This week in 2000AD, Prog 2405, on sale now in newsagents and comic shops across the UK (and as a digital edition), “Nightmare New York“, written by Kek-W, transitions to a new artistic team, as David Roach and Peter Doherty join the story. They’re following on from the work established by industry legend John M. Burns, who retired after starting the series and drawing the first four instalments.
Sadly, John passed away at the end of 2023, shortly after stepping away from the desk – so this story acts as a tribute to his pioneering work across comics. A landmark career.
“Yes, Part #4 [published last Prog, 2404] was, sadly, the last ever published work by the great John M Burns,” notes “Nightmare New York” writer Kek-W. “David pencilled and inked this new episode based on layouts supplied by the Maestro, after he retired.
“John was very keen for the series to be continued and completed, so after discussing it with John first, I then spoke to 2000AD Editorial and suggested that David – a huge JMB fan himself – was the only man for the job. I was delighted when David accepted and told me at last year’s Comic Expo in Bristol that he was onboard… To have Peter as the colour artist too is amazing.”
“When I heard I’d been given the job I asked John if he had any character sketches or roughs he could send me, so I could get up to date with the strip-and it turned out that episode 5 was already underway,” David recently revealed on his Facebook page. “John was kind enough to send me what he’d done, which was a real mixture of roughs, finished pencils and even some inks.
“I felt the best thing to do was to use John’s work as a jumping off point, so I traced through what he had already drawn, redrawing a lot of in my own style, and here and there, fixing some continuity glitches. The whole thing was then coloured by the great Peter Doherty, who’s been colouring my work for a few years now.
“I guess it goes without saying that the job was both an honour and rather bitter sweet; Just as I was finishing the episode the news came through that Joh had died, so the whole story has taken an an added poignancy.”
If you’re a John M. Burns fan, do follow the Facebook group dedicated to his work – “John M Burns Art“, curated by Colin Brown and Martin White. It’s a superb resource about John’s career.
Here’s our guide to this week’s prog – and a checklist of some upcoming releases, including the three-volume Battle Action Force collections, out in December!
2000AD Prog 2405
UK and DIGITAL: 23rd October £3.80
NORTH AMERICA: 4th December
DIAMOND: AUG242084
COVER: INJ Culbard
JUDGE DREDD // HATER
by Ken Niemand (Writer) Silvia Califano (Artist) Giulia Brusco (Colourist) Annie Parkhouse (Letterer)
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. 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, the child of a Sov and a MC-1 citizen has grown up resenting the prejudice that he’s been subjected to…
THE OUT // BOOK FOUR
by Dan Abnett (Writer) Mark Harrison (Artist) Simon Bowland (Letterer)
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…
NIGHTMARE NEW YORK
by Kek-W (Writer) David Roach (Artist) Peter Doherty (Colourist) Annie Parkhouse (Letterer)
Lower Manhattan, 1845. Paradise Square is at the centre of Five Points in Old New York, where five street corners meet. The early days of the North American metropolis are marked by a mix of poverty, organised crime and hardscrabble lives, where ragpickers rub shoulders with Christian missionaries. Young Lil, living rough on these dank streets, has just turned eighteen, and has been rescued by the mysterious Jimmy Blind…
BRINK // CONSUMED
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…
ROGUE TROOPER // WHEN A G.I. DIES
by Garth Ennis (Writer) Patrick Goddard (Artist) Rob Steen (Letterer)
Nu Earth, site of a galactic war between the Norts and the Southers, where the atmosphere has been rendered poisonous. So the Southers created the Genetic Infantrymen, bred to be immune to the 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…
Coming Soon from Rebellion…
• 2000AD Prog 2406 – 30th October
• Battle Action #3 – 30th October
November
- Scream! 40th Anniversary Special – 6th November
- Treasury of British Comics Annual 2025 – 6th November
- Essential Judge Dredd: Tour of Duty – Book 2 – 6th November
- Button Man Apex Edition – hardback edition – 20th November
- Cadet Dredd: Tooth And Claw: Volume 1 – 20th November
- Rebellion Presents The José Muñoz Collection – 20th November
December
• Dreadnoughts: The March of Progress – 4th December
• Battle Action Force Volume 1 – December 2024
• Battle Action Force Volume 2 – December 2024
• Battle Action Force Volume 3 – December 2024
• Pre-order your limited edition Action Force collections direct from Total Toy Books | Each volume available separately | Read our related news item
REBELLION RELEASES – CURRENT CHECKLISTS
• Check out our guide to 2000AD and Treasury of British Comics releases for 2026
• Check out our guide to 2000AD and Treasury of British Comics releases for 2025
• Roy of the Rovers – Rebellion Books Check List
PREVIOUS YEARS CHECKLISTS
• Check out our guide to 2000AD and Treasury of British Comics releases for 2024
• Check out our guide to 2000AD and Treasury of British Comics releases for 2023
• Check out our guide to 2000AD and Treasury of British Comics releases for 2022
- 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.
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