In 1980, when I was a kid in LA, I discovered 2000AD. A friend of mine had British parents and he would disappear for 6 months at a time. He had 2000ADs with him, about the first 20 issues or so.
SHAKO scared me. I wasn't really taken with Strontium Dog. But Judge Dredd? I couldn't get enough. Out here, not many people are into the Judge though.
I'm back, and the Karl Urban Dredd is a big part of it. I've had a copy of an American printing of THE JUDGE CHILD QUEST since my late teens. I've talked about 2000AD to anyone who would listen. I'm a huge fan here. I wear the only I AM THE LAW shirt that I have ever seen.
I draw the line at Anthrax though. That stuff is just as anathema as the Stallone flick.
I'm excited to get into the forums and learn about other 2000AD stories to follow.
Welcome abourd Lenny_Zero and enjoy discovering how Mega-City One has fared since you've been gone. You are in for a thrilling ride!
There are less polar bears in the prog nowadays, but I'm sure there'll be something else which will make up for it. Welcome
How do Lenny_Zero, and welcome to the forum, :wave:
And its always nice to see far-flung Squaxx's doing their bit to spread the word - and keeping the faith when material was no doubt hard to come by.
Welcome to the forum Lenny...you've got a lotta good readin' ahead of you!
Thanks for the welcome people!
I'm up to date on all the Judge Dredd storylines from 2000ad. I'm still working through the Megazines. I'm also up to date on the other Mega-City 1 stories, like LOW LIFE, JUDGE ANDERSON and obviously, my account name. But I'm wondering if there are any stories outside of the Judge Dredd universe that you guys liked that could point me in? That would be much appreciated.
The progs are definitely hard to find here. I have a connection though, and it has been paying off mightily.
There is loads of great stuff outside of Dredd from 2000AD.
Strontium Dog
Probably second only to Dredd in terms of popularity, it is the story of a mutant bounty hunter. Just as Dredd was originally based on Clint Eastwoods Dirty Harry, this could be said to be based on the Clint Eastwood Man With No Name bounty hunter from the Serge Leone westerns. It is a fine mixture of violence and black humour.
Due to its nature (wandering around the galaxy) there isn't the same kind of world building you see in Dredd. Almost every case is set on a different planet with different aliens or human colonists and there are only a relatively small number of recurring characters.
The strip is available in Case Files format and all 4 are very good indeed.
Robo Hunter
Not everyone's cup of tea but a favourite of mine. Sam Slade Robo Hunter is a kind of detective story but his cases always involve going after robots. The first case files volume is probably all you need though as the character was quickly wound down and wasted in later stories.
Nemesis The Warlock
This starts off as a kind of humans vs aliens things where the humans are the bad and the aliens are good but it has some pretty strange stuff in it. The main appeal of this strip is the series villain Torquemada who is generally regarded as the greatest villain to ever come out of 2000AD. He has many superb lines and is murderous, depraved, evil and bigoted in the extreme.
All the books available are of equal quality I would say. Worth starting from the beginning.
There is tons more so this post could go on for ages but will leave it for others to write about Halo Jones, Slaine, Zenith, Button Man, Leviathan, Rogue Trooper, Nikolai Dante, Sinister Dexter, DR & Quinch, ...
Nemesis dropped when I was a kid. I just couldn't get into this guy who looked like a warthog. I need to give it a second rip.
Strontium Dog was in the 2000Ads that I had. I distinctly remember Mr. Alpha breaking ribs in a spaceship as g-forces came on, and his response was "ribs are replaceable". I didn't know the term, "badass" at the time, but that was the chord that resonated. I need to give it another run. The death of Johnny Alpha fascinates me. Its going to be a lot of work to catch up.
I'll check Robo Hunter. I like that idea a lot. I've seen it and scanned over it, but I should clock some time with it.
I have been trying to get into this Nocolai series, but honestly, it hasn't grabbed me. I'm gearing up for a run at Zombo though. I was talking to the owner of the local comic shop and he mentioned it as worth my while.