BEST OF 2000 AD VOLUME 5: THE ESSENTIAL

" Manages to deliver on the promise of its title...Best of 2000 AD shows off the iconic title in its best light." - Wired

Best of 2000 AD is a landmark series from the cult comic, bursting with our greatest stories for a new generation of readers.

Every Best of 2000 AD contains a mix of modern classics and gems from the vault. In each edition you'll find an explosive new Judge Dredd adventure, fresh essays by prominent popular culture writers, a graphic novel-length feature presentation by global legends and a vintage Dredd case.

In this volume: Judge Dredd raises only the law when Mega City One's super-rich consider themselves above it all in Elevator Pitch; crash-land on a Death Planet as Al Ewing (The Immortal Hulk) and Henry Flint (Eerie) introduce the monstrous, weaponized (but dead polite) Zombo; go Swimming in Blood with occult detective Devlin Waugh as he investigates a vampire outbreak in an underwater prison by John Smith (Hellblazer) and Sean Phillips (Reckless, Night Fever); ride out into the Godless wasteland of the Cursed Earth and witness Gordon Rennie (Doctor Who) and Frank Quitely (All-Star Superman) preach faith through firepower in Missionary Man.

Boasting brand new covers from an all-star line-up of artists including Annie Wu (Hawkeye, Black Canary) and Evan Cagle (Dune, Detective Comics) with designer Tom Muller (X-Men), Best of 2000 AD is the essential gateway into the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic..

Rob Williams is the writer of Suicide Squad and Martian Manhunter for DC Comics, Unfollow for Vertigo and Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor for Titan Comics. His previous work for 2000 AD includes Judge Dredd: Titan, The Grievous Journey Of Ichabod Azrael (And The Dead Left In His Wake) and The Ten-Seconders, and he is currently writing Roy of the Rovers for Rebellion.

Chris Weston has drawn a vast array of 2000 AD and Megazine stories, including Indigo Prime, Downlode Tales, Future Shocks, Canon Fodder, Judge Dredd, Nemesis the Warlock, Nikolai Dante, Pulp Sci-Fi, Robo-Hunter, Rogue Trooper and Vector 13. Beyond 2000 AD, Weston’s work includes Fantastic Four: First Family, Enemy Ace: War in Heaven, The Filth, The Invisibles, Ministry of Space and Garth Ennis’s War Story: Johann’s Tiger.

Al Ewing has been a Judge Dredd aficionado since the age of nine, and is best known in the UK for his work on Dredd in 2000 AD, where he also co-created Zombo and Damnation Station. In addition, Ewing has written various novels for Solaris and Abaddon Books, including The Fictional Man, Pax Omega and Gods of Manhattan, and is currently writing Mighty Avengers and Loki: Agent of Asgard for Marvel Comics.

Superstar artist Frank Quitely first wowed 2000 AD fans with his work on Shimura and Missionary Man. He broke into the US comics’ scene, working with 2000 AD writer Grant Morrison on Flex Mentallo and JLA: Earth 2. The pair would continue to collaborate on such titles as New X-Men, We3 and All-Star Superman, the latter two titles winning various Eisner Awards between 2005-2007.

John Wagner has been scripting for 2000 AD for more years than he cares to remember. His creations include Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog, Ace Trucking, Al’s Baby, Button Man and Mean Machine. Outside of 2000 AD his credits include Star Wars, Lobo, The Punisher and the critically acclaimed A History of Violence.

With over 300 2000 AD stories to his name – not to mention over 250 Daily Star Judge Dredd strips – Alan Grant’s prolific creative record speaks for itself. Outside the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic, Grant is well-known to Batman fans following a lengthy run on various incarnations of the title. More recently he has adapted Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novels Kidnapped and Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde in Graphic Novel format with artist Cam Kennedy.

Sean Phillips has become one of the comics industry’s most acclaimed artists, and is fondly remembered by 2000 AD fans as the co-creator of Armitage and Devlin Waugh. His work on the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic also includes illustration for Armoured Gideon, Downlode Tales, Judge Dredd, Mega-City One, One-Offs, Sinister Dexter, Strange Cases and Vector 13. Phillips’ US work includes lengthy runs on Hellblazer, The Invisibles, Kid Eternity, Minx, Uncanny X-Men, Wildcats, Sleeper and Marvel Zombies. Away from comics he has done freelance work for 20th Century Fox, Sony, and Maxim magazine.

Henry Flint, winner of the National Comics Awards for Best Comic Artist 2004, is one of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic’s rising superstars. Co-creator of Sancho Panzer, Shakara, and the fan-favourite strip, Zombo, his incredibly versatile pencils have also graced A.B.C. Warriors, Judge Dredd/Aliens, Deadlock, Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Nemesis the Warlock, The V.C.’s and Venus Bluegenes. He has even written a Tharg’s Alien Invasions strip! He has also worked on several American comics, including Omega Men, Haunted Tank and Fear Itself: Fearsome Four. Away from the comics industry, Henry produced art of the cover of DJ Food’s 2012 album, The Search Engine.

Cam Kennedy is another hugely popular 2000 AD artist, having illustrated many Judge Dredd strips and co-created luckless wannabe creator Kenny Who? and the Taxidermist. A key early Rogue Trooper artist, he has also drawn Batman/Judge Dredd: Vendetta in Gotham, Judge Dredd, Tharg the Mighty, Tharg’s Future Shocks, and The V.C.’s. His extracurricular work includes Axel Pressbutton, Batman, Lobo, Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Star Wars.

John Smith is unquestionably a 2000 AD hero, with a host of creative credits to his name, including A Love Like Blood, Devlin Waugh, Firekind, Holocaust 12, Indigo Prime, Pussyfoot 5, Revere, Slaughterbowl, Tyranny Rex, Leatherjack, Dead Eyes and Cradlegrave. Smith has also written Future Shocks, Judge Dredd, Judge Karyn, Pulp Sci-Fi, Robo-Hunter, Rogue Trooper, Tales from Beyond Science, Vector 13 and Tales from the Black Museum. Smith’s work beyond the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic includes the long-running New Statesmen series in Crisis, DC/Vertigo’s Hellblazer and Scarab, and Harris Comics’ Vampirella.

Gordon Rennie is one of 2000 AD's most prolific creators, with co-creative credits for Caballistics, Inc., Missionary Man, Necronauts, Storming Heaven, Rain Dogs and Witchworld. Rennie has written for Heavy Metal and Warhammer, as well as Species, Starship Troopers and White Trash.

Alan Davis is one of the most respected pencillers currently working in the comics industry. Debuting in 2000 AD with the space-based prison drama Harry 20 on the High Rock, he followed with the immortal D.R. and Quinch, which remains one of the Galaxy’s Greatest’s most popular series. Davis also contributed to short stories and Judge Dredd, before heading for America and almost instant acclaim. His US career has included Avengers, Batman and the Outsiders, Captain Britain, ClanDestine, Detective Comics, Excalibur, JLA, Killraven, Miracleman, Star Wars and X-Men. He has recently taken up the reins on Uncanny X-Men.