Judge Dredd Megazine 201-236
After 12 years of experimentation with logos, formats, and page counts, the editors at Rebellion decided it was time for the Megazine to pick a standard and stick with it. They did away with the “volume” concept, which was always sort of arbitrary anyway, and probably existed only to lure readers in with an occasional #1. 200 issues had been published by this time, so when Volume 4 was put to bed the new numbering simply commenced with 201. It’s continued from there ever since.
The editorial explanation for the format shift showed a lesson learned from the Volume 4 experiment; returning the Megazine to its former page size opened up the vault for reprinted strips without having to alter the art. They also reasserted Judge Dredd as the star by devoting three of its five story slots to him or his world. The other two consistently offered content that floated a little closer to the “mature readers” rating than 2000AD. Over and above this, a new section titled 2000AD Gold reprinted classic strips and brought the page count up to 100.
There was still room for text features after the positive reception for Thrill Power Overload, which examined the history of 2000AD without pulling punches. Articles on British comics history became common, and a series titled The Dredd Files started in issue 214, a detailed analysis of every Dredd story from 2000AD starting at the very beginning.
The “monthly” publishing schedule put out 13 issues a year rather than 12, and the cover price was usually £3.95 with a couple exceptions that popped up to £5.99 (for a higher page count), then it settled in at £4.50 with issue 228.
Cover “damage” was part of the design!
