2000ad

[rhod]

Nah after googling it wasn't Action (the comic for boys)

I think it was Commando or something. He was mad for war, used to build trenches in the snow, ambush sites in the woods...least he grew out of it...

There was a comic called Battle (which later incorporated Action, I think). Wasn't too bad, as I recall.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I have to brag here, I remember getting a Judge Dread T shirt via the comic in 1982. It's already been going a while then . I remember going to the Royal Archer pub in Sandyford Newcastle and playing pool with Chris Donald who'd placed a big portfolio folder of Viz stuff against the slot machine. I pissed on him at pool.

Feh, I've been out boozing with John Wagner and Tom Frame and was officaly made krill tro thargo by the diggle tharg despite not haveing every copy from prog one.

 

[IPRN]

My brother was the chipite and I was a wizz kid but it was really his comic. I had Whoopie but moved to 2000ad later.

I used to have to sell my starwars figures to my little brother to buy it every week.

I've still got a copy of a letter I had printed in Whizzer N Chips!

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I've still got a copy of a letter I had printed in Whizzer N Chips!

What does it say?

 

[IPRN]

I'll look in the morning. I'm too drunk now. Hic!

 

[DaveCinzano]

There was a comic called Battle (which later incorporated Action, I think). Wasn't too bad, as I recall.

'battle' begat 'action' which begat '2000ad'... a generation of independently-minded, rebellious young writers & artists, bored of the dc thomson treadmill, all whited-out signatures, office dresscodes and dundonian buttoned-upness... a clique of the more imaginative ipc editors gave the young turks long leashes, and off they went, causing mayhem, stirring up trouble and generally revolutionising bristish comics, such is the way of the world.

'battle' incorporated 'valiant', an older-style boys' paper which also proved a testing ground for the newer talent, as well as 'action', which had kicked off the big mary whitehouse-inspired hoo-hah over violence in comics before being blacklisted by wh smith's, then pulled by ipc management, bowdlerised and relaunched.

'battle' was essentially a grittier ipc retort to the all-war 'warlord' comic launched previously by dc thomson; 'action' inspired the likes of dc thomson titles 'bullet' and 'the crunch', and more latterly 'buddy' and 'champ', as well as ipc's own 'tornado' (which soon merged into '2000ad').

dc thomson never really tried a direct science fiction/fantasy spoiler up against '2000ad', though it did have the 'starblazer' comic library series, which ran in the same format as the 'commando' library. ipc itself launched 'starlord', covering much of the same ground as '2000ad', into which it was later incorporated. the new 'eagle' of the 80s had a strong sf/fantasy element to it, but was broader in its range. it later absorbed 'battle' and the long-running sports paper 'tiger', along with other, shorter-lived ipc efforts.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Oh yes it was Warlord wot my brother read not action or whatever.

I loved the glossy starlord, I used to read it with a monical but I would read 2000ad in my wellies.

 

[andy2002]

Second only to Dez Skinn's Warrior, Action is my favourite comic ever - Hookjaw (Jaws only nastier), Hellman Of The Hammer Force (the Nazi it was OK to like), Dredger (Dirty Harry in Britain) and Kids Rule OK (A Clockwork Orange without the clever bits). Ah, those were the days!!

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

?REVIVAL!

I take this opportunity to post a picture of me and a Hammerstein I made as a little lad again.

 

[Structaural]

Quality!

 

[brixtonvilla]

Zenith was the absolute dog's, though. Steve Yeowell & Grant Morrison rule. Am currently hunting down Zenith graphic novels on eBay... Oh, and Halo Jones, which I re-read the other day & finally got most of the references I missed when I was about 13.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Zenith was the absolute dog's, though. Steve Yeowell & Grant Morrison rule. Am currently hunting down Zenith graphic novels on eBay... Oh, and Halo Jones, which I re-read the other day & finally got most of the references I missed when I was about 13.

Zenith was indeed the tippity tops. I really wanted the t-shirt.
Sadly I don't think Morrison has since written anything better, he seems to go a bit off track. Animal man was a good idea but somehow misses the mark and the invisibles look promising but are shit. We3 was good though.

It's a shame you won't be able to get the last phase of zenith as it was never put in a graphic novel form. A few years ago Andy diggle (then editor of 2000ad) told me they were going to re-publish the whole lot but the whole thing fell though. Shame. I got mine for 75p each from a overstock bookshop in Ealing about 12 years ago.

Halo Jones was also good. In fact I used to be in a band called Clarapandy, everyone thought we were welsh.

 

[brixtonvilla]

It's a shame you won't be able to get the last phase of zenith as it was never put in a graphic novel form. A few years ago Andy diggle (then editor of 2000ad) told me they were going to re-publish the whole lot but the whole thing fell though. Shame. I got mine for 75p each from a overstock bookshop in Ealing about 12 years ago.

Zenith goes up to about phase 5 in novel form, doesn't it? How much more is there?

 

[ruffneck23]

Megacity4-style come true.

funny you should say that I was thinkng about the smokng ban and how we will probably start having ' Smokatoriums ' soon , doh ! they are a kind of private club so it wouldnt be allowed ( unless in the houses of parliment )

 

[spoone]

earthlings: vent your spleens!

class comic

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Zenith goes up to about phase 5 in novel form, doesn't it? How much more is there?

