Richard Armitage, Sheila Atim and Joseph Fiennes to star in 2000 AD audiobook adaptations
12th February 2021
Richard Armitage, Sheila Atim and Joseph Fiennes to star in new audiobook adaptations of legendary 2000 AD comics, including Judge Dredd and Halo Jones, to be released March 2021
The Handmaid’s Tale and Shakespeare in Love star Joseph Fiennes will star as the legendary future lawman Judge Dredd in the new series of audiobook adaptations from Penguin Random House and 2000 AD.
The Underground Railroad’s Sheila Atim will play the lead in the adaptation of The Ballad of Halo Jones, Alan Moore and Ian Gibson’s groundbreaking feminist space opera, while The Hobbit’s Richard Armitage and His Dark Materials’ Nina Sosanya will star in Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard’s space-noir Brink.
These five new dramatic audio adaptions of the best-selling 2000 AD graphic novels are performed by an ensemble cast, and accompanied by an original score and immersive soundscapes. These action-packed audio recordings will take fans on an immersive listening experience like no other.
Pre-order Judge Dredd: America
Pre-order Judge Dredd: The Pit
Pre-order The Ballad of Halo Jones
Pre-order Brink
Pre-order Sláine: The Horned God
“Brink is great sci-fi. It tells a scarily plausible story in an extraordinary, compelling way. Being involved in turning the graphic novels by Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard into a purely audio experience has been fascinating; hearing the story played out means that individual characters and situations become vivid in a whole new way. So Brink now exists on yet another plane, and in another dimension.” – Nina Sosanya
The themes of the novels remain as relevant today as when they were first printed. From the tyrannical law enforcement of Judge Dredd in America to the stunning feminist space opera of Halo Jones, these dystopian worlds draw unnerving parallels to the politics and society of the world we live in today.
Written by some of the biggest names in comics – including Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), Dan Abnett (The Legion of Super-Heroes, Aquaman, Guardians of the Galaxy), Pat Mills (Marshal Law), Simon Bisley (Lobo) and John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, co-creators of Judge Dredd – the series of five new audiobook adaptations will include:
Judge Dredd: America featuring Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale, Shakespeare in Love), America is long considered one of the most important stories in British comics history; a story about freedom, terrorism, and armed struggle against an oppressive totalitarian police state. Wagner and Colin MacNeil’s groundbreaking story confirmed Judge Dredd‘s place as one of the most politically charged and nuanced series in comics.
Judge Dredd: The Pit featuring Paterson Joseph (Neverwhere, Timeless), The Pit is an epic police procedural saga infused with action, politics, and corruption – The Wire meets Britain’s home-grown superhero Judge Dredd. Alongside a supporting cast of Judges, Dredd must clean up the dirtiest sector in Mega-City One.
Brink featuring Richard Armitage (The Hobbit, Captain America) and Nina Sosonya (His Dark Materials, W1A) from hit comics duo Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard sees humanity living in vast space platforms and on the brink of extinction in this atmospheric space-noir.
“It’s an incredible feat to be able to turn a visual medium like a comic into audio, and it was something I just had to be part of, especially after dipping into the comic book world in
Captain America. 2000 AD has an incredible legacy in British comics, and it’s a thrill to bring these stories to life. Brink is such a wonderful space-noir drama, and I loved stepping into the shoes of Carl Brinkmann.” – Richard Armitage
The Ballad of Halo Jones featuring Sheila Atim (The Underground Railroad), is a galaxy-spanning adventure story, a feminist space opera, and an epic written by arguably the world’s greatest comic book writer, Alan Moore.
Sláine: The Horned God featuring Colin Morgan (Merlin, Humans), is an exhilarating mix of Celtic mythology, violence, and heroism, telling the story of the Horned God’s journey of death and rebirth, as Sláine leads his tribe in the service of the Earth goddess.
These adaptations in audio have been produced by the award-winning Penguin Random House Studios. Working closely with authors and editors at 2000 AD, all 300 characters in the graphics novels have been voiced by over 40 narrators, alongside mesmerising sound effects and original music.
Editors Notes
• Recent figures from Nielsen shows that science-fiction and fantasy audiobooks remain consistently popular, with the most recent data showing that science-fiction and fantasy is the 2nd most listened to genre in the last twelve months, after crime/thriller.*
* Nielsen Research: Understanding the UK Audiobook Consumer 2020 (fieldwork done in August 2020, n.2, 025 Nat rep respondents aged 18+)
Penguin Random House: Penguin Random House Audio is the UK’s leading publisher of audiobooks. We bring together our amazing authors and the world’s very best acting talent to create exceptional listening experiences; from the finest stories and ideas for adults to entertainment and education for children and families. Penguin Random House Audio have won awards including the British Book Award: Audiobook of the Year three years consecutively in 2020, 2019 and 2018; for The Testaments written by Margaret Atwood and read by Ann Dowd, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Mae Whitman, Becoming written and narrated by Michelle Obama, and The Book of Dust by Phillip Pullman, narrated by Michael Sheen, respectively.
Rebellion is an internationally renowned video games publisher and leading publisher of comics and fiction, based in Oxford, UK. Founded in 1992 by Chris and Jason Kingsley, Rebellion’s titles include the bestselling Sniper Elite series and the wildly popular Nazi Zombie Trilogy. The company is home to legendary UK comic 2000 AD and is the proud custodian of Judge Dredd. Rebellion recently acquired an extensive archive of comics covering over a century of British comic books and fiction, a deal that included titles such as Roy of the Rovers, Sexton Blake and many more beloved creations. The publishing division is also home to award-winning science fiction imprints Solaris and Abaddon, and is proud to publish some of the finest talents in genre fiction.
Full Title List
- 04/03/2021 Judge Dredd: The Pit John Wagner – 9781781089989 – Digital Download
- 04/03/2021 Judge Dredd: America John Wagner – 9781781089996 – Digital Download
- 04/03/2021 The Ballad of Halo Jones Alan Moore – 9781786184535 – Digital Download
- 04/03/2021 Brink: Volumes 1-3 Dan Abnett – 9781786184542 – Digital Download
- 04/03/2021 Sláine: The Horned God Pat Mills – 9781786184528 – Digital Download