SHAKO: the only bear on the CIA death list!

This is no cute and cuddly polar bear. He’s a blizzard of white hot horror, the terror of the frozen wastes, he is SHAKO - and he is death!

When a US Air Force plane crashes in the Arctic, the great white polar bear Shako gets his first taste of human flesh! Unfortunately for the C.I.A., the beast has swallowed the top secret capsule being transported by the plane, so they must track down the deadly creature to retrieve it.

This won’t be an easy task, because Shako hates mankind, and what Shako hates, Shako destroys!

Written by Pat Mills (Charley’s War, Marshal Law) and John Wagner (A History of Violence, Judge Dredd), the series - collected for the first time in book format - features stunning art from a number of European artists, including Ramon Sola (Flesh), and with a cover by Jock (The Losers, Batman).

Shako is a true classic from the early days of 2000AD when blood-thirsty ultra-violence was a hallmark of an anarchic new comic which would go on to become a British institution.

Vicious, uncompromising and with bleak black humour, Shako is a ‘bear necessity’ for all comic book fans!

• Buy Shako from amazon.co.uk

• Buy Shako from forbidenplanet.com 

Happy Birthday, 2000AD! From script droid Garth Ennis

Name: Garth Ennis

Blog or web site: No blog, no website.

Currently working on:

Working on The Boys, Battlefields (and other war stories), Nick Fury, Dicks III, Crossed, some more stuff still on the secret list.

First memory of 2000AD?

It would probably be seeing the cover of Prog 11 in my local newsagent and being instantly mesmerised. It had Mister Monday, the bloke from Dan Dare, telling us to follow him into the sun and share the death of a Martian warrior. I'd never, ever seen anything like it; I probably went for it like Stimpy for the wonderful, candy-like, shiny red button.

Inside you had M.A.C.H. 1 driving a souped-up Lagonda with a terrified boffin in the back through most of the Soviet bloc, and over several people while he was at it. You had Dredd - who looked amazing enough on his own - fighting the robot wars. You had Bill Savage being an angry mad bastard, ten times more mental than the slavering, rabid guard dogs that chewed their way through that episode. You had the Harlem Heroes up against Artie Gruber, and what in the name of God had happened to the guy to make him look like that? You had Dan Dare versus the Biogs and the spectacular death of the aforementioned Monday, drawn by Bellardinelli - that was eyes out on stalks time, as I recall.

But best of all, holiest of holies, you had dinosaurs in Flesh. Dinosaurs. And - all praise to the God of seven year-old psychopaths - they were... eating people...

Favourite Character or Story?

Favourites are hard. Probably Dredd overall, just because of the plethora of incredible stories, characters and moments we've had over the years. Stront, Slaine, Nemesis, ABCs/RoBusters and Rogue have all yielded up their share of delights.

I recall being a big fan of Sam Slade's peculiar brand of long-suffering accidental heroism for a long time; the very last page of the first Robo Hunter storyline is still a sight to behold. Back at the beginning, Bill Savage as an out-and-out maniac and Dan Dare when Dave Gibbons really got going on the Space Fort stuff.

Panels from Flesh in Prog 11

But if I was thinking in terms of what first attracted me to the comic, what made me think, no, there is absolutely nothing else like this anywhere in the universe, then I think it would indeed have to be Flesh. You could feel the ground shake as Old One Eye charged her prey, hear the victims' screams as her huge teeth punched through their bodies and they were squeezed down into her black gullet, smell the hot blood as it poured off the page into your lap.

There's a Ramon Sola shot of the Tyrannosaur clans gathering (in the aforementioned prog 11) that I know I'm going to take to my grave.

What do you like most about the 2000AD?

That's another hard one. If I had to boil it down, probably the memory of reading it weekly as a kid and somehow always feeling just a little bit happier afterwards. It really sparked you up, if only briefly- it made bad days good and good days better.

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

Just keep hold of John Wagner. Keep him on Dredd, keep him on Stront. Do whatever it takes.

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

Not so much an anecdote, more an observation: I do think it would be nice if Steve MacManus got a bit more recognition. He seems to have been edited out of the photograph to a certain extent, and yet he was editor for 400 progs during the comic's heyday.

Sure, it's hard to go wrong with the level and variety of talent he had at his disposal, but I think Steve provided more than just a steady hand on the tiller.