There is one more brilliant phase which rules over all the others then a return to zenith one off that was a bit weak and didn't really add to the story.

The last phase was the only colour one, did you ever read it?

 

[brixtonvilla]

Think I'd stopped reading by then. I don't like the idea of Zenith in colour, to be honest - Steve Yeowell's beautiful, crisp black & white artwork was one of the things that made the strip for me.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Think I'd stopped reading by then. I don't like the idea of Zenith in colour, to be honest - Steve Yeowell's beautiful, crisp black & white artwork was one of the things that made the strip for me.

I aggree, Zenith was much better in black and white. The story is great though.

Every now and then I dig the comics out of the attic and have a read though.

 

[kyser_soze]

AHH, Splundig vur thrigg...

*reaches into faulty memory*

I remember...Charley's War in Battle, and one other strip set on the Russian front with a sqaudron of misfit/badboy russians flying Typhoons (the old type obviously!)

Eagle...with England being sunk by the Mekon's Graviton ray...

Getting my first prog after a nurse had butchered my arm trying to give me a blood test when I was about 6 or 7 - I think it was the prog where Sam Slade was in the sewers playing cards with that bizarre sewer droid...started reading it from that point on...

 

[LDR]

I was a huge fan and even had a subscription until last year.

I had Prog 1 - 400 when I was in NZ bit I left them with a mate when I came over here and have lost touch.

However, I managed to get a huge collection from another urbanite who needed some more space.

Result.

 

[ICB]

ATOMIC - you da man

Just bought a Titan books version of ABC Warriors for my little uns

Used to love Nemesis most of all

My bro had 100-650 or summat and brought me back some original Brian Talbot artwork of the Samurai ABC Hitaki from a nerds convention

Have recently bought the Ballad of Halo Jones (along with V and Watchmen) for myself

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

ATOMIC - you da man

Just bought a Titan books version of ABC Warriors for my little uns

Used to love Nemesis most of all

My bro had 100-650 or summat and brought me back some original Brian Talbot artwork of the Samurai ABC Hitaki from a nerds convention

Have recently bought the Ballad of Halo Jones (along with V and Watchmen) for myself

I liked Nemesis but after o neil stopped doing it it seemed to go downhill, did pat mills still write it?

I loved Halo at the time and wachmen is good but I have never liked V. My favorate Moore story has got to be top 10. I wish there was more of it but the new ones are not written by moore and are bollocks.

 

[brixtonvilla]

Never got quite as excited by V for Vendetta as many seem to... I suppose it's kind of ground-breaking in the different character's story arcs, and the diffuse cultural references, but I find the artwork almost wilfully murky & the story too slow. Glad to hear you rated Top 10, as I've got Books 1 & 2 coming in the post soon. *drums fingers, checks watch*

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Glad to hear you rated Top 10, as I've got Books 1 & 2 coming in the post soon. *drums fingers, checks watch*

Spin offs Smax and the 49ers were pretty good too just watch out for the rubbish non moore top 10 3.

Top 10 would make the best TV series in the world ever. Maybe too expensive.

 

[Idris2002]

This is kind of a painful subject for me. . . I had a big collection of 2000AD from the late 1980s.

But in the end it led to a screaming row with my Da (he did the screaming, btw) who took a dim view of 'violent comics'.

Love the pic of the wee lad with the homemade Hammerstein, btw!

 

[kyser_soze]

I liked Nemesis but after o neil stopped doing it it seemed to go downhill, did pat mills still write it?

Was that the post-Blackhole stuff after Thoth busted up the control mechanisms and the artwork went all curvey after YEARS of being all agressive angles and stuff?

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

This is kind of a painful subject for me. . . I had a big collection of 2000AD from the late 1980s.

But in the end it led to a screaming row with my Da (he did the screaming, btw) who took a dim view of 'violent comics'.

Love the pic of the wee lad with the homemade Hammerstein, btw!

I lost most of my early 80s 2000ads because my mum would not let me keep them. I still have what seems like millions in my attic now though. Its the old ones I really want though, it's just not the same after the shiny cover.

I've got most of my starlords, sadly not from ep1 but they are in pretty good nick.

 

[wishface]

2000ad's a bit shit now, isn't it? I did pick up a couple of Judge Dredd Case Files compilations last week though, reprinting JD's earliest adventures which I'm really looking forward to reading.

'Fraid so, I remember the glory days with much fondness. Nostalgia is a curse!

However, i will always have a soft spot for 2000ad; there's nothing else like it in this country. Just a shame that it's peak is past. So many greats began their comic careers here - how i envy them.

 

[wishface]

Banksy should learn to sky-surf - he could be the new Chopper

I used to polish off a pint of milk and a packet of phileas fogg tortilla chips reading it every friday. Still read it, but only about once a month.

And every now and then I still find myself humming the Judge Dredd single that Madness did. Catchy stuff...

Phileas Fogg! Crisps from around the world!

The past is coming back to haunt me!

WHy did they stop making them, that brand was tip top!

 

[Utopia]

Judge Anderson.....Mmmmmmm.

I've got every one from mid '78 to the end of '86 in the garage back at my mums house, splendid comic, haven't really read any of the 'new' stuff.

Strontinum Dog was the coolest