2000 AD celebrates its 40th year!
3rd January 2017
2000 AD is the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic – and this February it marks 40th birthday!
The legendary weekly anthology celebrates 40 years of continuous publication on 26th February 2017.
First published in February 1977, 2000 AD is a unique British success story – one of the most influential comic books of all time. millions of youngsters have grown up on its diet of science-fiction action, punk-inspired irreverence, subversive comedy, ultra violence, and disturbingly prescient dark satire.
The UK’s biggest comics export, 2000 AD’s innovative and provocative characters – such as Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog, Nemesis the Warlock, Halo Jones, and ABC Warriors – are now known around the world.
It has an unparalleled track recording of giving some of the biggest names in the industry their first break, including Alan Moore, Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, and Simon Bisley. These talents have gone on to not only forge geekdom in their own image, from DC Comics’ influential Vertigo imprint and the current storytelling revolution at Image Comics to Marvel’s billion-dollar movie franchise.
2000 AD has hit the headlines repeatedly over the past four decades and continues to do so to this day – from parodying the rich and powerful to battling censorship and using its characters to explore the social issues of the day in new and unusual ways.
And generations have found its mix of extremes profoundly inspiring, from filmmakers such as Ben Wheatley, Duncan Jones, Edgar Wright, Christopher Nolan, Joe Cornish, and Alex Garland to actors such as Simon Pegg and Karl Urban, from writers such as Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Alistair Reynolds, Lauren Beukes, and David Nicholls to comedians such as Jonathan Ross, Charlie Higson, Phil Jupitus, and Charlie Brooker, and musicians such as Suggs from Madness, Robert Smith of The Cure, Geoff Barrow from Portishead, and Scott Ian of Anthrax.
Still published every Wednesday, on the eve of its 40th anniversary 2000 AD remains at the industry’s cutting edge and has, under current owners Rebellion, undergone a profound renaissance that promises to keep this British institution in rude health for another four decades.
To celebrate this milestone, 2000 AD is staging a one-day convention in London on 11th February with more than 100 creator guests from the past 40 years, plus a series of satellite events – those already announced include a special life drawing event on 5th February and two exhibitions of original artwork in London and Margate.