Simian superhero stalks this week’s 2000 AD… Plus, a Rebellion Summer Titles preview!

2000AD Prog 2013 CoverAlong with the lowdown on this week’s thrill-packed 2000 AD, hold on to your boot straps as downthetubes brings you a taster of things to come from Rebellion in coming months – both books and comics – including some Roy of the Rovers 65th anniversary editions, a terrific Leo Baxendale Sweeny Toddler collection and more!

Behind a eye-catching cover by PJ Holden, 2000 AD Prog 2031 reverts to normal service after last week’s all- ages issue, which prompted some great online debate about building audiences and getting younger readers to buy comics.

Obviously, we hope the issue helped raised the profile of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic further (and perhaps sales will further encourages Rebellion to consider more than just one shot specials to grab new audiences). But now it’s back to regular business, with “Max Normal“, “Scarlet Traces” and “Kingmaker” carrying on where they left off a fortnight ago, plus a complete “Judge Dredd” thriller and the start of another of a new “3rillers“.

I think the one-off “Dredd” starring super ape Noam Chimpsky will leave some of you wanting much more, and new artist Brian Corcoran makes an impressive debut on “3rillers”.

Both “Kingmaker” and “Scarlet Traces” lay trails for action to come, but there are some shock surprises revealed in “Max Normal” as writer Guy Adams continues to weave the back story of Dredd’s best-known informer.

Also on sale this week from Rebellion is Judge Dredd Megazine Issue 408, previewed here, featuring the first of two collections of the brilliant SF space opera story “Mind Wars” – another gem of a title well worth your Galactic Groats!

2000AD 20131 - Judge Dredd » The world according to ChimpskyJudge Dredd » The world according to Chimpsky
Writer: Kenneth Niemand Artist: PJ Holden Colourist: John Charles Letterer: Annie Parkhouse

Mega-City One, 2141 AD. Home to over 130 million citizens, this urban hell is situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America. Overcrowding is rife, unemployment near total, and boredom is endemic. Crime is rampant, and only the Judges — a zero-tolerance police force empowered to dispense instant justice — can stop total anarchy. Toughest of them all is JUDGE DREDD — he is the Law!

2000AD 2031 Scarlet Traces » Home FrontScarlet Traces » Home Front (Part 5)
Writer: Ian Edginton Artist: D’Israeli Letterer: Ellie de Ville

1968. It is decades since Mars waged war on Earth, and the major nations have access to Martian-derived technology, but Britain is still recovering from Martian bombardment in the 1940s, when much of the south of England was destroyed. This was followed by the arrival in the 1950s of two million Venusians, seeking refuge from Martian occupation. Now, the Martians have weaponised the sun, and are on the attack…

2000AD 2031 - Max Normal » How the Max got his stripesMax Normal » How the Max got his stripes (Part 7)
Writer: Guy Adams Artist: Dan Cornwell Colourist: Jim Boswell Letterer: Simon Bowland

Mega-City One, 2141 AD. MAX NORMAL was once Dredd’s go-to informer, the Pinstripe Freak who had his ear permanently to the slab, the shuggy-playing legend with a taste for shampagne and the high life, who cruised the streets of the metropolis picking up all manner of info. Forty years later, he’s left much of his nark larks behind him, but the city’s coolest cat can still get himself into trouble, especially with ape pal Vito…

2000AD 2031 - Tharg's 3rillers Present » The ChimeraTharg’s 3rillers Present » The Chimera (Part 1)
Writer: James Peaty Artist: Brian Corcoran Colourist: Matt Soffe Letterer: Annie Parkhouse

Three episodes, one complete, self-contained story — a condensed hit of super-charged Thrill-power beamed to you directly from the Nerve Centre! The Grind is a sprawling mega-city, where the divide between the haves and the have-nots is decidedly pronounced. Those that lack the credit are classed as ‘Dubes’ — short for ‘morally dubious’ — and are left to languish in the dark corners of the metropolis…

