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Digital-only 2000AD collections for 2021 announced, complementing continued print titles

By John Freeman on November 3, 2020

From demon-hunting robots to dinosaur-hunting cowboys, soul-hunting centurions to pirate-hunting time-travellers, Rebellion has announced a brand new series of digital-only 2000AD collections for 2021.

Featuring work by Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Boys), Sean Phillips (Criminal, Reckless), Al Ewing (Immortal Hulk), John Wagner (Judge Dredd), Alan Grant (Batman), and Pat Mills (Marshal Law), the new series of digital collections will bring together thrills old and new – including some that have never been available digitally before!

The new digital releases will be available from the 2000AD app for Apple, Android, and Windows 10 devices, as DRM-free PDF/CBZ downloads from the 2000AD webshop, and on Amazon Kindle devices.

“This new series of digital-only collections available from our app and webshop are a fantastic dive into 2000AD’s incredible backlist,” says Ben Smith, Head of Film, TV and Publishing at Rebellion, said.

“Our archives are bursting at the seams with hidden gems that have either never been collected or just haven’t been digitised before, so it’s great to be able to make them available.

“The advance of digital-only collections is that we can bring these classics direct to the readers without having to add even more books to our already bumper publishing schedule.”

The new digital-first schedule begins in January with a special edition of John Tomlinson and Simon Jacob’s Armoured Gideon, the mechanical ghost-buster from the abode of demons, dubbed ’The Edge’, who keeps the temporal plane clear of supernatural interference.

This digital collection which features never-before-reprinted extra stories “No, No, Nanette” from 2000 AD Prog 722, “Starhavon’s Edge” from the 1990 2000AD Sci Fi Special and “Making Movies” from the 1992 2000 AD Sci Fi Special.

Old school fans will once again be able to dive into Tom Tully, John Richardson, Steve Dillon and Johnny Johnstone’s The Mean Arena, a brutal mix of rugby, football and all-out street brawls, devised by greedy promoters and played in evacuated towns where the possibility of death lurks around every corner!

The schedule includes three treats from the oeuvre of writer John Smith – post-apocalyptic fever dream Revere, dinosaurs-meet-Running Man Slaughter Bowl, and the stunningly beautiful environmental tale Firekind. And there are also modern series such as the latest collection of Ancient Roman soul-hunter Aquila by Gordon Rennie, Paul Davidson and Patrick Goddard; David Hine and Nick Percival’s body horror Dark Judges series, Torture Garden; and mutant bounty hunting with Durham Red by Alec Worley, Ben Willsher and Lee Carter.

The full 2021 digital schedule:

6th January

Armoured Gideon
By John Tomlinson, Alan McKenzie (Writer) Simon Jacob, Sean Phillips (Artists)

A special edition of John Tomlinson and Simon Jacob’s Armoured Gideon, the mechanical ghost-buster from the abode of demons, dubbed ’The Edge’, who keeps the temporal plane clear of supernatural interference.

3rd February

Revere
By John Smith (Writer) Simon Harrison (Artist)

It’s the end of the world and he feels fine. Meet the Witch Boy of London – Revere – written by John Smith with nightmarish psychedelic art from Simon Harrison, this is one of Smith’s signature works – a weird, trippy nightmare set in a post-apocalyptic London.

3 March

The Mean Arena Volume 1: The Southampton Sharks
By Tom Tully (Writer) John Richardson, Steve Dillon, Johnny Johnstone (Artists)

Street football may sound all laughing kids and jumpers-for-goalposts but in a dystopian future Britain it’s a matter of life and death – this is The Mean Arena!

7 April

Flesh: Midnight Cowboys
By Pat Mills (Writer) James McKay (Artist)

It’s cowboys versus dinosaurs in Flesh, where time travelling corporations farm the past for meat to feed a hungry future… although the employees of Trans Time discovered pretty quickly that their dinner likes to bite back!

5 May

Time Flies
By Garth Ennis (Writer) Philip Bond, John Beeston, Roger Langridge (Artists)

Hop aboard a time-travelling JCB as we join a World War Two pilot and a future time cop trying to rescue Herman Goering from a pirate!

2 June

Slaughter Bowl
By John Smith (Writer) Paul Peart (Artist)

7 July

Aquila Volume II: The Burning Fields
By Gordon Rennie (Writer) Paul Davidson, Patrick Goddard (Artist)

Travel to Ancient Rome, to uncover a slave-turned-gladiator-turned-soul-harvester.

4 August

Bad City Blue
By Alan Grant (Writer) Robin Smith (Artist)

Built into an asteroid and floating in space, Bader City is a crumbling, decaying ghetto controlled by armed gangs. The only kind of order is kept by guys like Blue, a trouble-shooting ‘button man’ who enforces order at the behest of the top-siders.

1 September

Firekind
By John Smith (Writer) Paul Marshall (Artist)

Dragons. Flying rocks. Humans invading a supposedly-primitive culture of blue-skinned aliens… sound familiar? Discover more than just another blockbuster with John Smith and Paul Marshall’s Firekind!

6 October

Dark Justice: Torture Garden
By David Hine (Writer) Nick Percival (Artist)

3 November

Tales from the Black Museum: Volume One
Including John Wagner, Al Ewing, Dan Abnett, Simon Spurrier, John Smith, Alan Grant (Writers) Shaun Thomas, John Ridgway, Dylan Teague, Rufus Dayglo, Dean Ormston (Artists)

1 December

Durham Red: Born Bad
By Alec Worley (Writer) Ben Willsher, Lee Carter (Artist)

She’s the gun-totin’, stone-cold killin’, blood-suckin’ ‘Strontium Bitch’ – mutant bounty hunter Durham Red!

• These digital releases will be available from the 2000AD app for Apple, Android, and Windows 10 devices, as DRM-free PDF/CBZ downloads from the 2000AD webshop, and on Amazon Kindle devices

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.