• This post is part of a series of birthday tributes from a wide range of comic creators celebrating 2000AD's birthday on 26th February 2012. For more about 2000AD, visit www.2000adonline.com

2000AD © Rebelllion

Flesh: The Dino Files on its way

Think the dinosaurs became extinct after an asteroid hit Earth 65 million years ago? You couldn’t be more wrong.

Saddle up, check your six-shooters and prepare for life in the Cretaceous as Flesh: The Dino Files collects together 35 years of one of the most popular series in the history of legendary comic book 2000 AD.

By the 23rd Century, man has drained the planet’s resources bare, but thanks to time-travel technology Trans-Time Corporation sends rangers back to the days when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. These latter day cowboys round up vast herds of giant reptiles – all destined for the plates of a hungry future!

But no creature fancies being served up as steaks, and packs of ferocious dinosaurs soon put a halt to Trans-Time– with everything from terrifying T-Rexs to chilling cybosaurs in all-out dino action!

For the first time, Flesh: The Dino Files collects the original Flesh story, which started in the very first issue of 2000 AD in 1977, and its recent sequel, Texas. This brand new collection features stunning black and white artwork from industry legends such as Boix, Ramon Sola and the late Massimo Belardinelli with newcomer James McKay.

Fans have long clamoured for a collection, bringing the vision of writer Pat Mills (Charley's War, Sláine the Horned God) to a new generation. Flesh is the classic 65 million years in the making...

• Flesh: The Dino Files is available from 15th September on Amazon or through the 2000 AD online sho. ISBN: 978-1-907992-26-1; £15.99; 272 pages

Flesh returns to 2000AD in March

After more than 30 years, one of very first strips to appear in 2000AD is to return in blood-splattering, eon-spanning dinosaur-hunting glory.

Dino-terror classic Flesh is to return to the weekly comic with Prog 1724, out on 9th March.
Written by the series‟ original creator, Pat Mills, and drawn by James McKay, the new series is the long-awaited sequel to the much-loved original Flesh – part of the line-up in the very first issue of 2000AD in 1977.

Penned by Mills and drawn by Spanish artist Boix and Ramon Sola, Flesh was a futuristic Western where time-travelling ranchers farmed dinosaurs like cattle and sent their meat back to a hungry future.

The dinosaurs fought back and destroyed the Trans-Time base – and the new series follows the survivors as, stranded millions of years in the past, are ordered to drive their herds across the prehistoric American landscape to Texas – where another base promises safety ... and profit!

The new series will premiere with a stunning gatefold cover by Death’s Head II and Testament artist Liam Sharp.

“Flesh was one of the original strips from the very first issue of 2000AD in 1977 and while there have been spin off stories, we never found out what happened to the survivors of Trans-Time Base Three," notes 2000AD editor Matt Smith.

(A 10-page one shot 'prequel' to Flesh, written by Pat and drawn by Ramon Sola, ran in Prog 1526 in 2007, reviewed here on Broken Frontier).

“It's great to see the sequel make it into 2000AD, 30 years after it first appeared," he adds. "It's a great strip with some fantastically gory dinosaur action that will appeal to both old fans who read the original and new readers who want comics with some real bite!”

"James has done the impossible," says Pat. "He's brought Flesh back to life with a vengeance. After Ramon Sola's brilliant interpretation of Flesh in Book One, I never thought I'd find another artist who could do justice to its varied themes - cowboys, time travel, science fiction and dinosaurs. James has achieved this and more."

• 2000AD 1724 will be on sale from 9th March 2011, priced at £2.25, available to buy online, from all major magazine retailers across the UK and Europe and from all good comic stores across the US.

• More info at: www.2000ADonline.co.uk. For details on the original Flesh visit: www.2000adonline.com/vault/series/flesh/story/flesh_book_1

• Check out James' Official web site at: www.jamesmckay.info

Action comic strip Hookjaw to return in Strip Magazine

PJ Holden's cover for Strip Magazine #1

Hookjaw, a Jaws-inspired strip that first appeared in the controversial 1970s British weekly comic Action, will feature in the new Strip Magazine, which will launch in early 2011.

Lancaster-based Print Media Productions has agreed a deal with UK publisher Egmont to feature Hookjaw in the Magazine, re-publishing the strip in colour – and also has an option to publish Dredger, the hard-nosed secret agent who also featured in Action.

