2000 AD was something I was always going to cover for RetroSmack, mostly because I was interested to see what non-DC & Marvel comics were like in the late seventies. I was also pretty keen to check out some early Judge Dredd material, as my experience with the character didn’t extend past the two movies. There was however one important factor that I was unaware of when I added 2000 AD to the RetroSmack list. Its weekly publishing schedule. Unlike the typical 11 or 12 issues that I need to read for the majority of comics, to keep up with 2000 AD I was going to have to slog through 54 issues a year! It helped a little that the first issue came out on the 26th of February, meaning the total for 1977 would actually be 45, but it was still a big commitment. Could I really put in that much effort for a single post? Hell yes!
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2000 AD Issues 1 to 45: At about half an hour an issue, I reckon I put in close to 24 hours reading these.
Another thing that makes 2000 AD stand out from every other comic I’m covering for 1977 is that it’s British. Originally published by IPC Magazines, it’s still being produced today, albeit on the Rebellion label. The idea originated in 1975 when the sub-editor at IPC, Kelvin Goswell, suggested a science fiction themed comic might find success alongside the numerous science fiction films that were being released at the time (such as a little-known one called Star Wars). He gave freelance writer Pat Mills the job of developing it, since he’d had experience creating weekly comics like Action and Battle Picture Weekly. Mills invited fellow freelancer John Wagner to come onboard, and the two of them started coming up with ideas for their planned anthology. There were six separate comics that Mills planned to include in the first issue (known as Programme 1), but one of them was deemed unready and fell over into issue 2 (more on that soon enough). The fictional character Tharg the Mighty, an alien from Betelgeuse, was also created as the apparent editor of 2000 AD, but in reality it was Mills for the first 16 issues and then Goswell for at least the remainder of 1977. I’d like to cover each individual segment separately, so I better get on with it.
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Tharg the Mighty: Subjecting the human race to entertaining comics for decades.
Image Credit: Official wallpaper with art by Kevin Walker
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Pat Mills: The real face behind all the torturous enjoyment.
Image Credit: Pat Mills’ website
Invasion! (Issues 1-45) (First issue by Pat Mills and Jesus Blasco)
Synopsis: The vicious (not to mention fictitious) Volgan Republic has completely taken over the United Kingdom, seizing oil rigs and Heathrow airport and wiping the Midlands out with nuclear weapons. Government members, including Prime Minister Shirley Brown, are executed, leaving little hope for recovery. That is, until lorry driver Bill Savage decides to take things into his own hands, seeking revenge for the death of his wife and children at the hands of the Volgans. He picks up a shotgun, and sets out to make things as difficult as possible for the enemy, eventually recruiting Lt. Peter Silk and leading the British resistance.
Thoughts: This comic grabbed me straight away. The black and white artwork (Jesus Blasco handled the first few issues) was outstanding from the get go, and the action was both exciting and very brutal. My initial fear was that things would become a bit repetitive over time, and while that certainly turned out to be true, the eventual team of writer Gerry Finley-Day and artists Mike Dorey and Carlos Pino managed to inject enough action, excitement and humour into each week’s events that I could even forgive the complete ineptitude of the enemy they continuously thwart. If a military themed and very British Punisher series sounds like your go, you could do a lot worse.
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Any concerns I had about 2000 AD’s lack of colour were wiped away by Invasion’s beautiful and exciting artwork.
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Pat Mills was already known for his anti-authoritarian characters, so Bill Savage was typical for him.
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Things get a bit ridiculous at times, but I guess there are only so many realistic ways you can kill a Volgan.
Flesh (Issues 1-19) (First issue by Pat Mills and Joan Boix)
Synopsis: After creating the technology required to travel through time, humanity decides the best way to feed the people of the 23rd century is the go and get it from the age of the dinosaurs. Cowboy-like rangers are sent back to herd up huge, herbivorous dinosaurs, hack them up using robots called Fleshdozers, and then send the resulting packages back to the hungry hordes. Unsurprisingly, the dinosaurs aren’t particularly impressed with this process, and when one particular T-Rex seeks revenge for the loss of her offspring (not to mention her eye), the rangers find themselves under attack by hordes of angry carnivores.
Thoughts: And I thought Invasion was brutal! Flesh is filled with humans being torn apart by dinosaurs, and it’s rarely clear which side the reader is supposed to be barracking for. I found the first few issues pretty interesting, as the technology used to both travel through time and to survive in the harsh environment was gradually revealed. Once the creativity ran out though, and issue after issue focussed on Old One-Eye’s vengeance on ranger leader Reagan, things declined to the point where I wasn’t at all disappointed to find the comic terminated at issue 19. I guess it was fun while it lasted.
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Driving herds of triceratops whilst tyrannosauruses hang around. What could go wrong?
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Sending holiday goers back to prehistoric times for a tour. What could go wrong?
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Yep, this is what could go wrong!
Dan Dare (Issues 1-23 and 28 to 45) (First Issue by Pat Mills / Ken Armstrong and Massimo Bellardinelli)
Synopsis: Based on the 1950’s character created by Frank Hampson, Mill’s re-introduced Dan Dare after he has been revived from suspended animation a couple of centuries later. Intergalactic adventures in the style of Buck Rogers ensue!
