To celebrate the announcement that Duncan Jones is making a Rogue Trooper movie, we’re offering Earthlets everywhere the chance to read up on one of our greatest characters – for half price!
This includes all four Tales of Nu Earth collections, which bring together all the original tales of the blue-skinned GI, as well as collections of Dave Gibbons and Will Simpson’s reboot story War Machine, Gordon Rennie’s spin-off series Jaegirand The 86ers, AND fiction ebooks!
And don’t forget – if you buy digital editions from our webshop and register on the 2000 AD apps for Apple, Android or Windows10 using the same log-in details then you can download and read your purchases through the app!
Whether you’re a massive fan or you’ve never encountered Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons’ blue-skinned genetic infantryman before, you can journey to the battle-scarred and poisoned plains of Nu Earth and discover more about one of 2000 AD‘s most popular characters with a FREE primer comic – available to download now!
Featuring the original appearance of the Rogue Trooper by Finley-Day and Gibbons in 2000 AD Prog 228 from September 1981, the primer also features three newer tales written by Guy Adams with art by Darren Douglas and Lee Carter.
Acclaimed filmmaker Duncan Jones is to bring Rogue Trooper, a character from the legendary award-winning British comic book 2000 AD, to the big screen.
It will see the critically-lauded director of Moon, Source Code, Warcraft and Mute write and direct the as-yet-unnamed picture.
Jones confirmed the new joint venture between Liberty Films and Rebellion, the Oxford-based games publishers and owners of 2000 AD, on his Twitter account today.
“For years now, I have felt a sting as Marvel and DC have poured out their entire comic roster into film. Wonderful for their fans, but every new release I silently scream “Where’s all the 2000 AD?!” I’m so excited to finally be able to right that wrong and bring Finley-Day and Gibbons’ Rogue Trooper, a seminal British spun war yarn, to the big screen!” said Jones.
Jason Kingsley, CEO and Creative Director of Rebellion, said: “Rogue Trooper has always been one of my favourite old school thrills from 2000 AD. I’m very happy to be working closely with Duncan and Stuart on this project and look forward to seeing the results on the silver screen.”
Chris Kingsley, Co-founder and CTO of Rebellion, said: “The first time I met Duncan he had a Mohawk – I’m tickled pink to see he’s now brought it back with a full-on Nu blue. It shows his unique level of commitment and passion for Rogue Trooper, and that’s why we’re so excited to be working with him and his legions.”
The deal was negotiated by producer Stuart Fenegan and Rebellion’s Jason Kingsley. Fenegan will produce the film under his and Jones’ Liberty Films banner, Jason Kingsley and Chris Kingsley will Executive Produce.
Fenegan said: “Eat leaden death Nort scum!”
Rogue Trooper is one of the greatest characters to come out of 2000 AD, which also publishes characters such as Judge Dredd, Nemesis the Warlock, and Strontium Dog. Created by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons, Rogue Trooper is a genetically-engineered soldier bred to fight on Nu-Earth, a hellish planet consumed by an endless war between the Norts and the Southers. The sole survivor of a massacre that claimed his fellow GIs, Rogue sets out on a mission to find the traitor who betrayed them – the personalities of three dead comrades plugged into his helmet, backpack, and rifle.
Jones is one of a generation of leading British film directors who have been inspired by the satirical, anti-establishment and hyper-violent comic strips in 2000 AD. First published in 1977, 2000 AD has been at the cutting edge of British culture for four decades and continues to publish ground-breaking science fiction, fantasy, and horror comics.
About LIBERTY FILMS
Liberty Films was founded in 2005 by producer Stuart Fenegan and director Duncan Jones. Established in the competitive London advertising industry, their successful creative partnership has resulted in four feature films to date: MUTE starring Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux, for Netflix, launched in February 2018; WARCRAFT, for Legendary Entertainment, Atlas Entertainment and Universal Pictures, grossed $430 million at the worldwide box office in 2016; the critically acclaimed SOURCE CODE, featuring Jake Gyllenhaal was released by Summit Entertainment in 2011; and MOON, Jones’ feature directorial debut, led by Sam Rockwell, won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer in 2009. Fenegan was also nominated with MOON for the BAFTA for Best British Film.
Liberty Films have several TV and film projects in development for Jones and other rising British directorial talent.
About Rebellion®
Founded in 1992, Rebellion is one of Europe’s leading independent game developers and publishers. Whether it’s the breathtaking intensity of Sniper Elite 4, the face-hugging terror of Aliens vs. Predator or the grindhouse frenzy of Zombie Army Trilogy, the Oxford-based studio is known for creating stand-out games that thrill players.
About 2000 AD
2000 AD is the legendary weekly British anthology comic – the home of Judge Dredd and a galaxy of original sci-fi, fantasy, and horror action stars. Producing innovative and provocative comics for 40 years, it has brought the industry some of its biggest talents, from Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and Mark Millar, to Jock, Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, and many more. Published in print and digital every Wednesday, 2000 AD is the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic and remains at the industry’s cutting edge. www.2000AD.com
Truly, there are celebrations in the 2000 AD Covers Uncovered sub-sub-sub-basement today as I finally get to feature the work of the magnificent Simon Coleby. I have long been a fan of this brilliant artist; a droid who renders death and destruction, creepy looking skulls and industrial tech better than anyone I can think of.
