Comic Cuts — 17 April 2026

I'm still cleaning up artwork, so there's not much in the way of news. I've taken it fairly slowly this week, putting together a couple of biographical sketches of creators that were involved in the books I'm currently working on. Not that there was an urgent need, but I wanted to make sure I had all my facts straight should I need them for an introduction. 

I have one more to do for someone I know very little about, and those can take just as long — not in the writing, but the banging your head into a brick wall trying to find even the tiniest fragment of information. I have no biographical details for the artist I wrote up yesterday, not even a birth or death date, and to achieve that level of zero knowledge, I researched (as best I could) ten people with the same name, ruling out six where I could figure out their occupations (they were not artists) or their year of death (while our artist was still working). But that still leaves four, any one of which could be our guy.

But that's most of a day's work. The packing and post associated with Bear Alley Books can take some time, and whether I sell one or ten books, the Post Office doesn't get any closer. There's mowing the lawn and we're having a general spring clean around the house; a leak in the roof needed fixing; I'm chasing up a missing birth certificate which has taken over a month to arrive — all distractions that slow down any progress I'm trying to make on the books. It's a miracle I get any out, let alone five a year.

(2024: Beyond the Void, Forgotten Authors Vol. 5, High Seas and High Adventures, The Phantom Patrol, Dreaming of Utopia; 2025: Mytek Vols. 1-4, The Air Ace Companion; 2026: Action... and more to follow!)

Cleaning up artwork can be fiddly. Letterpress printing was never meant for anything but for a quick read and the paper quality was never great, and six decades on its often yellow with age. The slightest imperfection would send ink spraying across the page, and line work would drop out and disappear. This is especially noticeable in the gutters between the panels and in the captions and word balloons. 

What I'm doing isn't restoration. That would require a lot more work. What I'm doing is mostly cleaning up any damage in the balloons, tidying up panel borders and removing any obvious problems on a page. Here's a typical example (certainly not the worst, but it happened to be on the page I was working on when I had the notion to show you what I was talking about when I said I was cleaning up pages).

The scan showed some damage, perhaps where a patch was used to correct a spelling error, or over-inking on the reverse page was showing through. It's the sort of problem that appeared in every single episode and is easily fixed by zooming in and attacking the lettering with a tiny eraser, but boy is it time consuming!

Another common problem is where the page has a small tear affecting the lettering. Here I generally use Photoshop to copy the existing lettering, although I have had to go in with a pencil tool in a couple of instances and fix some lettering. The results are usually invisible — you won't notice any difference when you're reading the book and that means all the hard work will have been worth it. It's not The Repair Shop and nobody is filming it... so I thought I'd give it a mention.

(The header picture is a reminder that I've made a few additions to my Anne McCaffrey cover gallery. As I've not included any of the books that she wrote in collaboration, I thought I'd use this one here. I've also added a couple of early paperbacks to the Desmond Bagley cover gallery recently. I'm tinkering with these old galleries constantly and hopefully I'll get some new ones up in the near future, adding to the recent galleries featuring Colin Kapp and Richard Coles (just scroll down if you've missed them).

Rebellion Releases — 15 April 2026

Acclaimed by readers since it first debuted in Judge Dredd Megazine 424 back in 2020, Megatropolis is an art-deco futurist noir series set in an alternative universe which reimagines the core elements of Mega-City One for a wholly new vision of Judge Dredd’s world. Created by Ken Niemand and artist Dave Taylor, the series has been one of the Megazine’s most popular stories since it debuted, and served as a stunning spotlight for Taylor’s astounding artistry.

With Dave Taylor sadly passing away in 2025, midway through completing another incredible run on the series, we didn’t want for the story to remain incomplete, as readers deserved the opportunity to see the entire series, including Taylor’s work – and so Rebellion are proud to announce that artist Chris Weston will be joining Megatropolis with April’s issue 491, ensuring that the second storyline will run through until its planned conclusion later this year.

For Weston, this is a chance to pay tribute to a friend and colleague, and in speaking to 2000 AD about the news he told us “like everyone else, I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of ​Dave Taylor. I was instantly consumed with regret that I didn’t spend more time hanging out with him as I always found him great company. He had the gift of the gab and would have an amusing take on all manner of topics: from politics to UFOs. Mostly we talked about our shared love of the art of Jean “Moebius” Giraud. Dave got to spend time working with Moebius and the  Incal and Blueberry maestro had an undeniable influence on his work.” 