2000AD 2031 - Kingmaker II » OuroborosKingmaker II » Ouroboros (Part 8)
Writer: Ian Edginton Artist: Leigh Gallagher Letterer: Ellie de Ville

The people of the Nine Kingdoms may have defeated Ichnar the Wraith King to live in relative peace and harmony, but they hadn’t reckoned on the Thorn — a race of aliens that occupied their world, destroying those that stood in their way. Recruiting the locals to aid their Shrike troopers, the Thorn are hunting down all those with magical abilities, a power they’ve been strip-mining for their own ends. Wizard Ablard, ork Crixus and dryad Princess Yarrow believe they may have the means to stop them…

• Also on sale this week from Rebellion – Judge Dredd Megazine Issue 408, featuring the first of two collections of the brilliant SF space opera story “Mind Wars” – read more here

• The Cor!! & Buster Humour Special is also still on sale in most WHSmith – or order it direct from Rebellion here

ALSO OUT THIS WEEK

Link on titles to Amazon – affiliate links, using these helps support downthetubes, thank you

Brink Book ThreeBrink Book Three – 16th May
Writer: Dan Abnett Artist: INJ Culbard

Bridget Kurtis is back undercover. Posing as security staff within the paranoid Junot house, she must attempt to infiltrate the Master Sect lurking amongst the upper echelons of Junot corporate before the group realises their plans to appropriate Galina Habitat for mass human sacrifice have been compromised. Separating occult machinations from insider dealing is hard enough, but the board are already suspicious of events on Galina, and the team’s top-ranking “in” could quickly get voted out before they can uncover the truth. The corporation is viciously secretive, especially where “family” is concerned, and to earn their trust Kurtis may have to reveal her familiarly with the Sect’s arcane gods, whether she wants to or not…

COMING LATER THIS MONTH

Operation: Overlord #1 – 29th May

Rebellion’s Battle imprint is bringing the stories of the beaches of Normandy in 1944 to the direct comics market with Operation: Overlord #1! The international best-selling graphic novel series by writers Michael Le Galli and Bruna Falba and artist Davide Fabbri, translated into English for the first time, is being published in a four-issue mini-series for comic book stores from this May. Issue one, focusing on American forces fighting around the French town of Saint-Mere-Eglise, will hit comic book stores on 29th May. It will be available for stores to order from the April Previews magazine from Diamond Distribution.

Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 33Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files #33 – 30th May
Writers: John Wagner, Gordon Rennie, Robbie Morrison, Alan Grant
Artist: Ian Gibson, Cam Kennedy, Simon Fraser, Jock, Anthony Williams, Duncan Fegredo, Cliff Robinson, Colin Wilson, Siku et al

The best-selling series continues! Judge Dredd’s single-minded pursuit of law comes into conflict with the more clandestine forces of the Hall of Justice, including an assassin under orders of the Chief Judge! Features action-packed stories from some of 2000 AD’s greatest, including Jock (Batman), Duncan Fegredo (Hellboy, Star Wars), Ian Gibson (The Ballad of Halo Jones) and Simon Fraser (Doctor Who).

The Leopard From Lime Street Volume 2OUT IN JUNE

Leopard From Lime Street Volume 2 – 12th June
Writer: Tom Tully Artist: Mike Western, Eric Bradbury

The ‘UK’s answer to Spider-Man’ returns in the second collection of this long lost classic from the hugely popular and long running Buster comic. After being scratched by a radioactive leopard, Billy Farmer discovered that he had somehow developed the powers of the mighty jungle cat. Life is getting tougher for Selbridge’s premier crime-fighter. The criminals are getting tougher, his the local newspaper editor is out for his blood and now his new leopard skin costume is turning him into a savage beast! To make matters worse, a girl from his school suspects his true identity! Is this the end for the Leopard from Lime Street…?