Simon is back on art duties for the current Jaegir story ‘In The Realm of Pyrrhus,’ which sees Kapiten-Inspector Atalia Jaegir return to the hellhole that is Nu-Earth. Atalia and her team are on a mysterious mission at the behest of a particularly nasty war criminal, but what could be so important that she would travel to such a forsaken planet?
Simon was kind enough to send several images and let us into the secrets of his workflow, he said “Tharg’s original brief was really straightforward — something along the lines of ‘Maybe Atalia running towards us across a Nu Earth Battlefield’. That was fine, but I decided to just try something a little different, so I went with a first sketch of a hallucinatory/nightmare image of Atalia’s Dads’ big, scarred head looming up out of the chem-clouds. In retrospect; not the strongest idea ever, and a bit cliched…”
“Bloody Josef Jaegir, always has his head in the clouds!”
Simon continues “Tharg didn’t go for that one, quite wisely. Also, in retrospect, the previous couple of progs have featured fairly close shots of heads and faces, so it was right to take this another way. Of course, Tharg alone has the insight to know these things — we humble droids do well to heed the inhumanly wise words of Green Bonce.” (And it’s the best way to avoid a Rigellion Hot Shot – P-Wls.)
“My pencils for the finished version came together quite quickly, without any major issues. These days, rather than graphite, I tend to do a quick coloured-pencil layout, then refine that work in fine-liners and markers. I find that gives me a much cleaner scan, and makes the inking a more straightforward process.”
Norts and Crosses
“The ‘pencils’ shown here are precisely that scan. The coloured version is what I print out, on A3 bristol board, and then ink.”
“Whose stupid idea was it to do the Nu-Earth fun run in these stinking costumes?”
“The inks are very close to the pencils, as almost all the design decisions have been resolved at that stage. In the inks, I’m largely concentrating on line weights and textures — anything to add life to the piece. Cut up bits of kitchen sponge dipped in Indian ink is one of the very expensive, elite, hi-tech tools I tend to use a lot.”
“Nu-Earth is so Bracing! And it’s quicker by Black Hole!”
With sponges dirtied and stunning inks complete, the art is taken by Souther Hoppa to colourist supremo Len O’Grady. Len has been absolutely knocking it out of the park with his colouring on Simon’s interior work, really bringing the disgusting, cloying chem clouds of Nu-Earth to life. Simon was quick to praise him, he said “Len’s colours are consistently amazing, and he’s added so much to my work on ‘Jaegir’. I was absolutely delighted when he sent me a copy of this one. The chem clouds are almost psychedelic in their luminous, toxic intensity. I imagine you’d hallucinate colours like that if your mask failed on Nu Earth. Very pretty to look at, as your lungs exit through your nostrils. Good times!”
“Down the road I look, and there rots Mary! Skin peeled off and looking scary! It’s gross, to touch, the green, green gas of home!” Popular song by Tomac Joneski.
As I gushed at the beginning of this piece, I’m a big fan of the Coleby droid. He is responsible for some of my very favourite 2000 AD moments and a few of my very favourite covers, including this gloriously subversive Low Life cover of Prog 1521…
Lollyfragging!
And when Total War were at their height, Simon brought us this magnificent slice of Mega-City destruction!
BOOMS-Day for Mega-City One!
And finally, this wonderful wraparound for the Origins epic which is truly (law)masterful!
Just another day at the office…
A huge, huge thanks to Simon, there’s another off the bucket list!
ROGUE TROOPER REDUX is available now, remastered and revitalized on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch!
ROGUE TROOPER REDUX sees the return of 2000 AD hero Rogue, the last of the Genetic Infantrymen. Bred only for war and betrayed by his superiors, Rogue seeks nothing but revenge in this pioneering tactical shooter and landmark comic book adaptation.
Originally released in 2006 and earning two BAFTA nominations for Best Character and Best Story, Rogue Trooper is a true cult classic. With its timeless blend of stealth-action gameplay, cover-based combat and epic set pieces, it’s remained a fan favourite a decade on.
Now ROGUE TROOPER REDUX enhances the original with HD graphics, remodelled assets, new special effects and dynamic lighting, modern controls, extra difficulty settings, a revamped cover system and more!
“We’ve always been hugely proud of the original Rogue Trooper,” said Rebellion CEO and Co-founder Jason Kingsley OBE. “It’s special to bring it back with the help of our friends at TickTock Games. Remastering it has once again highlighted how influential a game it was for Rebellion. You can see the roots of tactical shooting that evolved over the years into our more recent games, such as Sniper Elite 4 and Battlezone. It’s a really fantastic, exciting shooter and now it looks how we always imagined it.”
