This week’s issue of long-running British weekly anthology comic 2000 AD (prog #2375) promises to be new reader enticing. A special 48-page bumper issue featuring one-shots of Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper and the start of the latest series of explosive space opera Proteus Vex. Going on sale today (Wednesday, March 27), it will be the first of four new reader friendly issues spread across 2024.
According to Rebellion:
“New readers start here! The new issue of 2000 AD has been precision-tooled for those hungry to discover why it’s called the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic – with bitingly good stories from top comics talent!”
Adding:
“This latest issue is designed to make it easy for new readers to pick up 2000 AD, with a mix of brand new stories and ongoing series that showcase the best the GGC has to offer!”
Judge Dredd one-shot, First Man Up by Rob Williams and Serbian artist RM Guera (Scalped, The Goddamned), will be the biggest draw for newbies, seeing the pair reunite on the series for the first time since their 2014 story The Man Comes Around. It will also be a prelude to next major arc Rend & Tear with Tooth & Claw, kicking off the following issue. Writer Rob Williams has been blazing a trail on the signature 2000 AD series of late, not least with the recent wrap up of the critically acclaimed Judge Dredd epic A Better World, co-written with Arthur Wyatt and drawn by Henry Flint (progs #2364-2372).
Rebellion said about the new story:
“First Man Up sees Dredd plunge into the dangerous streets of Mega-City One to select a Cadet Judge for a new, top secret mission – but what many-fanged horrors await them in the coming weeks?”
Rogue Trooper making an appearance with one-shot War Child by David Barnett and Paul Marshall might be a no-brainer given the major profile boost of the Duncan Jones movie announcement for 2025. Previously somewhat MIA from the pages of 2000 AD, the character has been seeing a recent resurgence in the past twelve months, not least with last summer’s acclaimed 13-part storyline Blighty Valley by Garth Ennis and Patrick Goddard breathing fresh life into the Genetic Infrantryman (collection coming July 2, 2024).
The only new series kicking off in the new reader special, Proteus Vex sees “the senses-expanding return of [the] alien space Imperium super-agent”. A bonkers epic scifi series written by Michael Carroll and Jake Lynch. If you like explosions, weird aliens, and backstabbing space politics between galactic empires then this will be right up your alley. And don’t forget to check out the collection of earlier series afterward.
The special issue isn’t – as one would probably expect – a full fresh line-up. While Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper and Proteus Vex are standalone or beginning new arcs, there are three other series in Prog 2375 that are well into their respective runs. A reminder that the anthology is constantly in motion – with an ever changing roster of old and new. Running concurrent are Alex De Campi & Eduardo Ocana’s scifi adventure Full Tilt Boogie (now on its second series); the latest multipart, multiversal Indigo Prime story Black Monday, by Kek-W and Lee Carter, and the conclusion of folk horror Thistlebone story The Dule Tree, by T. C. Eglington & Simon Davis.
2000 AD Prog 2375 will be available Wednesday, March 27 in all good British newsstands and comic shops. It can be ordered online in print and digital from the 2000 AD webshop, and ordered from Diamond via the 2000 AD March Prog Pack (Previews code JAN241898, due in US stores May 1)
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