Chopper: Wandering Spirit – 12th June
Writers: David Baillie, Rob Williams, Al Ewing, Tom Eglington
Artist: Brendan McCarthy Colourists: Len O’Grady, Dom Regan Letterers: Ellie De Ville, Annie Parkhouse

The Oz Radback, 2140 AD. Legendary Mega-city skysurfer Marlon Shakespeare has retired to Oz, where he has been living a trouble-free life. But when he goes in pursuit of the mutants that kidnapped his friend Wally during a radstorm, the ageing skysurfer gets far more trouble than he bargained for! This book collects the latest adventure of Mega-City One’s greatest skysurfer as well as several Judge Dredd stories also featuring the vibrant psychedelic art of Brendan McCarthy.

2000 AD Sci-Fi Special – 19th June

Operation: Overlord #2 – 26th June

The second volume of Editions Glénat’s best-selling four book D-Day saga! 1944. Normandy. G.I.s from Easy Company are briefed on Operation Overlord and beside them is Robert Capa, a war photographer, who will capture the indiscriminate killing of the day as death will not choose only one side. Germans and Americans endure bullets and mortars as their blood dyes the sand of the infamous Omaha Beach.

Tammy & Jinty Special 2019

Note: Not Final Cover (logos may change)

Tammy & Jinty Special – 27th June

Roy of the Rovers: Going Up – 27th June
Writer: Rob Williams Artist: Ben Willsher Colourist: John Charles, Guilherme Lindemberg Mendes Letterer: Jim Campbell

The third instalment of the all new – and highly anticipated – Roy of the Rovers graphic novel series! Roy and the team have battled through a tough season, but have they got enough left to get promoted? Or will they fall at the final hurdle and see the club sold by its greedy owner? The new era of Roy of the Rovers continues!

Counterfeit Girl – 27th June
Writer: Peter Milligan Artist: Rufus Dayglo Colourist: Dom Regan Letterer: Ellie De Ville

A dystopian cyberpunk thriller of identity theft, sentient diseases and fake news! In a city ruled by the multinational corporations, identity is crucial — no one can get anywhere without being monitored, logged, and status-checked. Fortunately for some, if a new I.D. is needed, there are ‘simmers’ — backstreet I.D. thieves that can create new personas by stealing the identities of others. Libra Kelly is a simmer with an axe to grind, doing jobs that cause trouble for the corporations free of charge, but soon finds herself stuck with a terminally diseased I.D. and a price on her head. A bright, original graphic novel – one of the most daring new series to emerge from the pages of 2000 AD in recent years – perfect for fans of dystopian grime of pop culture icons Akira, Hackers, The Matrix, Blade Runner, The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. Written by industry legend Peter Milligan (X-Statix, Shade The Changing Man) and illustrated by Rufus Dayglo (Tank Girl, The Last Gang In Town)

Deathwish Volume 1: Best WishesOUT IN JULY

Death Wish – 11th July
Writer: Barrie Tomlinson Artist: Vanyo

Blake Edmonds had it all – fame, money, looks… and then the world-famous F1 driver suffered a terrible accident which left him hideously disfigured. Fashioning a mask to hide his terrible visage, Edmonds has taken on a new career as a stuntman, flirting with death on a regular basis. Mashing together the 1970s F1 popularity wave with a macabre, uncanny horror and visceral action, Death Wish was a hit across the nation. Here, the original strips are re-mastered in their entirety.

Digest – Judge Dredd: Ghost Town – 25th July

Mega-City One, 2135 AD. After the destruction wrought by the Chaos Bug with most of the city in ruins, a decimated Justice Department is struggling to cope. With disease, corruption, and looting rife, there are some that seek to take advantage of the city’s condition, including dangerous psychic, Algol Rey. Judge Dredd and Psi-Judge Anderson have survived, but after all the violence and horror, can they bring order back to a damaged city? Their limits as Judges are put to the test!

Written by comics legends and Judge Dredd co-creators John Wagner and Alan Grant along with modern masters Rob Williams (Suicide Squad) and Ian Edginton (Brass Sun)!

