Script Robots: John Wagner, Dan Abnett, Alan Moore, Alan Grant, Jamie Delano, Alan Davis
Art Robots: Kev Walker, INJ Culbard, Ian Gibson, Carlos Ezquerra, Arthur Ranson, Brendan McCarthy, Jamie Hewlett, Alan Davis, Mark Farmer
Colouring Robots: Chris Blythe, Barbara Nosenzo,
Lettering Robots: Annie Parkhouse Simon Bowland, Tom Frame, Steve Potter
28th July 2022 (Released: 28th September 2022)
The Pitch: The ultimate 2000 AD mix-tape has finally arrived! Best of 2000 AD is a landmark series from the cult comic, bursting with our greatest stories for a new generation of readers. In each edition you'll find an explosive new Judge Dredd adventure, fresh essays by prominent popular culture writers, a graphic novel-length feature presentation by global legends and a vintage Dredd case. In this volume: Judge Dredd battles Mutie Block anarchy; Halo Jones escapes in Alan Moore's first masterpiece; humanity is on the Brink in the space murder mystery from Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard; Judge Anderson takes centre stage in the search for Shamballa.
The Best Of.
Always three words that elicit fear amongst us experienced comic readers. At least those of us that like to consider ourselves experienced. After all, we know it all and we're perfectly capable of picking our own 'bests', ta very much. But, dear reader, I have some news to break to you, ever so gently...
Best of’s aren't made for the experienced reader.
So who are they for? Well, if you've ever worked in a comic shop, you'll have had someone approach you with a variation on this sentence: “Excuse me, I've never read comics before. Where do I start with...” And then fill in the blank with a character or title of your choice. And what do we do? How do we solve your dilemma? How do we help? We laugh. Right in your face. “Never read a comic before? For God's sake!! What are you doing here?” Except we don't. What we do, more often than not, is struggle. We want this experience to be the best possible moment for you, because what we hope to do is change your life. So where's the struggle? Well, for a start, comic companies have a tough time keeping things in print at the best of time, especially those all important first volumes, secret origins and all-time classics. All publishers drop a title from the roster every now and then. And I guarantee, that is the exact moment you'll come wondering in, wide-eyed, looking to get your start in the wonderful world of comics. And we won't have that book for you. However, if you ask for something outside of Marvel or DC... If you branch out and head to our fair shores, you're in luck. Because one publisher who does keep things in print and does have its early works readily available is Rebellion, especially for its venerable anthology flagship, 2000 AD.
2000 AD STARTED AS AN ACT OF REBELLION
If you've never read 2000 AD you're in for a treat. Contained in the ram-packed 196 pages are a staggering array of stories. One of the great things about a comic that's released an issue nearly every week for over forty years is that every major talent in the UK and often beyond has put some of their best work into it. And because AD often gives writers and artists their start, you're getting them at the best time: when they've got something to prove. Here, you get a group of writers, artists, colourists and letterers who are firing on all thrusters, burning through the night skies of Thatcher's Britain, all the way to the Blairite years, lighting the way to a future we could barely imagine. First, you should know: it's a reactionary publication. It takes the environment its creators grew up in and adds the haunted machine of worlds to come to, building existence anew, but speaking to you, truly of the world you're in. Each strip is a treatise on the aspects of the world we may not be comfortable with. The consumerist, non-job nonchalance of Alan Moore and Ian Gibson's Halo Jones. The defeated otherness and rising dignity of Strontium Dog. The couldn't give a fuck thrill-seeking of D.R. & Quinch. And of course, the have your cake and eat it celebration and damnation of authoritarianism of Judge Dredd, there's a zeitgeist for everyone and every mood. And each story captures the anarchic spirit, the punk, spitting, dystopic fun of the title. One cannot forget that AD was started almost as an act of, no pun intended, rebellion. It's a revolution, especially in UK comics.
CAST YOUR EYES OVER ARTHUR RANSON’S REALIST, DETAILED ART AND YOU’LL FEEL MY ENVY
Pleasingly, in a stroke of fortunate but saddening serendipity, the voice you hear most is Alan Grant's. His wry, angry wit shines through so much, that you'll lament his recent passing even if this is your first time reading his words. Likewise, as your eyes cast over Shamballa for the first time, with the realist, detailed work of Arthur Ranson burning into your eyeballs you'll feel my envy because the first time is always the best. Of course, no British anthology collection is complete without Alan Moore, a writer who (and I cannot overstate the importance of this) was always writing about something. He always had something to say about the space we're in and even in the relatively early years stuff here, was obviously a staggering talent. There are newer writers too, with Dan Abnett tightly scripting Blink with an ear to a truly American sound in this distinctly British book. Art-wise, you'll not find a more wide-ranging set of styles out there today. Ian Gibson's pinched, tight lines on Halo Jones. Kev Walker's Mignola fights Moebius science fiction masterclass in Judge Dredd. The fungal, grubby glory of Carlos Equezzera on Strontium Dog. The book is a tour of the superlative art of those forty years. Throughout, there's a sense of quality control and for that, you can thank writer, artist and comics fan extraordinaire Owen Michael Johnson, who has compiled the book with a deft hand and much love. It's thanks to him that this volume exists and also that it is the first of six such volumes coming our way. 2000 AD in case you've not been introduced, is a book that started in the past, lived in the future and is all about now. If you want to get started on comics, this is where you want to be. Come see me in the shop and check this out. You won't regret it.
Contact your comic shop and order a copy of The Best of 2000 AD Volume One now. Don't have a store near you? Contact Gosh comics and get a copy vial-mail order. Need to find a shop near you? Check out our guide.
