Who won the 2000 AD Future Shock competition at Thought Bubble 2020?

Two minutes, one goal – a Future Shock in 2000 AD!

The 2000 AD writer talent search at Thought Bubble is back and not even the pandemic can stop us finding the next scripting star for the legendary British comic!

Writers looking to follow in the footsteps of giants such as Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, and Mark Millar sent in two-minute videos of their Future Shock pitches – join creators including Ian Edginton (Hinterkind), Rory McConville (Judge Dredd), and Maura McHugh (Anderson, Psi Division) as they watch and judge who should then get the chance to turn that into a strip for 2000 AD!

2000 AD editor Tharg the Mighty sifted through more than 150 entries to put together a shortlist for our judges, featuring pitches from these contestants:

  • Andre Mateus
  • Gary Maloney
  • Ian Stacey
  • Jack Campion
  • Jon Sapsed
  • Josh Holton
  • Lucas Marlowe
  • Patrick Draper
  • Paul Starkey
  • Richard Dadd
  • Sam Boother
  • Steven Fraser

So who wins? Find out by watching the panel below…

YouTube player

Congratulations to winner Paul Starkey for his entry, The Torturer’s Apprentice!

Paul will now work with 2000 AD editor Matt Smith to turn his pitch into a polished script, which will appear in a future issue of 2000 AD!

A huge thank you to everyone who pitched this year and congratulations to all those who made the shortlist. We’ll be back for Thought Bubble 2021 with the greatest prize in comics!