ATTENTION, EARTHLETS – 2000 AD Prog 2318 is OUT NOW!
Mighty are my powers and mighty is the prog — I am Tharg, Betelgeusian Thrill-channeller! Get that Wednesday feeling, Terrans, as once again another circuit-shattering issue of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic downloads into your reality!
This week, future lawman Judge Dredd fends off an alien assault as he tries to track down wanted bounty hunter Keeper Hag; Cyd learns some shocking truths on the Zoto homeworld in The Out; sharpshooter Joe Pineapples reveals a past assassination attempt on Blackblood in ‘Tin Man’; the Scorcher fleet descends on the Imperium Ascendant in Proteus Vex; and The Order are under pressure from the shadow-kraken in Heart of Darkness — a brain-blasting line-up of stories, I think you’ll agree, all of them supercharged with high-energy excitement!
2000 AD Prog 2318 is out now from all good newsagents and comic book stores, plus digitally from our webshop and apps! Don’t forget that if you buy an issue of 2000 AD in the first week of its release then postage in the UK is free!
Cover art by Toby WillsmerScript: Arthur Wyatt & Rob Williams / Art: Paul Marshall / Colours: Dylan Teague / Letters: Annie Parkhouse
JUDGE DREDD // The Hagger They Fall, part two
Mega-City One, 2145 AD. Home to over 200 million citizens, this urban hell is situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America. Crime is rampant and only future cops the Judges — empowered to dispense instant justice — can stop total anarchy. Toughest of them all is JUDGE DREDD — he is the Law! Now, Dredd’s still tracking down the mercenaries that tried to assassinate him and Maitland on Atlantis…
Script: Dan Abnett / Art: Mark Harrison / Letters: Simon Bowland
THE OUT // Book Three, part seven
The furthest edge of the universe, far into the future. Cyd Finlea is photo-journalist working for the publishers Global Neographic, travelling deep into outer space — otherwise known as THE OUT — and cataloguing the alien societies that she encounters. She left Earth ten years ago and has been seeking other ex-pat humans — but now, having been questioned after her brush with the Tankinar, she’s escaped…
Former war-droids, the ABC Warriors were reassigned to bring peace to the frontier planet of Mars. Comprising Hammerstein, Deadlock, Blackblood, Steelhorn, Mongrol and Happy Shrapnel, the Mek-Nifcent Seven’s sharpshooter was Joe Pineapples, a robot with more secrets than most. Now he and sewer-droid Ro-Jaws are at the other end of the universe — Joe n’ Ro, lost in space, out of gas, out of love n’ outta luck!
Script: Kek-W / Art: John Burns / Letters: Jim Campbell
THE ORDER // Heart of Darkness, part two
Throughout history, mankind has been under threat of extermination by the Wurms, creatures that break into our reality. Defending humanity are THE ORDER, a band of warriors that have fought the entities across the centuries. But time has become fractured, and the despotic Francis Bacon is determined to rule a vast empire. Now, The Order must battle the shadow-creatures at the edge of time itself…
Script: Mike Carroll / Art: Jake Lynch / Colours: Jim Boswell / Letters: Simon Bowland
PROTEUS VEX // Crawlspace, part seven
The far future. The centuries-long war between the Alliance and the Obdurate people is over, a conflict brought to an end with the deaths of billions when the Alliance teleported a dying white dwarf star into the Obdurate system. Imperium agent PROTEUS VEX — who is operated by a flesh-pilot — became an enemy of the Alliance when he released info about past war crimes. But now war with the Scorchers has broken out…
Every week, 2000 AD brings you the galaxy’s greatest artwork and 2000 AD Covers Uncovered takes you behind-the-scenes with the headline artists responsible for our top cover art – join bloggers Richard Bruton and Pete Wells as they uncover the greatest covers from 2000 AD!
This week, it’s 2000 AD Prog 2317 and on the cover we have the unmistakable artwork of Mark Harrison with yet another incredible cover for The Out!
Inside the Prog, we have more spectacular sci-fi adventuring in The OUT Book Three by Dan Abnett and Mark Harrison.
After her Tankinar troubles, Cyd was looking at a lifetime of house arrest on the Unanima capital world – and then she found out that someone had left the back door open. How did it happen? More importantly, why did it happen and is it part of some plan on the part of the Unanima? Well, that’s something we’re going to discover as this amazing series unfolds. For the moment though, Cyd’s getting out of there and back into the Out as quick as possible…
Right then, over to Mark Harrison for the breakdown of the cover. As usual from Mark, it’s a fascinating deep dive into the artist’s mind and shows you just how much goes into making the cover look THIS good…
MARK HARRISON: Not much to say on this one I’m afraid as it was it was another case of knowing exactly what I wanted to do and just pitching it to Tharg.
