It’s apparently a great time to be a 2000AD fan. Not only is the British anthology celebrating its 35th birthday this year with day-and-date digital distribution through Apple, not only is there a new (and, unlike the first one, apparently good Dredd movie hitting theaters next month, but now IDW is announcing a new line of Judge Dredd reprints tailored for the American audience. Quoth the press release:
Once again showing a willingness to tailor books to fan requests, IDW’s first hardcover collection of classic Judge Dredd comics, JUDGE DREDD: THE COMPLETE BRIAN BOLLAND, will first appear as a fully black-and-white edition, presenting crisp, clean, and stunning pages of Brian Bolland artwork as they first appeared. Bolland’s amazingly detailed linework will be on full display in this oversize hardcover edition.
“Fans have been very vocal to us about wanting to first see Bolland’s amazing pages in pristine black-and-white,” said IDW’s Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief and JUDGE DREDD editor Chris Ryall. “The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimate Collections presented the original Eastman/Laird stories in gorgeous black and white, and that’s what fans have told us they’d like to see here at the start, too. We’re happy to give them what they want, especially since Brian Bolland’s art is so stunning even without color.”
The publisher will also be releasing a new monthly series of reprints of classic Dredd stories from the pages of 2000AD next year, with colors from Doctor Who Classics‘ Charlie Kirchoff, all of which will hopefully bring Dredd, and 2000AD in general, to a new audience who have been starved for decades of decent amounts of Thrill Power.
As if that isn’t enough, current 2000AD editor Matt Smith is starting a new series of interviews over at CBR about the anthology, Dredd and all things Galaxy’s Greatest Comic – including an appearance from Tharg the Mighty himself, guaranteed to confuse the non-faithful:
I am conscious that there are corners of your planet that are still holding out against the inevitable pull of Thrill-power, so it’s zarjaz to have a website like CBR to advertise the ghafflebette contents of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic!
Welcome to greatness, Americans. Splundig Vur Thrigg!
