It’s CHRISTMAS… well, not quite, but close enough you can smell the riot foam in Mega City One when someone kicks off about a lack of presents, or the right presents for the wrong people… you get the picture, yes?

As usual, Rebellion go big for the festive season, so be ready for some Thrill-Power overload! 

2000AD’s Christmas Special is 100 pages – including Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Hawk the Slayer, Portals & Black Goo and so much more – oh, and Nigel Farage shows up in Strontium Dog… Merry Christmas everyone, splat!

Then Judge Dredd Megazine has another hundred pages of ace comics for you, as Judge Dredd gets festive, Death Cap revives a surprising robotic face from the past, and Devlin Waugh goes on a really bad trip with his polycule.

If there two bumper issues aren’t exciting enough, let’s not forget the release of Battle Action #5, with Johnny Red‘s final days of warfare, backed up by an all-new Death Game story from Dan Abnett and Tom Foster.

And all this, and word Brass Run is coming back in the New Year…?! Enjoy!

2000AS Prog 2413
UK and DIGITAL: 18 December £5.9
NORTH AMERICA: 22 January $9.99
DIAMOND: OCT241858
COVER: Andy Clarke

JUDGE DREDD // LIFE LESSONS by Ken Niemand (w) David Roach (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)

Mega-City One, 2146 AD. Home to over 200 million citizens, this urban hell is situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America with the irradiated Cursed Earth to the west and the poisoned Black Atlantic to the east. Unemployment is rife, and crime is rampant. Tensions rest on a knife-edge and only the zero-tolerance Judges can stop total anarchy. Toughest of them all is JUDGE DREDD — he is the Law!

FIENDS OF THE WESTERN FRONT // WILDE WEST by Ian Edginton (w) Tiernen Trevallion (a) Jim Campbell (l)

In 1980, the diary of German soldier Hans Schmitt was discovered in Berlin, detailing events that occurred in 1941, when he encountered the terrifying vampire Captain Constanta and his Romanian platoon. But Schmitt was not the first person to meet Constanta — the vampire has popped up throughout history, in various countries and under various guises, and now he’s in North America in the late nineteenth century…

PORTALS & BLACK GOO // A QUORUM OF FIENDS by John Tomlinson (w) Eoin Coveney (a) Jim Boswell (c) Simon Bowland (l)

In the near future, the job market is more perilous than ever and Generation Y must take on any task to make ends meet. Kroy Plemons is a rider for Devouroo — a food-delivery service for creatures of myth and legend. Devouroo policy is ruthless and Kroy has in the past barely escaped with his life after being given the night shift, when London’s most lethal denizens are hungry. Indeed, there’s unrest across the capital…

THISTLEBONE // THE EEL OF HARROWVALE POND by T.C. Eglington (w) Simon Davis (a)

A creepy short text story…

AZIMUTH // SANTA’S LITTLE HELPERS by Dan Abnett (w) Tazio Bettin (a) Matt Soffe (c) Jim Campbell (l)

Welcome to the city of AZIMUTH, a data-driven metropolis, where anything is possible. Ruled by an aristocracy of the New Flesh, anyone can take any shape, if it can be conceived by the imagination. The New Flesh masters have been troubled by strange dreams, which have predicted the coming of a stranger — none other than Ramone Dexter, who’s teamed up with Psi-Judge Cassandra Anderson to save Downlode…..

ROGUE TROOPER // HOLIDAY IN THE HOTZONE by Karl Stock (w) Ilias Kyriazis (a) Simon Bowland (l)

Nu Earth, site of a galactic war between the Norts and the Southers, where use of chemical weapons has rendered the atmosphere poisonous. So the Southers created the Genetic Infantrymen, bred to be immune to the planet’s lethal cocktail of pollutants — G.I.s like ROGUE TROOPER, the last of his kind. Together with biochip buddies Helm, Gunnar and Bagman, they’re searching for the traitor that sold them out…

THE OUT // BOOK FOUR by Dan Abnett (w) Mark Harrison (a) Simon Bowland (l)

The furthest edge of the universe. Cyd Finlea was a photo-journalist working for the publishers Global Neographic, travelling deep into outer space — otherwise known as THE OUT — and cataloguing the alien societies that she encounters. She left Earth ten years ago and has been seeking other ex-pat humans — but now, having lost her old pal Cheerio and said goodbye to her daughter Joey, she’s finding work…

HAWK THE SLAYER // THE LAST OF HER KIND by Alec Worley (w) Simon Coleby (a) Gary Caldwell (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
Based on the character from the screenplay by Terry Marcel & Harry Robertson

It is a time of legend. HAWK THE SLAYER defeated his evil brother Voltan some years before, and now he and his compatriots, such as the Elfin bowman Crow and warrior woman Bella, are keeping an eye on the malign spread of the Black Wizards’ influence. Rumours of dark magic abound, and creatures are striking with increasing regularity from the Forest of Weir. Armed with his fabled Mindsword, Hawk must keep the peace…

FUTURE SHOCKS // TIS THE SEASON FOR TAKING by Rob Williams (w) Pye Parr (a & l) 

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…

STRONTIUM DOG // DOGHOUSE ROSES by Garth Ennis (w) Henry Flint (a) Rob Steen (l)

Late 22nd century. After the Atomic Wars, many survivors were warped by the Strontium 90 fallout. These ‘mutants’ became a victimised underclass, forced into ghettos, and the only job open to them was bounty hunting. One such Search/Destroy agent, or STRONTIUM DOG, is Johnny Alpha, whose eyes emit piercing alpha waves. Partnered with his Viking buddy Wulf Sternhammer, they’re good men in a bad galaxy…

Available in print from: 2000AD webshop, book stores, Amazon, and comic book stores via Diamond | Available in digital from: 2000AD webshop, 2000AD app for Apple & Android

JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE 475
UK and DIGITAL: 18 December £6.99
NORTH AMERICA: 22 January $11.99
DIAMOND: OCT241859
COVER: Christian Ward

JUDGE DREDD // COMING TO TOWN by Ken Niemand (w) Paul Marshall (a) Dylan Teague (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)

Mega-City One, 2146 AD. This vast urban hell on the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America is home to over 200 million citizens, bordered by the irradiated Cursed Earth to the west and the toxic Black Atlantic to the east. Tensions run a knife-edge and crime is rampant. Stemming the tide of chaos are the Judges. Toughest of them all is Judge Dredd – he is the Law! 

