Megazine DREDD Special prepped for release

The eagerly awaited arrival of DREDD 3D in UK cinemas takes place on 7th September and in North America on 21st September.

To mark this return to the big screen for Britain’s biggest comic book character, Judge Dredd Megazine #328 will be a bumper issue featuring new and exclusive DREDD movie features, interviews, comic strip, and concept art.

Released on 12th September, it includes the specially commissioned DREDD 3D prologue story - "Top of The World, Ma-Ma" - written by 2000AD editor Matt Smith and drawn by fan favourite artist Henry Flint. It charts the rise of the ruthless gang leader who Dredd and Anderson must confront in the Alex Garland-scripted movie.

This 144-page issue also features insightful interviews with screenwriter Alex Garland and Judge Dredd himself, actor Karl Urban, as well as exclusive never-before-seen movie concept art and designs from artist Jock.

Alongside this is Andy Diggle and Jock’s Snapshot, Alan Grant and Boo Cook on Judge Anderson, and Grant and Tiernen Trevallion on Judge Dredd: Ratfink's Revenge - plus the winner of the Judge Dredd short story competition!

• Available from all good newsagents in the UK and worldwide online on 12th September through www.2000adonline.com on 12th September, priced at £5.99.

Digital 2000AD catches up with print edition

2000AD have announced that digital editions of its comics are now available within 48 hours of them hitting newsstands in the UK.

In a major digital leap forward for the seminal British comic book, digital editions of 2000AD and its sister publication, the Judge Dredd Megazine, are now available worldwide in CBZ and PDF formats in the 2000AD store on the Friday after the print editions go on sale in the UK each Wednesday.

This means that for the first time, readers will be able to read both titles digitally in the week they’re published.

This is a substantial shift from the current format, which only sees them go online once they are superseded on the newsstands.

2000AD Prog 1776 and Judge Dredd Megazine 322 - featuring the talents of Andy Diggle, Leah Moore, John Reppion, Jock, Chris Weston, D’Israeli, John Wagner, Al Ewing, Henry Flint and many more - are the first editions to be available.

Readers in North America also currently have to wait two weeks to get physical copies of both UK-printed titles, while those further afield have to wait longer.

Editions will be available to buy from the 2000AD store at http://shop.2000adonline.com/categories/comics, with digital subscriptions available at Clickwheel http://www.clickwheel.net

Computer games developer Rebellion, which owns 2000AD, has also announced that it is currently working on its own digital comics platform, due for release later this year. More details will follow in the coming weeks.

“This is a big leap for us,” said Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley. “We were one of the first publishers to produce digital copies of all our titles, though print editions were given priority. We felt this year, with 2000AD’s 35th birthday and the Dredd film coming out in September, was the time to take our digital strategy forward.

"We’ve also got some exciting digital news coming in the next few months, so 2012 really is shaping up to be the year of 2000AD.”

Drokk track offered in new Megazine

The latest issue of the Judge Dredd Megazine (322) is on sale now with an exclusive downloadable track from a brand new album by Portishead’s Geoff Barrow and Emmy-nominated composer Ben Salisbury.

 

DROKK is the pair’s ‘soundtrack’ for Judge Dredd’s world, creating a soundscape befitting a nightmare 22nd Century megalopolis filled with criminals and crazies, and policed by authoritarian Judges.

 

Readers can scan a QR code and exclusively download the first track from the album: Lawmaster/Pursuit.A founding member of Portishead, Barrow is the producer/owner of the Invada Records UK label and a lifelong 2000AD fan. Salisbury is a soundtrack composer with over 200 film and TV credits to his name, including three David Attenborough series.

 

DROKK was born out of a meeting in late 2010 with a screenwriter to discuss possible work on a feature film project. Although their involvement in the film did not continue, they were encouraged by early demos.The issue also comes with an exclusive interview with Barrow about the album, his love of 2000 AD and the challenges of bringing Mega-City One to life with music.

 

This issue, priced £5.60, includes the debut of Snapshot, a new creator-owned series by Andy Diggle and Jock, as well as the first work for the 2000AD stable by Leah Moore and John Reppion, who have penned a stand-alone Tales from the Black Museum story.

You can order the Meg online via the 2000 AD website or find it in all good newsagents and comic shops

Leah Moore and John Reppion go Scouting!

Writing couple Leah Moore and John Reppion are to make their debut for the publishers of legendary British comic 2000AD.

Leah’s father, the writer Alan Moore, first got his break in the pages of 2000AD in 1980 and went on to write classic stories such as The Ballad of Halo Jones for the title. Moore and Reppion have forged their own writing career with titles such as Albion, Doctor Who: The Whispering Gallery, The Thrill Electric and adaptations of Alice in Wonderland and Dracula.

Their first work for 2000AD's publishers Rebellion, a Tales from the Black Museum story entitled 'Scouting for Bots', will appear in Judge Dredd Megazine issue 322, on sale in the UK on 28th March and in North America on 11th April.

Art on the nine-page tale has been supplied by another 2000AD fan favourite - D’Israeli, otherwise known as artist Matt Brooker.

“We are really excited to be finally working for the comic we have all grown up with (some of us more than others!),” said Leah. “I remember my dad taking me to the 2000AD office when I was small (maybe eight?) and meeting Tharg in the flesh!

“I said “Borag Thungg, O Mighty One”. He said “Borag Thungg, Earthlet Leah”. It was awesome. It’s nice to see that bit of early networking paid off over two decades later.

“I have to say I am more excited about getting a short story in the Judge Dredd Megazine than I have been about lots of our much bigger projects elsewhere. Not sure why. Some kind of loyalty-chip implated during my visit to Tharg maybe?

“2000AD has always been somewhere for British talent to cut their teeth, and learn their craft. Even though we have been in the business now for nearly ten years, I am certain that we have more to learn, and what better way to do it than at 2000AD?”

“Leah Moore and John Reppion are amongst the exciting new generation of comics writers,” said Matt Smith, editor of 2000AD, “and I’m delighted to have them contributing for the first time – hopefully, we’ll see more from their pen in the pages of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comics in the future!’

 

Dan Dare in the spotlight of new Judge Dredd Megazine

As well as some great comic strip, the latest issue of Judge Dredd Megazine, on sale tomorrow (Wednesday 17th August) features two mammoth features by downthetubes occasional contributor Matthew Badham on the history of Dan Dare and the new Doctor Who in Comics exhibition at London' Cartoon Museum.

Strip-wise, the issue includes Judge Dredd by Alan Grant and Jon Davis-Hunt, Samizdat Squad by Arthur Wyatt and Paul Marshall, Numbercruncher by Si Spurrier and PJ Holden and Cursed Earth Koburn by Gordon Rennie and Carlos Ezquerra.

And if all that - including a potted history of Doctor Who - wasn't enough for you, how about an interview with Brian Azzarello (by Joel Meadows), film reviews and a bagged reprint: volume two of Mercy Heights by John Tomlinson, with art from Lee Sullivan, Trevor Hairsine and Neil Googe?

Go, you know you're tempted. Get down to your local newsagents and grab a copy!

• Read our review of the Doctor Who in Comics exhibition by David Baillie