Complete Newbie here - help and advice most grateful!

[starfish]

Hello there!

I'm completely new to the delights of 2000AD. A friend of mine bought me the first volume of the Judge Dredd complete case files a year or so ago, and I've been hooked ever since. However, having never read an issue of 2000AD, and being completely new to everything, I have a few questions, if that's not too much trouble...

1) I was intrigued by the dinosaur character Satanus in the Cursed Earth stories. Apparently he (or his mother) had previously appeared in 2000AD prior to the Dredd appearance (a story called 'Flesh', so google tells me). Is Flesh currently available in a reprint volume, or is it ever likely to reprinted again?

2) By the time that the Complete Case Files eventually catches up with the current issues (assuming it ever will), will I then be the owner of every single Dredd Story? I notice that he also appears in 'Tales of the Dead Man'. Are there any other Dredd graphic novels I should be picking up that aren't likely to be included in the Case Files?

3) Having really enjoyed the Dredd books thus far, is there another series of 2000AD reprints that people can reccommend? I'm thinking of buying the Judge Anderson Volume, but what else is supposed to be particularly good? I've heard a lot of great things about Strontium Dog - is that the next best one to get? I've finally caught up on the Dredd volumes and can't wait until the next one is released in February - I'd love some more 2000AD goodness to tide me over until then!

Thanks guys!

[Dandontdare]

Welcome Starfish.

1. I don't think any of the Flesh books have ever been reprinted as a graphic novel (shame!). There have been some reprints though: http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=thrill&page=profiles&choice=flesh. Pat Mills (co-creator of the 2000ad and writer of several stories to this day) has also featured this epoch-spanning family of Dinosaurs (Old One Eye, Satanus, Golgotha) in other stories, including ABC Warriors and Nemesis.

2. Pretty much. They are launching 'Casefiles 0' to cover all the annual and summer special stories that didn't make it into the main casefiles. I haven't really been following the discussions about where tales of the Dead Man fits in as I don't plan on getting them, but I'm sure someone will be along to fill you in on that one... The only thing missing will be the strips from the Daily Star newspaper (several books of these are out) and bits and bobs such as Heavy Metal Dredd which featured in Rock Power magazine, but I wouldn't worry about those. If you get every Casefile you'll have more Dredd than you know what to do with!

3. Strontium Dog all the way - the first three Agency Files are superb. If cops and bounty hunters seems a tad mundane after that, try Nemesis the Warlock for ultra-future battles between an genocidal fascist traffic cop and an amoral alien warlock. Top stuff. Then try Ro-busters and the ABC warriors for all out robotic coolness.

[TordelBack]

1. I don't think any of the Flesh books have ever been reprinted as a graphic novel (shame!). There have been some reprints though: http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=thrill&page=profiles&choice=flesh. Pat Mills (co-creator of the 2000ad and writer of several stories to this day) has also featured this epoch-spanning family of Dinosaurs (Old One Eye, Satanus, Golgotha) in other stories, including ABC Warriors and Nemesis.

Quick correction:  Flesh has been reprinted in GN in the past year http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flesh-Rebellion-2000ad-Pat-Mills/dp/1906735115, and very lovely it is too.  

As well as showing up in the far future in The Complete Nemesis the Warlock Vol 2, Satanus's adventures after the events of The Cursed Earth also appear in the excellent short series Satanus Unchained!  (unreprinted, and maybe unlikely to be), and the godawful Blood of Satanus 2 and 3 (you will already have the superior but daft original Blood of Satanus in thr Casefiles), which hopefully will never see print again, despite some freaky art.  

[Emperor]

3. Strontium Dog all the way - the first three Agency Files are superb. If cops and bounty hunters seems a tad mundane after that, try Nemesis the Warlock for ultra-future battles between an genocidal fascist traffic cop and an amoral alien warlock. Top stuff. Then try Ro-busters and the ABC warriors for all out robotic coolness.

Very solid recommendations - these are the classics.

You could also not go far wrong with getting into the Nikolai Dante habit - there is a good solid run of trade paperbacks now. Probably also try out Defoe if the Pat Millsian bonkersness (bonkerosity?) tickles you.

Also don't overlook the old girl herself - Prog 2010 was published at the end of the year and is a good jumping on point, a local thrill merchant can probably hook you up with this and the handful of issues in between and then all of a sudden you are in and you'll never know how you got by without it.

Have a read around, ask questions, see what takes your fancy or sounds good - tastes vary but that is the beauty of an anthology.

[Colin_YNWA]

Welcome aboard. I'm a massive fan of 'Flesh' and can't recommend the trade of the original 70s series highly another. Others have pointed you in the right direction to get that but here's some thoughts people have shared on it (though I can't guarantee they will be spoiler free I should warn you)

http://www.2000adonline.com/forum/index.php/topic,26065.15.html

[radiator]

Hello mate - always good to see a new face, don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions.

1. As above, Flesh is available in graphic novel form:



2. The main Dredd spin offs (which don't appear in the Case Files) you should try and get hold of are The Dead Man, Young Death (which follows directly on from JD Case Files 14), My Name is Death, Judge Anderson Psi Files 01 and Banzai Batallion.

I'd also highly recommend Chopper: Song of the Surfer and Return of the Taxidermist - though they'll be a little tricky to get hold of as they're not currently in print.