DEATH CAP // FRONTIER JUSTICE by T.C. Eglington (w) Boo Cook (c) Simon Bowland (l)

The Cursed Earth, 2144 AD. This blasted, irradiated wilderness covers much of what’s left of post-apocalyptic twenty-second century North America. Here, mutants scratch out a meagre existence in ramshackle townships. Former Judge Anita Goya’s family were massacred, and she became infected with a virulent fungus. Now she’s being hunted by Justice Dept… 

FARGO & MCBANE // NEW YORK’S FINEST by Ken Niemand (w) Anna Readman (a) Quinton Winter (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)

New York City, the 1970s. Detective Jack McBane was one of the toughest cops to patrol the metropolis, having no compunction in handing out summary justice upon criminals. Although his ruthless attitude wins him few friends, he has one in Officer Eartha Fargo, who worked with him in NYC before moving out to Jaxville with her family. Now they’ve reunited… 

DEVLIN WAUGH // TWO MONTHS OFF by Alex Kot (w) PJ Holden (a) Jack Davies (c) Jim Campbell (l)

Brit-Cit, 2146 AD. A freelance paranormal troubleshooter and exorcist for the Vatican, Devlin Waugh is the world’s foremost supernatural investigator. Despite becoming a vampire after getting bitten tackling an outbreak in an underwater prison, Devlin continues to enjoy the finer things in life. Now, he’s on holiday with three friends, but things have turned weird… 

LAWLESS // A TOWN CALLED BADROCK by Dan Abnett (w) Phil Winslade (a) Simon Bowland (l)

Colonial Marshal Metta Lawson was appointed to the frontier township of Badrock on the planet 43 Rega, intent on stamping her authority on the colony. But in doing so, Lawson made many enemies, including Munce, Inc., the mega-corporation that funded Badrock. Now, with the SJS also running things, Lawson’s recently returned to the force after going undercover… 

Represented this issue…

JUDGE DREDD: FALSE WITNESS by Brandon Easton (w) Kei Zama (a) Eva De La Cruz (c) Shawn Lee (l)

CADET RICO // THE CYCLE by Liam Johnson (w) Rob Richardson (a) Jim Campbell (l)

RILEY’S REBELS by Honor Vincent (w) Stewart K. Moore (c) Simon Bowland (l)

Available in print from: 2000AD webshop, book stores, Amazon, and comic book stores via Diamond | Available in digital from: 2000AD webshop, 2000 AD app for Apple & Android

BATTLE ACTION #5
UK and DIGITAL: 18 December £4.99
NORTH AMERICA: 22 January $7.99
DIAMOND: OCT241860
COVER: Tom Foster

JOHNNY RED // A COUPLE OF HEROES by Garth Ennis (w) Keith Burns (a) Jason Wordie (c) Rob Steen (l)

“A Couple of Heroes” continues as the Flying Gun takes off for one last mission- and Johnny Redburn finds himself back where in the place his war began. Garth Ennis and Keith Burns tell the last story of the Red Devil, in Johnny Red.

DEATH GAME 1999 by Dan Abnett (w) Tom Foster (a) Rob Steen (l)

The return of the controversial Death Game, one of the stories responsible for the suspension of Action in 1976. A new take on the violent future sport!

Available in print from: Treasury of British comics webshop, online retailers, book stores, and comic book stores via Diamond | Available in digital from:Treasury of British Comics webshop, 2000AD app for Apple & Android

THE STAINLESS STEEL RAT COLOUR OMNIBUS
CREATIVE TEAM: Harry Harrison, Kelvin Gosnell (w) Carlos Ezquerra (a) Janet Landau (c) Jack Potter (l)
RELEASE DATE: December 18
PAPERBACK, 208 pages
PRICE: £24.99
ISBN: 9781837862733

The 2000AD adaptation of Harry Harrison’s classic science-fiction novels by Kelvin Gosnell and Carlos Ezquerra returns in a new full colour omnibus. James Bolivar DiGriz aka ‘The Stainless Steel Rat’ is many things – a con man, a thief, and a member of an elite law-enforcement agency known as the Special Corps. After escaping the corps, DiGriz crosses paths with the beautiful but deadly Angelina who, like Jim DiGriz, is also a master criminal, albeit a lot more ruthless. They must travel through time to stop a master criminal meddling with the past, and help to overthrow an evil President by having The Rat become a candidate for the job himself!

A classic from 2000AD‘s first ‘golden age’, Stainless Steel Rat is a must-read for fans of Harrison or old school sci-fi action with bold characters and a wry twist of humour, complemented by Ezquerra’s dynamic and inimitable artwork.

Available in print from: 2000AD webshop, book stores, Amazon, and comic book stores via Diamond | Available in digital from: 2000AD webshop, 2000AD app for Apple & Android

• About the Author
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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.

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Tags: 2000AD, Andy Clarke, Battle Action, Christian Ward, downthetubes News, Judge Dredd, Judge Dredd Megazine, Rogue Trooper, SF Comics, The Stainless Steel Rat, Tom Foster