Continue reading the interview at the 2000AD website. Meanwhile, here's this week's releases...

2000AD Prog 2478
Cover: John McCrea & Mike Spicer.

JUDGE DREDD // FLAMES AND WHITE PHOSPHOROUS by TC Eglington (w) Paul Marshall (a) Quinton Winter (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
BRINK // THE CALL OF THE VOID by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
SILVER // MALIGNANT by Mike Carroll (w) Joe Currie (a) Simon Bowland (a)
FUTURE SHOCKS // THE VESSEL by James Peaty (w) Steve Yeowell (a) John Charles (c) Rob Steen (l)
HELIUM // RED OCTOBER by Ian Edginton (w) D'Israeli (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)

Judge Dredd Megazine #491
Cover: Dylan Teague.

JUDGE DREDD // FEAR CITY by Karl Stock (w) Dan McDaid (a) Jack Davies (c) Simon Bowland (l)
ATOMFALL // THE WICKED ISLE by Jonathan L. Howard (w) Anthony Williams (a) Rob Steen)
FARGO & MCBANE // FAVOURED SONS by Ken Niemand (w) PJ Holden (a) Quinton Winter (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
DEPARTMENT K // ...NO MORE by Ned Hartley (w) Mike Walters (a) Simon Bowland (l) 
ROK THE WORLD by John Wagner (w) Dan Cornwell (a) Jim Boswell (c) Rob Steen (l)
MEGATROPOLIS II by Ken Niemand (w) Chris Weston (a) Antonietta Saulino (c) Rob Steen (l)

Action 50th Anniversary Special
Cover: John Higgins.

HOOKJAW // NECROMONE: Steve White (w) Staz Johnson (a) Matt Soffe (c) Rob Steen (l)
HELLMAN // A WINTER'S TALE: Garth Ennis (w) Mike Dorey (a) Rob Steen (l)
LOOK OUT FOR LEFTY // ARISE, SIR LEFTY! Rob Williams (w) Patrick Goddard (a) Rob Steen (l)
DREDGER // AFTER THE ACTION: Garth Ennis (w) John Higgins (a) Rob Steen (l)

Richard Coles cover gallery

NOVELS

Murder Before Evensong (London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, Jun 2022)
W&N 978-1476-61264-7, Mar 2023, 371pp, £9.99. Cover by Holly Ovenden

A Death in the Parish (London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, Jun 2023)
W&N 978-1474-61268-5, Feb 2024, 414pp, £9.99. Cover by Holly Ovenden

Murder at the Monastery (London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, Jun 2024)
W&N 978-1474-61272-2, Feb 2025, 399pp, £9.99. Cover by Holly Ovenden

Murder Under the Mistletoe (London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, Oct 2024)
W&N 978-1399-62147-2, Oct 2024, 143pp, £12.99 [hardcover]. Cover by Holly Ovenden

A Death on Location (London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, Jun 2025)
W&N 978-1399-62143-4, Feb 2026, 405pp, £9.99. Cover by Holly Ovenden

