New audio adaptations of 2000 AD classics announced by Penguin Random House!
13th July 2022
This September, five legendary 2000 AD classics are being turned into brand new dramatic audio adaptations – and you can pre-order now!
DREDD: ORIGINS, DREDD v DEATH, JUDGE ANDERSON: SHAMBALLA, ROGUE TROOPER: WELCOME TO NU-EARTH, and NEMESIS THE WARLOCK can be pre-ordered via Audible now and will also be available on Apple Books and Google Play.
Following on from last year’s launch of the first star-studded audiobooks, these five new dramatic adaptions are performed by an ensemble cast, and accompanied by an original score and immersive soundscapes, bringing to life some of 2000 AD‘s most critically acclaimed and beloved stories!
‘We have published some of the biggest science fiction audiobooks of the last few years, from Star Wars and Stranger Things to Ready Player One, and this partnership has enabled us to take all of that experience and apply it to these new productions.’ says James Keyte, Senior Commissioning Editor. ‘Working closely with the Rebellion team, our aim has been to create an authentic and immersive listening experience for both long term fans, and new listeners alike.’
With a host of exciting talent attached, these thrilling adventures will include over 750 different voices accompanied by an original score and immersive soundscapes.
Casting announcements will be made over the next coming months – so keep your eyes (and ears) peeled!
JUDGE DREDD: ORIGINS
John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra’s incredible journey back to the birth of the Judges, brought alive as a brand new audio adaptation. An unusual delivery is made to the Grand Hall of Justice, a package that will force Dredd to lead a mission into the Cursed Earth and into the darkest recesses of the history of the Judges and Mega-City One…
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DREDD VS DEATH
The crime is life! The Judgement is death! When Judge Death enters Mega-City One from a parallel dimension, his plan is simple: to sentence every single living citizen – to death! These critically acclaimed stories are a perfect jumping on point for new listeners to John Wagner, Alan Grant and Brian Bolland’s chilling stories!
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JUDGE ANDERSON: SHAMBALLA
When a brutal murder is discovered – seemingly of unnatural origin – in Mega-City One, it seems that the world is on the brink of a psychic apocalypse! Psi-Judge Anderson must travel into to find the source of the disturbance. This collection bring together the very best of Alan Grant’s (Lobo) and Arthur Ranson’s (Button Man) work on this iconic comics character.
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NEMESIS THE WARLOCK
Pat Mills and Kevin O’Neill’s stunning satirical space opera, brought to life in a brand new audio adaptation! Listen as the diabolically evil human despot Torquemada, intent on purging all alien life from the galaxy and punishing ‘deviants’, is challenged by Nemesis the Warlock, alien freedom fighter and champion of the coming rebellion!
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ROGUE TROOPER: WELCOME TO NU-EARTH
On the battle-ravaged world of Nu-Earth, genetically-engineered war machine, Rogue Trooper, searches for the traitor General responsible for the deaths of his clone brothers. Together with his three ‘dead’ bio-chipped comrades, Gunner, Bagman and Helm, he won’t stop until he has succeeded in his personal mission of revenge! The wartorn worlds of Gerry Finley-Day, Dave Gibbons, and Cam Kennedy come alive in this brand new adaptation!
PRE-ORDER ON AUDIBLE
Five previous multi-award-winning audiobooks were released in 2021, featuring the works of Garth Ennis and Alan Moore, with an ensemble cast including Joseph Fiennes, Richard Armitage, Colin Morgan, Nina Sosanya, and more. This new series will focus on some of 2000 AD’s best-loved characters and stories, including Judge Dredd, Judge Death, Rogue Trooper, Judge Anderson and Nemesis the Warlock, and will also see the Dredd: Origins story explored for the first time in audio.
As well as Penguin and Rebellion Publishing working collectively on these releases, they have brought in genre and pop culture specialist Jamie-Lee Nardone. ‘I’m a big fan of audiobooks and believe there is so much potential. We’re now seeing Science Fiction as the second most downloaded genre for audio, and this has a huge crossover audience with graphic novels. We know that performance and tone of voice is key for audio – which is exactly why these adaptations are so good.’
The themes in these graphic novels, published up to 30 years ago, are perhaps more prescient than ever before; including politics and voter fraud (and some listeners might find the eccentric President Booth in Dredd: Origins a little too familiar…) as well as the exploration of a broken politics system, which brings about the rule of the Judges. Dredd: Origins also explores the spectre of future genetic manipulation. Judge Anderson brings the dissection of religion, and the rise of cult figures. In Rogue Trooper we are immersed in a post-apocalyptic and war torn planet which is no longer suitable for human habitation, it’s a haunting look at a possible future.