Thrill power overload
Comics. Just comics. 2000ad.
I began my #progslog in an attempt to read every copy of 2000AD which amounts to somewhere in the region of 2400 comic books given that it goes back to 1977. So far so good and I am getting through between 5 and 10 a day…
There are so many storylines that modern day films and books have taken from and as early as 1978 you can pretty much read the Plot for jurassic park in one of the strips.
Oh and a prog is just the name that was used 41 of the weekly publications.
Read more comics people!
This month my attention turned to catching up on a number of the graphic novels I have piled up and threatened to read and never quite got around to or re-reading others.
We shall start with the walking dead and I will happily declare that I am one of those who insists that the comics are far better than the TV show. I do not do this in a way that makes me seem like a dickhead I hope it is simply a fact.
I also re-read the last 3 of Saga which is one of my favourite ever graphic novels. I’m not going to bore you with what it’s about but there are some robots and aliens and a whole fabulous love story and a cat that knows you’re lying and its fucking awesome…
And Watchmen. Alan Moore’s work of pure genius and something I find wonderfully comforting . I can’t do it justice, just buy it and read it otherwise you’re missing out and your life is shitter because you haven’t.
Shit reviews,great comics.
Read them.
Hugs
Prog 886 11 May 1994
Not shown you any of this for a while have I.
I think perhaps I have too much of this art work lark because I found this behind the couch and have no idea when I bought it. The couch is about two years old so I guess I have a rough time frame.
Pretty stuff though. Acetate overlay on four pages of ‘Baberace 2000’ written by Mark Millar and drawn by Anthony Williams with lettering courtesy of the wonderful Ellie deVille. Glorioustically stylistice and so very of it’s time and it remainsl so wonderfully vibrant even after 25 years.
Ive just realised I have another Anthony Williams piece on the wall next to me where I am sat. I will have to show you that another time becasue it is a rather special piece indeed.
Christmas 1978.
I have no idea where and when I got this but it is the 2000Ad annual from 1978, the year after 2000ad started. It is a pretty hefty offering and features no less than 21 different stories or features. Generous indeed! It still looks great for something nearly 40 years old!
18th January 1986
When I was going through some of my older copies this one really stood out as I actually remember reading it when it came out in 1986. I even cut the back page off, the Slaine Glen Fabry poster, and stuck it on my bedroom wall. I would have been 14 at the time and at a stage when I was desperate for anything 2000ad related.
It has some wonderful stories, a real collection of classics for sure. You get Dredd, Halo Jones, Ace Trucking, Strontium Dog and Slaine. Damn!
Something from a sci fi special…
I have absolutely no idea who did this all I know is that it is from a Sci Fi summer special and alas I don’t have many of those to trawl through to try and find out but I do rather love the simplicity and the characters. It always reminded me of the ‘Ant Hill Mob’ in whacky races, you know the ones they were the gangsters that drove around in the ‘Roaring Plenty’.
I don’t even know where I got it from you know, maybe it was Ebay or maybe from a Con somewhere. Either way I rather like it especially because it has the lettering on the acetate overlay.
Some of P.J. Holden’s work. Fab stuff indeed.
via Portfolio!
A great collection written by Neil Gibson
I have picked up so many different comic collections and graphic novel collections over the years and this is one of my favourites. Written by Neil Gibson and illustrated by various artists it is a collection of tales which are, as the title suggests, both twisted and dark.
The artwork is quite wonderful in it’s variety and perhaps different to that which you would be used to if your experience of comics is mainstream DV and Marvel kind of stuff.
Well worth picking up if you ever get the chance.
A piece from London Super Comic Con in 2013.
One of the real joys of the cons I visit is the thrill of one of your favourite artists being there and fingers crossed, getting them to do you a drawing. Back in 2013 I picked this piece up at London super comic convention, drawn by Mike Collins. I am a huge Rogue Trooper fan (and must show you my tattoo to prove it at some point).
Best known these days as a storyboard artist for TV (Doctor Who, Sherlock, Knightfall, Good Omens), Mike Collins has a thirty-year track record as a comic artist and writer, including producing a critically acclaimed adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. He has worked on all the major Marvel and DC characters, including Spider-Man, X-Men, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. He also draws a series of graphic novels based on the adventures of Varg Veum, Gunnar Staalesen’s iconic Norwegian private eye.
Quite often you can just stand there and watch them draw which is so very cool. I think this piece cost me £35 and took him quite some time. Certainly wasn’t a quick scribble.
Rob WIlliams, Smudge, D’Israeli and Rufus Dayglo
One of my favourite characters in 2000AD is Dirty Frank. He’s an undercover judge with some serious mental health issues and an absolute bloody hoot. I fell in love with D’Israeli’s artwork a couple of years ago and really cannot get enough of it. It is jarring and somewhat unconventional and a real pleasure to behold. I love the black and white stuff and the writing in ‘Living the Low Life’ is as funny as hell. Well worth picking up.
D’Israeli actually did a drawing for me when I met him at a con a few years ago and I have been meaning to get it turned into a tattoo for a while now. Really must get that done. I should try find it…
Colin MacNeil and John Wagner. Buy it, read it. It is bloody awesome.
