Blog Post #1995: The Year of Living Dreddfully

1995 was quite a year. When it started, I was editing one fortnightly comic [the Judge Dredd Megazine, for teenagers and adults] and prepping to launch another [Judge Dredd: lawman of the Future - you know, for kids]. The Judge Dredd film starring Sylvester Stallone was in post-production, prepping for a global launch that summer.

The movie had the potential to transform Dredd from a cult character [beloved in Britain, parts of the Commonwealth and a few places in the US] into a worldwide sensation. Stallone's career had been on a surge thanks to hits like Cliffhanger and Demolition Man. Director Danny Cannon was a young gun, on the rise. All looked good.

In the offices of 2000AD, the previous editor had been made redundant in November 1994 as part of a company-wide cull. New editorial team John Tomlinson and my old mentor Steve MacManus were publishing a load of less than stellar material left behind, getting the comic into shape for the movie's summer premiere. It was a tricky time.

The Dredd film flopped in America, ranking just below The Goofy Movie for takings that year. It was a big hit in Britain, and did well globally - but the damage was done. The Dredd brand was well and truly sullied, nobody was coming near it again for years. [There's a new Dredd film coming next year, hopefully it can remove the old stink.]

By the end of 1995, I'd been transferred from the peripheral titles to control of the mothership. On December 18 that year, I became editor of 2000AD. This was a dream come true in many ways, the chance to course correct a title I felt had been heading for the rocks for years. A slower car crash than the '95 Dredd film, but still painful.

I leapt in with both boots, dispensing freelancers whose work didn't my vision of the comic with sledgehammer subtlety. My behaviour didn't endear me to lots of people. I was young and full of myself, thought I knew better. Even if I did, I should have treat those freelancers with more care and respect. Sigh. Live and learn.


So 1995 was a transformative year. When it started, anything seemed possible. When it ended, we knew saving 2000AD would have to be a local job. Stallone and the Dredd film hadn't ridden to the comic's rescue. The dull stink left by the movie still taints the character, as shown by the clip above. There was a long, hard slog up ahead.

Somehow, in the midst of all this, I wrote my fourth novel. It proved to be one of my best, most heartfelt books - a Doctor Who tie-in tome called Who Killed Kennedy. The ending is flawed, lots of things that could be done better, but there's a grasp of tone and narrative position I hadn't managed before. I was learning my craft as last.

But being editor of 2000AD is very much a full-time job. I didn't anything else of my own for another five years. 1996-1999 were devoted to the Galaxy's greatest comic, pretty much to the exclusion of everything else. Frankly, those four years are a blur of work, work and more work. You need to have a life too, if you can manage it...

Your chance to say thanks to former Tharg Steve MacManus

A few weeks back I was singing the praises of Steve MacManus, editor of iconic British comic 2000AD during its [arguably] most glorious days in the 1980s. Steve is leaving comics in April, after 37 years working in editorial. That blog post attracted a lot of positive comments here, on Twitter and sundry online message boards. Well, now's your chance to make a contribution to Steve's leaving card. Not money - just some message of thanks and gratitude for all Steve's done over the years.

Far too many unsung heroes only get the praise they deserve when it's too late. [Witness the outpouring of feeling following the sudden death of great US comics creator Dwayne McDuffie this week, or a few years back when British comics lettering legend Tom Frame died.] Thankfully, people are learning. There was a great gathering of get well messages recently for Judge Dredd co-creator Carlos Ezquerra as he was recovering from cancer. So, let's show our respect for Steve MacManus.

If you want to contribute a note, a message or a wee drawing for Steve's leaving card, this is your chance. It will have to be old school [i.e. on paper!] and, ideally, no larger than A4 in size. Send your contribution to: Steve Mac's Leaving Card, c/o Martin Morgan, Syndication & Production Administrator, Egmont Publishing Group, 239 Kensington High Street , London W8 6SA. Deadline for delivery is Monday, March 28th [2011 - you needed to ask?].

For reasons surpassing my comprehension, I'm currently unable to post on the official 2000AD message boards. So could some kindly reader of Vicious Imagery who can post there please cut and paste this message up for others to see? Spread the word! Do it now, Earthlets.

Genius: This Is Alternity

This is... Alternity from Temporal An0maly on Vimeo.

Steven Cook is a talented bugger. For years he was art editor on iconic British comic 2000AD, constantly pushing the envelope with his cutting edge designs. It's his badge logo you see on the weekly's front cover, graphic novels, and other merchanise.

He also does a fine line in alt-art, create dazzling fusions of past and present which have been exhibited in numerous galleries on different continents. [Steven kindly enough to let us use BarBelle - the picture at 3:30 in the video - to promote the Creative Writing MA at Edinburgh Napier University.] See more of Steven Cook's work here.