Landmark Judge Dredd Megazine sells out in less than a day

The anniversary issue of the Judge Dredd Megazine sold out from distributors in under 24 hours.

Issue #424 marked 30 years of continuous publication with a bumper issue featuring new work by John Wagner and Colin MacNeil, the creative team behind the first Megazine’s ground-breaking story ‘America’, as well as brand new series by some of Rebellion’s best writers and artists.

After hitting shelves on Wednesday 16 September, unprecedented demand for this issue, combined with a significant increase in new monthly subscribers, saw copies from distributors and the 2000 AD webshop completely sell out by the following morning.

The issue has gone to immediate reprint. It is also available digitally from 2000 AD’s webshop and apps.

Matt Smith, editor of 2000 AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine, said: “The reaction to the Megazine‘s 30th anniversary issue has overwhelmingly positive, which has been very gratifying. I knew it was a strong issue, and one that celebrated this epic milestone in fine style, but to see it sell out like this on day of release was amazing. This clearly was an event issue that Dredd fans had to get their hands on, and for anyone that hasn’t yet picked it up, I urge you to do so pronto before the reprint gets snapped up too.”

Debuting in September 1990, the Judge Dredd Megazine was launched as a companion title to 2000 AD with the remit of expanding on the world of futuristic dystopian cop Judge Dredd. Put together by commissioning editors John Wagner and Alan Grant, its first issue featured the first episode of the powerful ‘America’, as well ‘Young Death: Boyhood of a Superfiend’, the origin story of Dredd’s arch-nemesis Judge Death by Wagner and Peter Doherty; ‘Chopper: Earth, Wind & Fire’, Garth Ennis and John McCrea’s revival of the skysurfing rebel ‘Chopper; Beyond Our Kenny’ by Wagner and Cam Kennedy, about a struggling Scottish artist exploited by unscrupulous Mega-City publishers; and Dredd thriller ‘Midnite’s Children’ by Alan Grant and Jim Baikie. This was complemented by spoof Mega-City One newspaper written by stand-up comedian Tony Allen and designed by Shanti Tolputt, as well as a cover by superstar artist Glenn Fabry.

The anniversary issue sees the debut of two brand new series – Kenneth Niemand and Dave Taylor’s Dredd ‘Elseworlds’ series ‘Megatropolis’ and Michael Carroll and John Higgins’ Dredd-world origin series ‘Dreadnoughts’ – as well as the first episodes of new stories for Anderson, Psi Division by Maura McHugh and Steven Austin, The Returners by Si Spencer and Nicolo Assirelli, and The Dark Judges by David Hine and Nick Percival, plus the first instalment of the new 2000 AD Encyclopedia by Scott Montgomery.