Help a Poor Futsie Spend His Creds!

[Nic_Freeman]

I envy anyone who hasn't read Leviathan because they still get to experience it for the first time.

I bought it based on a recommendation from this board and it's one of the best 2000ad stories ever.

[IndigoPrime]

Of that particular list, I'd say Leviathan is the best and most unique option, so I'd go for that. (I'm assuming you're in the US, based on the list names – otherwise for the Dreddworld stuff, you'd probably be better off buying the relevant Hachette volumes.)

My take on the others:

- Flesh: The Dino Files: fun, old-school 2000 AD (cowboys and dinosaurs), but very much of its era, and with diminishing returns as it goes on.

- Chopper: Surf-S Up: Song of the Surfer is one of the best things 2000 AD has ever run. After that point – which is when it should have ended – it varies between OK Ennis work and the dismal Supersurf 13, before Wagner (hopefully) ends the Chopper series with the fairly good The Big Meg.

- The Complete Al's Baby: Amusing but relatively throwaway.

- The Taxidermist: Cheesecake art a go go from Gibson, but otherwise a decent set of Dreddworld tales, much of which has some real heart.

- Button Man: Get Harry Ex: Basically a movie on the page. One of my favourite 2000 AD one-shots of all-time. Just not quite Leviathan good for me. (The subsequent volumes are good too, although not for me to the same level as the original.)

- Judge Death: The Life and Death of...: I'm assuming this is the Young Death arc, which sucked most of the horror out of the character.

- The Simping Detective: An odd one for me. I never got on with Simping at all in its original run, but it reads very nicely when collected. It's a real pity what the writer did with one of the female characters though.

- Missionary Man: Bad Moon Rising: Fairly early Rennie with some surprisingly gory Quitely art. MM got better as it went along, but this particular collection didn't do a whole lot for me.

- Mega-City Undercover: The Rebellion trade is a mash-up of the first Lenny Zero tale (which is very good) and figuring out how Low Life would play out. Low Life in particular became a real treat, and so I would recommend this and the follow-up volumes. But they're cheaper in Hachette form.

- Age of the Wolf: I bought this one myself in a 2000 AD sale, partly because I think Mrs IP might like it. I recall it being a solid tale, even if some of the werewolf art was a bit weird.

[terryworld]

flesh
harlem heroes
nemesis (come ON man!)
abc warriors
hewligans haircut
and, indeed, your dedication to thrill power is awe-inspiring!

[Dandontdare]

The Complete Halo Jones by Alan Moore & Ian Gibson - Mr Moore at his finest, one of the best things 2000ad has ever run and a story that really hasn't dated very much (compared to some other 70s and 80s thrills). I wish this wasn't "The complete.." because it collects the only thee volumes that were ever published, but in a perfect world it would be part 1 of 4 as this was supposed to be a 12-book epic.

I'd also recommend:
the three "phonebook" size Nemesis collections;
Zenith;
The Complete Ro-busters (a bit dated and juvenile but great fun)
Robohunter:Verdus, the first and best robohunter arc - It became much more comedy-focused after this and IMO went downhill rapidly.

[Rogue Judge]

And the winner is... Leviathan! I'm not surprised to see Leviathan at the top as I had constantly heard whispers here about this title before (Thanks to I, Cosh, Nic Freeman, and IndigoPrime etc. for recommending!) Today I ordered Leviathan online, so I should have it in a few weeks – Really looking forward to it! 

Thanks again to everyone who made recommendations!  I take them very seriously as I want Tharg's best! As for my commitment to thrill power – I have 40 years of reading to catch up on! Im jealous of everyone who grew up with a weekly dose of 2000AD, you lucky creeps! I dropped 99% of the monthly floppies I used to buy (mostly Marvel) and put my money towards 2000AD instead. Much happier!

