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Printheads: 2000AD: FutureLove, Breaking Into Comics, and Loving The Dial-Faced Alien.

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  1.  (10004.1)
    I have a lot of love for 2000AD. Forgive me going gooey.

    [As if it needs to be said, we’re in the territory here of a skull-biffingly tasty weekly anthology comic, published in the UK since 1977, packed with juicy ultra-compressed nuggets of hi-octane thrills, sci-fi lasersex, horror creepghastism and assorted weirdness. And no superheroes.]

    There are very few British writers or artists, active in the industry today, who haven’t had involvement with the Prog in one form or another. I know there are already a few Squaxx among the Whitechapel massive, so forgive me preaching to the converted. And cover me. I’ve got me an urge to proselytize in the name of Good Bloody Comics, and here I plant the flag.

    I’m still getting to know you guys – hello, hello – but it would take a fuckwit par none to fail to notice a lot of you are aspiring comics creators, yes? This here is therefore Pertinent To You , and it’s something I rabbit about at length whenever I’m asked That Inevitable Question at shows (“how should I break-in to comics?”).

    2000AD remains the single best place for a writer or artist to learn their craft. The oft-repeated aphorism runs: if you can write or draw a self-contained story in 5 pages, complete with compelling characters and didn’t-see-it-coming-twist, everything else is toss-easy. It’s also (for my money) the best (if not only) place for unsolicited wannabe writers to actually get their first paying gig, on the grounds that the editor has an Actual Operating Also Proven Also Successful programme for submissions. Go look-up “Future Shock”.

    More importantly, 2000AD is a fucking brilliant read. It’s in a bit of a golden age at the moment, IMO, (which makes it all the sadder and more mystifying that so many people aren’t even aware it’s still running). Hopefully one of their guys – “Molcher,” probably – will be along shortly to slap down the hard sell. He’s a nice bloke despite being technically a mutant, so please be nice to him.

    Anyway: some of the webcomic stuff I’ll be flinging your way very soon, via our terrifying overlords at Avatar, comes with a 2000ADish flavour – in tone and density, if not the dolphinrape and exploding monsters – so I figured I’d stage a bit of a love-in to prep the headspace.

    So. Are you a reader? Tell me of your enduring affection. Are you a lapsed Squaxx? Speak to me of memories and delight. Have you never heard of Tharg’s Mighty Organ? Be thou convincéd, and check it out. I want a worldwide overview of How Well Known It Is, and will complain to my local MP if the answer is "not very".
  2.  (10004.2)
    2000AD is a special place for me - My son and daughter both have asked me what got me into comics and 2000AD was it. Zenith, judge Dredd, SD, and the like are all there. Also the fact that you can 'lapse' for a while and then pick one up and start reading again. The variety of the stories - I call it a circus, if you don't like the clowns, you may like the acrobats...It's good to hear that they will be available as a weekly in the states too so they can get what we get.
    Great to hear Avatar are going to bring something along those lines too!
    •  
      CommentAuthorMolcher
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2011 edited
     (10004.3)
    +++PR DROID BOOT UP+++RUNNING+++BOOT SUCCESSFUL+++RUN PR PROTOCOL+++ERRORERRORERRORERRORERRORERRORERRORERRORERROR+++

    WRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-Click

    Greetings, earthlets. CLICK. I am Molch-R, specially-commissioned PR droid for 2000 AD. BZZZZZ. Tharg the Mighty (mercy be upon your souls for gazing upon his mun, mun +++GOOGLE MOONIFISENSE+++ munificence) bids thee welcome to the world of thrill-power. Look upon your lesser works, ye mighty, and despair!

    *ahem*

    Sorry about that. Comes with the job. But thanks to Mr Spurrier for the zarjaz introduction. And he is, indeed, correct - 2000 AD is probably the best comic you'll ever read. EVER. No arguing. You'd expect me to say that, what with the monthly paycheck and all, but there is literally no comic with the range and a legacy of such galactic proportions as this oh-so-humble British anthology. The home of great British cutting edge comics for almost 35 years, the rundown of creators who have passed through its illustrious pages reads like a who's who of the industry - Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Andy Diggle, Jock, Mike McMahon, Peter Milligan, Simon Bisley, Frazer irving, Steve Dillon, and so many more. Think that's all in the past? Then consider that people such as Rob Williams, Al Ewing, D'Israeli, Dan Abnett, Carlos Ezquerra, Robbie Morrison, Henry Flint and SO many more are regular contributors to this day - never mind all the new talent seeping out from the slush pile as we speak!

