Posted on August 10, 2023

2000AD Progs 1-100

The first 100 progs, by definition, are raw and uneven. The vision that launched the comic (primarily engineered by Writer/Editor Pat Mills) was strong, but an all-SF anthology was very new and experimental. The stories, like the art, ranged from sketchy to sublime. Every issue was a sharp jab in the eye for what was otherwise a staid and conservative British comic industry. And, of course, all the most important “firsts” happened here.

The starting format was 9″ wide by 11″ high, 32 pages with colour [color] limited to the front & back cover and centrespread [centerspread]. In those days, a revival of the pre-existing Dan Dare was considered the lead feature, so it got the color spread until it was supplanted by Judge Dredd in reader popularity polls. The first lineup consisted of six ongoing stories running 4-6 pages per chapter.

My collection of this run is somewhat patchy, so I resorted to online images for the progs I don’t have. (Thanks, eBay sellers!)

Prog 01 • 2/26/77

Prog 02 • 3/5/77

Judge Dredd debuts

Prog 03 • 3/12/77

Prog 04 • 3/19/77

Prog 05 • 3/26/77

Prog 06 • 4/2/77

Prog 07 • 4/9/77

Prog 08 • 4/16/77

Prog 09 • 4/23/77

Prog 10 • 4/30/77

First Dredd cover and extended story

First Carlos Ezquerra cover

Prog 11 • 5/7/77

First Brian Bolland cover

Prog 12 • 5/14/77

Prog 13 • 5/21/77

First cover with fictional alien editor “Tharg”

Prog 14 • 5/28/77

Prog 15 • 6/4/77

Prog 16 • 6/11/77

Prog 17 • 6/18/77

Prog 18 • 6/25/77

Prog 19 • 7/2/77

Prog 20 • 7/9/77

Prog 21 • 7/16/77

Prog 22 • 7/23/77

Prog 23 • 7/30/77

Prog 24 • 8/6/77
First Kevin O’Neill cover

Prog 25 • 8/13/77

Prog 26 • 8/20/77

Prog 27 • 8/27/77

Prog 28 • 9/3/77

Prog 29 • 9/10/77

Prog 30 • 9/17/77

Prog 31 • 9/24/77

Prog 32 • 10/1/77

Prog 33 • 10/8/77

Prog 34 • 10/15/77

Prog 35 • 10/22/77

Prog 36 • 10/29/77

Prog 37 • 11/5/77

Prog 38 • 11/12/77

Prog 39 • 11/19/77

Prog 40 • 11/26/77

Prog 41 • 12/3/77

Prog 42 • 12/10/77

Prog 43 • 12/17/77

Prog 44 • 12/24/77

Prog 45 • 12/31/77

Prog 46 • 1/7/78

With interior space at a premium, this issue began a brief tradition of using the first page of Dan Dare as the cover

Prog 47 • 1/14/78

Prog 48 • 1/21/78

Prog 49 • 1/28/77

Prog 50 • 2/4/78

Prog 51 • 2/11/78

Prog 52 • 2/18/78

Prog 53 • 2/25/78

Prog 54 • 3/4/78

Prog 55 • 3/11/78

Prog 56 • 3/18/78

Prog 57 • 3/25/78

Prog 58 • 4/1/78

Prog 59 • 4/8/78

Prog 60 • 4/15/78

Prog 61 • 4/22/78

First cover by Mick McMahon, start of the classic
Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth mega-series

Prog 62 • 4/29/78

Prog 63 • 5/6/78

Prog 64 • 5/13/78

Prog 65 • 5/20/78

Prog 66 • 5/27/78

Prog 67 • 6/3/78

Prog 68 • 6/10/78

Prog 69 • 6/17/78

Prog 70 • 6/24/78

Prog 71 • 7/1/78

Prog 72 • 7/8/78

These two issues delivered the infamous 2-part Dredd story known as “The Burger Wars,” where the satire crossed over into actionable trademark infringement

Prog 73 • 7/15/78

Prog 74 • 7/22/78

Prog 75 • 7/29/78

Prog 76 • 8/5/78

Prog 77 • 8/12/78

Prog 78 • 8/19/78

Compounding the trademark infringement of “Burger Wars,” the Dredd stories in these two issues brought in some very recognizable corporate-owned characters and got 2000AD into very hot water. As a result, these episodes were banned from reprint for decades afterward.