2000AD Progs 1101-1200
As the mid 90s shifted into the late 90s, 2000AD was treading rough waters. The ’95 Judge Dredd movie backfired to such a degree that the comic had to spend some time distancing itself, and after numerous poorly-conceived experiments did nothing to arrest declining sales, several observers inside and outside of Egmont Fleetway began speculating that 2000AD wouldn’t survive long enough to reach the year it was named for.
Fortunately, there was another factor at play: legacy. Despite all the math, the comic had become as important to British pop culture as Marvel and DC heroes were to America. They were all in trouble after the dramatic downturn of ’93 and ’94. Sales figures were drifting close to cancellation level for even the best-known titles. But a world without them was inconceivable. So publishers chose to do the honorable thing for a change and ride out the storm. 2000AD took steps to raise the quality bar (while the cover price increased by 20p); this run of progs dropped all the gimmicks seen in the last 100 and focused instead on giving readers better content. And, to be frank, after so many golden years it would have been pretty embarrassing to fall short of the actual 2000 A.D.
Stabilizing the patient allowed for a full recovery when new owners came to the rescue. That process was in play just as this batch wrapped up, so I’ll cover it in the next round. It’s the reason the comic is still alive and well over twenty years later.
Prog 2000 was intentionally out of order, a commemorative issue to mark the imminent approach of the year 2000. It sported the first Brian Bolland cover seen in years and served as a true milestone with the final Nemesis story and the revival of Johnny Alpha in Strontium Dog. It set a yearly tradition similar to that of the old annuals and yearbooks, with an end-of-year “deluxe prog” named for the year to come. It lasted through Prog 2015 at the end of 2014.
Format and logo change