    And lest we forget, there's also the pantheon of world-famous characters - future lawman Judge Dredd, mutant bounty hunter Johnny Alpha, genetic infantryman Rogue Trooper, barbarian warrior Sláine, rampaging robots The ABC Warriors, Russian rogue Nikolai Dante ... there is, quite literally, something for everyone.

    Not read it before? Well, you lucky terrans, you need to pick up a copy of Prog 1740 - CURRENTLY ON SALE! - which is the latest 'jumping on' point. All FIVE stories are brand new, giving you the chance to get on board with the Galaxy's Greatest Comic. One of these stories is the wonderful ZOMBO, by the escaped insane asylum prisoners Al Ewing and Henry Flint. To describe this as a modern classic unfolding before your eyes would be something of an understatement.

    As well as our spankingly new line of US graphic novels (Abnett and Elson's Kingdom: The Promised Land out NOW!), from October you'll also be able to pick up 2000 AD every week in the States.

    So, in conclusion: 2000 AD is great, it comes out every Wednesday and you should read it.

    Our website
    Buy us online
    Follow us on Facebook
    Follow us on Twitter

    +++PR PROTOCOL COMPLETE+++
    +++BEER O'CLOCK+++SHUTDOWNSHUTDOWNSHUTDOWN+++
  4.  (10004.4)
    Did I hear a whisper about a 2000AD app coming soon? Not the Clickwheel one?
    •  
      CommentAuthorsneak046
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2011
     (10004.5)

    More importantly, 2000AD is a fucking brilliant read. It’s in a bit of a golden age at the moment, IMO, (which makes it all the sadder and more mystifying that so many people aren’t even aware it’s still running).
    .

    This is umpteen amounts of true.

    I am a sucker for anthology comics anyway, but 2000 AD consistantly delivers more thrill-power per buck than most other titles..
  6.  (10004.6)
    There's another weird "comics industry truism" that anthologies Just Don't Work In The American Market, which has surely been disproved a dozen times over?
  7.  (10004.7)
    Oh, also, shit, sorry: I forgot to warn you all that 2000AD staff are contractually obliged to act like robots. Don't hold it against them. If nothing else, it's very funny in bed.
    •  
      CommentAuthorMolcher
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2011
     (10004.8)
    Don't hold it against them. If nothing else, it's very funny in bed.


    You said you'd never tell!

    *runs away sobbing*
    •  
      CommentAuthorMolcher
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2011 edited
     (10004.9)
    Did I hear a whisper about a 2000AD app coming soon? Not the Clickwheel one?


    Tharg the Mighty does not whisper, earthlet ;)
    •  
      CommentAuthorsneak046
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2011
     (10004.10)
    I should add that despite all evidence to the contrary (and occasional use of the phrase "bang for your buck") I am actually a Britisher.
    •  
      CommentAuthorbluetyson
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2011
     (10004.11)
    One day in a newsagent in a small country town in Australia another presumably UK looking import was noticed in amidst the Planet stories Batman and Superman reprints and the getting to be more than occasional colored import of the Avengers. Not the kids stuff like Whizzer and Chips, either.

    This one had soldiers on the run from really brutally nasty vampires. Fiends of the Eastern Front. Expensive and erratic because of location and origin, but could see it occasionally. And did get the end of that storyline. It also had more stories!

    Later on in beer drinking age this lead to epic amounts of Judge Dredd hilarity like the Burger Wars later on in the big city with more access. Whereupon Slaine's warp spasms proceeded to blow our minds.

    Plus the staff are all machine people, so they came every week, unlike the weak fleshly yankees who can occasionally manage it monthly.

    Tharg was always lurking.