[Well, he says there’s not much to say, but… well, you’ll see what I mean]
The idea had been kicking around in my head for some time. A simple image of a traveller walking in an open desert thumbing a lift from a city-sized spaceship hanging in a cloudless sky.
But oh boy, how simplicity has a tendency to be a trial of complexity when computers add numerous iterations and choice to the mix.
(Mark’s preliminary cover)
Cyd was always walking away but I moved her around, centred her, resized, her, and wondered what worked best. This happened with all the elements, squinting to see what “felt” right.
The background was to be a highway, like the poster for Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind (which I had already parodied in the Luwot Holiday in Grey Area).
[For more on Grey Area – keep reading to the end where we’ve got a load of Mark Harrison bonus features for you!]
(And here’s that famous Close Encounters poster– and Mark’s homage from Grey Area)
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Maybe an Alien city in the background? But it was all too fussy and detracted from the clean simplicity.
I added Saturn rings, cloud effects… trying to make it otherworldly… No.
It had to be stripped down to the basics. Which I found to be very hard to do. But it helps if you follow those who have gone before.
(One of those ‘evocative sci-fi book covers with an endless horizon’ that Mark’s talking about – by the great Chris Foss)
I wanted to evoke those evocative sci-fi book covers with an endless horizon. That sterile bleakness that they conveyed. (To do it justice it should have flowed onto the back cover.)
I spent more time removing stuff I’d added, reducing and reducing until in some versions it was just silhouettes or lights – an impression of something over the horizon.
It was all about mood – this was supposed to be a moment of stillness.
Maybe some library sound effect of desert wind catching Cyd’s dress in the midday sun? (A direct downlight – I played with lighting but I wanted this hot dry stillness) Foley work of Converse on a glassy path? The ominous low-frequency electrical hum of something very massive hanging in space? Maybe a tinny sound of music playing from Bag or the chirping of alien desert cicadas?
If the ship had come to land it would have been hissing steam and dripping fluids like a steam train or David Lynch spaceship. I love “organic” detailing applied to machines.
The ship itself went through many changes. I started off with an organic look, curved shapes, lots of lights, lots of fuss. Then I went with simple shapes – spheres, pyramids… bricks?
BRICKS.
Of course! It was there from the off. No prizes for guessing the reference here. Yeah you got me, but I painted the target large and loud in luminous paint.
“The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don’t.” Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy.
Everyone should know The Hitchhikers Guide. A massive influence on me and my teenage years (and onwards) and on my very first strip the Travellers which had irreverent (but adoring) humour poking fun at the sci-fi clichés of the genre. (There’s still a bit of that in The Out.) I had to acknowledge that beloved book in some way.
[Again, for more on The Travellers, keep going to the end and the bonus features!]
So the ship became a rectangle, a yellow brick, and that also informed the fishing ship in the strip which Cyd hitches a lift with.
Again, I messed with detail, Foss (as in Chris Foss) stripes, and ‘greebles’ – the little model kit parts sci-fi model makes would put on starships for detail.
(Two more reference pieces Mark wanted you to see.On the left, the Vogon Constructor Fleet come to demolish the Earth from Hitchhiker’s Guide. On the right, some of those greebles, here on a Star Wars Star Destroyer – and for more on greebles, have a look at this great Den Of Geek article on them.)
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But it was getting too fussy again.
It’s a really fine line because I do subscribe to the John Harris school of mass; that something looks bigger the less detail it has on it on it. Harris is an artist that can capture mass very simply with a loose style that coveys atmospheric depth and scale.
(More of Marks’s recommended reading – John Harris’ work)
So I tried it but my brain screamed ‘needs detail’ so I compromised.
I mixed in an overlay of a fishing trawler (since this wasn’t supposed to be a JCB in space) to give me some ideas and a texture to sell a Lego feel.
The interior of the ship suggest cargo containers so I wanted that grunge and panelling on the outside.
There was an open maw at the front for when the ship deploys a magnetic field; a “tractor net” to capture space-borne squid-like creatures. As an Easter egg, the maw’s light effect is copied from the planet killer in ‘The Doomsday Machine’, one of my favourite Star Trek TOS episodes.[Again, check out the bonus features!]
I submitted two versions of the cover so I’ll be interested to see which one they go with.
Well, by now we’ve all seen the final cover. But here’s the alternative one…
And here’s the clean version of the cover that was used…
It was a cover I fought with. To make it look simple. Fighting the desire to add beyond what was necessary.
Knowing what to leave out in comic art (and still make it readable) is just as important as the line work itself and can be considered a sign of maturity and excellence.
Thankfully I still have a way to go and have fun along the way. I’m still learning and that’s the great thing about this job.
Never give in! Never surrender! (your style!)
And there we have it, yet another quite magnificent look inside the head of the artist. Mark actually apologised when he sent this one over as he was unimaginably busy for various reasons and was concerned this one was a bit short and light! You know, these art droids that make your weekly Prog so thrill powered really are the most wonderful things!
