drawing at a very early age...
(with some fill-in inking by Dylan Teague). It came about because editor Andy Diggle
Andy Diggle
Andy Diggle is a British comic book writer and former editor of 2000 AD. He is best known for his work on The Losers, Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Adam Strange and Silent Dragon at DC Comics and for his run on Thunderbolts and Daredevil after his move to Marvel.-Career:Diggle took over editing 2000 AD...
was commissioning more horror stories and Carey said he "was aiming to get some of the flavour of Hellblazer
Hellblazer
Hellblazer is a contemporary horror comic book series, originally published by DC Comics, and subsequently by the Vertigo imprint since March 1993, the month the imprint was introduced, where it remains to this day...
, but in a more in-your-face, action-oriented story."
It was published in 2000 AD #1236-1240 and 1247-1249 in 2001 (split because of deadline problems), and collected into a hardback volume in 2005 (ISBN 1-904265-62-6).
Citi-Def
Citi-Def by Tony Lee
Tony Lee
Tony Lee is a British comics writer, screenwriter, audio playwright and novelist.-Early life:Lee was born in Hayes, Middlesex in England...
, with art by Jack Lawrence
Jack Lawrence (artist)
Jack Lawrence is a British comics creator. Prior to 2002 he also worked as an animator.-Biography:Lawrence took a General Art and Design BTEC First Diploma at Canterbury Technical College, then went on to the KIAD at Canterbury to study for a BTEC National in the same subject...
. The series is set in the Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
universe, focusing on the City Defence units of armed militia. The first instalment as described as a good start with "cute" and "cartoony" art, and the second part was "an awesome romp" and "a fabulous idea, and here it's executed with great aplomb," although the reviewer felt it was pitched at a younger audience that usual. Another reviewer felt that while the artist "is pretty good at this sort of art, but I hate it" and reiterated concerns about the lack of sophistication but did acknowledge that "there are bags of fun ideas here."
The first story, "Field Trip", ran in Judge Dredd Megazine
Judge Dredd Megazine
Judge Dredd: The Megazine is a monthly British comic magazine, launched in October 1990. It is a sister publication to 2000 AD. Its name is a play on words, formed from "magazine" and Dredd's locale Mega-City One.-Content:...
starting in issue #279.
Cradlegrave
Cradlegrave is a horror comic story which ran in 2000 AD #1633-1644, written by John Smith
John Smith (comics)
John Smith is a British comics writer best known for his work on 2000 AD and Crisis.Smith's work is characterised by intricate, sometimes obscure plots and an interest in taboos and the occult, told in an elliptic, fractured narrative style reminiscent of Iain Sinclair or the cut-up technique of...
, with art by Edmund Bagwell.
It is set in the Ravenglade Estate (nicknamed "Cradlegrave"), somewhere in Lancashire. It follows the story of teenage Shane Holt, who has recently been released from Thorn Hill young offenders institution.
The story was collected into a trade paperback
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
, with a forward by Ramsey Campbell
Ramsey Campbell
John Ramsey Campbell is an English horror fiction author.Since he first came to prominence in the mid-1960s, critics have cited Campbell as one of the leading writers in his field: T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today", while S. T...
(ISBN 1907992464).
Cursed Earth Koburn
Cursed Earth Koburn is a character who has appeared in an eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous series in Judge Dredd Megazine
Judge Dredd Megazine
Judge Dredd: The Megazine is a monthly British comic magazine, launched in October 1990. It is a sister publication to 2000 AD. Its name is a play on words, formed from "magazine" and Dredd's locale Mega-City One.-Content:...
, written by Gordon Rennie
Gordon Rennie
Gordon Rennie is a comics writer, responsible for White Trash: Moronic Inferno, as well as several comic strips for 2000 AD and novels for Warhammer Fantasy....