    --

    I'd suggest that like Dark Horse, having a few of the issues in Comixology and Graphicly etc. really cheap and a couple of freebies would be a good idea, too, promo wise - given already have the free sampler.

    If 2000 AD didn't exist, American comics would certainly be a lot crappier today, too.

    Also a note for people that prefer prose, there are a whole bunch of 2000 AD novels you can check out, too. Including digitally.
  12.  (10004.12)
    There's also some pretty nice 2000 A.D. audio plays from Big Finish.

    (Which is something you'll hear me babble about on occasion. I think audio plays are the great lost art form and Big Finish has done some spectacular work in the field over the last decade or so....)
    •  
      CommentAuthorsneak046
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2011
     (10004.13)
    @KPatrickGlover - are those online anywhere? I like a good audio play to while away the long boring drive back home from work.
    •  
      CommentAuthormoali
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2011
     (10004.14)
    LONG LIVE THARG.
  15.  (10004.15)
    Sneak -

    I believe they can be purchased at Big Finish's website, which would be...

    http://www.bigfinish.com/

    The 2000AD stuff is about halfway down the page.
  16.  (10004.16)
    Arthur Wyatt here, long time 2000ad reader, occasional 2000ad writer.

    Dredd and all are fine, but my favorite 200ad stories have always been the smaller, weirder stuff. The out of nowhere self contained story in six or so parts by Peter Milligan or similar offbeat writer that does what it needs to do and then you never see it again (In more recent times a certain Mr. Spurrier has written some excellent examples of theses). And the Future Shocks of course. Difficult to pull off, often maligned as filler, when done right they are 5 page idea bombs.

    There's a little experiment with form going on at the moment with the "3rilla" - horrible name, but a neat idea - basically a three part story, 5 pages per part, with the same kind of ethos as the Future Shock. I’ve done one and hopefully, if I've pulled it off, it's going to be something a little special, maybe even a little controversial (I’ll know it’s failed if I get a universal meh). It's a story that probably wouldn't have worked outside of that odd little format, and a couple of other writers are doing their own 3rillas and hopefully using it as an oportunity to stretch things in a similar way, which I think is just great - Sorry if that's a little pluggy, but it's something that 2000ad will do and that is a natural fit for them that you just don't see anywhere else.

    You know how you need to watch? Al Ewing is who you need to watch - currently in 2000ad writing Zombo, a top notch modern thrill that's funny and disturbing in all the best 2000ad ways. Trust me on this, he's the next Alan Moore.

    (He;s also my competition of course. Dammit.)
    •  
      CommentAuthornorton
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2011
     (10004.17)
    Yes (Prog and Megazine purchaser) and by the way you must believe what the Chiroptera-God tells you!!!
    • CommentAuthorEmperor
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2011
     (10004.18)
    Hopefully one of their guys – “Molcher,” probably – will be along shortly to slap down the hard sell. He’s a nice bloke despite being technically a mutant, so please be nice to him.


    I am happy to verify that, yes, he is a mutant.
    • CommentAuthorEmperor
    • CommentTimeJul 4th 2011
     (10004.19)
    I'd suggest that like Dark Horse, having a few of the issues in Comixology and Graphicly etc. really cheap and a couple of freebies would be a good idea, too, promo wise - given already have the free sampler.


    If you want freebies then:



    The first two links are to ClickWheel which sells digital progs, the last one is to Drivethru which also offer digital trades. The 2000AD shop also offers the downloads of the digital prog and is starting to offer digital trades too - DRM-free CBRs or PDFs.

    You know how you need to watch? Al Ewing is who you need to watch - currently in 2000ad writing Zombo


    And taking over from Garth Ennis on Jennifer Blood. Can't be long before the Big Two come sniffing, now that he has got his Psychotic Morris Man story out of the way.
  20.  (10004.20)
    2000AD was the very first place I ever pitched to. And I'm American, so that's a little bit odd. I'd still like to do a FutureShock at some point.

    They rejected my pitch, of course, because while it was ( I still think) a pretty decent story it would have made a terrible FutureShock. But they did send me what is still the most polite and helpful rejection letter I've ever gotten. And it was prompt and on paper. You come to appreciate these things after you hearing the chirping crickets enough.

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