• 17 Apr. The British Football Comic Podcast team have interviewed Ian Vosper and Barrie Mitchell for their latest episode. " It was such a special day, both Ian and Barrie were superb, kind, friendly and entertaining company...here is a record of that special day." (video, 1h 30m)
• 8 Apr. Dan Dare gets a reboot in (hopefully) November with Dan Dare: First Contact by Alex de Campi and Marc Laming. The impetus came from de Campi, who said: “I moved house a couple of years ago and was unpacking boxes of books when I pulled out some of my old Dan Dare compendia, so I sat down on the floor and re-read old Frank Hampson strips for an entire afternoon."
• 6 Apr. Alan Moore has revealed the titles for the remainder of his Long London series of novels. The second novel, I Hear a New World, is due to appear in May 2026. "Set almost ten years after the first novel, in 1958, this sees Grace Shilling find her way into The Great When, a parallel version of London, with Dennis Knuckleyard following her."
• 27 Mar. Writer Alex DeCampi and artist Marc Laming have launched a Kickstarter to revive the classic British space adventurer Dan Dare, the Pilot of the Future.  DeCampi and Laming are bringing that universe roaring back with a new interpretation funded directly by fans. "Today [on Wordballoon] we’re talking about why Dan Dare still matters, how you modernize a legendary character without losing the DNA that made him special, and what they’re building with this Kickstarter campaign. From the story approach to the visual style, and what longtime fans and newcomers can expect." (video, 1h 2m)
• 26 Mar. Dennis the Menace turns 75. Alison Baker wonders why rule-breaking kids never go out of style. "Researchers have found that different age groups find different things funny. They characterise two types of humour evident in The Beano – disparaging, such as making fun of people, and slapstick."
• 17 Mar. TV writer Damon Lindelof (Lost, Watchmen) has apologised to Grant Morrison for a joke he said on a podcast: that the new series Lanterns is so named because "we all agreed that the 'Green' was stupid". Morrison didn't like the joke and took to Substack. Nathan Fillion, meanwhile, thought the joke was funny. James Gunn thought it was 💚.
• 16 Mar. Film director James McTeigue reflects on how V For Vendetta still resonates 20 years later. "I’d guess Alan Moore and David Lloyd would tell you that the political environment that they made hasn’t changed that much from when they made the book in the ’80s. I think we’re in another cycle of that."
• 16 Mar. Artist Alex Ross discusses the origins of Kingdom Come and whether it was based on Alan Moore's unpublished Twilight of the Superheroes. Ross reveals that he first approached writer James Robinson in 1993 with the idea... (video, 13m)
• 13 Mar. The sale of Peter Hansen's comic collection started spectacularly with a two-day auction that netted more than £100,000 including fees. The next instalment of the collection will be presented by Excalibur Auctions on Saturday 9th May 2026, with Anderson & Garland scheduled to host a further sale in Summer 2026.
• 13 Mar. Simon Spurrier on The Voice Said Kill.  "Set deep within the Louisiana bayou, and following a Wildlife & Fisheries agent on the worst day she could possibly imagine, it’s cut-throat and exciting in all the best ways..."
• 9 Mar. This year marks the 90th anniversary of Oor Wullue and The Broons, who first appeared in The Sunday Post in 1936. Morris Heggie, ex-editor of The Dandy, who wrote the scrips for many years, is interviewed by the Post, discussing the original editor R.D. Low and artist Dudley D. Watkins. The Post also publishes an article on how the characters kept up the morale of war-torn Scotland during WW2. BBC News also covers the anniversary.
• 5 Mar. With interest surrounding the sale of Peter Hansen's collection of British comics peaking ahead of the auction on 11-12 March, here's an old interview from 2019. 
• 3 Mar. A number of Giles' annual covers are coming up for auction shortly at Chiswick Auctions on 12 March 2026. "The cartoons, which include one of his original, carefully crafted Giles Annual covers, were gifts from the artist to his old editor, Harold Keeble."
• 3 Mar.  Rhonda Reinhart explores "The Many Lives of David Wright". 
• 25 Feb. Brands Untapped talks to Victoria Justice, Director of Consumer Products & Ecommerce at Rebellion, about Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper and 2000AD's upcoming big milestone. "2000 AD will celebrate 50 years in 2027, so that’s a huge focus right now at Rebellion and full of relatively untapped potential. We’re already speaking to partners about ways to commemorate this exceptional anniversary… With big plans in the works for Judge Dredd!"
• 22 Feb. The illustrator who became a national catchphrase—W. Heath Robinson—is the subject of a brief radio clip from BBC Radio Surrey. (7m) "His cartoons of improbable military machines – pulleys, pipes and teetering platforms – offered a gentle, satirical counterpoint to the grim realities of war and helped to make him a household name."
• 22 Feb. Jacob Phillips introduces The Peril of the Brutal Dark—an Ezra Cain mystery—to Andrew Sumner at Forbidden Planet TV. "Cain's debut case is a hypnotic mean-street-walking pulp magazine mix of Hammett & Chandler, bled thru a dark Mignola filter with touch of Indiana Jones, all wrapped up within [writer Chris Condon]'s razor-sharp 40s dialogue and Jacob's carefully-researched and beautifully-rendered artwork." (video, 28m)
• 18 Feb. Dennis the Menace prepares to celebrate his 50th birthday with a special coin and the beginning of a Year of Mischief from March 2026. 
• 16 Feb. Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett discuss their new Gorillaz album, The Mountain. "I think that the fact that we are an animated band has helped just a little bit. Young people go, “What’s that? I love that animation. Let me check it out.” Then they hear the music and they go, “Oh, my God, I love it.” And then it brings a new audience."

