Confess, creeps - you want to buy the new 2000AD...

On UK newsagents shelves, online, and via iOS app –  2000AD Prog 1802 is on sale now.

The steely glare of Dredd stares out from this latest Prog, which lands today, and Dolman is settling his differences with the Marines in Judge Dredd: Payback by Michael Carroll and PJ Holden.

Cadwallader meets a fiery end in Brass Sun: The Wheel of Worlds by Ian Edginton and I.N.J. Culbard, while Hammerstein heads back to the mother planet in ABC Warriors: Return to Earth by Pat Mills and with glorious old school hand-drawn art by Clint Langley. Diplomatic immunity gets pushed to its limit over tea and biscuits in Grey Area: This Island Earth Dan Abnett and Lee Carter, while Bob Byrne returns to 2000AD with another of his Twisted Tales.

And after an unfortunate production error (for which the droid in question has been melted down and turned into colostomy fittings), Tharg the Generous is giving fans a free download of last week’s episode of Judge Dredd: Payback by Michael Carroll and PJ Holden!

• Prog 1802, now available worldwide: www.2000adonline.com

Happy Birthday, 2000AD! From script droid Michael Carroll

Name: Michael Carroll


Web site:
www.michaelowencarroll.com

Currently working on:

The seventh novel in the Quantum Prophecy series of Young Adult superhero adventures (www.quantumprophecy.com). The sixth novel - Stronger - will be published in June.

More Judge Dredd stories.

Other stuff that I'm not going to mention until contracts have been signed!

First memory of 2000AD?

It was either seeing one of those half-page ads for the comic in Battle Picture Weekly, or an article in one of the Irish newspapers. Can't remember which came first...

I do recall my dad showing me the newspaper article and telling me about Dan Dare, whom he remembered from the original Eagle. I was already an avid comic reader by that stage (I was almost 11, after all!), but something about 2000AD really got me buzzing.

The evening before the first issue was due I went to the local newsagent's just in case the weekly comic delivery came in early. That didn't happen often, but I figured it was worth a shot. And it paid off: the comics arrived while I was there: the newsagent gave me the very first prog out of the bundle... Ah, such a simple thing, but it meant the world to me.

Favourite Character or Story?

Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog, The Stainless Steel Rat... And hundreds more. It'd be easier and quicker to list my least favourite characters and stories (but I won't!)

What do you like most about 2000AD?

The best thing about an anthology comic is that there's alwayssomething new. This alone puts 2000AD ahead of almost every other comic still in print, and the fact that it's weekly is just awesome in an age when far too many Big Name comics have only a single story and still can't manage to keep a regular schedule.

What would you most like to see in 2000AD as it heads to its Forties?

More of the same... 2000AD has never been better than it is now, and if it works, don't change it!

That said, if I was Tharg I'd very strongly consider reducing the physical size of the comic to US comic dimensions. Not only would this save money on printing and distribution, it would mean that the prog could be displayed alongside its peers in the US. I'm sure this would help endear the comic to US readers and specialist comic stores.

If you worked on 2000AD, do you have an anecdote you'd like to share about your experience of Tharg and his minions?

Back in March 2010, I saw a link on the 2000AD message board that said"Bryan Talbot Returns To Judge Dredd – And This Time He’s Bringing His Son."

I'm a huge fan of Mr Talbot, so naturally I followed the link... And that was when I discovered that Bryan and his son Alwyn were illustrating my Dredd story, "Caterpillars."

I usually don't know who's illustrating my scripts (I'm sure Tharg would tell me if I asked, but I kind of like not knowing - it adds to the surprise), so that completely floored me.

I know that's not much of an anecdote from most people's point of view, but it sure made my day!

• This post is one in a series of tributes to 2000AD to mark its 35th birthday on 26th February 2012. More about 2000AD at www.2000adonline.com

2000AD © Rebellion

Judge Dredd Weekly Issue 1

Here is another British comic cover that we wish was real.

After last week's cover of Starblazer issue 282 created by artist Graeme Neil Reid (the pencils of which are still available to win in the current Scotch Corner competition) this cover from writer and designer Michael Carroll depicts the first issue of a weekly Judge Dredd comic from the IPC era.

Using a Carlos Ezquerra image of Dredd and the enticement of free gift of a Judge's shield that you could add your own name onto (assuming that it wasn't too long of course), you just know that you would have splashed out 10p to read more Dredd, Walter The Wobot, Max Normal and Psi-Judge Anderson stories.

Michael has more cover designs on his site including a picture of a weighty tome entitled Alan Moore: Selected Notes To The Milkman, Volume 1: 1982-1987 - a dig not at the man himself but rather at the dedicated fans who must read everything that Moore has ever written.

Michael Carroll will be appearing at the Hi-Ex comics convention in Inverness at the end of March.

WexWorlds Sci Fi and Fantasy Fiction Festival Invades Wexford

Artemis Fowl creator Eoin Colfer, Darren Shan (The Saga of Darren Shan) and Hugo Award-winning author Ian McDonald (Brasyl, Desolation Road) are among the many creators who will be attending the first WexWorlds Festival, in Wexford, Ireland from Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd November 2009.

WexWorlds is the first Sci Fi and Fantasy Fiction Festival in Wexford, the brainchild of Eoin Colfer and the Wexford Arts Centre, and is supported by Failte Ireland, Wexford Borough, Wexford Council, Wexford Library, Wexford Chamber, hotels including Talbot and Whites of Wexford, book stores and other businesses.

Over the course of the weekend a range of activities will be taking place – including talks and readings, science experiments, comic art workshops, an exhibition on the process of writing for a comic, activities for younger children, discussions about fantastic literature, a selection of competitions and performance events – at varied venues in Wexford town, which will include Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford Library, book stores, related businesses and hotels.

Other professionals expecting to attend include:

• Judge Dredd and Warhammer comic artist Paul J Holden

• Transformers artist Nick Roche

• Author Oisin McGann (Small Minded Giants, Strangled Silence).

• 2000AD comics writer Michael Carroll (also author of The New Heroes series).

• Author Sarah Rees Brennan (The Demon’s Lexicon).

• Comics writer Andrew Donkin (Transformers, Batman, Doctor Who).

• Freakshow and Eagle Award-nominated comic writer and publisher for Atomic Diner comic books Robert Curley

The majority of the events over the weekend will be free, with only a minimal charge (€5) for three of the workshops.

As well as books and comics, the weekend is a celebration of all fantastic fiction, so there will also be workshops on costuming, light-hearted sessions with kids and foam weaponry, and movie screening. The festival will coincide with an exhibition by emerging visual artist Vera Klute at Wexford Arts Centre.

Situated on the south-east coast of Ireland, Wexford’s history is steeped in myth and legend and makes this a perfect location for a festival of the fantastic. A story tells of its origin in the mists of time, when Garman Garbh was drowned on the mudflats by waters released by an enchantress. The vast expanse of harbour thus created was named ‘The lake of Garman’ or Loch Garman, the Gaelic name for Wexford.

Wexford is also home to one of the top fantasy fiction writers: Eoin Colfer, author of the famed Artemis Fowl series, currently working on the much anticipated new follow-up to Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy which is due to be released a short time before WexWorlds.

Accessible from mainland UK and Europe via sea (Rosslare Harbour) and air (Waterford/Dublin), with bus and train access from major cities in Ireland, this festival in Wexford will make a great weekend away for any international and national tourists with a taste for the fantastic.

The orgnaisers say they're currently working on programme development and will update progress on the festival website in due course.

• If you are interested in participating – as an artist, trader, visitor or volunteer – please email info@WexWorlds.net or visit www.wexworldsfestival.com