Although cover dated 26th February 1977, today marks the 48th Anniversary of the launch of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic, 2000AD! I think most readers of downthetubes will agree it’s one of the most vital and important British comics in the history of the medium, and one which still publishes mind-blowing new stories – every single week.
That said, the team behind the comic are often asked, “How do I start reading 2000AD?” and you can see why – it can be daunting to look at Rebellion’s vast library and wonder where you should actually start! With that in mind, they’ve curated a “starter pack” list of their finest current collections, available from all good book and comic shops, and digitally, too. If you want to try 2000AD, start with any of these!
Alongside, Rebellion have also included classic stories featuring some of our most famous characters, purely in the interest of looking to spread the word of 2000AD further, of course, and not because they want to give anyone a real dose of Thrill Power Overload….
So, let’s see what the team picked. Which 2000AD thrills would you choose to introduce new readers to the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic? Ace Garp? Dan Dare? The Ballad of Halo Jones? RoboHunter? Ian Why not comment below?
MODERN 2000AD CLASSICS
BRINK: Book One
By Dan Abnett (Writer) INJ Culbard (Artist) Simon Bowland (Letterer)
First Published in 2016
• Available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
In the late 21st century the remains of the human race are crammed into the Habitats: vast artificial space stations; hotbeds for crime and madness policed by private security firms. When a routine drug bust goes wrong, no-nonsense Investigator Bridget Kurtis finds herself in a life or death struggle with a new sect of cultists.
But evidence begins to point to something far more sinister going on behind the scenes…
DEVLIN WAUGH: Blood Debt
By Rory McConville & Ales Kot (Writer) Mike Dowling (Artist) Quinton Winter (Colourist) Simon Bowland (Letterer)
First Published in 2016
• Available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
Vatican exorcist, freelance paranormal investigator and altogether dashing rogue, Devlin Waugh, a regular in the 2000AD spin-off Judge Dredd Megazine, is in the business of getting up close and extremely personal with the occult! This time he’ll have to rescue his debtor brother Freddy from a casino suspended over an unending interdimensional void, save Brit-Cit from a plague of mutagenic nightmare spores, and befriend a possessed demonic dildo, all while negotiating boyfriends ex- and current…
DREADNOUGHTS: Book One
By Mike Carroll (Writer) John Higgins & Jake Lynch (Artist) Sally Hurst (Colourist) Simon Bowland (Letterer)
First Published in 2020
• Available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
The year is 2035 and American society is crumbling. State brutality in response to public protests sparks even greater restrictions on what American citizens are free to do. The police force are being replaced by Judges, paramilitary cops who can dispense summary justice on the streets.
This is the horror story of a descent into fascism and the beginnings of the world of Judge Dredd.
JUDGE DREDD: A Penitent Man
By Ken Niemand (Writer) Tom Foster (Artist) Chris Blythe (Colourist) Annie Parkhouse (Letterer)
First Published in 2024
• Available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
Former Judge, Kyle Asher, returns from the penal colony on Titan after serving twenty years. Working as a third-class sludge technician he is determined to prove that he can still serve the city he swore an oath to. Dredd isn’t so sure of his pure motivations.
However the SJS, the Judges Internal Affairs division, are determined to run Asher out of town, and Dredd wants to know the reason why.
LAWLESS: Book One
By Dan Abnett (Writer) Phil Winslade (Artist)
First Published in 2014
• Available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
Welcome to Badrock, where the synthol flows freely, fights break out daily and scavengers bicker over pieces of scrap found in the war-scarred badlands. Good thing they have a new Colonial Marshall, no-nonsense Metta Lawless, to keep the peace!
Tensions between Meks, Muties, Uplifts and Humans are rife and only she can bring the change that Badrock needs. But for the local branch of ruthless inter-galactic hypercorp, Munce Inc. change is bad for business… another terrific regular in the 2000AD spin-off Judge Dredd Megazine!
THE OUT: Book One
By Dan Abnett (Writer) Mark Harrison (Artist) Annie Parkhouse (Letterer)
First Published in 2022
• Available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
Cyd Finlea is a photo-journalist working for the publishers Neographic. It has been a decade since she left Earth and travelled to into the deepest reassesses of outer space – otherwise known as THE OUT. Her encounters include meetings with strange alien societies and ex-pat humans, an experience that she shares with her trusty sentient backpack…
THISTLEBONE: Book One
By T.C. Eglington (Writer) Simon Davis (Artist) Annie Parkhouse (Letterer)
First Published in 2021
• Available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
Midsommar meets The Wicker Man! The secluded rural village of Harrowvale holds a dark past — that years earlier, on a farm bordering the vast tracts of woodland, it hosted a cult that was seeking to escape civilisation and find purity in the old ways, namely worshipping an ancient deity called THISTLEBONE.