Colin Kapp cover gallery

An early favourite of mine thanks to his remarkable Unorthodox Engineers series of stories in New Worlds and New Writings in SF (and, I confess, the Chris Foss covers on his novels), Colin Kapp was never an especially prolific author. I rather lost track of him in 1982, having picked up the first two of the Cageworld books. I don't remember ever seeing the last two in our local book shops, and I've only recently — April 2026 — picked them up via Ebay. 

There was a collection of the Unorthodox Engineers stories from Dobson, but I believe it appeared just as Dobson was going out of business, so was never widely distributed. Copies go for inflated prices and I'd love to see it as an SF Masterworks. Of his novels, The Dark Mind is probably his best, along with his novelette 'Lambda 1' and sequel 'The Imagination Trap'. 

There was a further novel advertised, The Timewinders, which was also caught up in the demise of his publisher, Dennis Dobson and never appeared. I wonder what happened to the manuscript?

Transfinite Man (New York, Berkley, 1964; as The Dark Mind, London, Corgi, 1965)
Corgi Books GS7160, 1965, 157pp, 3/6. Cover by Josh Kirby

The Patterns of Chaos (London, Gollancz, 1972; New York, Award, 1973)
Panther 0586-03918-X, 1974, 192pp. Cover by Chris Foss

The Wizard of Anharitte (New York, Award, 1973; London, Panther, 1975)
Panther 0586-04192-3, 1975, 174pp, 50p. Cover by Peter Jones.

Survival Game (New York, Ballantine, 1976; London, Dobson, 1977)
(no UK paperback edition)

The Chaos Weapon (New York, Del Rey, 1977; London, Dobson, 1979)
(no UK paperback edition)

Manalone (London, Panther, 1977)
Panther 0586-04234-2, 1977, 197pp, 75p. Cover by Chris Foss

The Ion War (London, Ace Books, 1978; London, Dobson, 1979)
(no UK paperback edition)

The Unorthodox Engineers (London, Dobson, 1979)
(no paperback edition)

Cageworld #1: Search for the Sun! (London, NEL, 1982; New York, DAW Books, 1983)
New English Library 0450-05131-5, Mar 1982, 172pp, £1.25. Cover by Gerald Grace

Cageworld #2: The Lost Worlds of Cronus (London, NEL, 1982; New York, DAW Books, 1983)
New English Library 0450-05409-9, Mar 1982, 170pp, £1.25. Cover by Gerald Grace

Cageworld #3: The Tyrant of Hades (London, NEL, 1982; New York, DAW Books, 1984)
New English Library 0450-05469-1. 1982, 173pp. Cover by Gerry Grace

Cageworld #4: Star-Search (London, NEL, 1983; New York, DAW Books, 1984)
New English Library, 0450-05531-0, Jan 1983, 171pp, £1.25. Cover by Gerry Grace

Comic Cuts — 10 April 2026

I mentioned last week that I was just starting a new book. Well, I'm still working on it. The artwork will be clean and ready to go in the next couple of days and I'm starting to dig around to find out more about the creators. That said, I don't think there will be lengthy introductions in this one as the strip alone fills quite a substantial book, but I do want to make sure that, should I mention anything about the strip or its creators, I'm straight on my facts.

It wasn't all work over the bank holiday weekend; in fact, I've been taking it easy, catching up on a couple of films and reading half a book (which is quick for me, these days). Also a surprise visit from my Mum—I was trying to phone her and wondering why she wasn't answering when the doorbell rang. We were forced (forced, I tell you) to go down the pub and have a nice meal, and then have a little wander along the river and up through the park. Total work done on Wednesday: zero!

I'll get back to it the moment I'm finished here. Promise.

