Jump on, Earthlets!

Cover art by Chris Burnham.

This week's issue of 2000AD is another "jumping on point" with every story in the comic being the first chapter of a new serial. An ideal opportunity for new readers and lapsed readers to start buying the UK's longest-running adventure comics weekly. It also sees the return of 1980s classic Bad Company for an all-new run by Peter Milligan, Rufus Dayglo and Jim McCarthy.

2000AD Prog 1950 is out on Wednesday 30th September, price £2.55. Want to know more? Visit the Forbidden Planet International Blog where there are previews of all the strips in this issue!
http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2015/the-weekly-2000ad-preview-prog-1950/ 

Next week's comics from Rebellion

Rebellion have released the covers of their two comics that will be in shops this coming Wednesday (15th July). A stunning cover to Judge Dredd Megazine No.362 by Alex Ronald, and Carl Richardson's cover to 2000AD Prog 1939.

The two covers were revealed yesterday on 2000AD's Facebook page which you can visit here: https://www.facebook.com/2000AD

If you're already a member of Facebook, give it a 'like' so you'll see more updates.  

Jump onto 2000AD

The latest issue of 2000AD (out today) is another perfect 'jumping on point' for new and lapsed readers. The 36 page issue features the start of five new stories with the welcome return of some old favorites. 

Judge Dredd fronts the comic as usual and a new adventure Enceladus begins by Rob Williams and Henry Flint.

Celtic barbarian Slaine is back by Pat Mills and Simon Davis.

Grey Area returns by Dan Abnett and Mark Harrison.

Orlok, Agent of East-Meg One returns for a second series by Arthur Wyatt and Jake Lynch.

Johnny Alpha, Strontium Dog is back by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra.

Each strip has a 'Series Update' to fill in new readers on the premise and backstory.

All this under an excellent cover by Brian Bolland! You can't go wrong. Rush out to your newsagent with your £2.45 and buy 2000AD Prog 1924 now, Earthlets!

You can also buy the digital edition if you prefer. More info at the 2000AD website:
http://www.2000adonline.com/    

This week's 2000AD

I'm not going to make a regular habit of promoting 2000AD here as plenty of other websites already do a fine job of that. Anyway, you can always simply visit their own website. However, I was so impressed with this week's cover that I wanted to bring it to the attention of any of you who hadn't seen it. 

The artwork is by Jake Lynch in a style some may call 'old school' but it's a great cover. The image is sharp, dynamic, and is the sort that'll stand out on the shelves. (Red is always a good colour to catch the eye.) Just what any publisher needs for a comic to be noticed. Plus the logo isn't obscured, so another win. (The only thing that doesn't stand out too well is the black font on dark red background in the bottom corner but perhaps it'll look better in print.) Jake Lynch was also the artist on the recent Orlok series in the comic and I hope we'll see more of his work in there soon.

As for the contents, you can check out a preview over on 2000AD's tumblr site here:
http://2000adonline.tumblr.com/post/113899541272/prog-1921-preview

2000AD Prog 1922 will hit the shops on Wednesday 18th March. 

2000AD - 38 and a bit

2000AD is celebrating its 38th birthday today. An amazing achievement for any comic and, equally as remarkable, that it has kept an incredibly high standard of scripts and artwork throughout all those years. 

To be strictly accurate the anniversary itself was actually last week. 2000AD No.1 was published on Saturday 19th February 1977, although its official on-sale date was Monday 21st February. 

Back in 1977, the cover date on 2000AD was the following Saturday not the day it was published. This applied to all weekly comics in those days. In more recent years, 2000AD began using the actual day of publication as the cover date so perhaps someone at Rebellion simply didn't realize they'd been celebrating the wrong day for a good few years now. After all, there probably aren't many of us original readers who are still buying the comic nearly four decades later. 

Here's a scan I posted in 2007 that some of you who are new to this blog may not have seen. It's the brilliantly exciting four page advert for 2000AD No.1 that was printed in Battle comic in 1977...

So, Happy 38 Years And One Week Anniversary to the Galaxy's Greatest Comic! 

2000AD: This week's Prog

I really like Rufus Dayglo's cover for 2000AD Prog 1918. The covers for this comic are usually very dark and grim (albeit well accomplished of course) so this bright, fun cover is a breath of fresh air. It also makes 2000AD stand out on the shelves, which is always a good way to attract new readers. 

I found this to be a good issue all round. It kicks off with part 8 of Dark Justice, by John Wagner and Greg Staples, with Dredd having a scrap with Judge Death...

Then we're into Part 1 of Survival Geeks (promoted on the cover) written by Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby with some excellent artwork from Neil Googe (colours by Gary Caldwell). I like the style of this a lot...

Tharg's 3rillers don't always do a lot for me I'm afraid but I found Part 1 of Station to Station really gripping. Story by Eddie Robson, art by Darren Douglas. I'm looking forward to the rest of this three-parter.

The Order continues, with Part 8 this week. I haven't really connected with Kek-W's story as much as I'd have liked to but you can never go wrong with a strip drawn by the great John Burns! For over 50 years he's been one of the best artists working in comics and his stuff is still top notch!

