When I was a kid my mum use to take me to the newsagent every Friday after school to get a kitkat and a comic book to munch and read in front of the TV before bed time.
Most of the time I would go for a copy of anything UK Marvel had done, this was the mid 1980's and there were loads to choose from be it Transformers or Action Force or even Spider-Man and Zoids it was mainly down to what was going on or who was on the cover to which I would choose but from time to time my eye would catch the cover of the 2000AD sat usually on a higher/different shelf to the other comics this was because it was aimed at an older age range then the UK Marvel. Sometimes I would even pick it up only for my mum to say "your not having that one it is to old for you" At this time I would only have been between 7 to 10 years of age so I would put have to put it back. For years I wondered what this Judge Dredd was doing in this fabled 2000AD comic I was never allowed to get.
Above is the 1st issue I ever read.
One day I was at a friends house I i noticed in the corner on the bottom shelf of a book shelf two masive stacks of comics and when i say massive there were hundreds of issues from Marvels Rampage and Fantastic Four and of cause 2000AD's.
My friend was not a big reader and it turn out that his dad had saved these from the tip that he work at so a deal was done and one swap of some transformers for all the comics and they were mine. After getting them home safe and stored in the only hiding place that is best for comics under the bed next to the sling shot and pee shooter over the next couple of weeks the 2000ADs were read as all the best comics are under the duvet by torch light and that was it me hooked and have been on and off for the last 20 or so years.
No to sure what the one thing is that I was hooked on about the comic I found most of the stories very good from Judge Dredd or Rogue Trooper to Strontium Dog.
2000AD was first published in 1977 (1st issue cover date is 26th Feb) put together by two comic freelancers Pat Mills of Battle picture weekly fame and John Wagner at the request of Kelvin Gosnell of IPC Magazines to produce a sci-fi comic to jump on the band wagon of all the up and coming sci-fi movies of the time. The two came up with the title 2000AD a very futuristic name for a comic at the time which no one expected the comic to run as long as the tittle inferred.
The first issue was a Dredd free zone as the concept had not been hone in time for the first issue so 2000AD started out as a vessel to relaunch Dan Dare of The Eagle fame who IPC at the time owned the rights to with Judge Dredd appearing in the 2nd issue.
Over the 35 years plus 2000AD has prided itself on its ability to keep up with pop culture have great characters and stories which are laced with black humor and Irony. 2000AD has hone the talents of some of the best writers and artist on there way to stardom over the pond in the USA.
Writers and artist such as Alan Moore,Neil Gaiman,Grant Morrison,Mark Miller,Frank Quietly and Garth Ennis to name but a few all started out in comics on 2000AD or its spin off's Starlord or tornado .
The thing is over the years I have gone from just a reader of comics to a seller/comic book geek as well and over my time of selling I must have had my hands on most of the printed issues/Progs there is and looking back at my sales there has been less the 10% gone to the US which I find this as a bit strange.
I am not sure that the US is aware of this comic over there and looking at the forums on www.comicbookrealm.com and www.comicbookpriceguide.com when the subject comes up it is all about Judge Dreed this and Judge Dredd that.With the release of the new movie and the launch of IDW comics
Judge Dredd the interest in him is on the high again.
But nothing about the comic where he started which I can't understand. from me I love these comics as much as the DC and Marvel and all the different Indie tittles that come over from the US.
Maybe it's the size of the comic I mean they are twice the size of your normal US comic so I could see that storage would be a problem you would have to have a system that would fit magazines as well as comics but
in my honest opinion I like the size of them the art work looks better in larger panels.
in my honest opinion I like the size of them the art work looks better in larger panels.
the comic porgs numbers are now up to 1820 and is in it 36 year still going strong and it is a shame that it is not better know over the pond and it will soon start to get harder to get back issue as the paper it was printed on is not the best and it is a shame that 35 years plus of this mega British comic will be lost to US comic collectors.
Or maybe I have it wrong maybe there is a hardcore group of 2000AD fans across the pond but I doubt it if I am wrong the pleas comment and let me know which issues you have or have like to read and which character you have enjoy.
I am also in the next couple of week putting about 1500 back issue in to my store on ebid so here your chance to see what you are missing
Some punctuation would help ease of reading, along with spaces between paragraphs, but I get what you're saying. I had just started freelancing for 2000 A.D. a few weeks before the first cover you've shown - happy days.
ReplyDeletesorry about the punctuation and spacing I am a card carrying dyslexic if that's how you spell it lol.
ReplyDeleteThat stuff has always been hard for me. Part of the reason I started to write a blog is to help with thing like that.
glad you got what i was trying to say though.
How long were you at 2000 A.D. for?
I freelanced for IPC for about 15 years, working on 2000 A.D. for about 12 or 13 years, and the Megazine for around two years after that. Of course, I also worked on all the other IPC/Fleetway titles, and was the sole letterer on the Dredd tie-in title, Lawman of the Future.
ReplyDelete