Players: 1-4 players (co-op available in two online modes separate to campaign)
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch
Formats: Boxed editions also available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
Developers: Rebellion, TickTock Games
Publisher: Rebellion
*Prices may vary depending on region, format and platform
About Rebellion
Founded in 1992, Rebellion is one of Europe’s leading independent game developers and publishers. Whether it’s the breathtaking intensity of Sniper Elite 4, the face-hugging terror of Aliens vs. Predator or the grindhouse frenzy of Zombie Army Trilogy, the Oxford-based studio is known for creating stand-out games that thrill players. www.rebellion.com
About 2000 AD
2000 AD is the legendary British anthology comic and home of Judge Dredd, as well as a galaxy of original sci-fi, fantasy, and horror action stars. As well as producing innovative and provocative comics for 40 years, it has brought the industry some of its biggest talents, from Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and Mark Millar, to Jock, Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, and many more. Published in print and digital every Wednesday, 2000 AD is the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic and remains at the industry’s cutting edge. www.2000ADonline.com
About TickTock Games
Founded in 2005, TickTock Games is an independent developer based in West Yorkshire. Boasting a team of highly skilled programmers, artists and producers, most with over fifteen years of experience creating games on all leading platforms, including PC, Console and mobile devices. www.ticktockgames.com
Bred for war, but living for revenge – Rogue Trooper Reduxsees the return of the last of the Genetic Infantrymen in this updated BAFTA-nominated tactical shooter and landmark comic book adaptation.
Originally released in 2006, Rogue Trooper Redux enhances the original with HD graphics, remodelled assets, new special effects and dynamic lighting, modern controls, extra difficulty settings, a revamped cover system and more!
In a special extra episode, the Thrill-Cast talks to Tim Jones and Rich May from Rebellion Developments about the original title, updating it for the next generation of consoles, and Rich’s battle-scars.
The 2000 AD Thrill-Cast is the award-winning podcast that takes you behind-the-scenes at the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic! As well as interviewing top creators and famous fans, we bring you announcements, competitions, and much more! You can subscribe to the Thrill-Cast on iTunes or listen now at www.2000ADonline.com/podcast
LAUNCHES OCTOBER 17TH, 2017 on PS4, XBOX ONE, NINTENDO SWITCH* (North America) and PC!
For Pre-orders and a chance to WIN a copy of the game, head to www.RogueTrooper.com
Enjoy over five minutes of brand new gameplay from this explosive remaster of the pioneering third-person shooter. Find out everything you need to know about Rogue Trooper’s story, campaign, modes and gameplay and discover how the sentient biochips stored in Rogue’s equipment turn him into a one-man army!
Remember trooper … REVENGE NEVER GETS OLD!
*Switch launch in territories outside North America TBC
Stak! Ben Willsher blasts through the chem clouds with this absolute monster of a cover! As a long term fan of Rogue, it was a dream come true for Ben and you can see the love on the page, it’s brilliant!
Ben was kind enough to send his thoughts behind the cover and tell us the story behind its conception. He said “This Rogue cover came about when Tharg asked if I’d be interested… Well, I nearly bit his green hand off! I’ve only ever drawn Rogue once before (well, unless you count all those doodles in the back of my Maths prep book (which my teachers never did!)) That illustration was for a poster for an end of year prog – over to P-WLS for some visual reference and Prog number.”
Yes! That’d be Prog 2011, and here is that scrotnig poster…
“You put your firearm in, your firearm out! In! Out! In! Out! And shake it all about!”
Ben continues “Tharg had a strong idea of what he wanted- That being shot of him racing towards us leaving dead Norts in his wake. I was provided with this lovely black and white Page care of PJ… Holden, not Maybe!”
Just another day at the office for Rogue and the guys.
Ben wanted to fill some pretty big boots and who can blame him? He’s doing a stakking Rogie Trooper cover! “As soon as he suggested this concept, I knew exactly what I wanted to do – I wanted to try and create something that had that same raw energy that Dave Gibbons captured in his classic 1981 cover for Prog 228. Not that I am comparing myself in anyway, you understand, but I really wanted to try and tap into that action Dave so beautifully delivered.”
You’re shooting the wrong way Rogue!
“Where as normally I would do very rough thumbnail sketches and then produce a better quality rough for Tharg to give me either the Quaxxann thumbs up, or a kick in the Galactic groats and told to come back with something new. This time the image being so clear in my head I went straight to this more detailed rough stage. Loosely pencilling first on A4 paper, then going over those outlines with a biro and Marker, with a blue pencil line rough logo to set the layout.”
“Tharg liked it and gave me the go ahead.”
He’s a very Norty Boy!
“I drew the piece on an A3 piece of heavyweight card with black drawing ink.” Good Grud, I’d LOVE to see this in the flesh!
“You can’t catch me, I’m the Genetic Infantryman!”
“Afterwards, I coloured it, and painted in the explosion smoke FX.”
I’m a huge fan of Ben’s work and his colouring is always amazing. This is his second Toxic Gas cover (see the making of Prog 1768 here: Prog 1768 ) which I think says a lot about him…
Ben continues “As you can see from the Black and white image I discarded the line drawn smoke coming from the Nort’s broken pipe in favour of a more natural looking smoke effect. I also added better Biochips.”
Stak! Rogue’s back! On the Attack! I’m gonna cack!
Huge, huge thanks to Ben for sending the files and write up. I love him to Nu-Earth and back!
