Name: Paul Harrison-Davies

Currently working on:

A book cover. A pitch for a children’s comic. Short strip in Ink+Paper and any other odds and ends that take’s my fancy.

First memory of 2000AD?

A friend bringing a big bag of 2000ADs into school, he’d found them in a skip. Not sure what date they’d be, but there was Ro-Busters, Robo-Hunter in ‘Verdus’ and ‘Day of the Droids’, so it was a random sampling of prime early progs. They felt…. wrong, and brilliant. We actually sneaked to a hiding place to read them.

It was a couple of years later that I started buying it regularly – I was surprised to finally see it in a newsagents, as I thought it was quite an illicit item.

Favourite Character or Story?

It’s tricky, there’s so many. I’ve always loved the escalating farce of Robo-Hunter. Ro-Busters is one of Pat Mill’s finest. John Wagner has done so much incredible work on Dredd, and many others. But I’d have to go with Halo Jones, there’s just so much humanity to it. Amazing art from Ian Gibson doesn’t hurt either!

What do you like most about the 2000AD?

Probably the same things everyone else does, wit and black humour. As a kid it felt like it had been made to help me understand and have a healthy distrust for the adult world.

What would you most like to see in 2000AD as it heads to its Forties?

Finding new ways to exploit the internet to reach a wider audience. As that happens, content wise, I’d like to see 2000AD looking to appeal to a younger audience again.

• This post is one in a series of tributes to 2000AD to mark its 35th birthday on 26th February 2012. More about 2000AD at www.2000adonline.com

2000AD © Rebellion

• 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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Categories: 2000AD, British Comics

Tags: 2000AD at 35, Halo Jones, Paul Harrison-Davies