Savage Book 9: Grinders continues with Part 8 by Pat Mills and Patrick Goddard.  The Volgan invasion is over, but the intrigue continues! 

All this, plus a Droid Life mini-strip by Cat Sullivan. At just £2.45 2000AD is a bargain. If you haven't read it for a while (or even if you've never read it) give it a try!

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By the way, I've now updated my post about the late Brett Ewins with a longer tribute and more images. See it here:
http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/brett-ewins-rest-in-peace.html

Brett Ewins, Rest In Peace

Very sad news. 2000AD have just reported the passing of artist Brett Ewins. A distinctive comic artist since his work first appeared in print in the 1970s, Brett's work was appreciated by fans and pros alike.

(Updated 18/2/2015): Brett Ewins was born in London on December 8th 1955. As a child he was enthralled by the work of Steve Ditko and Carmine Infantino which inspired his desire to create his own comics. In 1977 he teamed up with his longtime friend and fellow artist Brendan McCarthy to create the distinctive indie comic Sometime Stories. Sadly, after a fall out with the publisher, the second issue was never published but it led to both artists getting work for IPC on 2000AD.

Brett Ewins' modern style was perfect for 2000AD and he collaborated with McCarthy on several covers and strips in the comic's formative first year. He soon went solo too, with his first cover being the one for Prog 41 (shown above). 

With McCarthy pencilling and Ewins inking, the pair contributed chapters to the Judge Dredd epic The Day the Law Died. However, Brett also pencilled and inked his own material at times, such as in Prog 113 to 115 when he illustrated the three part Dredd story The DNA Man. Here's part 3 of that story. Script by John Wagner, art by Brett Ewins, from 2000AD Prog 115 (2nd June 1979). Click to enlarge images...

Over time, Brett's work continued to evolve, as evidenced on strips such as Johnny Nemo for Eclipse and Bad Company for 2000AD. The artist himself had his own ideas for comics, co-creating Deadline magazine with Steve Dillon in 1988, and discovering Jamie Hewlett and Philip Bond (whose Tank Girl strip became phenomenal success). 

Sadly all of this work was not without consequences and in 1991 Brett suffered a nervous breakdown. Diagnosed as a manic depressive his illness would continue to affect his life and career. In 2011 the book The Art of Brett Ewins was published, which is essentially Brett's biography (in the form of an interview by Alan McKenzie) and in it the artist spoke of his plans for the future. Due to prescribed heavy medication he was only able to work for around two hours a day but he seemed optimistic if his words in the book were anything to go by. Unfortunately tragedy struck in 2012 when his illness led to a violent encounter with the police which resulted in him receiving hospitalization. In recent times he was hoping to rebuild his life but on 16th February 2015 Brett passed away after a short illness. 

A short tribute such as this cannot really do justice to the life of such a talented and tragic figure. I didn't really know Brett. We'd met very briefly a couple of times in the 1980s at conventions but that's all. I always admired his distinctive talents though and a new Brett Ewins project was always worth a look. To die at 59 is no age, and one cannot help but wonder what great work he could have continued to do had he been blessed with a happier and longer life. 

However, he leaves us with some classic comics material. If you don't already have it I thoroughly recommend The Art of Brett Ewins, which is Brett's personal journey through his life and career. It's well illustrated with examples of his artwork (some scanned from the original boards) and contains an index of all his work in the back. Available from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Brett-Ewins/dp/095691490X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424300149&sr=8-1&keywords=art+of+brett+ewins

I'd also recommend The Complete Bad Company, reprinting the epic 2000AD serials by Peter Milligan, Brett Ewins, Jim McCarthy and Steve Dillon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Bad-Company-Peter-Milligan/dp/1907519467/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1424300249&sr=1-2&keywords=bad+company

My sincere condolences to Brett's family and friends at this sad time.

Brett Ewins. 1955 - 2015. R.I.P.

(Image of Judge Anderson 2000AD cover taken from 

http://alexronald68.blogspot.co.uk/ . Photograph of Brett is from The Art of Brett Ewins. Rest of the scans are from my own collection.)

Here comes the Mega Collection!

On January 21st 2015, Hachette will be launching Judge Dredd The Mega Collection, a fortnightly series of hardback books reprinting classic Judge Dredd stories from the character's 38 year history. 

There are 80 books planned in the series, with each one running to around 200 pages. As well as containing collected Dredd serials each volume will also contain exclusive bonus features. 

It sounds like the format will be similar to the two Marvel partworks that Hachette currently publish. In which case readers can be assured of good quality books. Like most partworks, Judge Dredd The Mega Collection was tested in a few areas first, so some of you may already have the first few books but it's now being relaunched across the UK. 

You can find out more, including subscription details, at the official website:
http://www.judgedreddcollection.com/

Tharg's horror comic hits the shops

I'm a bit too busy to research old comics at the moment, so my apologies for the lack of any posts on classic strips. However, here's a quick plug for the new 2000AD Winter Special that's in the shops now. This issue has a horror theme to the stories and contains 52 pages of all new strips featuring Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, The Alienest, Terror Tales, Defoe, and Anderson, Psi-Division. 