Thoughts: This was much more to my tastes, with stacks of space technology and alien environments to get my teeth into. The science involved is ridiculous to say the least, but the action and drama more than make up for it. It’s interesting to note that there was a brief break in the strip after issue 23, at which point the long-term team of writer Steve Moore and artist Massimo Bellardinelli were replaced by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons. There’s a significant difference between the two incarnations, with both the writing and artwork taking on more realism in the latter part of the year. I love the work of both artists though, with Bellardinelli creating wonderful alien worlds and ships and Gibbons toning things down to match the more Star Trek influenced storyline whilst losing none of the excitement. Dan Dare is definitely one of the better strips found in early 2000 AD.
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I looked forward to the Dan Dare colour spreads every issue.
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Apparently Dan Dare fans weren’t pleased with Moore and Bellardinelli’s efforts, but I fail to see why.
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The plot and artwork became much more traditional the moment Finley-Day and Gibbons took over. I personally enjoyed both combinations.
M.A.C.H.1 (Issues 1-45) (First issue by Pat Mills and Enio Legisamon)
Synopsis: British Secret Service agent John Probe volunteers to undergo an operation to increase his strength, speed and agility using a technology called compu-puncture. Massively enhanced, and with an implanted computer system guiding his decisions, Probe becomes a weapon, called upon for missions that others simply wouldn’t be able to complete. Over time Probe discovers he was not the first M.A.C.H. (Man Activated by Compu-Puncture Hyperpower) created, and begins to question the motives of the men that created him.
Thoughts: Much of 2000 AD owes a lot to obvious influences, but none of the comics lifted as gratuitously as M.A.C.H.1 does from The Six Million Dollar Man. It’s a complete rip-off, even going so far as to borrow from individual storylines. It’s for this reason that I found it difficult to really appreciate what the various writers and artists were producing week in week out. The mix and match of creators that worked on the comic also resulted in some pretty contrasting tones, with serious government conspiracy storylines mixing in with flights of outright science fiction fantasy. I was actually annoyed at myself for enjoying the late addition of a female M.A.C.H. (can anyone say Bionic Woman?), but the creators got rid of her quick enough to suggest they were aware of their pilfering.
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We’ve done it! We’ve turned Steve Aust….(ahem)…I mean John Probe into a Six Million Doll…(ahem)… M.A.C.H. man!
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The large number of contributors resulted in a mix of art styles and inconsistencies in Probe’s character.
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Eventually M.A.C.H.1 turned to UFOs and zombies
Harlem Heroes (Issues 1-27) & Inferno (Issues 36-45) (First issue by Pat Mills & Tom Tully then Dave Gibbons & Carlos Trigo)
Synopsis: The Harlem Heroes are trying to win the 2050 World Aeroball Championship. Aeroball is a mix of football, boxing, kung fu and basketball, with the players flying around with jet-packs. Players suffer severe injuries (and even death) regularly, but the game has reached a monumental level of popularity in recent times. The Heroes plans are sent into disarray when their team bus crashes, killing all but four of their players. Doctors were unable to save the body of one of the survivors, Louis Mayer, leaving him a disembodied brain, but it’s he that convinces the other three, Giant, Slim and Hairy, to rebuild the team. As time goes on it becomes apparent that the bus crash wasn’t an accident, and the Heroes have more than just their vicious opponents to worry about each week.
Thoughts: Anyone that has seen Rollerball will immediately be reminded of it, but Harlem Heroes owes just as much to the Harlem Globetrotters (the Heroes are an all black team). As impressed as I was with Gibbons’ representation of fast moving, brutal sports action displayed in the first few issues, I had huge doubts that the series could remain interesting. How wrong I was! Out of all the launch comics, Harlem Heroes was the one I continually found myself disappointed to finish each issue. Aspects of Aeroball were introduced gradually, and each of the opponents the Heroes needed to beat had their own awesome characteristics and skill sets. Add the off court dramas that seemed to follow the team around and I could even forgive the ludicrousness of a disembodied brain acting as the team’s genius adviser. The hiatus after 27 issues was circumstantial rather than reactionary with the completion of the World Championships, and I was thrilled to see the Heroes become the Hellcats in issue 36, even if the guys were taking on a whole new game in Inferno.
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I was certain that the Aeroball scenes would get old real quick, but Tom Tully and Dave Gibbons proved me wrong.
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The World Championship gives the players (and the reader) the chance to go to exotic places, where teams have their own special idiosyncrasies and new dramas unfold.
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Inferno: Like Aeroball, but with frickin motorcycles and “cavemen” guarding the goals.
Judge Dredd (Issues 2-45) (First issue by Peter Harris and Mike McMahon & Carlos Ezquerra)
Synopsis: By 2099 AD, a special group of lawmen known as Judges have been formed. Elected by the people, the Judges have the power to bring lawbreakers to justice with extreme force. Judge Dredd is the best of the Judges, feared by criminals across Mega-City 1. The people feel safer knowing that Dredd is out there, ridding the streets of scum.
