Posted on January 10, 2024

2000AD special issues

You might think a weekly comic and a yearly hardcover annual would be enough of a workload for anyone, but “alien editor” Tharg had plenty more to offer. It goes without saying that when you’re publishing a new comic every week, the issue numbers mount up and (to some readers) become a barrier to entry. Do you really want to start reading a comic with issue #105, for example? Especially if you’re the type who wants to be caught up on continuity?

This tension between publisher and readership only increased over time. One way to address it was the hardcover annuals, which provided a great sampler of material if you were curious enough to take a dip. But if they hovered above what you were willing to spend, the special issues were a good compromise. They essentially served the same purpose with a mix of material that gave you just enough of a taste to make you hungry for more. After all, the true appeal of an anthology title is variety, and 2000AD had that in spades.

The first of these (shown at right) appeared on June 1 1977, just four months after the debut of the comic itself. A year later, the Summer Special was replaced by the Sci-fi Special, which became an annual June tradition (followed by the hardcover annuals in August). This was joined by a run of winter specials and Judge Dredd Mega-Specials that both started in 1988. All of these extra publications were suspended in 1995/96 until the Sci-Fi Special returned in 2014 and resumed its yearly cycle.

Reviewing these as an independent body of work gives you a good snapshot of 2000AD‘s evolution year by year. At first intended only as a lure for new readers, they eventually became time capsules for the emergence and refinement of important characters, historical records, trial balloons, unique reprints, and changing formats.