2000 AD SUMMER SPECIAL

The Judges of Dredd-world face an Angry Planet in this year’s 2000 AD Sci-fi Special

Best served with sand-infested chips and warm Panda Pop.

INSPIRED BY 2000 AD EDITOR MATT Smith embarking upon a Marvel movie marathon, this year’s Sci-fi Special from the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic is composed of several interconnected stories, which come together to form a larger narrative.

“It came about from me finally getting around to seeing Avengers: Infinity War,” laughs Smith. “I particularly enjoyed the interaction between the various characters in the shared universe and I thought that was something we could do more of in the Dredd-world, with an investigative case that takes in not only Dredd and Anderson but also Cursed Earth Koburn, Armitage, Devlin Waugh, Hondo-city Judge Inaba and Chopper.”

Masterminded by Michael Carroll and Maura Mchugh and also featuring the talents of Ben Willsher, Robin Smith and more, it’ll see Dredd and co pitted against the planet itself. “I asked Mike and Maura if they would be up for plotting the over-arching storyline, which they did, also scripting the Dredd, Anderson and wrap-up stories,” explains Smith.

“The basis of the idea I had was, given the amount of environmental damage the Earth has suffered since the Atomic Wars, it might decide it’s had enough and strike back against mankind. That kind of global threat meant that you can jump from Mega-city One to Oz, Hondo-city, Brit-cit and the Cursed Earth, all dealing with a different facet of the problem.” SJ

The 2000 AD Sci-fi Special 2021 is out on 7 July.