I was reminded of this by something on Twitter this morning and have been rereading it. One hell of a story by John Wagner beautifully illustrated and bloody hell so on the money given what is going on in America right now.
I am not trying to bash the US, I grew up in South Africa loving all things America, so it saddens me to see what is going on now.
Don’t say you weren’t warned though okay…just saying.
A print I picked up in Camden a few years ago
This is a signed print I picked up in Camden Market a few years ago now and I do love it. It is a quite fabulous art style and just appeals to me. David has done some work for 2000ad on Dredd and The Hunting Party but it was his work on Brodies Law that first caught my eye. I picked it up at London Comic Con a few years ago and loved it straight away. I should dig it out really…
Also, his website is worth a visit as he has some seriously cool stuff on there.
From London Super Comic Con in 2013
Mike Collins did this piece for me in London in 2013. Mike was a thoroughly pleasant chap and has a fabulous body of work including Dredd (which I will show you another time), Slaine, Rogue Trooper, Spiderman, Batman, Doctor Who, Transformers, Superman.
Rogue is a genetically engineered super soldier and one of the defining characters in 2000AD. Just last week it was announced that Duncan Jones will be directing a new ROgue film. I will admit to having pissed a little upon hearing the news. At least now it might be easier to explain who Rogue is when they see my Rogue Trooper tattoo. You know I don’t think I’ve shown you that one yet have I. Must get round to it.
Bryan Talbot’s quite wonderful graphic novel exploring the links between Lewis Carroll and the Sunderland area.
Okay so where do I start with this. This is what Wikipedia has to say:
Alice in Sunderland: An Entertainment is a graphic novel by comics writer and artist Bryan Talbot. It explores the links between Lewis Carroll and the Sunderland area, with wider themes of history, myth and storytelling.
I discovered Bryan Talbot in the pages of 2000AD and in particular through the stories of Nemesis the Warlock. It is probably easy to think of him simply as a chap who draws comic book characters but heavens his work is far more than that. With a huge body of work and a lifetime of achievements and awards he is one of my favourites story tellers.
I stumbled upon “Alice in Sunderland” a number of years ago and still find it fascinating now and each time I read it there is more to see and more to learn. The art style is eclectic and the story telling an intense affair but so much fun is to be had. One day I might even fully understand what is going on but until then I will keep enjoying it.
Classic 2000Ad 2nd of October 1995
I am lucky enough to have 2 pieces of art work that graced the cover of 2000ad and this is one that appeared in 1995 on a classic collection. It is an acrylic and pen by Nick Percival and it shows ‘Mean Machine Angel’ . It is so gorgeous and the closer you get to it the more beautiful it gets as you see the brush strokes and pen lines. NIck Percival has done so so many covers and what I really love is seeing how his work has progressed over the years. This feels somewhat different from his more recent work (which I guess is to be expected). Enjoy.
D’Israeli and Ian Edginton
I am a big fan of black and white comics and artwork. Now I know they may feel a little old school and on the surface may not quite pack the punch of one of your full colour efforts but I think there is an intensity about them then I feel rather appealing.
Today I am sharing ‘Stickleback’ with you. This is what Wikipedia has to say about it.
Stickleback is the eponymous title character of a steampunk comic series created by Ian Edginton and D’Israeli appearing in UK comics anthology 2000 AD. Described by his author as a “bad guy,” Stickleback is cast initially as a Moriarty-type figure, “The Pope of Crime[, who] secretly presides over the criminal fraternity of a fantastical, grotesque, Gormenghast-style old London town
Written by Ian Edginton and drawn by D’Israeli I find it compelling stuff and was lucky enough to meet both of them at a con a few years ago. Ian was so gracious with his time and willingness to discuss his work and the process whilst I had a hoot picking D’Israeli’s brain trying to understand why it was that I enjoyed black and white art so much as I don’t really get art particularly. I can’t express an appreciation for it but I do so love it. There is something about the main character, shown in the photos, that really creeps me out and I love that. 
They both signed my copy of the ‘Number of the beast’ collection and I have another collection somewhere else but cannot seem to find it.
D’Israeli even drew a picture of ‘Dirty Frank’ for me which I will dig out which I intend to turn into my next tattoo. Thoroughly fabulous chaps indeed.
By Colin Macneil from Judge Dredd Megazine #201-#213 2003
Here’s something fun. It is a Devlin Waugh page by Colin Macneil from the ‘Red Tide’ story published in 2003. AS I recall Devlin was a homosexual, catholic vampire. One of the good guys. The stories were fun and irreverent and rather witty and I just love the purple wash of this piece. Up close I can see the individual paint and pen lines and pick out the different layers as he did the work which I love.
4th of Feb 1978
At some point in the late 1980’s I seem to have encountered the comic ‘CRISIS’. I don’t quite remember exactly when but I do remember it being something very different to 2000AD despite it being written and drawn by mostly the same pool of people.