Led by the charismatic Jasper Hillman, their pagan beliefs grew ever more radical…
CLASSIC CHARACTERS
JUDGE ANDERSON: Satan
By Alan Grant (Writer) Arthur Ranson & Mick Austin (Artists) Annie Parkhouse (V)
First Published in 1993
• The Essential Judge Anderson Book Two: Satan is available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
In Mega-City One, citizens live in fear under the iron fist of the Judges’ unyielding rule, but PSI Judge Cassandra Anderson knows it’s a flawed system. In this volume, Anderson grapples with matters of faith and damnation, as a chance at eternal life comes at the cost of losing her mind forever, while her pursuit of a just system leads her to investigate a religious cult, and ultimately to engage in a battle of the minds with the most formidable of foes: Satan himself!
JUDGE DREDD: Vs Death
By John Wagner (Writer) Brian Bolland, Brett Ewins, Cliff Robinson, Robin Smith, Alex Ronald, Andy Clarke, Bryan Talbot (Artist) Annie Parkhouse (Letterer)
First Published in 1980
• Available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
The crime is life! The Judgement is death! When Judge Death enters Mega-City One from a parallel dimension, his plan is simple: to find every single living cit and sentence them – to death!
This volume introduces Judge Death, the Dark Judges and wisecracking Psi Judge Cassandra Anderson.
NEMESIS THE WARLOCK: The World of Termight
By Pat Mills (Writer) Kevin O’Neill, Jesus Redondo (Artists)
First Published in 1980
• Nemesis the Warlock – The Definitive Edition, Volume 1 is available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
Termight is the ruling planet of a cruel galactic empire, an empire led by the diabolically evil Torquemada, a twisted human despot intent on purging all alien life from the galaxy and punishing the deviants. His motto: Be pure! Be vigilant! Behave!
But there is rebellion and resistance to his rule in the form of a devilish-looking alien warlock called Nemesis, who represents everything that Torquemada hates and fears. Together Nemesis and Torquemada are locked in a duel which will affect the fate of humanity and each of them on a personal level as their conflict spans time and space!
ROGUE TROOPER: Genetic Infantryman
By Gerry Finley-Day (Writer) Dave Gibbons, Cam Kennedy, Colin Wilson, Brett Ewins (Artists)
First Published in 1981
• Essential Rogue Trooper: Genetic Infantryman is available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
Rogue Trooper is the last of the G.I.s – genetically-engineered infantrymen designed to withstand the noxious atmosphere of Nu-Earth, a planet ravaged by the conflict between Norts and Southers. The lone survivor of the Quartz Zone Massacre, equipped with the bio-chips of his fallen clone brothers, he crosses the war-torn landscape in search of the Traitor General, the man responsible for their deaths – and he will not rest until he has his revenge!
SLAINE: The Horned God
By Pat Mills (Writer) Simon Bisley (Artist) Steve Potter (Letterer)
First Published in 1989
• Sláine – The Definitive Edition Volume 1 is available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
For too long the people of Tir-Nan-Og have suffered under the dominion of the Drunes; strange druids who have poisoned the land with their magic. Sláine has had enough of their tyranny and, through the Earth Goddess, he learns some shocking truths about the priesthood and his own future. Now Sláine must unite the four kings of Tir-Nan-Og and use their mystical weapons as he and the Sessair tribe prepare for all-out war!
STRONTIUM DOG: The Galaxy Killers
By John Wagner & Alan Grant (Writer) Carlos Ezquerra (Artist) John Aldrich (Letterer)
First Published in 1980
• Strontium Dog Search and Destroy 2 – The 2000AD Years is available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
Better than even Judge Dredd? Strontium Dog, who debuted in Starlord but helped solidify 2000AD‘s sales power when the two titles merged, was also co-created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, and follows the exploits of mutant bounty-hunter Johnny Alpha across the galaxy. This collection forces Johnny and his Viking partner Wulf Sternhammer into battle with a fascist army, before they’re sent directly to Hell – and if that wasn’t enough, the duo then have to travel to the past to capture Adolf Hitler!
ZENITH: Phase One
By Grant Morrison (Writer) Steve Yeowell (Artist) Mark King (Letterer)
First Published in 1987
• Zenith: Phase One is available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
The world has become all-too familiar with the existence of superhumans. Now there is only one left – Zenith – an egotistical pop star who is anything but heroic. Unfortunately for mankind, dark gods from another dimension known as the ‘Many-Angled Ones’ have sent someone to take over the planet and only Zenith and a small number of depowered heroes from the ‘Flower Power’ generation stand a chance of defeating him!
Which 2000AD thrills would you choose to introduce new readers to the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic? Ace Garp? The Ballad of Halo Jones? RoboHunter? Why not comment below?
- 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 - Collections, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News
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