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Are we classifying the original run at the full deal, or as split between the Volgan War/forming the team stage and the original Mars mission (Book 1 and Book 2, although that feels like a more recent way of splitting things to me)?

Love both (with Black Hole a close third), but think the forming the team part (with the Straw Dogs! The Knights Martial! Mongrol!) is probably best.

Also have a huge soft spot for the 'getting the band back together' run of issues in Nemesis Book 4.

[ABC Warriors]

Well this is a one-sided one. ABC Warriors without a doubt.

(although Ro-busters is brilliant from the Terra-Meks/War Diaries onwards).

[Firekind]

Firekind is an all-time classic. Mean Team has nice art.

[Option 3]

Option 3 (Chief Judge), with heavy leaning into Option 4 of ensemble piece (with lots of episodes not including him), followed by Option 2.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but wasn't there the suggestion that Robo-Hunter was in the same universe as Dredd (ish)? Couldn't we go with the whole unshielded faster-than-light de-ageing a-la Verdus, which could be done behind his back? I'd imagine there's mileage in Dredd being robbed of his one chance at posthumous peace.

[Phase 3]

Yes, Phase 3. The brilliant range of characters (imagine how many of them would have been given their own series if it was The Big Two), the tying together of long-dangling plot threads, and Yowell's art at the best it has ever been.

Controversially, I'm also a sucker for Phase IV due to the pitch-perfect early '90s reference points, the apocalyptic storyline and the clever resolution.

C64... for the tunes, Last Ninja, Ocean's arcade conversions/movie tie-ins, and Paradroid.

I even had the Dredd game for it!

[Revere]

Revere, every time. Just one of my favourite 2000ad stories of all time. So glad it's getting collected in the UC.

[Luke Kirby]

Luke Kirby

Why there isn't a stableful of BBC 2000ad adaptations I'll never know. Luke Kirby would be amazing in that format (as would Cradlegrave).

[Nemesis]

What a tie!

Even though Smith is comfortably my favourite script-droid, I'm going to have to go with Nemesis.

Books 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 and everything great about Mills with very, very little of the grate, and have some of the most astounding comic art ever.

Harrisons's art is like nothing else

Even now, in 2022, the artwork still resonates strongly, in particular Book III.
For my two Creds it's some of the most jaw dropping painted artwork to ever grace the Prog, save perhaps Biz and Fabry for some sequences of Slaine.

It's not even just the big splash pages (although they're great). The storytelling in that very first episode is brilliant. It's such a taut action sequence and absolutely hooked me on the story.

Revere + The Dead = pre-ordered on Forbidden Planet. Thank you, Matt Smith!

Indeed!

According to Barney that combo is 158 pages. Is 18 pages too much for covers and reminiscence? Might there be a hidden Future Shock in there, like No Exit (Prog 559) or Bad Timing (Prog 375)?

[Zenith]

Zenith

This has me thinking about just how many awesome giant robots there have been in 2000ad. Even those in sub-par stories have had great art: Charlie, the Terra-Meks (and the many Mek-Quakes since), Mad George, Torque-Armada, Gideon, Maniac 5 (and 6), the cast of Metalzoic and now Mechastopheles.

Have I missed any? Does the Shaky Kane drawn Robot Mytek from the '90s Action Special count? I feel like there must be Dredd 'bots here I'm forgetting.

[Shadows]

Brigand Doom: great style, but no substance. It didn't know what it wanted to be, so although it looks great, it reads like a dud. Shadows is no 2000 AD classic, but it has that substance. Also, given where we are today, it seems quite prescient. So: Shadows.

This, so Shadows for me.

Doom was a good idea searching for an execution. Unfortunately, that idea was V for Vendetta already.

[Leatherjack]

Leatherjack (although it is a little obvious in it's inspiration from Dune)