Posted on June 10, 2025

2000AD Progs 2201-2300

Over this two-year stretch, the galaxy’s greatest comic passed its 45th anniversary while the cover price bumped from £3.10 to £3.25, still a bargain compared to the content. The all-ages “Regened” issues became a regular event, about four times a year. As before, each was self-contained for the purpose of drawing in new readers with less violent content.

Of all the ancient strips to make a comeback, Hookjaw was probably the least expected; a bloody, lurid takeoff of Jaws from the early years. And yet, somehow, the magic 2000AD touch made it both relevant and original. The satirical dark fantasy Feral & Foe and the exotic SF excursion The Out both made welcome comebacks. Long-running occult history series Fiends of the Eastern Front got a makeover that elevated it to a whole new level.

Judge Dredd took an interesting turn in prog 2262 when 2000AD Dredd pursued an Elon Musk style perp into the multiverse and teamed up with BOTH of his movie incarnations. Sounds goofy, turned out to be one of the most enjoyable Dredd stories of all time. Another unexpected Dredd-on-Dredd encounter came a few weeks later when we were treated to a multi-issue flashback story (starting in 2270) to the epic Apocalypse War series, adding a story we didn’t see and twisting it with the inclusion of a second Judge Dredd.

This run ended with a major non-canon crossover event in which every single 2000AD strip was embroiled in a zombie apocalypse that continued into the Judge Dredd Megazine with a very, very dark conclusion.