Anyway, thanks so very much to Mark for sending it along – it’s yet another classic image to grace the cover, a cover you can find wherever you get the Galaxy’s Greatest on the front of 2000 AD Prog 2317, including the 2000 AD web shop, right this minute!
Now, be sure to check out Mark’s previous Covers Uncovered entries (all as wonderful as this one) for the covers of Prog 2187, Prog 2193, Prog 2251, Prog 2254, Prog 2261, and Prog 2314, and be sure to go back and read the interview with Dan Abnett and Mark Harrison all about The Out right here.
And of course, no shelf, physical or digital, should be without the first volume of a series that’s going to go down in history as one of the greats of 2000 AD… The OUT.
Now, a few bonus features for you, because frankly Mark always sends along so much, fills his Covers Uncovered pieces with so many references, that there isn’t always space to fit them all in!
So, you all need to check out the work of Chris Foss, John Harris, you should certainly all go and immerse yourselves in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy (start with the radio show or the books, then move onto the BBC TV show), and of course Close Encounters is a sci-fi classic you should all have watched!
As for one of those Easter eggs Mark mentioned, the ‘open maw at the front for when the ship deploys a magnetic field; a “tractor net” to capture space-borne squid-like creatures…’ that he copied from the Star Trek Original Series episode The Doomsday Machine. Well here’s the panel from this week’s episode of the Out and a still from ST:TOS…
And here are the panels from this week’s episode where we first see how Mark’s ideas took shape, where, in his words, ‘the ship became a rectangle, a yellow brick and that also informed the fishing ship in the strip which Cyd hitches a lift with’ …
Next, Mark mentioned his first-ever published strip, The Travellers. Well, this was a new one on me, so I asked him about it. According to Mark, it was his ‘humorous take on the role-playing game Traveller. It was published in White Dwarf Magazine back in the 80’s. It was a one-page strip that was my first commissioned work that I wrote and illustrated.’
Well, if you haven’t ever seen it before, there’s great news, as the whole thing has been archived over at 2000 AD.org (Barney, the monumental 2000 AD resource site) at this sub-site – http://www.2000ad.org/markus/travellers/.
So, here’s a little look at what you can find there…
And finally, Mark also mentioned that he’d already referenced Close Encounters in his previous 2000 AD work with Dan Abnett, when they collaborated on the second book of the excellent Grey Area, which was the strip that introduced me to Mark’s artwork and one I absolutely love.
Here’s what it was all about…
North America, 2045. The Global Exo Segregation Zone (aka the ‘Grey Area’) is a huge holding area in Arizona housing aliens hoping to visit earth: a melting pot for disputes, crime and inter-species misunderstandings!
The only thing standing in the way of chaos is the Exo Transfer Control squads: heavily-armed immigration cops that keep the peace and make sure everyone has their papers in order… E.T.C. Captain Adam Bulliet has a lot on his plate; The Arakshu want revenge on humanity for their dead ambassador, increasing numbers of aliens are having rapturous visions, and his fraternisation with Officer Birdy isn’t nearly as discrete as he thought. Not to mention a dizzyingly colossal god star is descending on Earth, and Bulliet’s team are the ones suiting up to meet ‘n’ greet the second coming. But they might end up going further than they expect…
So, it’s obviously a perfect opportunity to give you a little of that to gawk at as well, isn’t it?
ATTENTION, EARTHLETS – 2000 AD Prog 2317 is OUT NOW!
BORAG THUNGG, EARTHLETS! Call me The Mighty Tharg, the ebullient emerald editor of this awe-inspiring anthology!
We blast into February with a couple of new stories — Judge Dredd deals with the continuing fallout from the Atlantis attack in ‘The Hagger They Fall’ by Rob Williams, Arthur Wyatt and Paul Marshall, and we return to the edge of time for the final arc of Kek-W and John Burns’ historyspanning series The Order.
We last left Anna Kohl and co being attacked by the shadowcreatures that have been infiltrating the fractured chronology — now, in ‘Heart of Darkness’, see whether she can be reunited with her lost love Ritterstahl as her compatriots battle the forces of the evil Francis Bacon!
2000 AD Prog 2317 is out now from all good newsagents and comic book stores, plus digitally from our webshop and apps! Don’t forget that if you buy an issue of 2000 AD in the first week of its release then postage in the UK is free!
