Rebellion Releases — 11 September 2024

This September sees the relaunch of Zarjaz, the acclaimed 2000AD based independent comic. Kicking things off is the 116 page Zarjaz Sci Fi Special 2024, an A4 sized compendium of stories featuring an array of characters from the early years of 2000AD. This issue will be published towards the end of September but is available immediately for pre-sales.

Zarjaz was profiled in the September dated issue of the Judge Dredd Megazine, with accolades from a range of professional creators who first cut their teeth within its pages. For over 20 years Zarjaz has proved to be a successful training ground for writers and artists to hone their talents and build their reputations.

Its Editor, Andrew Lewis, was the original creator of Zarjaz back in 2002. He returns to the comic's helm determined to ensure it delivers first rate story-telling and professional quality artwork.

He says, "I have assembled an exciting team of contributors with varying degrees of experience, but with unparalleled passion for developing their craft. I have worked closely with each writer and artist, pushing them to create a publication that packs punch after punch, story after story. I've insisted on compressed, tight scripting and high impact visuals. I've kicked out any scripts where it takes a whole page for a character to walk into a room and another for them to sit down!

"I decided from the start to limit Zarjaz to the early years of 2000AD. There may be some exceptions as we go along, but in the first instance we're focusing very much on the first five years or so. But I've encouraged writers to think outside the box, to write stories about obscure characters, to do team-ups, alternative versions, parodies. One other limitation: I had to put a ban right away on pitches featuring Judge Dredd. This might sound intentionally perverse, but if I hadn't I'd have been completely inundated with stories about Old Stoney Face.

"Rest assured, Judge Anderson and quite a few other characters from the world of Mega-City 1 will be appearing in the relaunch edition. And there's a whole series of Dredd stories already being developed for future issues. There's also another special issue planned which will be completely dedicated to my favorite Dredd epic: 'The Judge Child'.

"And all the other favourites are present and correct too: Strontium Dog, Rogue Trooper, Robo-Hunter, The VCs, MACH 1, Nemesis the Warlock. We're also reviving some very obscure characters I'm sure fans will enjoy meeting again. And we've also hidden plenty of Easter eggs throughout the issue for you to have fun finding. The greatest compliment will be if readers comment that it'll remind them of reading 2000AD as kids.

"If you're a fan of a certain age, those first few years of 2000AD represent something magical and incredible in your life: those years of innocent enjoyment of blisteringly exciting stories and incredible, mesmerising art that consumed your whole life before boring things like exams and jobs and mortgages took over. And Zarjaz is going to be centred on those early issues, what many consider the Golden Age of 2000AD. But, while its heart is very much in the past, it's not going to be a dewy-eyed nostalgia fest. Its mind, its sensibilities, its raison d'etre are all firmly rooted in the present. There is so much ignorance and injustice to rage against in our modern world and I make no apology that Zarjaz will very much respond to topical issues and events.

"If you're a writer or artist who would like to be involved in subsequent issues then you can email me at zarjazvol3@gmail.com and request the Submissions Guidelines. If you've had any work already published in the small press (or even professionally) it's a good idea to include examples. There's quite a strict submissions process and you'll have to offer something pretty special to grab my attention. It's not easy breaking in to comics writing or illustration, I know this from my own personal experience. I had to submit dozens of pitches to 2000AD before being accepted. But it's not a process that suits everyone. I think it's important that would-be writers and artists are treated as they would be by a professional editor. That way they'll stand a better chance of making it into 2000AD one day-- provided they're good enough of course. It's very easy these days to self-publish online or even on paper, but nothing sorts out the wannabes from the going-to-bes better than getting to compromise and collaborate with an editor and other creators."

HOW TO BUY ZARJAZ

In order to comply with Rebellion's policies regarding their properties Zarjaz is produced on a not-for-profit basis, which means that we can sell it more cheaply than other small-press projects. But it also means we can't use KickStarter, which these days seems to be the most common means of being able to generate what's needed to finance publication. Instead we're offering pre-orders and that will allow us to determine the volume of the print-run. Simply put, you will need to make an online reservation to guarantee your copy. Zarjaz can be delivered anywhere in the world.

