Future mayhem continues this week in 2000AD Prog 2479, as Judge Dredd concludes his hunt for young terrorists in Mega-City One – one way or another.
Behind a dramatic Dredd cover from Steven Austin with Matt Soffe, we meet some ‘orrible Georgians in “Helium” who have some terrifying ideas about women; while Bridget questions her sanity in “Brink” and the Baroness tries to recover her strength in “Silver”.
But one story Tharg really wants to point you to this week is this Prog’s “Future Shock”, “Creature Featurette”.
The story is written by Lilith Allen and drawn by Philip Read, the winners of the 2025 Thought Bubble Talent Search, and this comic marks their debut in the world of mainstream comics. The story’s lettered by Rob Steen.
Lilith Allen, who describes their story as “about a Lovecraftian pigeon monster who has an existential crisis”, is a writer, director and filmmaker, currently studying for a masters degree in screenwriting at Edinburgh Napier University. Lilith is co-writer on a new short film, Hag, an original graduate film being brought to life by Screen Academy Scotland’s MA Film students, and co-wrote and directed another short, Moth!, released in 2023.
Lilith’s work typically falls under the comedy drama genre, but has recently begun branching out into horror and fantasy, bringing along her signature comedy in order to explore big themes and ideas in a grounded and natural way.
“My writing process often boils down to grabbing the first idea that comes into my head,” Lilith tells Karl Stock in an interview in this Prog, “no matter how crazy it seems, and running with it, which thankfully seems to have worked out for the best more often than not.”
Philip Read also has a story in The77 Comic No.12, “Cost Cutter”, written by Tony Holdsworth, which you can still Late Pledge here on Kickstarter. You should definitely check out his fun, faux PSM Magazine covers on his socials, because they are tremendous fun! He also contributed to Tony Hernandez’ self-published title, Xolotl.
Philip is a self-taught artist since childhood, who began to take it seriously in his mid-twenties, with the help of figure-drawing books and helpful YouTube channels.
“Prior to committing myself to art I was a videogame tester for a long time,’ he tells Karl Stock, “which is both a lot better and a lot worse than it sounds.”
“If I can say I’ve learned anything from trying to make it as an artist, it’s to follow your enthusiasm. I’ve done plenty of art that went ignored, but when I started drawing on my love of horror games I found an audience. Likewise, when I decided to enter the 2000AD talent competition in 2016, it was because I loved the scripts and was excited to draw them.”
2000AD Prog 2479
UK and DIGITAL: 22 April £3.99
COVER: Steven Austin with Matt Soffe
In This Issue:
JUDGE DREDD // FLAMES AND WHITE PHOSPHOROUS
By TC Eglington (Writer) Paul Marshall (Artist) Quinton Winter (Colourist) Annie Parkhouse (Letterer)
Mega-City One, 2148 AD. Home to over 300 million citizens, this urban hell is situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America. Tensions are on a knife-edge, crime is rampant, and only the Judges — empowered to dispense instant justice — can stop total anarchy. Toughest of them all is JUDGE DREDD — he is the Law! Now, a pair of teens are waging a war of revenge against certain elite business types…
BRINK // THE CALL OF THE VOID
By Dan Abnett (Writer) INJ Culbard (Artist) Simon Bowland (Letterer)
The late 21st century, and through environmental catastrophe and industrial overload Earth has been reduced to a wasteland. Mankind finally evacuated the planet in 2072 and millions were housed in a number of deep-space Habitats. But life on these cramped, overcrowded stations is tense, often spilling over into madness. Sects are rife, and Bridget Kurtis of the Habitat Security Division is investigating their reach…
• Read our recent interview with Dan Abnett
SILVER // MALIGNANT
By Mike Carroll (Writer) Joe Currie (Artist) Simon Bowland (Letterer)
Earth, the year 2001. A group of armed survivors sought out the resting place of a five hundred-year-old vampire, who may just help them against the alien Sepsis, who invaded the planet a few decades earlier. The vamp, called Baroness DeSilva, has proved powerful in battling the extra-terrestrials, and now, having aided the rebels in destroying Sepsis infrastructure, has just been instrumental in blowing up a nuclear facility…
• Read our recent interview with Michael Carroll
FUTURE SHOCKS // CREATURE FEATURETTE
By Lilith Allen (Writer) Philip Read (Artist) Rob Steen (Letterer)
Out in the vast reaches of the universe, there are an infinite number of stories waiting to be told. These cautionary tales pass from traveller to traveller in the spaceports and around campfires on distant planets, acquiring the status of legend, their shocking ends a salutory lesson in hubris. Anything is possible in these twisted trips into the galaxy’s dark side. Abandon your preconceptions, and expect the unexpected…
HELIUM // RED OCTOBER
By Ian Edginton (Writer) D’Israeli (Artist) Annie Parkhouse (Letterer)
The far future. It has been three hundred years since the Great War ended, and eighty-five per cent of the Earth’s surface now lies beneath a gaseous ocean known as the Poison Belt. The survivors live above the lethal fugue, but a Professor Bloom has emerged from a city below the belt, claiming he can make the planet habitable again. Constable Hodge was tasked with protecting him, but it came at great cost…
• Available in print from: 2000AD webshop, newsagents, Local Comic Shops and supermarkets | Available in digital from: 2000AD webshop, 2000AD app for Apple & Android | Buy a Cover Print
Don’t forget that if you buy an issue of 2000AD in the first week of its release from 2000AD direct, then postage in the UK is free!
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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.
Categories: 2000AD, British Comics, British Comics - Current British Publishers, Comic Previews, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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