Cover art by Mark HarrisonScript: Arthur Wyatt & Rob Williams / Art: Paul Marshall / Colours: Dylan Teague / Letters: Annie Parkhouse
JUDGE DREDD // The Hagger They Fall, part one
Mega-City One, 2145 AD. Home to over 200 million citizens, this urban hell is situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America. Crime is rampant and only future cops the Judges — empowered to dispense instant justice — can stop total anarchy. Toughest of them all is JUDGE DREDD — he is the Law! Now, Dredd’s still tracking down the mercenaries that tried to assassinate him and Maitland on Atlantis…
Script: Dan Abnett / Art: Mark Harrison / Letters: Simon Bowland
THE OUT // Book Three, part six
The furthest edge of the universe, far into the future. Cyd Finlea is photo-journalist working for the publishers Global Neographic, travelling deep into outer space — otherwise known as THE OUT — and cataloguing the alien societies that she encounters. She left Earth ten years ago and has been seeking other ex-pat humans — but now, having been questioned after her brush with the Tankinar, she’s escaped…
Former war-droids, the ABC Warriors were reassigned to bring peace to the frontier planet of Mars. Comprising Hammerstein, Deadlock, Blackblood, Steelhorn, Mongrol and Happy Shrapnel, the Mek-Nifcent Seven’s sharpshooter was Joe Pineapples, a robot with more secrets than most. Now he and sewer-droid Ro-Jaws are at the other end of the universe — Joe n’ Ro, lost in space, out of gas, out of love n’ outta luck!
Script: Kek-W / Art: John Burns / Letters: Jim Campbell
THE ORDER // Heart of Darkness, part one
Throughout history, mankind has been under threat of extermination by the Wurms, creatures that break into our reality. Defending humanity are THE ORDER, a band of warriors that have fought the entities across the centuries. But time has become fractured, and the despotic Francis Bacon is determined to rule a vast empire. Now, The Order must battle the shadow-creatures at the edge of time itself…
Script: Mike Carroll / Art: Jake Lynch / Colours: Jim Boswell / Letters: Simon Bowland
PROTEUS VEX // Crawlspace, part six
The far future. The centuries-long war between the Alliance and the Obdurate people is over, a conflict brought to an end with the deaths of billions when the Alliance teleported a dying white dwarf star into the Obdurate system. Imperium agent PROTEUS VEX — who is operated by a flesh-pilot — became an enemy of the Alliance when he released info about past war crimes. But now war with the Scorchers has broken out…
ATTENTION, EARTHLETS – 2000 AD Prog 2316 is OUT NOW!
I am The Mighty Tharg, all-powerful alien editor of this planet-conquering SF anthology!
Welcome, my Squaxx, to the weekly Thrillblast that is 2000 AD, featuring the very finest in future fiction. This prog we’ve got the scrotnig finale to current Judge Dredd case ‘The Night Shifter’ plus a complete Terror Tale courtesy of the Vincent and Yeowell droids alongside the latest instalments of The Out, Proteus Vex and Joe Pineapples.
Next week, prepare your optical sensors for the start of the final series of Kek-W and John Burns’ time- and dimension-spanning saga The Order, ‘Heart of Darkness’!
2000 AD Prog 2316 is out now from all good newsagents and comic book stores, plus digitally from our webshop and apps! Don’t forget that if you buy an issue of 2000 AD in the first week of its release then postage in the UK is free!
Cover art by Cliff Robinson and Dylan TeagueScript: Ken Neimand / Art: Nicolo Assirelli / Colours: Peter Doherty / Letters: Annie Parkhouse
JUDGE DREDD // The Night Shifter, part four
Mega-City One, 2145 AD. Home to over 200 million citizens, this urban hell is situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America. Crime is rampant and only future cops the Judges — empowered to dispense instant justice — can stop total anarchy. Toughest of them all is JUDGE DREDD — he is the Law! Now, an activist from Puerto Plata has accused a hottie cook of being her torturer…
Script: Dan Abnett / Art: Mark Harrison / Letters: Simon Bowland
THE OUT // Book Three, part five
The furthest edge of the universe, far into the future. Cyd Finlea is photo-journalist working for the publishers Global Neographic, travelling deep into outer space — otherwise known as THE OUT — and cataloguing the alien societies that she encounters. She left Earth ten years ago and has been seeking other ex-pat humans — but now she’s being held and questioned after her brush with the Tankinar…
Former war-droids, the ABC Warriors were reassigned to bring peace to the frontier planet of Mars. Comprising Hammerstein, Deadlock, Blackblood, Steelhorn, Mongrol and Happy Shrapnel, the Mek-Nifcent Seven’s sharpshooter was Joe Pineapples, a robot with more secrets than most. Now he and sewer-droid Ro-Jaws are at the other end of the universe — Joe n’ Ro, lost in space, out of gas, out of love n’ outta luck!