, with art by Carlos Ezquerra
Carlos Ezquerra
Carlos Sanchez Ezquerra , who has also worked under the alias L. John Silver, is a Spanish comics artist who works mainly in British comics and currently lives in Andorra...
.
Dinosty
Dinosty was the first series Pat Mills
Pat Mills
Pat Mills, nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics', is a comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since....
and Clint Langley
Clint Langley
Clint Langley is a British comic book artist best known for his work on series with Pat Mills at 2000 AD and as the cover artist for Marvel Comics' Guardians of the Galaxy....
had collaborated on (although Langley's first job at 2000 AD had been a Future Shock
Future Shock
Future Shock is a book written by the futurist Alvin Toffler in 1970. In the book, Toffler defines the term "future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies. His shortest definition for the term is a personal perception of "too much change in too short a period of...
with Mills) and they would go on to work together on Mills' long-running stories ABC Warriors
ABC Warriors
ABC Warriors is a long-running 2000 AD comic strip written by Pat Mills, which first appeared in prog 119 in 1979 and continues to run today. Art for the opening episodes was by Kevin O'Neill, Mike McMahon, Brett Ewins, and Brendan McCarthy - who between them designed the original seven members of...
and Sláine
Sláine (comics)
Sláine is a comic hero from the pages of 2000 AD - one of Britain's most popular comic books.Sláine is a barbarian fantasy adventure series based on Celtic myths and stories which first appeared in 1983, written by Pat Mills and initially drawn by his then wife, Angela Kincaid. Most of the early...
.
The story itself was originally supposed to appear in the spin-off comic Earthside 8 but this title never happened. However, this was not the end of the problems as the move to 2000 AD happened when Mills felt his relationship with the editors was breaking down and he came to believe that "Dinosty suffered from covert and non-verbalised editorial opposition, or maybe just disinterest." The story would eventually run in 1994, in issues #873 - 882.
Glimmer Rats
Glimmer Rats is a military science fiction
Military science fiction
Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the principal characters are members of a military service and an armed conflict is taking place, normally in space, or on a planet other than Earth...
story which appeared in 2000 AD, written by Gordon Rennie
Gordon Rennie
Gordon Rennie is a comics writer, responsible for White Trash: Moronic Inferno, as well as several comic strips for 2000 AD and novels for Warhammer Fantasy....
, with art by Mark Harrison
Mark Harrison
Mark Harrison is a British comic book artist and occasional writer. The bulk of his work has appeared in the comic 2000 AD.Harrison's fully painted style is notable for its use of strong, dark colours and computer effects, though recent series The Ten-Seconders shows him moving towards lighter...
. It was collected into a sixty page hardcover (ISBN 1904265006). Rennie has described the inspiration for the story as "Sven Hassel
Sven Hassel
Sven Hassel is a Danish-born soldier and writer who has written pseudo-autobiographical novels based on his experiences in World War II.-Biography:...
novels and a certain oblique pretentiousness."
The Grudge-Father
The Grudge-Father was a "lurid" 1994 story written by Mark Millar
Mark Millar
Mark Millar is a Scottish comic book writer, known for his work on books such as The Authority, The Ultimates, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Civil War, Wanted, and Kick-Ass, the latter two of which have been adapted into feature films...
, with Jim McCarthy
Jim McCarthy (comics)
Jim McCarthy is a British comics creator. He became well known for working on Bad Company in 2000 AD before going on to write a number of graphic novels based on musicians, as well as becoming a music journalist.He is the brother of Brendan McCarthy....
providing the art, which ran in 2000 AD #878-883.
Insurrection
Insurrection is a series by Dan AbnettDan Abnett
Dan Abnett is a British comic book writer and novelist. He is a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, since the 1990s, including 2000 AD...
published in Judge Dredd Megazine starting in January 2009. Abnett explains that "the actual brief was to bring to the Dredd Universe something of the epic war-in-space scale of the stuff I write for Warhammer 40K
Warhammer 40,000
Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics...