Zarjaz Sci Fi Special 2024 now available for Pre-order

You can pre-order the Zarjaz Sci Fi Special 2024 directly from this address.

And now, this week's releases from Rebellion...

2000 AD Prog 2399
Cover: INJ Culbard.

JUDGE DREDD // MACHINE RULE by John Wagner (w) Colin MacNeil (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
BRINK // CONSUMED by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
HERNE & SHUCK // SUFFER THE CHILDREN by David Barnett (w) Lee Milmore (a) Quinton Winter (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
SILVER // UNEARTHED by Mike Carroll (w) Joe Currie (a) Simon Bowland (l)

Judge Dredd by Brian Bolland: Masterpiece Edition
Rebellion ISBN 978183786194-1, 11 September 2024, 160pp, £29.99. Available via Amazon.

Acclaimed as one of the greatest artists of his generation, Brian Bolland’s work on Judge Dredd helped catapult both the series and Bolland himself to international acclaim.
    This book will include pages from the Judge Dredd epics; The Cursed Earth, The Day the Law Died, The Judge Child Quest, and Bolland’s masterpiece Judge Death Lives. Also included is a gallery of covers ranging from 2000 AD to the Judge Dredd reprints published by Eagle Comics which brought Brian to the attention of American readers and show off Bolland’s inventiveness and sardonic humour.

Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files Vol. 45 by John Wagner, Gordon Rennie, Robbie Morrison, Pat Mills, Alan Grant (w) Simon Coleby, Ian Gibson, Colin MacNeil, Henry Flint, David Roach, Mike Collins, Cliff Robinson, John Hicklenton, Boo Cook, Tan Eng Huat, Simon Fraser, Paul Marshall, Smudge (a)
Rebellion ISBN 978-183786256-6, 11 September 2024, 304pp, £24.99. Available via Amazon.
 
Cybernetic ex-soldier Nate Slaughterhouse – AKA Mandroid – was last seen rampaging through Mega-City One on a vigilante killing spree. Hellbent on avenging the murder of his son and finding his missing wife, Slaughterhouse took the law into his own hands. But Mega-City One only knows one law, and his name is Dredd. The infamous Judge stopped Mandroid in his tracks and sent him to the Iso-cubes. Now, it’s two years later and Nate Slaughterhouse wants revenge…
    The best-selling series collecting the law in order continues in this explosive volume written by John Wagner (A History of Violence), Gordon Rennie (Warhammer), Robbie Morrison (The Authority), Pat Mills (Marshal Law) and Alan Grant (Batman), with art by Simon Coleby (The Punisher 2099), Ian Gibson (The Ballad of Halo Jones), Colin MacNeil (Devlin Waugh), Henry Flint (Rogue Trooper), David Roach (Demon), Mike Collins (Superman), Cliff Robinson (Vector 13), John Hicklenton (Heavy Metal Dredd), Boo Cook (Doctor Who), Tan Eng Huat (Doom Patrol), Simon Fraser (Nikolai Dante), Paul Marshall (Sinister Dexter) and Smudge (Chiaroscuro).

Smash: The Broxteth Devil by Paul Grist (w) Tom Foster, Anna Morozova, Jimmy Broxton, VV Glass (a)
Rebellion ISBN 978-183786262-7, 11 September 2024, 128pp, £14.99. Available via Amazon.

The Evil Within!
In Victorian London, when Janus Stark traps a demon in a stone idol he creates a prize too alluring for criminal masterminds to resist. Enter the King of Crooks – The Spider – who tasks his infamous Crime Syndicate with stealing the statuette.
    Thus begins a six decade-spanning adventure featuring a host of British comics’ finest heroes as The Steel Claw, Jane Bond, Robot Archie and Adam Eterno – with a little help from Maxwell Towers’ rogue AI – team up to ensure The Spider never lays his hands on the idol.
    This action-packed team-up is written by Paul Grist (Jack Staff) with art by Tom Foster (Judge Dredd), Anna Morozova (Lowborn High), Jimmy Broxton (Goldtiger) and V.V Glass (The Last Witch).