Celebrating 2000 Issues of 2000AD Comic

Last week saw the publication of issue 2000 of one of my all time favourite comics - 2000AD. I have been collecting this weekly anthology ever since it first launched in 1977. Yes, I do have all 2000 issues of it! I wouldn't normally write a post about a comic I like but this is a very special occasion and it warrants both a mention and a celebration. I have grown up with this comic. I have watched it grow and evolve. Originally produced as a children's comic, it has now matured and has a more adult outlook. We have grown up together and 2000AD is very much a part of my life. I look forward to getting my thrill power fix every week. I have remained loyal to it throughout its chequered history. It has had some low points and frankly, dire stories, but they are vastly outnumbered by its hits and successes.
This quote taken from the comic's Betelgeusian alien editor, Tharg the Mighty One, in the editorial of issue #2000  sums up why the comic has endured. "How has my illustrious organ managed to keep going for so long, in an industry marked by multiple reboots and retcons? Because we all - I, my meks, and you, my Squaxx dek Thargo - believe in it. We invest in it. And we know that 2000AD and its spirit of independence and rebellion, and all that it represents, is too important to lose."
Issue #2000 comes with a bigger page count than normal and contains six new stories featuring many old favourites and one brand new series. Each story is preceded by a one page introduction from Tharg, printed in black and white and illustrated by different artists. First up is the comic's greatest hero, and longest lasting character - Judge Dredd. This one-off story gets the comic off to a great start with artwork by the brilliant Carlos Ezquerra, an introduction from the legendary artist, Brian Bolland and script by John Wagner. The story sees Judge Dredd once again teaming up with Johnny Alpha in a time-travelling adventure that is a load of fun. (If you're reading this, Simon, Johnny Alpha is back from the dead!)
Nemesis the Warlock was always another favourite of mine but in this one-off story I found both the artwork by Kevin O'Neill and story by Pat Mills to be rather lacklustre. This was my least favourite story of the comic.
Next up, comes another return of an old favourite - Rogue Trooper. Scripted by Gordon Rennie with artwork by Richard Elson, this was a nice reminder of why Rogue was so popular, although the story goes over far too quickly and we don't see enough of Rogue himself.
The next story, Psi Judge Anderson, features stunning artwork by David Roach and an excellent script by Alan Grant. Anderson's long time nemesis, Judge Death, returns to haunt her once more. This was my favourite story in the comic although, Judge Dredd comes a close second.
Next up is the return of Downlode's lovable hit-men duo, Finnigan Sinister and Ramone Dexter. The story, scripted by Dan Abnett and drawn by Mark Sexton, sets up the next arc of their ongoing adventures and made me wishing for more. I have always been a fan of the Sinister Dexter stories.
Finally, is the comic's one totally new series - Counterfeit Girl. This cyberpunk yarn was written by Peter Milligan and artwork was assigned to Rufus Dayglo. The basic premise of the story is to do with identity theft and it certainly gets off to a promising start.
All this, plus a free poster, drawn by Cliff Robinson, showing many of the comic's favourite characters, makes this a must have edition. 2000AD goes from strength to strength and shows no sign of ever stopping. Long may it continue, I say. It is certainly far superior to anything produced by the big name American publishers like Dark Horse, DC, Image or Marvel. It is such a shame it isn't more popular in the U.S.A.
Anyway, to help celebrate this landmark event I want to offer a prize giveaway. To be in with a chance of winning, simply leave a comment stating what you like the most about the comic. Make your answer as long or as short as you want - amusing or serious.  I'll announce the name of the winner in my next Monthly Musings post on Halloween (Monday 31st of October). So what's the prize? It's a bundle of 28mm scale 2000AD figures.

First up is this rather over-scale figure of Hammerstein from the ABC Warriors. He was produced by Wargames Foundry. He stands roughly 55mm tall but for a combat droid that doesn't bother me too much.

Next up is this Warlord Games figure of a Mega City One Street Judge. He is nicely sculpted although his shoulder pads look a bit odd. They appear to be standing too high on his shoulders. He would make a good figure for a player character.

Also from Warlord Games is a Cursed Earth Desperado with Dual Weapons (Spit Gun and Sawed Off Stump Gun). He makes a great gang leader. I have mine leading a street gang known as the Apathetic Anarchists. I called him Major Apathy. You'll be seeing him and his gang in my upcoming Judge Dredd Miniatures Game campaign.

These seven figures from Warlord Games make up an Ape Gang for use in Judge Dredd. They consist of three Chimp Punks, three Gorilla Enforcers and an Orang Utan Sniper. I ended up with them when I ordered the Orang Utan Gang Leader (not shown) and rather generously received the whole gang instead. So these guys are surplus to my requirements. If anyone plays 5150 by Two Hour Wargames, they will make great figures for Zhuh-Zhuhs.
Finally, I'll add a selection of 8 Indy Heroclix 2000AD characters (Judge Dredd, Judge Hershey, Judge Fear, Judge Fire, Judge Mortis, a Brit-City Judge, Johnny Alpha and Torquemada). Please note that the metal figures are all unpainted and the Heroclix figures have their basic paint jobs. I may well add a few other figures to the mix before announcing the winner. Best of luck!