Dredd also features in The Simping Detective, Mega City Undercover, Devlin Waugh, Shimura and others, but these are more guest appearances or cameos and aren't as important to the main Dredd storyline.

3. I would suggest The Complete Nemesis the Warlock Volume 1, Judge Anderson: The Psi Files 01, Nikolai Dante: The Romanov Dynasty, Kingdom: The Promised Land or Leviathan. Either that or skip ahead a little in Dredd and have a look at one of the colour volumes like Mandroid, The Chief Judges Man, or America.

All the info you'll need on the books is here: http://www.2000adonline.com/books/index.php

[starfish]

Wow, thanks for all the help people, you are a friendly bunch indeed.

Thanks for all the tips, I'll certainly be having to check out some of those reccommendations.

Just been reading the reviews of Flesh that someone posted up - I'm a bit disturbed by news of a missing page (one of the pages in the book was printed twice by mistake). Is there a corrected version out there anywhere?

[radiator]

Is there a corrected version out there anywhere?

Can't help you with that, I'm afraid.

The main Dredd spin offs (which don't appear in the Case Files) you should try and get hold of are The Dead Man, Young Death (which follows directly on from JD Case Files 14), My Name is Death, Judge Anderson Psi Files 01 and Banzai Batallion.

There's also The Batman/Judge Dredd Files, Judge Dredd Vs Aliens (unsure as to whether this will be in the Case Files), Judge Dredd Vs Predator, Judge Dredd/Lobo and Heavy Metal Dredd. Whatever you do, avoid Heavy Metal Dredd - it's pretty awful and for die hard fans only.

There's also the Daily Star Dredd newspaper strips, but it remains to be seen whether they'll be included in the soon to be published Restricted Files books. Aside from that, there's only pretty obscure material like the 1995 movie adaptation, Lawman of the Future and DC's version of Dredd - none of it essential.

[vzzbux]

Welcome on board. There is a whole sea of GN's to start you off. E-Bay is a good source to collect older prog's






V

[COMMANDO FORCES]

Welcome to the House of Tharg starfish.

By the way if you want other Dredd stories you can get hold of the Virgin & Black Flame novels and also if you like CD stories you can look for the 2 BBC ones & the Big Finish ones (18 in the first run & 4 in the latest run).

[starfish]

Welcome on board. There is a whole sea of GN's to start you off. E-Bay is a good source to collect older prog's

Yeah, I know, but I don't really want to double-dip. I don't really want to buy a Dredd GN if there's any chance it might end up in one of the collected volumes... which is why I asked the question.

And yes, ebay is really great. As soon as I read the Editor's Note in volume 2 of the case files (which basically said that four Dredd issues from the Cursed Earth story could never be reprinted due to legal reasons), I was on ebay like a shot and bought the issues in question.

In fact, reading through those, I noticed a pretty interesting story in them called 'Ant Wars', which at the time was just starting. Anyone know if 'Ant Wars' was ever reprinted? Having read the start, I'm curious to see how it ended...

[COMMANDO FORCES]

Ant Wars came out as a collected Extreme Edition number 4 in 2004

[starfish]

Welcome to the House of Tharg starfish.

By the way if you want other Dredd stories you can get hold of the Virgin & Black Flame novels and also if you like CD stories you can look for the 2 BBC ones & the Big Finish ones (18 in the first run & 4 in the latest run).

I didn't realise Big Finish had a 2000AD licence, thanks for that. I know of them through their Doctor Who stuff, most of which is seriously top-notch. Must be a tricky transition to take 2000AD characters from the comic panels and into an audio medium. Does it work well in that format?

[TordelBack]

Yeah, I know, but I don't really want to double-dip. I don't really want to buy a Dredd GN if there's any chance it might end up in one of the collected volumes... which is why I asked the question.

Sensible approach, but you're going to be waiting a while for some of the good stuff!  Casefiles have been covering a year of publication per volume, so they're about 20 years behind at the moment, and apparently about to start incorporating material from the Judge Dredd Megazine, so we can expect that progress to slow even if they continue pumping them out.  The solution may be to hit the library - most of the great more recent Dredd stuff is collected and well stocked.  Keep you busy while you wait!

[starfish]

Yeah, I know, but I don't really want to double-dip. I don't really want to buy a Dredd GN if there's any chance it might end up in one of the collected volumes... which is why I asked the question.

Sensible approach, but you're going to be waiting a while for some of the good stuff!  Casefiles have been covering a year of publication per volume, so they're about 20 years behind at the moment, and apparently about to start incorporating material from the Judge Dredd Megazine, so we can expect that progress to slow even if they continue pumping them out.  The solution may be to hit the library - most of the great more recent Dredd stuff is collected and well stocked.  Keep you busy while you wait!

Well, as the friendly people above have said, there's a whole bunch of 2000AD stuff out there. Judge Dredd is the most famous strip but I've barely scratched the surface when it comes to the vast universe of the Galaxy's Greatest Comic. I'm sure I can while away the months between Case Files releases by snapping up some of the other collections.

Twenty years behind! They're up to 1990 at the moment on the Case Files! Blimey, was 1990 really 20 years ago? I remember it well - Ulrika Jonsson hosting Gladiators, Ninja Turtles at number 1 in the pop charts etc. etc. Just think, there are people out there of voting age who weren't alive in 1990.