I was interviewed by Tom Fordy of the Daily Telegraph recently and the results appeared at the weekend, which I missed entirely. So if you have the Telegraph or Sunday Telegraph, a decent scan would be appreciated. For once, it was an intelligent discussion of Action and its place in British comics history — although it did have the clickbaity headline: "'More blood, more blood!' The violent 1970s comic that corrupted Britain's boys".

Underneath, however, was a far more reasoned story of Action's origins and demise. Steve MacManus and Garth Ennis were also interviewed, so there was no question about the direction the conversation would take from the viewpoint of the interviewees. Fortunately, Fordy used to work in a comic shop in Bristol, so he was the right guy to write the piece, which he did without making it over-sensational. 

The book also got its first review, on Mike Carroll's blog. I'll not quote it at length but it's the kind of review every author hopes for: "[T]he book is extensively illustrated throughout and an absolute must-have for anyone interested in Action, its impact, the British comics industry, or even if you’re just interested in Britain in the mid 1970s. Highly recommended!" 

Getting a book reviewed is not easy. Self-published, print-on-demand books especially, as they are ignored by the newspapers that might get a title out to a broader public. Also, I'm the wrong sort of person for Booktube or Booktok—I'm not writing about Romantasy. Also, I'm not sexy. Or young. Or female.

(And now I'm going to be fed a lot of Booktok videos by Youtube because I've mentioned Booktok. It's spoiling all the video recommendations I get for my current obsession, Angine de Poitrine. They are the Ig Nobel Award of math rock... first you think "That's so stupid", then you think "Actually that's not bad", and finally "I must spend a whole afternoon discovering who these guys really are!". It's not too difficult, but I'll leave you with Khn and Glek. Those crazy Canadians Martians and their microtonal noodling...)

Commando 5947-5950

Lord Peter Flint – AKA Warlord – is back for a new, high-stakes mission in the next Commando set. Alongside that, we have a story about the fiercely brave Polish resistance fighters in occupied 1944 Warsaw, as well as two fantastic, reprinted tales. Issues 5947-5950 on sale today, April 9th. 

5947: Codename Warlord: Shadow Sands

Lord Peter Flint is on one of his most dangerous — and important — missions yet!
‘Shadow Sands’ is the codename for the biological weapons project collecting anthrax spores on an isolated Maunsell Fort off the coast of England. Flint’s handler, Kingpin, was at the fort when it was raided by a team of German commandos and Professor Kranz’s robot Panzermen. Now he’s been taken hostage along with the leading scientists!
    But Intelligence believes someone on board the fort helped the Germans — and they suspect Kingpin! Kingpin, a traitor?! It can’t be true!
    Warlord has until midnight to rescue the hostages and clear Kingpin’s name!

Story: Dominic Teague
Internal Art: Paolo Ongaro
Cover Art: Neil Roberts

5948: Desert Double-Cross
 
The German soldier stood well braced, Schmeisser shuddering in his strong hands and cutting down the attackers. He had learnt the ways of war in France, Crete, North Africa — a tough school for any soldier. And beside him, firing with equal calmness, was a British soldier — a veteran hardened in the battles of Dunkirk, Tobruk, El Alamein.
    That day, many British and German soldiers fought the hardest fight of their lives in the ruins of an old desert fort. Not against each other, but as allies!

Story: CG Walker
Internal Art: Cam Kennedy
Cover Art: Ian Kennedy
First published 1971 as No.604

5949: Phoenix From The Flame

 Warsaw, summer of 1944. Not everyone had bowed down to the German occupation. Like other brave members of the underground Polish Home Army,
    Monika Proch risked her life for her country to be free.
    The previous year, Warsaw had seen how cruelly the Nazis could crush rebellion, with the utter destruction of the Jewish ghetto. Monika vowed the rest of her city would not receive the same fate.
    Together with the other men and women of the Resistance, they would rise against the Nazi invaders like a… PHOENIX FROM THE FLAMES!

Story: Andrew Knighton
Internal Art: Vicente Alcazar
Cover Art: Marco Bianchini

5950: Swamp Strike
 
 If you’re a member of a platoon trekking through miles of hostile jungle to attack a secret enemy supply dump, you want the man in command to be a cool, reliable bloke whom you can trust.
    But what happens when you’re led by someone whose lies nearly landed you in prison?

