Get Ready For 2000 AD Regened! Talking Prog 2183 With Matt Smith
15th May 2020
2000 AD Regened, the all-ages 2000 AD is back for the latest set of fabulous tales with a younger spin with Prog 2183 on 27 May, a 48-page spectacular featuring old and new favourites. It’s time to get those younger Earthlets into the world of 2000 AD!
We tracked down Tharg’s Earthly representative, Matt Smith, to his lockdown quarters… a cupboard under the stairs generously provided by Tharg in 2000 AD Towers (he’s even giving Matt a 5% discount on the rent during lockdown) to talk Regened and Cadet Dredd…
Matt, with Prog 2183 we now have four 2000 AD Regened comics and more on the way. The 2018 2000 AD FCBD comic began it all, then a Regened Prog 2130 in 2019, and now four Regened Progs in 2020; Prog 2170 back in February (and doesn’t that seem a loooong time ago now?), Prog 2183 coming out on 27 May, Prog 2196 on 26 August, and Prog 2206 on 4 November.
What was the initial thinking about 2000 AD going all-ages?
MS: Well, it was Keith Richardson’s idea originally as editor of the FCBD issues to make one all-ages, to create stories that would encourage a wider readership. He was keen to do further all-ages specials, developing the likes of Cadet Dredd, but the field became too crowded what with all the Treasury of British Comics material as well.
And at what stage did you realise it was something that had been hugely successful for 2000 AD and that there was enough demand out there to make it a quarterly feature, not as a Special but as actual Progs?
MS: So, when we looked at how many specials we could put out in a year – ‘cos we’re limited to a certain number as per our relationship with the newsstand distributor – we decided that the all-ages issues could be part of the regular run of progs, and that allowed us room to experiment with the likes of Scream/Misty, Tammy, The 13th Floor and the like. The first Regened Prog was our best-selling of the year, which told us there was an interest in the all-ages material, so we expanded to four over 2020. There’s generally some retention too in the issues that immediately follow so people are sticking with the Prog.
Obviously, the desire to get new readers on board is something that’s not just desirable but essential for the continued success of 2000 AD (and, come to that, comics in general). How has the response been to the Regened Progs? Have you seen anything that indicates it is actually getting into the hands of younger readers and converting those young readers into regular 2000 AD readers?
MS: The increase in sales suggest that people are deliberately buying the issues specifically to pass on to a younger audience – which is great.
And what about the responses from long-time fans?
MS: Some grumble that for one week the material’s a little broader, but most see it for what it is – a genuine attempt to make SF comics for everyone.
Anyway, with Prog 2183, we have the latest Regened Prog to blast onto the shelves (well, whatever shelves are open at least). What strips do we have to look forward to this time?
MS: More Cadet Dredd, this time by me and Nicolo Assirelli, which calls back to an old Dredd story, ‘The Shooting Match‘, in which Dredd takes part in an RCA – Routine Combat Assessment. Plus there’s young Johnny Alpha in a story from the Mutant War by Mike Carroll and Nick Brokenshire; more Finder and Keeper by John Reppion and Davide Tinto; Psi-Judge Anderson by Cavan Scott and Paul Davidson; and a Future Shock by Laura Bailey and Andrea Mutti.
I presume we’ll be seeing a mix of known names and new (at least to 2000 AD) talent in the pages this time as we’re now used to seeing in both Regened and the various Specials published through the years?
MS: Yes, I’m actively trying to get new names to try their hands at the all-ages stories.
What sort of styles are you looking for when it comes to new Regened material? Over the issues so far we’ve seen a fascinating mix of the Saturday morning cartoon style, clean line animation look that we all know kids enjoy and some more unusual stylistic choices – Chris Weston’s Cadet Dredd, Rob Davies’ Gronks, that sort of thing.
MS: As always with 2000 AD, you try to mix it up – the general trend for kids’ comics is art with a more open line, so I look out for artists who I think fit well with that. But you try to get a bit of grit in there too to give it some drama alongside the humour.
We’ve also seen things develop in terms of the series involved. Some have been obvious stand-alone things, but then we have Cavan Scott & Nick Roche on Rogue Trooper and Moore, Reppion & Tinto’s Finder & Keeper giving us continuing tales. And of course, there’s Cadet Dredd. Will we see this mix continuing, or is it the case that continuing series with 3 months between episodes will be the exception rather than the rule?
