2000AD Binge: The Red Seas, Shimura, Devlin Waugh, Shamballa etc...

[leebrown1990]

Well with that awesome Mongoose 1.99 trade deal going on, and my local comic book store offering quite a few 2000AD trades for a fiver, in about the last month or two, I've bough around 20 2000AD trades!!! And after recently buying a bundle of old progs from around 400-1200. The last few months have literally just been a 2000AD binge.

I'be beem getting the Prog about 3 years now, but in the last year it's become pretty much the only comic I pay any attention. And I have to say. It really is the Galaxies Greatest Comic. There is nothing like this anywhere else, I've never seen such qaulity week to week, such beautifully put together trades going at a fraction of their RRP, and with so much talent going under the radar of your average comic reader. I've put quite alot of effort on various sites and forums and in prasing the book in comic stores trying to spread the word, to Yanks and otherwise. But people just don't seem to care.

Well... F**K 'em. These are our comics. I wish I'd been around to read this stuff when it was first coming out. But digging into pretty much every era simultaneously now is a treat in itself.

Trades-wise I've been reading:

The Read Seas: Under the Banner of the King of Death. Edginton is one of the top guys now, and Yeowell's art here is as good as you will ever see from him. The pacing in this book shows you what makes 2000AD great, every page is just crammed full of action, awesome ideas and character moments.

Sinister Dexter vol 1-3: Downlode like Mega City-One just offers so many potential stories and mixing up the comedic one shots with longer more serious stories works well. These guys came along just when the Prog needed them and they're still welcome today in my books.

Storming Heaven: The Frazer Irving Collection: It was inevitable he was going to get
picked up by one of the big 2. And even though I wasn't a huge fan of the stories in here, his art defintley made them worth a read. Even John Smiths A Love like Blood was about as cliched as you can get but was totally enjoyable.

Amerika: Yeah, I've finnaly read it. And I did it in one sitting. I can see why people may have thought the 2nd story was unnecessary, but it holds up as part of the trilogy in my eyes. The story and art are rightfully inconic to AD readers, there in such perfect sync, and after seeing them together again for Tour of Duty I still think Macniel and Wagner is one of the strongest pairings in the industry.
Also this is probably one the most tragically hilarious things I've ever read. Genius.

Shamballa: Beautifully wrote, beautifully illustrated. Some seriously tasty splash pages in here.

Shimura: Robbie Morrison manages to establish two chracter and a whole city taht deserve as much exploration as Dredd & Mega-City One. Macniel kicking ass again.

Mega-City Undercover: Probably one of the greatest AD chracters ever is introduced here, Dirty Frank! Low Life expands the Mega City mythos even further and art from two of AD's modern greats Henry Flint and Jock.

Devlin Waugh Volume 1 & 2: John Smith is bonkers right? The character and the ongoing story of the 2nd trade are certifiably nuts and the art is pretty much gorgeous throughout.

Thirteen: Another story where shit just happens and it happens fast. Somtimes you feel you haven't got your moneys worth when you finish a trade in one sitting, but  this is just such an immensly enjoyable read you won't care.

Also a big thanks to betel UK thanks to whom I've not got all of Zenith. I just need to decide whether to wait till I read it in order as I work my way chronoligcaly throug my bundle of Progs or fish them out and get stuck in straigth away.

Cheers,
Lee

[radiator]

A year or so back I found a discount book shop selling 2000ad trades for £2-£3 each, and had a similar experience. I picked up Family, Fiends of the Eastern Front, Banzai Battalion, both Devlin Waugh books, Shimura, the first two Sinister Dexter books, Asylum, Bad Company: Kano, Bec and Kawl: Bloody Students, Durham Red: The Vermin Stars, The Complete Indigo Prime, Leatherjack, The Red Seas volume 1, Skizz and 13 all for like £30.

There were many more I would have bought had I not owned them already!

Those places can be a goldmine - I always have a look whenever I pass one, but I've never been able to find the same thing again.

[leebrown1990]

Yeah I missed out The Family, that was quite a nice one sitting read too.

Cheers,
Lee

[The Adventurer]

You sound like me from a few years ago.

I've put quite a lot of effort on various sites and forums and in praising the book in comic stores trying to spread the word, to Yanks and otherwise. But people just don't seem to care.

Especially this.

Well... F**K 'em. These are our comics. I wish I'd been around to read this stuff when it was first coming out. But digging into pretty much every era simultaneously now is a treat in itself.

But definitely this.

When I got exposed to 2000 AD, around 2004/05 the trade paperback line was just taking off (coming off the DC/Rebellion team-up failure and Rebellion doing it themselves with superior results) that plus the old Extreme Edition made it a drokking amazing time to get absorbed in the titles and lore of 2000 AD.  I was buying everything I could get my hands on.  My appetite was insatiable for 2000 AD TP collections. Still do really.  And like you said, being able to read both 'Classic' 2000 AD and 'Modern' 2000 AD at the same time in tandem is a cool experience. To see where such a fascinating title came from, and where its going. Just really cool being able to read something like Robo-Hunter, then switch it up with some Sinister-Dexter; or read Dredd's earliest tales and see how those events still affect the title today.

Though, due to a financial/work hardship a two years ago I stopped being able to follow 2000 AD monthly, and I also had to stop buying TPs at regular intervals.  But I'm catching back up on trades right now, and I'm back to reading 2000 AD weekly starting in January.

So apparently I've missed some goings on in Dredd and Dante since the end of 2008...

[leebrown1990]

Yeah Tour of Duty and getting up to date with Nikolai Dante are a must.

I'm going to have to stop getting the MEG unfortunatley, I just don't have the funds. I was really liking Lilly Mackenzie aswell :-(.

I didn't realise it was the 2nd trade of Callabalistics Inc I bought so next purchases for me are probably that, and the Henry Flint collection they have in LCS for £4.

Cheers,
Lee

[Colin Zeal]

I also got book two of Cabalistics from Mongoose by mistake. Looks like book 1 is out of print as I haven't had any luck tracking down a copy. Only ones I've seen are going at over £40 on Amazon.

[leebrown1990]

Damnit... So they I they were actually meant to send us Vol.1?

Cheers,
lee

[Colin Zeal]

No. I meant that the mistake was on our part, not Mongoose's. I assumed it was voulme one and didn't bother to check.