Probably the best-remembered and certainly most popular strip in the comic, HookJaw, inspired by the classic blockbuster movie Jaws, was created by Pat Mills, scripted by Ken Armstrong and drawn initially by Ramon Sola, followed by Felix Carrion and Eric Bradbury. Consistently topping reader polls, it was Mills who decided to make the shark the star of the strip which tackled environmental issues and corporate greed with equal relish.

The strip also caused controversy on publication, one of the stories that rapidly saw Action become a target of campaigners outraged by its violent content -- and its social commentary. The controversy Action created saw the comic 'banned' after just 37 issues, returning to the news stands only after its characters had been toned down and effectively emasculated by management demands on the editorial team.

The entire controversy was documented in Martin Barker's book, Action - The Story of a Violent Comic, published in 1990 by Titan Books.

In all, three Hookjaw stories featured in Action before the ban.

"Pat Mills gave the strip an environmental edge," notes Strip Magazine editor John Freeman. "This was a shark that never balked at eating corrupt humans or criminals out to make money from our oceans - along with anyone else unlucky enough to get near him.

"Hookjaw was just one of the strips that provoked the public campaign against Action, but its success also paved the way for comics like 2000AD and it's interesting to read the strip in that context today.

The first page of  Hookjaw as it will appear in Strip Magazine, coloured by Gary Caldwell and re-lettered by Jim Campbell

"We're sure there are plenty of the shark's original fans out there eager to catch up with the beast – and younger readers will be interested to see what all the fuss was about."

The strips have been coloured by Gary Caldwell and re-lettered by Jim Campbell.

One challenge remains for the new publisher: tracking down good quality of some issues of the original comic, which can fetch high prices.

"The printing on the comic, as with many classic British weeklies, was variable," notes Freeman. "Some pages of the comic we've sourced so far are fine while others are muddy, with print errors and heavy blacks. We're hoping collectors might be able to help in our quest to ensure the very best reproduction of these classic strips."

Hookjaw joins a line up of strips that includes work by PJ Holden, Michael Pennick, John Ridgway, James Hudnall, John McCrea, Phillip Hester and others.

Alongside STRIP Magazine, Print Media Productions is releasing a range of graphic albums that include creator-owned projects by Ferg Handley, Kev Hopgood, Gordon Rennie, SMS and more.

The first of these, the steampunk adventure The Iron Moon by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page, will be on sale from next month (October 2010), launching at the British International Comic Show in Birmingham.

• For the latest news about Strip Magazine visit: www.stripmagazine.co.uk

Hookjaw © Egmont UK

Zombies invade the Wild West!

Spitfire Comics, the publishing arm of StarscapeOnline.com have a couple of new items out: a re-release of the sold out Collected Hook Jaw by Pat Mills and others, compiled from the pages of the 1970s comic, Action!; and a zombies in the Wild West horror comic called Dead. There's just no stopping these reanimated corpses invading every milieu, is there?

Starscape Presents: Dead is a 24 page US-sized comic in which zombies have invaded the Wild West. All that stands between the hungry mouths of the living dead and the last refuge of salvation is one kick-ass beautiful female sheriff.

Recommended for fans of The Walking Dead and other zombie horror comics, this self-contained horror tale is the work of writer Gary Simpson (2000AD, Engine Comics) with quite breathtaking art from Lee O'Connor (Vurt, Shelf Life and Iraq: The Graphic War).

Collected from the pages of the million sales-per-month Action! comic, The Collected Hook Jaw is the tale of the man-eating great white shark, Hook Jaw. This forerunner of 2000AD sees blood-n-guts and limbs-a-flying mix with environmental issues. The collection comprises the two storylines prior to Action!'s banning after protests about the levels of violence, written by Pat Mills (2000AD, Charley's War, Slaine and more and Ken Armstrong (Flesh, Dan Dare and other uncredited stories), with art by Ramon Sola (Action!, 2000AD, Battle) and Felix Carrion.

• Starscape Presents: Dead and The Collected Hookjaw are available via Diamond Distribution (UK only), IndyPlanet, Lulu or from StarscapeOnline.com. For cover art and previews of Dead, click here for its page on Indyplanet.