Fifty years after it exploded onto shelves and revolutionized comics forever, the visual story of how 2000 AD has evolved is to be told in a special book.
2000 AD: A Visual History 1977-2027 will detail year-by-year the evolution of Britain’s biggest comics export, the legion of legendary stories it has published, and the people who made it into a world-changing cultural juggernaut!
This new oversized hardcover will include rare sketches, test pages, character designs, and art from artists including Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), Simon Bisley (Lobo), Kevin O‘Neill (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), Brian Bolland (Batman: The Killing Joke) and Judge Dredd co-creator Carlos Ezquerra.
Publishing as part of the celebrations marking 2000 AD’s 50th anniversary in early 2027, The 2000 AD Visual History will feature newly rescanned art from original artboards to showcase the bold iconic imagery that made the comic an institution, with behind-the-scenes sketches and character designs lifting the lid on how 2000 AD was made.
Debuting in 1977, the weekly 2000 AD immediately proved to be a bombshell of a comic, irrevocably changing the publishing landscape with its bold design, intense storytelling, and uncompromising attitude.
Corralling a roster of bold storytellers and dynamic artists, editor and writer Pat Mills, designers Kevin O’Neill and Jan Shepheard, art editor Doug Church, and numerous others created a comic that would come to dominate British comics and influence culture far beyond Britain’s shores. From subverting comics clichés to crafting dark, cynical and satirical stories, it became a byword for the future and ushered in an exciting new era of British pop culture.
The self-styled “Galaxy’s Greatest Comic” would become home to some of the most popular characters of the British comics scene – including Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Strontium Dog, Sláine, Nemesis the Warlock, and many, many more. It also debuted many of comics’ biggest talents, all of whom would go on to revolutionise the world of comics and inspire legions of fans around the globe.
Written by Scott Montgomery, author of The 2000 AD Encyclopedia, The 2000 AD Visual History details how the legendary comic and its famous characters have been brought to life, taking readers on a voyage through the history of the long-running British comic anthology. Presented in an oversized hardcover, an exclusive slipcase edition is also available only though the 2000 AD webshop, featuring new artwork by Pris Bampoh of 2000 AD’s venerable editor Tharg The Mighty, hard at work in his Nerve-Centre!
The 2000 AD Visual History will be published January 27, 2027 – an ideal coffee-table book for fans of 2000 AD, comics, and pop culture alike!