I shall steal from Wikipedia I think…
Crisis was Fleetway’s response to the success of Deadline. David Bishop, in his Thrill Power Overload, comments “2000 AD had once represented the cutting edge of British comics, but was now in danger of looking staid and old fashioned next to Deadline”.[1]
Conceived by editor Steve MacManus, Crisis would offer to make the work creator-owned, which might lead to the chance for royalties and greater copyright control, which was a departure from the way they had done business up until then. They also planned to turn the stories into American comic books which would sell better on the other side of the Atlantic, although ultimately only the first few titles got this treatment and the title moved to shorter stories after issue #14.[1]
It was political and edgy, I recall a burning church at some point and there were people trying to save the planet and blowing things up. That is what I recall at least. I managed to buy most of them off of ebay in recent years and even now it remains an abrasive read at times but I did so enjoy it even though I didn’t really know what was going on sometimes. I have some of the artwork somewhere too which I should dig out really. Maybe next time.
Worth a read if you can pick up old copies if only to enjoy some of the Ezquerra artwork or Mills writing.
Something I wont let the kids get their hands on. They’re not worth much but I like them.
I have a curious collection of 2000Ad stuff and this is one of the pieces I keep squirrelled away and I hadn’t actually seen for years. Reaction came out with a set of figures for 2000ad many years ago – probably early 2000’s and I picked them up.
This is one of the limited edition Judge Death characters which I ordered which I am yet to see anywhere else. It was a limited run of 2000 and I might have number one I might ot. I am uncertain how they numbered them but if mine is the first then that makes it even cooler. There was a different limited run for a long haired Judge Anderson which was numbered sequentially so that gives me hope that this might be kind of unique.
The series featured (and I will show you the rest another time):
Hey, if you like comics and comic art then this is the post for you.
Here’s another piece by Boo Cook from Elephantmen #76. It shows Spike in all his beauty and I think its a quite welcome addition to my collection. If you haven’t ever read Elephantmen or are not familiar with Boo Cook’s art or Richard Starking’s writing then do yourself a favour and pick it up.
4th of Feb 1978
Prog 50 was a pretty amazing read, with no less than 8 different stories. The breadth and variety of art work alone makes it a thing of beauty and with writers such as Gerry Finley Day and Pat Mills and John Wagner it was bound to thrill. Art by Dave Gibbons, Montero, Ian Gibson and Belardinelli (amongst others) make it pretty stand out for me.
You know, a forty year old Comic smells pretty amazing too!
8th of June 1991. Carlos Ezquerra at his most beautiful!
I posted this a while back on my separate 2000ad blog but as it got destroyed I thought I would share it again.
Of all my art pieces this is by far my most precious and adored. An actual Carlos Ezquerra painting from the ‘Return of the king’ story by Garth Ennis published in 1991. I picked it up online and the minute I saw it I had to have it. It cost me a pretty penny but I think it was a real bargain and I actually went to a place in London to pick it up. It features Dredd plus all four of the dark Judges: Death, Fear, Fire and Mortis. Only a piece from Necropolis or Apocalypse war might top it but it would have to go some way…
Damn it’s gorgeous!
I wish I knew what it was from.
I bought this piece some years ago for not a lot, and I used to know what it was from but for the life of me I cannot recall. Its a shame because it is one of my favourite pieces. I have a lot of black and white art and I seem rather drawn to it. I do not know much about art and space and aspect and such but there is something about the white bits that are left blank as much as the bits that are filled in. I look at the piece and cant quite decide which I love more – the bit the artist has done or the bit he has left.
All very confusing but I do know that I rather like it even if I have no idea who did it.
April – October 1990
I am no historian of 2000AD. Yes I have them all, in boxes all over the house, and I love them dearly but I am no expert on the matter. I simply enjoy reading them and the way they make me feel and the artwork and the wonderful stories and the places that they take me.
There are few stories that sum up 2000AD for me more than this one. Necropolis. I remember it so clearly from when I was younger and I think it is where I developed my love of the artwork of Carlos Ezquerra. The way he painted Dredd and the dark judges thrills me now still and the story…oh god the story was amazing. For me pipped by the “Apocalypse war” but only just. Perhaps that’s because Apocalypse resonates more with me because I grew up in the eighties and the idea of Russia vs the west was so prevalent.
Seeing Mega-City one in flames was insane and the dark judges were terrifying and there was a real desperation as the story unfolded over 26 weeks. Curiously though Dredd never appeared for the first dozen or so.
The photos are from the graphic novel collection, and I’ve posted a few pages and I was going to write more but I think I am actually going to go red it for a bit. Just enjoy Carlos’ work…
Revisiting this as it got messed up by the WordPress shenanigans a while back…
Hard to take a photo of this but there you go, this is my other Dredd Tattoo which sits at the back of my left arm just below the elbow. I can then show it to people when they ask whether my Dredd is in fact Magneto. I can understand why I guess, think its the helmet.
It took about 4 hours as I recall, despite it having nowhere near the detail of the my larger Dredd one. All part of the larger collage I will likely complete one day. Might get another next year thinking about it…
Afterwards 