Script: Honor Vincent / Art: Steve Yeowell / Letters: Jim Campbell
TERROR TALE // Rites
Experience the terrifying side of Thrill-power with these one-off tales from beyond the veil of sanity. Whether they be ghostly goings-on that send shivers up the spine or splatterfests that sear the retina and paralyse the mind, nothing is what it seems in these glimpses of a realm beyond our own. Mara works for ‘Departures’, a ghostwrangling service that helps families rid their homes of troublesome spirits…
Script: Mike Carroll / Art: Jake Lynch / Colours: Jim Boswell / Letters: Simon Bowland
PROTEUS VEX // Crawlspace, part five
The far future. The centuries-long war between the Alliance and the Obdurate people is over, a conflict brought to an end with the deaths of billions when the Alliance teleported a dying white dwarf star into the Obdurate system. Imperium agent PROTEUS VEX — who is operated by a flesh-pilot — became an enemy of the Alliance when he released info about past war crimes. But now war with the Scorchers has broken out…
ATTENTION, EARTHLETS – 2000 AD Prog 2315 is OUT NOW!
Jump on aboard the supersonic jet that is the Galaxy’s Greatest, powered by hyper-Thrills!
I am The Mighty Tharg, Betelgeusian editor of universal renown, and I welcome you once again, Terrans, to the seven-day circuit-shatterer that is 2000 AD!
It’s a packed prog this week as the extralength finale to Hope sees Proteus Vex spill over onto the back cover, and there isn’t a spare page to be had between Judge Dredd, Joe Pineapples and The Out.
So much zarjazness bursting to be unleashed — ensure optical-safeguard visors are fully in place before reading, my Squaxx!
2000 AD Prog 2315 is out now from all good newsagents and comic book stores, plus digitally from our webshop and apps! Don’t forget that if you buy an issue of 2000 AD in the first week of its release then postage in the UK is free!
Cover art by Neil RobertsScript: Ken Neimand / Art: Nicolo Assirelli / Colours: Peter Doherty / Letters: Annie Parkhouse
JUDGE DREDD // The Night Shifter, part three
Mega-City One, 2145 AD. Home to over 200 million citizens, this urban hell is situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America. Crime is rampant and only future cops the Judges — empowered to dispense instant justice — can stop total anarchy. Toughest of them all is JUDGE DREDD — he is the Law! Now, an activist from Puerto Plata has accused a hottie cook of being her torturer…
Script: Dan Abnett / Art: Mark Harrison / Letters: Simon Bowland
THE OUT // Book Three, part four
The furthest edge of the universe, far into the future. Cyd Finlea is photo-journalist working for the publishers Global Neographic, travelling deep into outer space — otherwise known as THE OUT — and cataloguing the alien societies that she encounters. She left Earth ten years ago and has been seeking other ex-pat humans — but now she’s being held and questioned after her brush with the Tankinar…
Former war-droids, the ABC Warriors were reassigned to bring peace to the frontier planet of Mars. Comprising Hammerstein, Deadlock, Blackblood, Steelhorn, Mongrol and Happy Shrapnel, the Mek-Nifcent Seven’s sharpshooter was Joe Pineapples, a robot with more secrets than most. Now he and sewer-droid Ro-Jaws are at the other end of the universe — Joe n’ Ro, lost in space, out of gas, out of love n’ outta luck!
Script: Guy Adams / Art: Jimmy Broxton / Letters: Jim Campbell
HOPE // …In the Shadows – Reel Two, part twelve
An alternate 1940s USA. WWII is over, victory having been secured by occult means, and consequently magic is a part of everyday life. Mallory HOPE is one such skilled operative, though calling on the dark arts takes its toll on the user. He’s also a P.I., hired for all manner of down n’ dirty jobs — and an investigation into a cursed movie now finds him trapped in a mansion, the film’s power warping reality…
Script: Mike Carroll / Art: Jake Lynch / Colours: Jim Boswell / Letters: Simon Bowland
PROTEUS VEX // Crawlspace, part four
The far future. The centuries-long war between the Alliance and the Obdurate people is over, a conflict brought to an end with the deaths of billions when the Alliance teleported a dying white dwarf star into the Obdurate system. Imperium agent PROTEUS VEX — who is operated by a flesh-pilot — became an enemy of the Alliance when he released info about past war crimes. But now war with the Scorchers has broken out…
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EARTHLETS – 2000 AD Prog 2314 is OUT NOW!
Tharg The Mighty here, alien editor of this pulsating publication, where Thrill-power rules! Welcome back to the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic, my Squaxx — the award-winning sci-fi anthology that’s precision-engineered to not only stimulate your imagination circuits but also blow away the January blues!
Within these ghafflebette pages you’ll find the latest instalments of Judge Dredd, Proteus Vex, Joe Pineapples and The Out, plus the penultimate episode of Hope.
Close the curtains, curl up in your chair of choice, and allow 2000 AD to transport you to universes far away!
2000 AD Prog 2314 is out now from all good newsagents and comic book stores, plus digitally from our webshop and apps! Don’t forget that if you buy an issue of 2000 AD in the first week of its release then postage in the UK is free!