Vampifan's Views 84 - Monthly Musings 58

As we reach the end of another month, I once again present my Monthly Musings. I start, as always, with a painting of the lovely Vampirella. Joe Jusko, my favourite Vampirella artist, has painted her in black and white, which is unusual to see these days. I must admit, it is very effective and it looks like a still from a pre-1960's horror film.

Work continues apace on the three projects I am working on simultaneously - Battle Systems Urban Apocalypse Terrain, Judge Dredd Miniatures Game and Shadows of Brimstone. I have punched out all of my walls, floors, roofs and doors for the many sets I own. Finally, I have started making buildings. You can see the first of my builds in this article I posted on The Gamers Cupboard blog here - http://thegamerscupbard.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/battle-systems-urban-apocalypse-terrain.html
I'll be posting more of my builds there in the next month and beyond. What remains to do is to make all of the furniture and scenery items. That is proving to be very time-consuming. But I keep plugging away and I will get it all made. For me, it is more important to get the buildings done first. I am glueing all of my furniture items and scenery items. I have even glued together some walls (the fire station entrance, for example) that I know I won't be changing. I am also going to keep my buildings intact once I make them. Fortunately, I do have the room to store them, so that won't be a problem. This really is a fun project to work on And will reward me in a number of games.

I am working hard on getting my Judge Dredd Miniatures Game campaign ready to launch. I have been buying a lot of figures for this game from Warlord Games. When I say "a lot" I do mean it. I wasn't planning on buying every mini they make for this game, but it's looking like I will. There are only a few I'm missing now. I would like to give the folks at Warlord Games a big thank you as they have sent me quite a few figures that I hadn't order as freebie extras. For example, I wanted the Orang Utan Gang Boss to lead my Ape Gang. He cost £5.00 to buy. Instead, Warlord Games sent me the complete Ape Gang set - eight figures worth £40.00 in total! What an incredibly generous gesture! I have a lot of JDMG figures on my painting table right now and I'm working my way through them. Thankfully, I have all of my player character Judges completed. My force of Judges has really grown in size. All I have left to paint for them are my Justice Department vehicles - Banshee Interceptor, Judges on Lawmaster bikes and most impressive of all, a Manta Prowl Tank. I have been after one of these ever since it first appeared on the Warlord Games webstore but the price of it kept putting me off. Now that I can afford it I'm really pleased to own one at last.
Speaking of Warlord Games, I was absolutely delighted to see their newest figures that they added to the Judge Dredd range - the ABC Warriors. Now I already had most of the ABC Warriors from the Wargames Foundry range but they never made a figure of Mongrol or Happy Shrapnel. Thankfully, Warlord Games have made figures of both of them. I am a very happy bunny!

In addition to painting figures, I have designed character record cards to use in my campaign. These measure 5" by 3", the same size as my ATZ-FFO character cards, and will prove invaluable when I play my campaign. The campaign should start soon - near the end of next month, hopefully. All is ready for the first scenario apart from the scenery. For that I'll be making some buildings from my Battle Systems Urban Apocalypse Terrain - Shanty Town Set very soon.

The third project that I'm working on - Shadows of Brimstone - came very close to seeing me paint all of the figures I have in my collection. I had exactly 100 figures and more than 80 have been painted so far. The biggest group left to paint, which I was keeping to last, were the 12 zombies. However, I have added a few new sets to my collection this month thanks to finding some cracking bargains on both Amazon UK and eBay. The most outstanding bargain was for this set to the left of here - the Harvesters. These three large multi-part figures cost me just £4.95. RRP should be over £16. The reason the seller was offering them so cheaply was because their box was slightly damaged. To be honest, it was a little crumpled on one side but not badly so. Frankly, I was more interested in the figures and they were just fine. I scored a real bargain with them.

Of the few monster sets I was missing, the one I most wanted to get hold of, was the Swamp Slugs of Jargano set. I'd seen them for sale previously but delayed buying them. Suddenly I found I'd waited too long and no one had any for sale. So, I resigned myself to never getting them. These things happen. Then, right out out of the blue, they reappeared on Amazon UK for the very reasonable price of £13. This time I did not hesitate and I snapped them up. They are going to make trips to the swamp world of Jargano just that bit more dangerous.

Another bargain I got from eBay was this set to the right - the Dark Stone Brutes. Containing three large figures, the Dark Stone Brutes are mutants working for Colonel Scafford and his outlaw gang. Their bodies have grown larger and become fused with rock and shards of Dark Stone. They are very strong but very slow. I was pleased to be able to add to my gang of mutants. Please note, there isn't a tentacle in sight! They remind me of the Thing from Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, only without his intelligence, wit and personality. These are crazed killers.

Finally, I know that Flying Frog make a number of variant Hero figures, including opposite sex versions of the Heroes found in the two core sets, as well as unique archetypes. Typically they are made of resin and are virtually impossible to get hold of in the UK. Ordering them directly from Flying Frog is out of the question due to their extortionate postage charges. So, I was very surprised to see a UK seller on eBay with a few sets of the Drifter Hero sets for sale. I had to have them. They are superb sculpts. Being made of resin they are far more detailed than the normal plastic figures that come with the game. Best of all, the set includes both the male and female versions. I did not think I'd be adding to my collection of eight Heroes but I was wrong. These are so cool!

That's all for this month but I'd just like to mention that if you are a fan of the 2000AD comic, make sure you check in next time when I'll be offering a prize giveaway to celebrate issue #2000 of this great comic. Florix grabundae!