. Tharg (Matt
Matt Smith (comics)
Matt Smith is the editor of long-running British science fiction weekly anthology comic 2000 AD, and the sister title Judge Dredd Megazine. He has also written two novels.-Biography:...
to his friends) wanted a stonking big space war story that would suit the universe of the Mega-Cities".
He is joined by artist Colin MacNeil
Colin MacNeil
Colin MacNeil is a British comics artist, best known for his work on 2000 AD and in particular on Judge Dredd and other stories within his world like Shimura and Devlin Waugh....
, who has also worked on a number of Warhammer 40K stories, and one reviewer notes the similarities suggesting "MacNeil is reprising exactly the same art style that he used on the "Bloodquest" strip in the Warhammer Monthly
Warhammer Monthly
Warhammer Monthly was a comics anthology published by Games Workshop's publishing arm, Black Library, from March 1998 to December 2004, running to 86 issues in total. The final two issues were published bi-monthly under the name Warhammer Comic...
comic."
The reception has been positive with reviews of the first episode suggesting "With cracking art and a storming first episode I have to say ‘Insurrection’ has the potential to be the best Dredd off world spin-off ever" and "This was as good a first episode as I can remember reading and I can see Insurrection having the legs to deliver on that initial promise. " Reviews only got better after that, including: "Quite simply, this is the best non-Dredd story ever to run in the Megazine" and "glorious"
The first two instalment are being collected into a trade paperback
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
(ISBN 1907992499).
Journal of Luke Kirby
The Journal of Luke Kirby was a long-running series, first appearing 1988 and running through to a last appearance in 1995. It was written by Alan McKenzie
Alan McKenzie
Alan McKenzie is a British comics writer known for his work at 2000 AD.-Biography:McKenzie worked for Marvel UK during the early 1980s, editing Starburst, Cinema and Doctor Who Monthly magazines. After leaving the Marvel staff in 1985, he wrote several Doctor Who comic stories for the Monthly under...
and had art by John Ridgway
John Ridgway (comic artist)
John Ridgway is a British comics artist.-Career:Ridgway began his career initially as a hobby, drawing D.C.Thompson's Commando War Stories alongside professional work as a design engineer...
, Steve Parkhouse
Steve Parkhouse
Steve Parkhouse is a writer, artist and letterer who has worked for many British comics, especially 2000 AD and Doctor Who Magazine.-Biography:...
and Graham Higgins. Luke Kirby predates other boy wizards, such as Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
and the Vertigo character Timothy Hunter
Timothy Hunter
Timothy Hunter, is a fictional character, a comic book sorcerer published by DC Comics. He first appeared in The Books of Magic vol. 1 #1 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton.-Publication history:...
.
Maniac 5
Maniac 5 was, along with Red RazorsRed Razors
Red Razors is a 2000 AD comic strip created by Mark Millar and set in the Judge Dredd universe. However, the time of the stories take place roughly fifty years after the events detailed in current Judge Dredd comics...
, one of Mark Millar
Mark Millar
Mark Millar is a Scottish comic book writer, known for his work on books such as The Authority, The Ultimates, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Civil War, Wanted, and Kick-Ass, the latter two of which have been adapted into feature films...
's major solo series at 2000 AD, the others being co-written with Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
. It formed part of the "Summar Offensive" in 1993, along with Judge Dredd: "Inferno," Slaughterbowl, Really & Truly
Really & Truly
Really & Truly was a 2000 AD comic strip, created by Grant Morrison and Rian Hughes. It ran in 1993 as part of the "Summer Offensive" and dealt explicitly with drugs...
and Big Dave
Big Dave
Big Dave is an infamous character created and written by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, with artwork by Steve Parkhouse, for 2000 AD....
. The initial, eponymous story was drawn by Red Razors artist Steve Yeowell
Steve Yeowell
Steve Yeowell is a British comics artist, well-known for his work on the long-running science fiction and fantasy weekly comic 2000 AD.-Biography:...