Mega City undercover had a few votes too, so I will keep that near the top of my list too. Thanks to AlexF, James Stacey and Smith for recommending it!
Another popular recommendation is Button Man (Thanks to Link Prime and IndigoPrime for the recommending). I think I might buy this one next...

@Smith and @ Magnetica, I have never read ABC Warriors but they have been on my radar. I looked online and it appears the Volgan War trades are difficult to come by. Are the Complete Mek Files worth picking up (3 volumes I think)? How abut The Meknificant Seven trade? I know nothing of these characters but reading the synopsis for these books online looks pretty cool! (Also Is Ro-Busters necessary reading before getting into the ABC Warriors?)

Thanks to Greg M. and Echidna for explaining the Chopper book. I really like the character and would like to see where he goes after the ending of CF #11 (Which is one of my favorite Dredd stories so far and I wish was printed in color as there appeared to be a lot of colour spreads printed in B&W). I'll keep it on my list.

I was hoping to hear that Al's Baby was an essential read as it has a great creative team and premises. I think Ill leave it on the list but its not at the top.

Colin YNWA, your thoughts on Flesh Dino Files make me want to read it badly. I mean, cowboys, dinosaurs, blood, guts and monsters? What's not to love!? This stays at the top of my list.

As for Nikolai Dante, it sounds like I will have to add this to my list. My problem is I'm really a completionist and looking online it appears I can only get a few volumes here and there, and could therefore not collect/read the whole story.
@ Theblazeuk - Thank you very much for your generous Dante offer! I do live in Canada, however, and am not sure how much postage would be. What kind of competition did you win? Congrats!

Age of the wolf sounds good, Andy Lambert really sold it when describing it in another thread and I look forward to reading it.

@IndigoPrime, thanks for the detailed list. Based on your list I am most interested in Leviathan, Flesh, and Button Man. Missionary man sounds good too. However, I also don't think Ill be getting Judge Death: The life and Death of... or the Simping detective, as they sound nowhere as good as some of the other titles on the list. Thanks for the detail.

@ Dandontdare, I already read the Zenith books (book 3 is my fave) and have the 4 Robo Hunter casebooks too (I enjoyed them a lot, but that's enough Slade for me!). I haven't considered Nemesis yet, so thanks for the input. As for Halo Jones, I hear its great and will probably get it someday. The completionist inside me hates that the story was never completely told)
I would like to learn more about Slaine too, what to search out and what to avoid. Thanks again everyone!

[Smith]

IMO reading Ro-busters is not required to understand ABC warriors.
You could get Mek files #1(which collects the first 2 arcs: Meknificent Seven and Black hole) and see if it works for you.

[IndigoPrime]

I have never read ABC Warriors but they have been on my radar. I looked online and it appears the Volgan War trades are difficult to come by. Are the Complete Mek Files worth picking up (3 volumes I think)? How abut The Meknificant Seven trade? I know nothing of these characters but reading the synopsis for these books online looks pretty cool! (Also Is Ro-Busters necessary reading before getting into the ABC Warriors?)

ABC Warriors, I think, to some extent depends on how well you get on with Pat Mills's writing. For me, the original ABC Warriors and follow-up The Black Hole (both compiled in Complete Mek Files vol. 1 – or separately as Meknificant Seven and The Black Hole) remain the best of the entire run. The original series was knockabout early 2000 AD fun, and feels somewhat dated, but has great ideas and art. It feels like Mills was having fun. The Black Hole has some stunning early Bisley artwork, some capable SF by SMS, and is a high-octane tale.

For me, ABC Warriors is broadly diminishing returns thereafter, with Mills getting increasingly preachy, and the stories too often relying on 'getting the band back together' over a dozen episodes. The Volgan War series is in part a massive ret-con, combined with divisive photo-realistic art by Clint Langley. In all honesty, I've found the series pretty dull in recent years, but I'm sure people here would beg to differ. Regardless, I suspect most most would recommend Mek Files, and so get the first hardback collection.