Part of the new 2000 AD Digest line – bringing classic storylines to a brand new audience, for a low price. Illustrated by Vertigo and Image comics master R.M. Guerra (Scalped, The Goddamned), Simon Coleby (Cla$$war), Dave Taylor (Judge Dredd) and Michael Dowling (Death Sentence, Unfollow)

Leo Baxendale's Sweeny ToddlerLeo Baxendale’s Sweeny Toddler – 25th July
By Leo Baxendale

Sweeny Toddler was Leo Baxendale’s greatest creation for IPC – a two-year-old terror who manages to cause mayhem from beyond his pram and cot!

This collection bring together all of Baxendale’s Sweeny Toddler strips from Shiver and Shake and Whoopee, with an introduction from Leo’s son, Martin Baxendale.

One of the most highly-regarded cartoonists in British comics, Baxendale has been responsible for creating many beloved classic strips, including “Minnie the Minx” and “The Bash Street Kids”. The edition includes six colour pages completely re-mastered from the original work and re-instated in this luxury format.

Perfect for Beano and Dandy annual collectors, classic humour strip nostalgists, fans of Calvin and Hobbes, as well as previous Treasury humour titles Creepy Creations and Faceache, this edition includes six colour pages completely re-mastered from the original work and re-instated in this luxury format.

Roy of the Rovers - Best of the 1950sRoy of the Rovers: Best of the 1950s – 25th July
Writers: Frank S. Pepper, Joe Colquhoun Artist: Joe Colquhoun

On September 11th 1954 a new weekly sports anthology comic called Tiger was launched in the UK. Its lead strip, Roy of the Rovers – a story starring a young footballer called Roy Race who played for Melchester Rovers – quickly became a fan favourite. This incredible collection with never-before reprinted stories charts the early days of Roy’s association with Melchester Rovers, from the highs of signing for the club he supported as a boy to the lows of having his boots stolen before a big game! Experience the first decade of Melchester’s greatest soccer sensation in this glorious football action on and off the pitch!

Operation: Overlord #3 – 31st July

1944, Bulford Camp has a faithfully constructed replica of the Merville gun battery, a strategic D-Day objective. This German artillery piece threatens Sword Beach and must at all costs be dismantled to facilitate the landing of Allied forces on the beaches of Normandy. Adrien Bellefontaine, a Canadian artist, is part of the paratrooper unit who must protect the left flank of the battalion taking the battery and this is his story.

OUT IN AUGUST

The Complete Future Shocks Volume 2 – 7th August

The complete collection of mind-bending one-off sci-fi stories from The Galaxy’s Greatest Comic continues into the 1980s with the second volume of Tharg’s Future Shocks! Featuring early work by creators that went on to engrave their names into comics history, including Alan Moore, Brett Ewins, Colin Wilson, Dave Gibbons and Mick McMahon.

The Vigilant: Legacy – 14th August

The Best of Steel CommandoBest of Steel Commando – 22nd August

Developed by British scientists in World War Two, the Steel Commando was created to become a thorn in the side of the Axis powers. Due to a programming glitch, however, he would only take orders from Ernie Bates – an individual widely regarded as being the laziest soldier in the British army!

Roy of the Rovers: Best of the 1960s – 22nd August

Celebrate 65 years of the greatest football comic ever! They don’t come much more iconic than Roy of the Rovers. The Melchester Rovers striker of legend first appeared in 1954, and went on to become a genuine sporting hero for generations of fans, with his story spanning decades of footballing adventures. Celebrating 65 years of goals and glory in 2019, this second instalment in a spectacular new luxury series collects the very best Roy of the Rovers stories from that glorious decades of British football, the 1960!

The perfect archive companion to the Roy of the Rovers reboot graphic novels and middle-grade fiction published by Rebellion, tying together and bringing full-circle the nostalgia of the brand with the new generation reimagining.