Cover art by Mark HarrisonScript: Ken Neimand / Art: Nicolo Assirelli / Colours: Peter Doherty / Letters: Annie Parkhouse
JUDGE DREDD // The Night Shifter, part two
Mega-City One, 2145 AD. Home to over 200 million citizens, this urban hell is situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America. Crime is rampant and only future cops the Judges — empowered to dispense instant justice — can stop total anarchy. Toughest of them all is JUDGE DREDD — he is the Law! Now, an activist from Puerto Plata has accused a hottie cook of being her torturer…
Script: Dan Abnett / Art: Mark Harrison / Letters: Simon Bowland
THE OUT // Book Three, part three
The furthest edge of the universe, far into the future. Cyd Finlea is photo-journalist working for the publishers Global Neographic, travelling deep into outer space — otherwise known as THE OUT — and cataloguing the alien societies that she encounters. She left Earth ten years ago and has been seeking other ex-pat humans — but now she’s being held and questioned after her brush with the Tankinar…
Former war-droids, the ABC Warriors were reassigned to bring peace to the frontier planet of Mars. Comprising Hammerstein, Deadlock, Blackblood, Steelhorn, Mongrol and Happy Shrapnel, the Mek-Nifcent Seven’s sharpshooter was Joe Pineapples, a robot with more secrets than most. Now he and sewer-droid Ro-Jaws are at the other end of the universe — Joe n’ Ro, lost in space, out of gas, out of love n’ outta luck!
Script: Guy Adams / Art: Jimmy Broxton / Letters: Jim Campbell
HOPE // …In the Shadows – Reel Two, part eleven
An alternate 1940s USA. WWII is over, victory having been secured by occult means, and consequently magic is a part of everyday life. Mallory HOPE is one such skilled operative, though calling on the dark arts takes its toll on the user. He’s also a P.I., hired for all manner of down n’ dirty jobs — and an investigation into a cursed movie now finds him trapped in a mansion, the film’s power warping reality…
Script: Mike Carroll / Art: Jake Lynch / Colours: Jim Boswell / Letters: Simon Bowland
PROTEUS VEX // Crawlspace, part three
The far future. The centuries-long war between the Alliance and the Obdurate people is over, a conflict brought to an end with the deaths of billions when the Alliance teleported a dying white dwarf star into the Obdurate system. Imperium agent PROTEUS VEX — who is operated by a flesh-pilot — became an enemy of the Alliance when he released info about past war crimes. But now war with the Scorchers has broken out…
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EARTHLETS – 2000 AD Prog 2313 is OUT NOW!
I am The Mighty Tharg, Betelgeusian Thrillwrangler and hyper-powered editor extraordinaire!
…and we’re back! Welcome, my Squaxx, to the space-year 2023 — I trust you had a suitably zarjaz festive season and waved goodbye to 2022 in the customary fashion. I also presume your circuits have recovered from the Xmas overload that was Prog 2312, and are ready to download more scrotnig Thrills into your brainpans. This first issue of the new year contains the stunning second episodes of Proteus Vex, The Out and Joe Pineapples, the latest instalment of Hope, and the start of a tense new case for Judge Dredd courtesy of the Niemand and Assirelli droids as he investigates The Night Shifter…
I’m sure long-term readers will have become accustomed to my cosmic hyperbole, and when I say that you shouldn’t dare miss a single episode of the ghafflebette series coming your way over the next twelve months, they’ll remark, ‘But how will you top your forty-fifth anniversary year, Oh Mighty One? It’s impossible!’ Such a challenge is my galactic bread and butter, and so I’ll smile, glance at the artwork in the Command Module archive awaiting publication, and reply, ‘You’ll see, Terrans, you’ll see…’
2000 AD Prog 2313 is out now from all good newsagents and comic book stores, plus digitally from our webshop and apps! Don’t forget that if you buy an issue of 2000 AD in the first week of its release then postage in the UK is free!
Cover art by Simon BisleyScript: Ken Neimand / Art: Nicolo Assirelli / Colours: Peter Doherty / Letters: Annie Parkhouse
JUDGE DREDD // The Night Shifter, part one
Mega-City One, 2145 AD. Home to over 200 million citizens, this urban hell is situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America. Unemployment is endemic and boredom universal. Tensions run a constant knife-edge and crime is rampant. Only future cops the Judges — empowered to dispense instant justice — can stop total anarchy. Toughest of them all is JUDGE DREDD — he is the Law!