, who would also draw the final story "Maniac 6," and other artists would work on the one-offs: David Hine
David Hine
-Biography:Hine has been working in comics since the early 1980s. For Crisis he drew the series Sticky Fingers in 1989, and wrote and drew a number of short pieces in 1990 and 1991...
on "War Journal," in 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 1993, and Richard Elson
Richard Elson
Richard Elson is a British comic book artist best known for his work on Sonic the Comic, 2000 AD and Thor.-Biography:Richard Elson is a fine art graduate with over sixteen years experience as a cartoonist and illustrator....
on "Maniac 6 Prologue", in 2000 AD Winter Special 1993.
Necrophim
Necrophim is a story by Tony Lee
Tony Lee
Tony Lee is a British comics writer, screenwriter, audio playwright and novelist.-Early life:Lee was born in Hayes, Middlesex in England...
, with art by Lee Carter
Lee Carter (comics)
Lee Carter is a British fantasy artist whose work has appeared in 2000 AD.-Work:Carter's "day job" is as a concept artist for computer games company Bizarre Creations....
. The prologue ran in 2000 AD #1628-1632, with the main story starting in #1655.
Pulp Sci-fi
Pulp Sci-fi was another Future Shock
Future Shock
Future Shock is a book written by the futurist Alvin Toffler in 1970. In the book, Toffler defines the term "future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies. His shortest definition for the term is a personal perception of "too much change in too short a period of...
-style series, designed by David Bishop
David Bishop
David Bishop is a screenwriter and author. Born in New Zealand, he was a UK comics editor during the 1990s, running such titles as the Judge Dredd Megazine and 2000 AD, the latter between 1996 and the summer of 2000....
to replace Vector 13
Vector 13
Vector 13 is a 2000 AD comic strip which featured the eponymous agency setup to investigate anomalous phenomena and conspiracy theories. It was influenced by The X-Files and other events like the 1995 release of the alien autopsy film...
. It would be the launch pad for other series like Rose O'Rion but failed to prove popular with writers and ended two years after it started.
Purgatory
Purgatory was a Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
spin-off that focused on Judge Grice
Judge Grice
Judge Grice was a fictional character in the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD. Created in 1990 by John Wagner and Steve Dillon, Grice later had his own spin-off series, Purgatory by Mark Millar and Carlos Ezquerra...
and was written by Mark Millar
Mark Millar
Mark Millar is a Scottish comic book writer, known for his work on books such as The Authority, The Ultimates, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Civil War, Wanted, and Kick-Ass, the latter two of which have been adapted into feature films...
, with art by Carlos Ezquerra
Carlos Ezquerra
Carlos Sanchez Ezquerra , who has also worked under the alias L. John Silver, is a Spanish comics artist who works mainly in British comics and currently lives in Andorra...
. The series ran in 2000 AD #834-841 in 1993 and led straight into up the Judge Dredd story "Inferno," with Ezquerra remaining on art and Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
taking over writing duties.
Rain Dogs
Rain Dogs is a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
story set in a flooded New York, which appeared in 2000 AD, written by Gordon Rennie
Gordon Rennie
Gordon Rennie is a comics writer, responsible for White Trash: Moronic Inferno, as well as several comic strips for 2000 AD and novels for Warhammer Fantasy....
, with art by Colin Wilson
Colin Wilson (comics)
Colin Wilson is a comic book artist, born in Christchurch, New Zealand on 31 October 1949.He is known for his detailed artwork which he uses in 2000 AD stories like Rogue Trooper and Judge Dredd. According to Andy Diggle, the 2000 AD editor who got him back to the title in the late nineties and has...
. It was collected into a fifty-two page hardcover (ISBN 1904265014).