Operation: Overlord #4 – 28th August

England, 1944. Sergeant Clague films the final preparations for Operation Overlord. Among the forces involved there is a single French commando unit, led by Kieffer. They will land with the British forces and their mission is to clear out Ouistreham, join the 6th Airborne on the bridges of the Orne and then march on the Amfreville. The mission will be difficult and their daredevil commander plans losses of 50%. They will succeed or die in the process.

Wildcat - LonerOUT IN SEPTEMBER

Wildcat 2: Loner – 5th September

Ex-mercenary Loner always works alone. Even if it means being on an alien planet as the sole member of one of the spacecraft Wildcat’s exploration teams! With only his customised six-shooter, “Babe”, and some alien fur balls as company, Loner must contend with psychic aliens, subterranean monstrosities, and angry shapeshifters. He might be the toughest, but can he survive being shrunk, melted, and transformed on a planet that seems to want him dead?
Join humanity’s last surviving ex-mercenary on a surreal and grotesque adventure down the alien rabbit hole…

Grey Area Book Two – 5th September

North America, 2045. The Global Exo Segregation Zone (aka the ‘Grey Area’) is a huge holding area in Arizona housing aliens hoping to visit earth: a melting pot for disputes, crime and inter-species misunderstandings! The only thing standing in the way of chaos is the Exo Transfer Control squads: heavily-armed immigration cops that keep the peace and make sure everyone has their papers in order…

E.T.C. Captain Adam Bulliet has a lot on his plate; The Arakshu want revenge on humanity for their dead ambassador, increasing numbers of aliens are having rapturous visions, and his fraternisation with Officer Birdy isn’t nearly as discrete as he thought. Not to mention a dizzyingly colossal god star is descending on Earth, and Bulliet’s team are the ones suiting up to meet ‘n’ greet the second coming. But they might end up going further than they expect…


Judge Dredd: The Small House – 5th September

The critically-acclaimed and fan-lauded latest Judge Dredd tale which sent shockwaves through the universe and Mark Millar called “one of the best runs ever!”

Everything is at stake and no-one is safe – in the critically-acclaimed storyline from Rob Williams and Henry Flint, Judge Dredd and his team of hand-picked allies finally takes on the nefarious Judge Smiley, Mega-City One’s behind-the-scenes manipulator – but who will be left standing at the end? And with tensions with Chief Judge Hershey at breaking point, has Dredd finally met his match?

Roy of the Rovers 65th Anniversary Special – 11th September

Judge Dredd: Complete Case-Files (US) – 17th September

Misty Presents The Jordi Badia Romero CollectionOUT IN OCTOBER

Dr Mesmer’s Revenge – 3rd October

After several artefacts are stolen from his home, the mysterious Egyptologist Dr. Mesmer resurrects a five-thousand-year-old mummy called Angor – a Pharaoh possessed with great mystical power. Together they set out to retrieve the missing items, bringing terror and destruction in their wake… Can anybody stop them? Both the army and constabulary will need to work together in order to stop Dr. Mesmer and his unearthly ally!

Scream & Misty Presents 13th Floor Special – 16th October

Absalom 3: Terminal Diagnosis – 17th October

The intense conclusion of the cult hit occult detective series for fans of John Constantine and Hellboy. Inspector Harry Absalom is an old-school copper — curmudgeonly antiauthoritarian, he’s been with the force for over forty years. Suffering from an inoperable cancer, he’s also the head of a special squad that enforces The Accord, a diplomatic treaty made in the sixteenth century between the throne of England and the powers of Hell.
As the cancer finally starts to take hold, Harry calls in every friend and favour he has left in a last-ditch attempt to save his kidnapped grandchildren from the depths of the Mills…

Misty Presents The Jordi Badia Romero Collection – 17th October

Celebrating the incredible art of Jordi Badía Romero from supernatural girls comic Misty, this sumptuous hardcover art book collects stories from the 1980s that showcase this remarkable, and criminally–overlooked, artist who died in 1984. The book also includes work by his brother, Enrique Badía Romero – artist on Modesty Blaise and Axa.

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