MS: Mostly, they’ll be self-contained so anyone can pick up a Regened issue and not need to know much backstory. But the story thread in the Anderson strip in Prog 2183 will be continuing in further Regened Progs.
And then of course, we have Full-Tilt Boogie, a strip that began in Regened but is graduating to a full series in 2000 AD itself. Is this something you imagine might happen with other strips from Regened, the transition to ongoing series in 2000 AD?
MS: It’s possible, we have to see how well they go down first. FTB was one of the most popular of the new strips, and had a lot of potential in its opening set-up, so that felt natural to get its own full-length series (which starts in Prog 2185, out 10 June).
Moving on to Cadet Dredd… You’re returning to write the character after introducing him in the 2018 Free Comic Book Day Prog. Since then, we’ve seen versions from writers Chris Weston and Rory McConville and art from Neil Googe, Chris Weston, and Ilias Kyriazis.
Now we see a fourth joining the ranks in Nicolo Assirelli. And it seems somewhat apt, given the incredible number of different artists we’ve seen on grown-up Dredd over the years, to have a different version each time. What can we expect from your story and Nicolo’s artwork this time around?
MS: Cadet Dredd is undergoing his first RCA – Routine Combat Assessment. It’s a live-round test in which a cadet goes up against another to gauge their combat effectiveness in a mock-up of a Mega-City environment. The story also hints at events coming Dredd’s way in a couple of decades.
So far, with the three artists we’ve seen three very different interpretations of what it means to look like Dredd as a cadet. Has Nicolo’s interpretation stuck to any of these or has he gone his own way?
MS: He’s pretty much stuck to what’s gone before – I gave him Neil Googe’s interpretation as ref. We have to keep remembering to use the Mark I Lawgiver and Lawmaster, though!
When it comes to writing a younger Judge Dredd, what sort of elements of Dredd work as a younger readers good cop type character? I found it fascinating that Chris Weston’s tale in Prog 2030 was initially pitched as a regular old-man Dredd but you decided that it could easily work for younger readers.
MS: Well, it was Grudzilla crapping himself that sold me on Chris’s story as an all-ages one! But you have to maintain the balance between action and minimal violence when writing these Cadet Dredd stories – robots always come in handy if you need something destroyed.
And as to the future, although of course the future can be a tricky place – but assuming that the sales figures on these Regened Progs keep going up and up, will we be seeing the same quarterly pattern next year and into the future?
MS: I would assume so. If they continue to sell well, we’ll keep doing them with this kind of regularity.
As far as Cadet Dredd goes, it’s obviously something that could be worked into an all-ages comic of his own. There was, of course, the Lawman Of The Future title back in the 90s that came out alongside the Stallone Dredd movie. Do you imagine that an all-ages Cadet Dredd title could work in the current market or are we a way off that as yet?
MS: It would be nice, and it would be the one that would make the most sense to launch as all-ages title (most famous and popular character, vast sandpit to play in). However, the sums required to launch a new title and make it viable suggest to me it wouldn’t be something we could do on a weekly or monthly basis when so many licensed kids’ titles are struggling themselves.
And finally, with the current Covid-19 crisis still ongoing, how have things affected all at 2000 AD Towers? And would you like to say something for all the fans out there?
MS: Fortunately, thanks to the remote set-up, we’re able to put the mags and books together from home, so there’s been only moderate disruption. It’s a bit more challenging editing a weekly and monthly comic via laptop in a front bedroom, but it’s certainly do-able – and I’m very grateful to all the writers, artists, colourists and letterers that continue to work so hard all around the country and beyond.
As to all the Squaxx reading this, your continued loyalty and support for the Galaxy’s Greatest is much appreciated. We’ve seen subs numbers rise significantly since the lockdown so people are making sure they don’t miss out on their Progs – and if there’s anyone out there who can’t get their issues because the shops are shut, always remember that we have extra copies at shop.2000AD.com. Don’t let a pandemic get in the way of Tharg’s pulse-pounding publication! Stay safe, Earthlets!
Thanks as always to Matt for letting us see behind the curtain – the latest Regened – Prog 2183 – is out wherever you can get comics from, including the 2000 AD web store on 27 May. Keep safe out there Earthlets!
And you can find the new Full-Tilt Boogie blasting into the pages of 2000 AD Prog 2185 – out 10 June!