Thoughts: I mentioned earlier that one comic wasn’t ready in time for the first issue of 2000 AD. That comic was Judge Dredd, with the delay being due to the artwork of Ezquerra being far too futuristic for Mill’s liking. The first issue was supposed to be based on a script by John Wagner, who came up with the character to begin with, but by the time Mills found a suitable artist to replace Ezquerra (Mike McMahon), he’d decided that a script by newcomer Peter Harris was better suited as a launch story. The decision to snub both Ezquerra and Wagner from the debut publication of Judge Dredd caused both men to temporarily quit. It’s just as well that they returned a short time later, as the duo are incredibly still working on the title (as well as Strontium Dog which we’ll get to next year) for 2000 AD today, some 37 years later!!!
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Carlos Ezquerra and John Wagner: Made a career out of Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog
Image Credit: At the SFX Weekender 35th birthday celebration in 2012 (photo by Mitch Greer)
I had high expectations for Judge Dredd and they were well and truly met. The judges, riding around on their Lawmasters (basically weaponised Harley Davidsons), are ridiculously cool, and the stern-faced Dredd sits right at the top of the comic character pile. The Robot Wars storyline (written by Wagner) was probably the highlight of the year, and the intwoduction of Walter the wobot twuly inspired. The way the writers fleshed out Mega-City 1 over the course of the 45 issues was also fantastic, and by the end of the year a very specific style and feel had been developed that appears to have continued to this day. No matter what I decide to do with 2000 AD for 1978, I will definitely be reading Judge Dredd.
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From the moment Dredd hit the page, he was bad ass!
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Dredd has absolutely no fear, and no crime goes unpunished.
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The Robot War issues were outstanding in all departments.
Shako (Issues 20-35) (First issue by Pat Mills & John Wagner and Juan Arancio)
Synopsis: When a jet fighter plane goes down in a snow storm, a canister containing a deadly virus is dropped on the Alaskan ice. A huge polar bear, thinking it might contain food like previous tins it had discovered, tried to bite into it and swallowed the canister by accident. This sets off a horrifying string of events, with both the Americans and the Soviets desperately trying to stop the other from retrieving the virus. The polar bear, named Shako, is confronted by numerous opponents, all intent on taking him down. Unfortunately for them, Shako is no ordinary bear!
Thoughts: Shako is unquestionably the worst addition to 2000 AD in the first year. It’s premise is stupid in itself (if the Americans hadn’t made such a big deal about retrieving the virus, the Soviets would never have known it was there), but the inability of both military soldiers and CIA agents to take down a single bear is even harder to swallow (sorry). The creators clearly knew it wasn’t working and changed the tone of the comic around issue 25 from a Jaws rip-off to a humorous slasher film (a year before Halloween kicked off the craze I should add). I was delighted when Shako was ended after 16 issues and replaced by the much more entertaining Inferno.
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Seriously guys, just shoot the bear in the head and be done with it!
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I thought things were looking up when a young Eskimo befriended Shako, but that didn’t amount to anything either.
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Once things got silly I lost all interest.
Tharg’s Future Shocks (Issues 25-38, 40-42, 45) (First issue by Steve Moore and Blasquez)
Synopsis: Weekly one to two part stand alone stories, introduced by Tharg and always containing a Twilight Zone-like twist at the end.
Thoughts: This comic was introduced as a way of trialling new writers and artists. It’s therefore unsurprising that it is completely hit and miss from a quality point of view. The twist endings were almost always in the Planet of the Apes mould, and while only a few of them managed to surprise me, they were all short enough not to complain about. Apparently Tharg’s Future Shocks is still part of the 2000 AD format today, so I guess it achieved its goals well enough.
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The first few Future Shocks were pretty interesting, with nice payoffs.
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Unfortunately there quite a few duds between the diamonds.
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The story of Peron the Powerful was extra cool.
So there you have it. The first year of 2000 AD. I thoroughly enjoyed working my way through it and encourage anyone remotely interested to give it a shot. Just don’t expect to be able to read them all, as issue 1,911 was released a couple of weeks back. On a final note, I really should point out that comics were not the only thing these early mags contained. Despite being a weekly release, the creators of 2000 AD managed to include some cool gifts (such as code readers and models), some collectible card games, postergraphs and numerous blueprints that helped expand the worlds of each story. The letters sections were filled with fan art as well, making the 30 cents it would have cost me in Australia at the time an obscene bargain. I can only imagine what effect these comics would have had on me had I picked one up around age 12. I reckon it would have rocked my pre-adolescent mind! Mum probably wouldn’t have been too happy about it though.
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Tell me the little kid in you doesn’t still love this stuff!
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The 2000 AD (1977) RetroCard has now been added to the RetroCard Shop. It’s a rare card, so therefore costs 60 smacks and has a limited release of 20.
Featured Image Credit: 2000 AD Wallpaper via GG Wallpaper
The post 1977 – Smack 11 of 77 – 2000 AD #1 to #45 appeared first on RetroSmack.