Preview: ‘The 2000 AD Encyclopedia’ – Get The Thrill Power A-Z!

For years, we’ve had the ABC of 2000 AD over at the 2000 AD YouTube site, but now we’re getting something way bigger – we’re getting the first-ever comprehensive and definitive encyclopedia of the worlds of the legendary comic book, 2000 AD, the 2000 AD Encyclopedia, launching in the pages of the Judge Dredd Megazine issue 424 this month.

The 2000 AD Encyclopedia is intended to give you details of every series ever published in both 2000 AD and the monthly Judge Dredd Megazine, as well as entries on many of the characters that have been in the comics over the ears. Written by writer and journalist Scott Montgomery, the first part hits shelves on 16 September and includes A-B, beginning with 13 and finishing here with Button Man.

Future instalments of the Encyclopedia will be serialised in regular instalments over the next year and the whole series will be collected into a single volume for publication in early 2022, as part of the celebrations around 2000 AD’s 45th anniversary.
“As 2000 AD approaches its 45th anniversary, the comic’s assembled a formidable stable of characters and stories over the past four and a half decades. For anyone not equipped with a vast Betelgeusian brain, it may be intimidating trying to keep track of them all – but no more! The 2000 AD Encyclopedia is your new go-to resource for all the strips that have appeared in both the Prog and Meg, with a comprehensive rundown of creators, notable series, and where the stories have been collected for handy access.
Matt Smith, editor of 2000 AD
‘Having been a 2000 AD reader since the age of nine in 1981, I was delighted to accept when Matt (Smith, Tharg the Mighty’s earthly 2000 AD editor droid) offered me the chance to write the 2000 AD Encyclopedia. This is a huge honour and the timing was perfect; coming right at the start of lockdown in March. I can’t think of a better way to ‘work from home’ – engrossed in the minutiae of nearly 45 years-worth of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic and also celebrating 30 years of the Galaxy’s Greatest Spin-Off – Judge Dredd Megazine. Encompassing major and minor characters, classic stories like Flesh from the earliest issue – through to future masterpieces like The Out in 2020 – I hope that fellow 2000 AD fans will enjoy this informative guide to the thrill-archive and beyond!’ – Scott Montgomery