There’s a bumper-size issue of 2000AD with a striking cover from Toby Willsmer on sale today from The Mighty Tharg in all surviving TG Jones, supermarkets and, of course, Local Comic Shops!

Prog 2497 of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic beams directly in from the Nerve Centre as an expanded 52 pages edition, including two instalments of “The Oubliette” starring Judge Dredd, the conclusion of Book Two of “Nightmare New York”, and plenty more! A complete “Young Death” story from Kek-W and Sedat Oezgen, for one, a nefarious full “Future Shock” story, for two, and the latest instalments of “Brink” and “Fall of Deadworld”… an Omnibus Collection of that strip hitting book and comic shops next month!

Storylines wrap up in Prog 2499, out in two weeks time in the UK – and then we head towards The New Future of 2000AD with Prog 2500… be ready for plenty of shocks and surprises ahead!

(What, you thought we would spoil them? Foolish humans!)

2000AD Prog 2497
UK RELEASE DATE: 26th August £4.99
LUNAR RELEASE DATE: 9th September $8.99
COVER: Toby Willsmer

In this issue:

JUDGE DREDD // THE OUBLIETTE
By Ken Niemand (Writer) Dan Cornwell (Artist) Chris Blythe (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. 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, he’s been imprisoned in a mysterious dungeon, but has managed to fight his way through the levels to attempt escape..

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…

THE FALL OF DEADWORLD // JUSTICE
By Kek-W (Writer) Dave Kendall (Artist) Simon Bowland (Letterer)

The planet that became known as DEADWORLD was once a regular civilisation existing in a parallel dimension. But the end of days is coming, and creatures called the Dark Judges are spreading their contagion, exterminating all life. While Sov forces have take advantage of the chaos and invaded, Jess Childs and her fellow rebels have reunited with Judge Fairfax as they try to save a world falling into chaos…

NIGHTMARE NEW YORK // BOOK TWO
By Kek-W (Writer) David Roach (Artist) Jim Boswell (Colourist) Annie Parkhouse (Letterer)

Lower Manhattan, 1845. The early days of the North American metropolis are marked by a mix of poverty and organised crime. Young Lil, living rough on these dank streets, had just turned eighteen when she discovered she was part of a select group of individuals that were imbued with special powers. Now she’s been captured by a doctor, who intends to use her abilities to unleash chaos…

FUTURE SHOCKS // AND NOW THE FIREWORKS
By James Peaty (Writer) Steve Yeowell (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…

YOUNG DEATH // GRAVE CONSEQUENCES
By Kek-W (Writer) Sedat Oezgen (Artist) John Charles (Colourist) Rob Steen (Letterer)

The planet that became known as DEADWORLD was once a regular civilisation existing in a parallel dimension. Its Judge force was notoriously brutal and openly corrupt, and so when young psychopath Sidney De’Ath joined its ranks, he quickly became something of a rising star. But Sidney is being courted by entities beyond the veil, who want to use him to usher in a global apocalypse…

JUDGE DREDD // THE OUBLIETTE
By Ken Niemand (Writer) Jake Lynch (Artist) Emily Roach (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. Crime is rampant and only the Judges – empowered to dispense instant justice – can stop total anarchy. Toughest of them all is JUDGE RICO – he is the Law! Now, the black tower that materialised in the metropolis has been destroyed, and Joe Fargo and Lana Locke are looking for Dredd…

• 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!

Still on sale in newsagents and some Local Comic Shops where stock available: Judge Dredd Megazine 495 (full details here) and the 2000AD Sci-Fi Special (details here)

More Rebellion Releases…

The Complete Scarlet Traces, Volume Four
By D’Israeli and Ian Edginton
Out: 26th August 2026
Paperback | 112 Pages
ISBN: 978-1837867868
• Order from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own

In the immediate aftermath of The War of the Worlds, Britain, having defeated the invading Martians, is a weakened shell of its former self. As it begins the process of rebuilding, a new, more Earlthly, foe seizes its opportunity.

Scarlet Traces continues in this fourth volume of Ian Edginton and D’Israeli’s critically acclaimed sequel to H.G. Wells’ iconic novel The War of the Worlds.

The Dark Judges: The Fall of Deadworld Omnibus
By Kek-W (Author), Dave Kendall (Artist)
Out: Scheduled for 24th September 2026
Hardcover | 388 pages
ISBN: 978-1837868469

• Pre-order it here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

On the planet Deadworld, the insane Judge Death and his lieutenants Fear, Fire and Mortis have deemed that as only the living could break the law, life itself should be a crime, and living person is due their judgement. As the Dark Judges set out to bring extinction to their world, a small group of rebels led by Judge Fairfax launch a desperate effort to halt their city’s conversion into a Necropolis.

In the midst of all this chaos, the neighbouring Soviet forces launch an attack on their American enemies in a bid to stop the devastation.

This omnibus collection contains all the Fall of Deadworld stories from the first three volumes, all written by Kek-W (The Order) and drawn by Dave Kendall (Dreams of Deadworld).

Kek-W is the writer and co-creator of The Order and The Fall of Deadworld for 2000 AD. He recently wrote Cap’n Dinosaur for Image Comics with artist Shaky Kane, as well as contributing to Wire magazine and Commando. He lives in Yeovil, South Somerset.

As well as being responsible for the morbid reimagining of the Dark Judges and their world as co-creator of The Fall of Deadworld, Dave Kendall has lent his visionary artistic talents to 2000 AD with several one-off stories. He was also the artist of Psycho Killer for Toxic! and has worked extensively as a fantasy illustrator for clients including Games Workshop and Wizards of the Coast.

• About the Author
• Latest Posts

John Freeman

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.

• Bomber Braddock Blasts Back Into Action!
• Bumper 2000AD On Sale Today, and Shocks Ahead!
• Creating Comics: Alex Segura's "Marvel's Mastering the Art of Comics" out in October
• Whatever Happened to the Mind Wars sequel?
• Strawjack: “Figgerty’s Gallop” – Page 5, and Bonus Art, too

Categories: 2000AD, British Comics, British Comics - Current British Publishers, Comic Previews, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News

Tags: 2000AD, Brink, downthetubes News, Future Shocks, Judge Dredd, Nightmare New York, SF Comics, The Fall of Deadworld, Toby Willsmer, Young Death