Script: Dan Abnett / Art: Mark Harrison / Letters: Simon Bowland
THE OUT // Book Three, part two
The furthest edge of the universe, far into the future. Cyd Finlea is photo-journalist working for the publishers Global Neographic, travelling deep into outer space — otherwise known as THE OUT — and cataloguing the alien societies that she encounters. She left Earth ten years ago and has been seeking other ex-pat humans — but now she’s being held and questioned after her brush with the Tankinar…
Script: Pat Mills / Art: Simon Bisley / Letters: Annie Parkhouse
JOE PINEAPPLES // Tin Man, part two
Former war-droids, the ABC Warriors were reassigned to bring peace to the frontier planet of Mars. Comprising Hammerstein, Deadlock, Blackblood, Steelhorn, Mongrol and Happy Shrapnel, the Mek-Nifcent Seven’s sharpshooter was Joe Pineapples, a robot with more secrets than most. Now he and sewer-droid Ro-Jaws are at the other end of the universe — Joe n’ Ro, lost in space, out of gas, out of love n’ outta luck!
Script: Guy Adams / Art: Jimmy Broxton / Letters: Jim Campbell
HOPE // …In the Shadows – Reel Two, part ten
An alternate 1940s USA. WWII is over, victory having been secured by occult means, and consequently magic is a part of everyday life. Mallory HOPE is one such skilled operative, though calling on the dark arts takes its toll on the user. He’s also a P.I., hired for all manner of down n’ dirty jobs — and an investigation into a cursed movie has led to the reappearance of Hope’s missing wife, Alice, whose coven plans to use the film…
Script: Mike Carroll / Art: Jake Lynch / Colours: Jim Boswell / Letters: Simon Bowland
PROTEUS VEX // Crawlspace, part two
The far future. The centuries-long war between the Alliance and the Obdurate people is over, a conflict brought to an end with the deaths of billions when the Alliance teleported a dying white dwarf star into the Obdurate system. Imperium agent PROTEUS VEX — who is operated by a flesh-pilot — became an enemy of the Alliance when he released info about past war crimes. But now war with the Scorchers has broken out…
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EARTHLETS – 2000 AD Prog 2312 is OUT NOW!
I am The Mighty Tharg, all-powerful alien editor of this award-winning SF anthology — prepare yourselves for Xmas overload!
The traditional bumper, end-of-year prog celebrates your planet’s festive season and also cap another scrotnig twelve months of circuit-frying zarjazness!
We’ve unfortunately had to bid farewell to a number of beloved creators this year, such as Ian Kennedy, Garry Leach, and most recently Alan Grant and Kevin O’Neill, so this issue has something of a melancholic feel, with fellow writers and artists paying tribute to Alan and Kevin, who were so enormously influential in the Galaxy’s Greatest’s development. You’ll also find inside what turned out to be Kevin’s last work for 2000 AD, as he teamed up with Garth Ennis to revisit that scourge of the spaceways, Bonjo From Beyond the Stars, a strip he originally created for this pulse-pounding publication well over forty years ago.
Elsewhere, an old face from Dredd’s past turns up in ‘The Last Temptation of Joe’, there’s the start of new series for Joe Pineapples, Proteus Vex and The Out, a complete Rogue Trooper story, and much more.
Have a Thrill-packed Christmas and New Year, Earthlets!
2000 AD Prog 2312 is out now from all good newsagents and comic book stores, plus digitally from our webshop and apps! Don’t forget that if you buy an issue of 2000 AD in the first week of its release then postage in the UK is free!
Cover art by Andy ClarkeScript: Ken Neimand / Art: Lee Carter / Letters: Annie Parkhouse
JUDGE DREDD // The Last Temptation of Joe
Mega-City One, 2144 AD. Home to over 180 million citizens, this urban hell is situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America. Unemployment is rife, and crime is rampant. Tensions rest on a knife-edge and only the zero-tolerance Judges can stop total anarchy. Toughest of them all is JUDGE DREDD — he is the Law! Thirty-nine years ago, Dredd locked up the Devil himself in Iso-Block 666, where he’s remained…
Script: Kek-W / Art: Warick Fraser-Coombes / Letters: Jim Campbell
ROGUE TROOPER // Brothers
Nu Earth, site of a galactic war between the Norts and the Southers, where use of chemical weapons has rendered the atmosphere poisonous. So the Southers created the Genetic Infantrymen, bred to be immune to the planet’s lethal cocktail of pollutants — G.I.s like ROGUE TROOPER, the last of his kind. Together with biochip buddies Helm, Gunnar and Bagman, they’re searching for the traitor that sold them out…
/ Script: Garth Ennis / Art: Kevin O’Neill / Letters: Rob Steen
BONJO FROM BEYOND THE STARS // Solids in the Bile Tube