Story: CG Walker
Internal Art: Carrion
Cover Art: Philpott
First published 1984 as No. 1858

Rebellion Releases — 8 April 2026

You want something outside of the standard house style when it comes to comics art? 2000 AD Prog 2477 has you covered! TC Eglington and Paul Marshall continue Judge Dredd's search for two young activists; Ian Edginton and D'Israeli's heroes try to get off the ground in Helium, Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard follow up with the latest instalment of Bridget's new investigation in Brink, and Mike Carroll and Joe Currie triumphantly return for the new series of the bloody vampire/mechanoid chaos that is Silver!

AND! There's a complete Future Shock this week, written by Liam Johnson and drawn by Lucas McCoy - the winner of our Art Search Contest in 2024! House styles rest in hell - embrace the different!

AND! There's a book full of Alan Moore out this week! 

2000AD Prog 2477
Cover: Joe Currie.

JUDGE DREDD // FLAMES AND WHITE PHOSPHOROUS by TC Eglington (w) Paul Marshall (a) Quinton Winter (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
HELIUM // RED OCTOBER by Ian Edginton (w) D'Israeli (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
SILVER // MALIGNANT by Mike Carroll (w) Joe Currie (c) Simon Bowland (l)
BRINK // THE CALL OF THE VOID by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
FUTURE SHOCKS // CLEAN SLATE by Liam Johnson (w) Lucas McCoy (a) Rob Steen (l)

The Complete 2000AD by Alan Moore Volume 1 by Alan Moore (w) Ian Gibson, Dave Gibbons, Alan Davies, Brendan McCarthy, Dave Harwood, Jose Casanovas, Eric Bradbury, Bryan Talbot, Steve Dillon, John Richardson, John Higgins, John Cooper, Garry Leach, Jesus Redondo, Joe Eckers, Mike White, Robin Smith, Boluda, Paul Neary, Alan Langford, Brett Ewins, Ron Tiner, Jim Eldridge (a)
Rebellion 978-183786676-2, 8 April 2026, 256pp, £39.99. Available via Amazon.

This first volume in a new series collecting all of Alan Moore's work for 2000 AD brings together all of his Future Shocks as well as a host of other one-off stories. Moore is a master of the short-format story and this collection doubles as the perfect guide for how to write comics to a page limit - including "A Holiday In Hell" which has never been reprinted in English since its first publication in 1980!
    Moore's stories are complemented by the works of a string of legendary artists including Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), Ian Gibson (The Ballad of Halo Jones), Eric Bradbury (Rogue Trooper), Bryan Talbot (Grandville), Steve Dillon (Preacher), Brett Ewins (Bad Company) and more.

Comic Cuts — 3 April 2026

I do a quarterly update for Bear Alley Books and I'm very happy with the way 2026 is shaping up, thanks to the early release of the ACTION book. I struggled last year because I didn't get the MYTEK books out until July and had to draw on my savings to see me through the spring quarter. The second half of last year was better, but things have been fairly slow since Christmas. They've picked up considerably during March, and the ACTION book seems to be a hit with people who have now seen it.

That's a huge relief as it was about eight month's solid work, roughly four months back in 2020-21 and four months in 2025-26. The long gap was due to having to earn some money — but that's a whole other story that I don't want to go into here. It's impossible to predict whether a book will do well or do badly and while I pick projects on the basis that it's something that I want to do, I'm still a little disappointed when they don't always appeal to everyone. All my books have had their enthusiasts, I'm pleased to say, but some have broader appeal than others. 

And while I love all my babies, I do have favourites... and the ACTION book is definitely one of them.

I have been trying to read more since Christmas. I was reading about a dozen books a year for the past decade and barely making a scratch on the vast number of books I want to read but haven't got around to. I think that's partly down to books being longer than they used to be (and very few benefit from the extra length). The average paperback book used to be 160 or 192 pages, while the pulpier end of the market was 128 pages. Margins are often more generous nowadays, admittedly, but a book isn't improved by being spread over 279 pages rather than 191. (I'm using my old Panther and the more recent SF Masterworks editions of Pavane by Keith Roberts as the example here.)

I haven't been deliberately picking slimmer books, but I've read six in the last three months, so I've doubled the amount I'm reading. I started the year off with a Christmas present, Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky, on which I spent much time trying to figure out the mysterious titles for each part. So, part 1 is KR15-T, part 2 is K4FK-R, part 3 is 4W-L, part 4 8ORH-5, etc. 