Ro-Busters is a lot of fun, if again aimed at the audience of the time (ten year olds who could afford a relatively expensive alternative to 2000 AD, Starlord). There are in theory two options there: Complete Ro-Busters from 2008 bundled up the entire run in a phonebook-style reprint. It suits the pulpy nature of the strip, but loses all the colour art. More recently, Rebellion reissued the run across two hardbacks, similar in nature to the Mek-Files. They look gorgeous. Inessential, perhaps, but there are some great old-fashioned 2000 AD stories lurking within.

You also mention Nemesis. That series is, essentially, batshit. The first book (reprinted in 2014 and so available again) is superb. Mills at his very best, joined by some fantastic artists. There's crossover between the strip and ABC Warriors (although you don't need to read both to understand anything), but I'd shove that towards the top of your list.

The other two volumes are, again, not quite as essential. Mills drifts into preachy politics quite a bit, although not nearly to the extent seen elsewhere. They're both very strong on the whole, though the second is a pain to track down, despite ocassionally showing up on eBay. Note Nemesis also has a 'Deviant Edition' of the early tales. This is a reprint of the US coloured editions, with reworked art. However, go for the 'complete' volume one, since you get more strip and it leads on to the other 'complete' volumes.

[Magnetica]

It is worth noting that Mek Files Vol1 has colour centre spreads where as the Meknificent 7 vol doesn't, so I would go for that.

I bought all the Volgan War volumes last year but did have trouble locating suppliers for a couple of them. The forum helped with suggestions though - not sure which thread it was under. As I recall I got them from a combination of the 2000AD online store, Amazon and Wordery.

And IMHO you definitely need Nemesis vol1. It is better than ABC Warriors in my view.

[Rogue Judge]

Magnetica, IndigoPrime, and Smith - Okay, you guys sold me on the ABC Warriors. I just ordered Volgan War v.1 from the webshop!

I'll definitely get the 1st Mek Files soon (are all three good?) and will consider Ro-Busters.

I looked around and was able to find volumes 2-4 of Volgan War as well and will get them as well if I enjoy volume one. On the webshop it also mentions ABC Warriors: Return to Earth, Return to Mars, and Return to Ro-Busters. Are these a continuation of the Volgan War (and worthwhile)?

Slaine and Nemesis sound interesting (and I'm sure are very good) but I am hesitant as I'm not really into fantasy (Conan, Lord of the Rings etc). I prefer the sci-fi of Dredd/Strontium Dog/Glimmer Rats etc - this is why I think I'll really like ABC Warriors. However, I am open to reading new things, and you guys haven't steered me wrong yet, so I will have to consider those eventually.

Thanks again for your recommendations, they continue to guide my reading!

[Greg M.]

Slaine and Nemesis sound interesting (and I'm sure are very good) but I am hesitant as I'm not really into fantasy (Conan, Lord of the Rings etc).

Nemesis has fantasy elements, but it's largely big, mad, over-the-top, spaceships/aliens/laserguns/time-travel sci-fi set in the far future. It also has the greatest villain (or indeed character) in all comics: Torquemada. It goes off the boil towards the end, but is generally the best thing Pat Mills has ever written.

[NapalmKev]

My personal favourite regarding the A.B.C Warriors is Khronicals of Khaos. It's a mad tale with some fantastic artwork.

Cheers

[norton canes]

So where is the best place to get the Leviathan collection? On Amazon the softback price is listed as '2 New from £83.28' 

[NapalmKev]

So where is the best place to get the Leviathan collection? On Amazon the softback price is listed as '2 New from £83.28' 

There are second hand (soft cover) copies on Amazon starting at around £11.30.

Cheers

[norton canes]

Ah, cool. Just wondered if someone had discovered somewhere selling new copies at a reasonable price.

[CalHab]

Ah, cool. Just wondered if someone had discovered somewhere selling new copies at a reasonable price.

The ones listed on Abebooks at £11.31 (which are probably from the same seller) are apparently new.