Rose O'Rion
Rose O'Rion span out of Pulp Sci-fi and was written by Kek-W, with art by Andy Clarke
Andy Clarke (comics)
Andy Clarke is a British comics artist who came to prominence working at 2000 AD and became known to a wider audience at DC Comics.-Biography:...
. The character returned in the 2000 AD fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
Zarjaz
Zarjaz
Zarjaz is a comics anthology fanzine for the long-running British science fiction comic 2000 AD.-Publication history:Zarjaz was started in 2001 by Andrew J Lewis and ran for four issues. The fanzine contained comic strips based on various 2000 AD characters and also ran an in-depth interview with...
#10 as an illustrated text story, with art from Dylan Teague.
Sancho Panzer
Sancho Panzer is a story which ran in seven consecutive stories which ran in 2000 AD #1112 - 1123 in 1998. It was written by Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett is a British comic book writer and novelist. He is a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, since the 1990s, including 2000 AD...
, with Henry Flint
Henry Flint
Henry Flint is a British comic book artist who has worked mainly for British sci-fi comic 2000AD.-Biography:Flint has established a cult following for his hyper-detailed and wildly inventive work on series such as Judge Dredd, Zombo,,ABC Warriors, Shakara, Low Life and Aliens.A recent project was...
providing the art, and featured the eponymous character who pilots a giant tank called Mojo with the assistance of his technician Tool. He is pursued by reporter Lynx Farren, who is trying to get to the truth behind the legend, and General Herman Spurn, who was defeated by Panzer and is looking for revenge. Everyone has to pull together when the planet, Vainglory Five, is invaded by giant worms.
Abnett had tried to repeat the success of Sinister Dexter
Sinister Dexter
Sinister Dexter is a long-running comic series in British comics anthology 2000 AD, created by Dan Abnett and David Millgate.Set in the near future, it features the exploits of gun sharks Finnigan "Finny" Sinister and Ramone "Ray" Dexter in the city of Downlode, sprawled across Central Europe...
by seeing what worked and basing another story around those elements:
Silo
Silo was Mark Millar
Mark Millar
Mark Millar is a Scottish comic book writer, known for his work on books such as The Authority, The Ultimates, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Civil War, Wanted, and Kick-Ass, the latter two of which have been adapted into feature films...
's first series at 2000 AD which was greenlit after he had had just two Future Shocks
Future Shocks
Future Shocks is the name given to a long running series of short strips in the weekly comic 2000 AD in 1977. The name originates in a book titled Future Shock, written by Alvin Toffler, published in 1970.-Publishing history:...
published, and it was drawn by Dave D'Antiquis, who had drawn the first of those. The story ran in issues #706-711 in 1990 and was reprinted in Extreme Edition #14 and involved two American soldiers in a nuclear missile silo apparently haunted by the ghost of Edward Bulwer-Lytton who was intent on ending the world.
Slaughterbowl
Slaughterbowl is a story by John Smith
John Smith (comics)
John Smith is a British comics writer best known for his work on 2000 AD and Crisis.Smith's work is characterised by intricate, sometimes obscure plots and an interest in taboos and the occult, told in an elliptic, fractured narrative style reminiscent of Iain Sinclair or the cut-up technique of...
and Paul Peart
Paul Peart
Paul Peart is a British comic artist who has done some work for 2000 AD.-Bibliography:*Judge Hershey: "Down Time" *Slaughterbowl...
that ran in 2000 AD #842-849 as part of their "Summer Offensive." It featured convicts piloting cybernetic dinosaurs as a sport of the future.
Snow/Tiger
Snow/Tiger was a story featuring "a mixture of paranoid politics and extreme violence"written by Andy Diggle
Andy Diggle
Andy Diggle is a British comic book writer and former editor of 2000 AD. He is best known for his work on The Losers, Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Adam Strange and Silent Dragon at DC Comics and for his run on Thunderbolts and Daredevil after his move to Marvel.-Career:Diggle took over editing 2000 AD...
and was originally pitched to Vertigo but it was turned down as being "too mainstream". He reworked it, "I just took out the politics and left in the extreme violence", but the politics that remained still proved controversial, although Diggle concludes that "[the fact the story pissed people off on both sides of the political spectrum suggest I probably pitched it about right."
