Preview: One Of My Books Of The Year – ‘The Out’ Is ‘2000 AD’ At Its Finest

by Richard Bruton

Dan Abnett and Mark Harrison’s incredible sci-fi tale The OUT, one of the finest series to come out of 2000 AD in the past 20 years gets a collection on 11th October – it’s an absolutely essential read.

Over the course of two excellent series running in 2000 AD, I’ve had a fair bit to say about just how damn great Dan Abnett and Mark Harrison’s The OUT was. Hopefully, you took notice and read it. But, if you somehow managed to overlook one of the best things in 2000 AD for a long, long, long time (and as I tell you every week, there’s a hell of a lot of good stuff in 2000 AD), then fear not, because the first collection gets released on 11th October.

Suffice it to say, it’s a must-buy for you (and me.)

Right then… what’s it all about, this most wonderful exploration of the unknown, this stunning series with huge themes, beautiful visuals, plentiful twists, and incredible storytelling?

Well, that woman up there is Cyd. She’s a photo-journalist working for the publishers Neographic. She’s a long, long, long way from Earth – in the really outer bits of outer space – otherwise known as The OUT. And she’s been OUT for a long, long time.

The joy of The OUT is that it’s a series that feels like it’s drifting along, as we follow Cyd encountering all these gloriously strange lifeforms, these alien societies, even the odd ex-pat human – and as I’ve said many times, that in itself would have been enough, more than enough.

It’s just a beautiful, wonderful series. It really is.

But in amongst all that simple drifting, that fascinating exploring, all that absolutely stunning artwork from Harrison, Abnett does something rather amazing and pivots the whole thing, not once, but twice, into something way, way more complex, even more fascinating.

Seriously, this is one of those ‘here’s your best of the year book for me’ and definitely the whole ‘if you only get one collection this year make it this’. The OUT really is THAT good.