Over forty years ago, the alien entity known as BONJO arrived on Earth, and set about causing carnage. A creature with an insatiable appetite, who grew to Godzilla-sized proportions, he caused an inordinate amount of damage to the planet, and it seemed nothing could stop him — other than his grumbly gut when he consumed something that disagreed with him, which was pretty often…
Script: Dan Abnett / Art: Mark Harrison / Letters: Simon Bowland
THE OUT // Book Three, part one
The furthest edge of the universe, far into the future. Cyd Finlea is photo-journalist working for the publishers Global Neographic, travelling deep into outer space — otherwise known as THE OUT — and cataloguing the alien societies that she encounters. She left Earth ten years ago and has been seeking other ex-pat humans — but she discovered that she’d been contaminated by the Tankinar, turning her into a cyborg. Cyd has managed to break free…
Script: Pat Mills / Art: Simon Bisley / Letters: Annie Parkhouse
JOE PINEAPPLES // Tin Man, part one
Former war-droids, the ABC Warriors were reassigned to bring peace to the frontier planet of Mars. Comprising Hammerstein, Deadlock, Blackblood, Steelhorn, Mongrol and Happy Shrapnel, the Mek-Nifcent Seven’s sharpshooter was Joe Pineapples, a robot with more secrets than most. Needing a break from his comrades, Joe’s headed off across the cosmos with sewer-droid Ro-Jaws in tow…
Script: Guy Adams / Art: Jimmy Broxton / Letters: Jim Campbell
HOPE // …In the Shadows – Reel Two, part nine
An alternate 1940s USA. WWII is over, victory having been secured by occult means, and consequently magic is a part of everyday life. Mallory HOPE is one such skilled operative, though calling on the dark arts takes its toll on the user. He’s also a P.I., hired for all manner of down n’ dirty jobs — and an investigation into a cursed movie has led to the reappearance of Hope’s missing wife, Alice, whose coven plans to use the film…
Script: Karl Stock / Art: Nick Dyer / Letters: Simon Bowland
ACE TRUCKING CO. // Untrenched
The universe is a big place, and if you want cargo delivered from one planet to another you’re going to need a shipping company you can rely on. Fortunately, there’s ACE TRUCKING CO., the premier courier service for all your transportation needs. Captain of the Speedo Ghost is Ace Garp, and together with his engineer Feek and bodyguard GBH they’re the galaxy’s most tucker truckers!
Script: Gordon Rennie / Art: Robin Smith / Colours: John Charles / Letters: Jim Campbell
Mega-City One, 2144 AD. Home to over 180 million citizens, this urban hell is situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America. Unemployment is rife, and crime is rampant. Tensions rest on a knife-edge and only the zero-tolerance Judges can stop total anarchy. Toughest of them all is JUDGE DREDD — he is the Law! There’s one perp the lawman has been wanting to get his hands on: the troublemaker Alvin Gaunt…
Script: Mike Carroll / Art: Jake Lynch / Colours: Jim Boswell / Letters: Simon Bowland
PROTEUS VEX // Crawlspace, part one
The far future. The centuries-long war between the Alliance and the Obdurate people is over, a conflict brought to an end with the deaths of billions when the Alliance teleported a dying white dwarf star into the Obdurate system. Imperium agent PROTEUS VEX — who is operated by a flesh-pilot — became an enemy of the Alliance when he released info about past war crimes. But now war with the Scorchers has broken out…
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a super dose of Thrill-power to take you into the new year – and you can now pre-order the bumper Xmas issue of 2000 AD!
Featuring a new cover by Andy Clarke (Batman), 2000 AD Prog 2312 celebrates the festive period with the traditional 100-page end of year special, featuring a brand-new line-up of stories!
Judge Dredd faces off against an old enemy that’s bust out of containment in “The Last Temptation of Joe” by Ken Niemand & Lee Carter; Proteus Vex must negotiate a full-blown interstellar war in “Crawlspace” by Mike Carroll & Jake Lynch; Cyd learns more about her state of being in “The Out” Book Three by Dan Abnett & Mark Harrison; ABC Warrior Joe Pineapples reveals his past in “Tin Man” by Pat Mills, Simon Bisley & Clint Langley; Rogue Trooper encounters Nort genetic experiments in “Brothers” by Kek-W & Warwick Fraser-Coombe.
Plus, with the unexpected return of the anarchic alien, Bonjo From Beyond The Stars, by Garth Ennis and the late Kevin O’Neill and a special Judge Dredd tribute to the much-missed Alan Grant, this is a Christmas issue not to be missed!
Full contents:
Judge Dredd: The Last Temptation of Joe by Ken Niemand & Lee Carter
Proteus Vex: Crawlspace by Mike Carroll & Jake Lynch
Joe Pineapples: Tin Man by Pat Mills, Simon Bisley & Clint Langley
The Out, Book Three by Dan Abnett & Mark Harrison
Bonjo From Beyond the Stars by Garth Ennis & Kev O’Neill
Rogue Trooper: Brothers by Kek-W & Warwick Fraser-Coombe
Hope: In the Shadows Reel Two by Guy Adams & Jimmy Broxton
Judge Dredd: Troublemaker by Gordon Rennie & Robin Smith