Only one story was published, "Pax Americana", in 2000 AD ##1336-1342 and it was collected in a free trade paperback given away in the Judge Dredd Megazine
Judge Dredd Megazine
Judge Dredd: The Megazine is a monthly British comic magazine, launched in October 1990. It is a sister publication to 2000 AD. Its name is a play on words, formed from "magazine" and Dredd's locale Mega-City One.-Content:...
#276.
Stalag 666
Stalag #666 is a fifteen-part story, with a double-length (ten page) first instalment, by Tony Lee
Tony Lee
Tony Lee is a British comics writer, screenwriter, audio playwright and novelist.-Early life:Lee was born in Hayes, Middlesex in England...
, with art by Jon Davis-Hunt. Lee describes it as "a futuristic space story that happens to be set in a prison camp. and it's (and I'll be honest here) a mash of clichés and homages as let's be truthful here, you couldn't do a prison camp story and not be like that."
The story ran in 2000 AD #1600-1614 between August and November in 2008.
Tales from Beyond Science
Tales from Beyond Science was a series of one-off Future Shock
Future Shock
Future Shock is a book written by the futurist Alvin Toffler in 1970. In the book, Toffler defines the term "future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies. His shortest definition for the term is a personal perception of "too much change in too short a period of...
-style stories all drawn by Rian Hughes
Rian Hughes
Rian Hughes is a British graphic designer, illustrator and comics artist, noted for his work on 2000AD, where he illustrated Robo-Hunter, Tales from Beyond Science, Really and Truly and Dan Dare, among others...
with the writers Mark Millar
Mark Millar
Mark Millar is a Scottish comic book writer, known for his work on books such as The Authority, The Ultimates, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Civil War, Wanted, and Kick-Ass, the latter two of which have been adapted into feature films...
, Alan McKenzie
Alan McKenzie
Alan McKenzie is a British comics writer known for his work at 2000 AD.-Biography:McKenzie worked for Marvel UK during the early 1980s, editing Starburst, Cinema and Doctor Who Monthly magazines. After leaving the Marvel staff in 1985, he wrote several Doctor Who comic stories for the Monthly under...
and John Smith
John Smith (comics)
John Smith is a British comics writer best known for his work on 2000 AD and Crisis.Smith's work is characterised by intricate, sometimes obscure plots and an interest in taboos and the occult, told in an elliptic, fractured narrative style reminiscent of Iain Sinclair or the cut-up technique of...
. The story was devised by writer Millar and then editor McKenzie who brought Smith and Hughes in as the last members of the team.
The series was published in 1992 in 2000 AD #774-779 and as part of a couple of special issues. Hughes has had these stories collected, along with new material, and published by Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
(ISBN 1607064715).
Thirteen
Thirteen was a one-off story written by Mike Carey, with art by Andy Clarke
Andy Clarke (comics)
Andy Clarke is a British comics artist who came to prominence working at 2000 AD and became known to a wider audience at DC Comics.-Biography:...
. The story had been on Carey's mind for seven years before appearing in the comic. The writer has said "I wanted to do a story that was an insane, over-the-top space opera combined with the seventies paranoid thriller. I also had this idea for a narrative structure that would start small and then just keep on opening outwards like Chinese boxes until it was working on a cosmic level"
The story appeared in 2002 in 2000 AD #1289-1299 and has been collected into a trade paperback
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
(ISBN 1-904265-36-7)
Tyranny Rex
Tyranny Rex is a story by John Smith
John Smith (comics)
John Smith is a British comics writer best known for his work on 2000 AD and Crisis.Smith's work is characterised by intricate, sometimes obscure plots and an interest in taboos and the occult, told in an elliptic, fractured narrative style reminiscent of Iain Sinclair or the cut-up technique of...
and Steve Dillon
Steve Dillon
Steve Dillon is a British comic book artist, from Luton, Bedfordshire, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on Hellblazer, Preacher and The Punisher.-Biography:...
