THE REST IN 2011

The Rest in 2011

However the days when Dredd had to carry the comic are long since gone, nor is 2000AD living on past characters – with the exception of brief appearances by Slaine and Rogue Trooper in the festive Prog 2011 none of the ‘key’ characters associated with classic era 2000AD was called upon to fill the pages of Meg or Prog. 2000AD has cultivated a new slew of key strips – some revived classics, some spin-offs of Dredd, some unique stand-alone tales of the best of Sci-Fi comics. From the bowls of hell to the insanity of driving planets into an alien Armada, the contents of 2000AD in 2011 was, by turns, funny, sad, exciting, eye-opening, daring, imaginative and always mercilessly violent. Every reader will have their favourite strips, and no doubt one or two they don’t like so much, but the strength of the prog in 2012 is assured. If you are tempted to return to the comic then the simplest most enticing thing is to show you the eye-candy you missed in 2011:

Shakara – Robbie Morrison & Henry Flint

Necrophim – Tony Lee & Lee Carter

Kingdom – Dan Abnett & Richard Elson

Ampney Crucis Investigates – Ian Edginton & Simon Davis

Flesh – Pat Mills & James Mackay

Dandridge – Alec Worley & Jon Hunt-Davis

The Red Seas – Ian Edginton & Steve Yeowell

Bob Byrnes Twisted Tales – Bob Byrne

Nikolai Dante – Robbie Morrison & Simon Fraser

Absalom – Gordon Rennie & Tiernan Trevallion

Cadet Anderson – Alan Grant, Carlos Ezquerra & Hector Ezquerra

Sinister Dexter – Dan Abnett, Anthony Williams & Rob Taylor  

Savage – Pat Mills & Patrick Goddard 

Zombo – Al Ewing & Henry Flint 

Indigo Prime – John Smith & Edmund Bagwell

Low Life – Rob Williams & D’Israeli 

 Angel Zero – Kek-W & John Burns 

Samizdat Squad – Arthur Wyatt & Paul Marshall 

Lilly McKenzie – Simon Fraser 

Insurrection – Dan Abnett & Colin MacNeil  

Numbercruncher – Si Spurrier & PJ Holden  

Judge Anderson – Alan Grant & Boo Cook 

Cursed Earth Coburn – Gordon Rennie, Carlos Ezquerra & Hector Ezquerra 

American Reaper – Pat Mills & Clint Langley  

That was the Prog & Meg in 2011 – not including several Future Shocks and the wonderful short story series Tharg’s 3hrillers. For FutureShockd there were innumerable highs: the astounding script and art on NumberCruncher, the pathos of Dirty Frank in Low Life, the retro-thrills of Samizdat Squad, the twists and beauty of Nikolai Dante, Boo Cook’s art, Edmund Bagwell’s art, Colin MacNeil’s art the astounding debuts of Flesh‘s James Mackay and Absalom‘s Tiernan Trevallion, the madness of Henry Flint and the greatness of Pat Mills. 

Prog 2012 and beyond

Already some of what is to come in 2012 is known – the new end-of-year bumper ‘jump-on’ Prog 2012 hits the shelves this Wednesday (14th December 2011) and contains Dredd, Dante, Dandridge, Strontium Dog, Sinister Dexter and Absalom as well as new strips Aquila (Gordon Rennie & Leigh Gallagher) and Grey Area (Dan Abnett & Karl Richardson). 2012 sees Brendan McCarthy team up with Al Ewing for The Zaucer of Zilk, the second series of the astounding ‘The Grievous Journey of Ichabod Azrael (and the Dead Left in his Wake)‘  by Rob Williams & Dom Reardon and the return of Low Life‘s Dirty Frank, Stickleback, The Red Seas and half of Mega-City One set to die in the next twist of The Day of Chaos. 

The Zaucer of Zilk by Al Ewing & Brendan McCarthy starts prog 1775 (March 2012)

Subscibe!

2000AD do subscription packages in three varieties – Prog alone – Meg alone and a combination of Meg & Prog. The latter has a saving of over 26 pounds on the shop-price as well as insulating against any cover price rise. Plus the exclusive Future Shocks book reviewed at the start of this post for subscribers to both comics. All this and the 35th Anniversary of 2000AD comes up in 2012 so no doubt there will be some special plans to mark the occasion. North American readers can find The Judge Dredd Megazine on the shelves of their local Barnes & Noble and digital editions of both comics are available directly from the Rebellion website.

2000AD is the finest in contemporary comics, pick up Prog 2012 over the New Year period and see for yourself.