Look out for the Ben Templesmith cover of Zombie Dredd! Out now for only £3.50. 

New look for 2000AD

Cover art by Greg Staples.

Next week Britain's longest-running adventure comic weekly 2000AD reaches the landmark issue Prog 1900, and gets a facelift with a new design and masthead. 

The issue also sees the start of three new stories, with two others to begin the following week. The Forbidden Planet International Blog has the full details, along with previews of the strips, so check it out now:
http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2014/comics-2000-ad-hits-prog-1900/

2000AD Prog 1900, on sale Wednesday 24th September. Still only £2.45.

Dredd hits 350!

I don't cover 2000AD or related product here that often because those comics already receive good coverage in various places (such as the Everything Comes Back to 2000AD blog). However, a milestone is worth mentioning and currently on the stands is the 350th issue of Judge Dredd Megazine.

The 64 page issue kicks off with a brand new cover by Brian Bolland, and there's a free A3 poster of the same artwork, sans masthead, bagged with the comic. Inside, three new stories begin; Judge Dredd: Deadzone by John Wagner and Henry Flint, Lawless by Dan Abnett and Phil Winslade, and a series set in the movie continuity, Dredd: Uprise by Arthur Wyatt and Paul Davidson.

There's also the third part of The Man from the Ministry by Gordon Rennie and Kev Hopgood. Speaking of which, the comic also features a four page interview with Kev.

There are also interviews with the artist Trevor Hairsine, plus a chat with Leah Moore and John Reppion about their writing career. 

As always, the Megazine comes bagged with a 68 page collection of past material and this month it's Harke and Burr by Si Spencer and Dean Ormston, reprinting the 2000AD strip from 20 years ago. 

All in all issue 350 is a great package with high quality content. The price of £5.70 may seem steep at first glance, but you're getting a lot for your money here. This issue will be on sale until August 19th, but grab it before it sells out. 

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Also on the stands now is 2000AD Prog 1891 which sees the start of Moore and Reppion's great new series, Black Shuck, with art by Steve Yeowell. Cover by Alex Ronald. £2.45  

Return of the Summer Special

From the early 1960s up to a few years ago, the 'Summer Special' of a comic was always something to look forward to. They gradually faded away due to reader disinterest and, it's said, reluctance of retailers to have one issue taking up shelf space for three or four months. The last 2000AD Sci-Fi Special (as its summer edition was titled) appeared in 1996 apparently. However, this week it made its return to newsagents across the UK with a brand new edition.

Summer Specials often featured their regular characters plus extras. This year's 2000AD Sci-Fi Special has a couple of twists. Firstly, it brings back three old characters (Rogue Trooper, Robo-Hunter, and Durham Red) and secondly the contributors are newcomers (or "my latest consignment of script and art droids" as editor Tharg refers to them). A very nice job they do too.

There's also a Judge Dredd story of course, plus a strip starring Orlok, Agent of East-Meg One, and a Future Shock. Again, by new contributors. And a couple of pin-ups, or 'Star Scans' as 2000AD calls them. 

Six all-new stories, no reprint, in a packed 52 page summer special for £3.50. On sale from now until 6th August. Ideal reading matter on the sands before the Punch and Judy Show starts or to read in your guest house if it's raining. 

Black Shuck is coming!

I'm pleased to hear that husband and wife team Leah Moore and John Reppion will soon have a new series they've written starting in 2000AD. The title of the strip is Black Shuck and it's illustrated by Steve Yeowell. It begins in the weekly comic in July. You can read more about it in an interview with Leah and John over at this website:
http://judgetutorsemple.wordpress.com/2014/02/11/an-interview-with-leah-moore-john-reppion-black-shuck-coming-soon-to-2000ad/ 

The sensational promotional art above is by Alex Ronald and I understand it will be used as a 2000AD cover when the series begins. 

I've always liked the comics of Moore and Reppion that I've read. Wild Girl, the mini series they did with artist Shaun McManus, is well worth seeking out if you've never seen it. Likewise, Albion, based on a plot by Leah's father Alan Moore, with art by Shane Oakley, is also worth reading. In case you didn't know, Albion is a graphic novel that revives classic Fleetway and Odhams characters such as Robot Archie, The Steel Claw, Kelly's Eye, Bad Penny, and many more in an inclusive continuity.

I recently read something that was critical of the writers because they were not familiar with the old strips before they researched them for Albion. I thought the critique was a little unfair, because it seems to me that those old UK characters were quite one-dimensional, so it wouldn't require many back issues to get to grips with the basics. The beauty of those old comics is that they were written to be accessible to new readers, with basic gimmick characters and plots that could be immediately understood by children. It's not necessary to have grown up with those strips for today's writers to grasp their concepts from a few issues. Besides, Albion is a dark modern spin on the characters, with a different tone to Valiant or Lion. 

I enjoyed Albion and would urge any fan of those classic characters to check it out. You can read the review I wrote back in 2007 here:
http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2007/01/heroes-of-albion.html

If you want to discover more about the work of Leah Moore and John Reppion, here's their website:
http://www.moorereppion.com/