. The main character is a artist and reptile, whose story crossed over with Indigo Prime
Indigo Prime
Indigo Prime is the umbrella name for a series of stories written by John Smith for 2000 AD. Originally the agency was named Void Indiga , which was quickly changed once Smith learned of Steve Gerber's graphic novel Void Indigo.-Plot:Indigo Prime itself is an extra-dimensional agency dedicated to...
. The stories appeared between 1988 and 1994, with a number of artists including Will Simpson, Dougie Braithwaite, Steve Sampson
Steve Sampson
Steve Sampson is a soccer coach and the former head coach of the United States men's national team and the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer...
, Duncan Fegredo
Duncan Fegredo
Duncan Fegredo is a British comic book artist born in Leicester in 1964.-Career:Fegredo first managed to get into comics after showing his portfolio around UKCAC in 1987 and meeting Dave Thorpe. Together they worked on a strip for a short lived British magazine called Heartbreak Hotel...
, Mark Buckingham
Mark Buckingham
Mark Buckingham is a British comic book artist. He is better known for his work on Marvelman and Fables.-Biography:Born as Mark John Buckingham May 23, 1966 in Clevedon, United Kingdom...
, Paul Marshall and Richard Elson
Richard Elson
Richard Elson is a British comic book artist best known for his work on Sonic the Comic, 2000 AD and Thor.-Biography:Richard Elson is a fine art graduate with over sixteen years experience as a cartoonist and illustrator....
, and the character made a comeback in 2004, with Steve Yeowell
Steve Yeowell
Steve Yeowell is a British comics artist, well-known for his work on the long-running science fiction and fantasy weekly comic 2000 AD.-Biography:...
on art duties but no further stories appeared.
Witch World
Witch World is a series that appeared twice in 2000 AD, written by Gordon Rennie
Gordon Rennie
Gordon Rennie is a comics writer, responsible for White Trash: Moronic Inferno, as well as several comic strips for 2000 AD and novels for Warhammer Fantasy....
, with art provided by Siku
Siku (comics)
Siku is the pseudonym of British/Nigerian artist and writer Ajibayo Akinsiku, best known for his work in 2000 AD.-Biography:Siku studied design and printing at the Yaba’s School of Art, and theology at the London School of Theology....
and Paul Johnson
Paul Johnson (artist)
Paul Johnson is a British comic book artist.-Biography:Paul Johnson orbited the peripheries of the British comic book industry in the early Eighties, self-publishing and appearing in influential but short-lived publications such as Psst! and Escape Magazine...
.
Rennie describes the origins of the story (one of his first in 2000 AD after stories being published in the Megazine): "It came about when I and a number of other writers were asked to put together pitches for a new fantasy strip, with guidelines suggested by the editor". However, he does not rate the story highly:
Zombo
Zombo is a story written by Al Ewing
Al Ewing
Al Ewing is a British comics writer who has mainly worked in the small press and for 2000 AD.-Biography:Al Ewing began his career writing stories in the five-page Future Shocks format for 2000AD...
, based on ideas by Henry Flint
Henry Flint
Henry Flint is a British comic book artist who has worked mainly for British sci-fi comic 2000AD.-Biography:Flint has established a cult following for his hyper-detailed and wildly inventive work on series such as Judge Dredd, Zombo,,ABC Warriors, Shakara, Low Life and Aliens.A recent project was...
, who also provided the art. It is set on a "death planet", one of a number of hostile and malevolent living planets, where the eponymous character has to lead the passengers of a crashed space ship to safety.
Zombo began in 2000 AD #1632.