Well, I just happened to see 200AD in a shop a few days ago.
Basically, it's a classic British comic, and the source of Judge Dredd, who first appeared in issue 2.
It's often been a mixed bag, catering various to kids and adults, and not always quite sure which audience to target.
For example, during issues 550-700 - when I got into it so much that I bought a friends collection (issue 300+) - it has hitting hard with mature themes, properly executed.
But then after a short while of seeing Judge Dredd take the long walk, Strontium Dog be killed off, and Rogue Trooper revisited as "Friday", it suddenly went back to kiddie stuff.
After tackling major issues of freedom and democracy, Judge Dredd went back to being a comic shoot-'em-up. Rogue Trooper, after the excellent "Friday" series that saw his creation as nothing more than a corporate game, and his comrades in arms sacrificed as part of a biological experiment, also suddenly became meaningless shoot-'em up. Essentially, the magazine had touched on high ideals and intelligent plotlines that it simply couldn't maintain.
Point of this ppost is that I had a quick flick through, and found some of the old authors back in charge - not least, John Wagner scripting Judge Dredd again.
And Slaine was there again - in even more glorious artwork (check out the cover here (that's the actual artwork inside, for each frame - incredible detail)).
Even Strontium Dog was present, along with Wulf - even though I distinctly remember reading the death of both in differnt issues (though its nice to see Carlos Ezquera back to illustrating there again).
Suffice to say, maybe I won't get back into reading it. But its good to see some of the old creative team back behind the plot lines. Maybe it's not going to rise itself to a mature-only audience - but hopefully it's not sunk to pre-teens only, either. Maybe it's finally struck a balance.
2000AD has been a great vehicle for some immense talent, from Alan Moore's "Halo Jones" to Grant Morrison's "Zenith". I'm glad to see it still going strong as a comic showcase for talent.
Basically, it's a classic British comic, and the source of Judge Dredd, who first appeared in issue 2.
It's often been a mixed bag, catering various to kids and adults, and not always quite sure which audience to target.
For example, during issues 550-700 - when I got into it so much that I bought a friends collection (issue 300+) - it has hitting hard with mature themes, properly executed.
But then after a short while of seeing Judge Dredd take the long walk, Strontium Dog be killed off, and Rogue Trooper revisited as "Friday", it suddenly went back to kiddie stuff.
After tackling major issues of freedom and democracy, Judge Dredd went back to being a comic shoot-'em-up. Rogue Trooper, after the excellent "Friday" series that saw his creation as nothing more than a corporate game, and his comrades in arms sacrificed as part of a biological experiment, also suddenly became meaningless shoot-'em up. Essentially, the magazine had touched on high ideals and intelligent plotlines that it simply couldn't maintain.
Point of this ppost is that I had a quick flick through, and found some of the old authors back in charge - not least, John Wagner scripting Judge Dredd again.
And Slaine was there again - in even more glorious artwork (check out the cover here (that's the actual artwork inside, for each frame - incredible detail)).
Even Strontium Dog was present, along with Wulf - even though I distinctly remember reading the death of both in differnt issues (though its nice to see Carlos Ezquera back to illustrating there again).
Suffice to say, maybe I won't get back into reading it. But its good to see some of the old creative team back behind the plot lines. Maybe it's not going to rise itself to a mature-only audience - but hopefully it's not sunk to pre-teens only, either. Maybe it's finally struck a balance.
2000AD has been a great vehicle for some immense talent, from Alan Moore's "Halo Jones" to Grant Morrison's "Zenith". I'm glad to see it still going strong as a comic showcase for talent.