I quickly twigged that K4FK-R was a reference to Kafka and 8ORH-5 was Borges, which meant 4W-L was Orwell... but I mistook the first for Christ and started wondering if our robot hero would emerge later in the book as some sort of Christ figure... and while I was wondering what it all meant I missed the fact that the first part was "Chris-T". As in Agatha Christie. Because it involved a robot detective.

And when I finished reading the book, I listened to an interview with Tchaikovsky in which he said he'd just put the part titles in for fun and they didn't really mean anything. Just when I was thinking "How smart am I to know that 8ORH-5 is referring to the Library of Babel," the rug was pulled.

Frontera, meanwhile, did have an underlying structure and meaning, because Lewis Shiner deliberately gave one of his main characters the Hero's Journey as set out by Joseph Campbell (the same journey that George Lucas gave Luke Skywalker in Star Wars). I missed that completely, although I recognised other elements, such as the I Ching, as it was used in The Man in the High Castle and by the late Steve Moore. I read Frontera as a straightforward thriller set on Mars, and enjoyed it despite not looking any deeper than the plot.

I think I mentioned a couple of months ago that I didn't have a copy of Harry Harrison's Make Room, Make Room, a gap in my collection that I've now filled. I planned to read it when it arrived, but then I remembered that I'd started reading Bill, the Galactic Hero some while back (on a trip to Stoke last June) and had left it in my bag. I decided to finish it and found it not as hilarious as its reputation promises. I've no experience of the military, so it mostly left me cold. Mind you, I can watch Carry On Sergeant and find that funny. Maybe it's just not for me.

I love Tom Gauld's literary-based cartoons in The Guardian and he also does science-based cartoons in New Scientist. The collection Department of Mind-Blowing Theories is hilarious and I will be buying his latest collection, Physics for Cats. 

I also love Dave Hutchinson's Fractured Europe series. I've just read the second volume Europe at Midnight and it's mind-bending. I don't want to say anything about the plot because the basis is set up in the second half of the first book (Europe in Autumn). I'll just say that I had high expectations of this book and it did not disappoint.

I had lower expectations of Worlds Apart by Joe Haldeman, which is not my usual position with Haldeman (I love his work dearly); I did find Worlds a bit of a drag, with little happening until the final chapters. I'm glad I've persevered with the series (a trilogy) as the pace has picked up and I enjoyed the twin storylines that continue the adventures of Marianne O'Hara as she revisits Earth following a nuclear and biological war and also prepares for the departure of a generation ship to the stars; there is also news of Jeff, left behind when O'Hara made it off-planet, and who has become one of the few men to survive into older age. I'm now looking forward to reading Worlds Enough and Time to see how the whole saga ends.

I may be reading a little more, but I'm not retired yet. I've just started working on the next book from Bear Alley — as long as the licensing can be sorted out. I'm also looking at a small pile of comics that I'm looking forward to writing about. When I have news, you'll be the first to know.

Rebellion Releases — 1 April 2026

It’s a busy time for artist PJ Holden across the Prog and the Judge Dredd Megazine right now. The five-part Judge Dredd: Climate Crisis wraps up in 2000 AD Prog 2475 last week, then there’s an interview with the artist and a preview of his self-published Terran Omega strip in the current Judge Dredd Megazine, issue 490, published 18 March. And to top it all off, he’s the new artist on the second series of Fargo & McBane, with episode 1 kicking off this month in that aforementioned Megazine issue 490.

So, no better time than now to talk about what he’s been up to, what’s coming up, the thrill of being a Dredd artist for the past 25 years, taking over Fargo & McBane, why Terran Omega’s page-a-week format works perfectly for him, and explaining just why ‘artists are more pitied than to be feared!’ 
Head over to the 2000 AD website to continue reading the interview. But before you do, check out the latest release from Rebellion below...

2000AD Prog 2476 — Bumper issue
Cover: Cliff Robinson & Dyland Teague.

The first bumper-sized issue of 2000 AD this year has arrived! 2000 AD Prog 2476 offers 48 circuit-shattering pages of sci-fi action, as a new Judge Dredd story begins, courtesy of TC Eglington and Paul Marshall. Alongside the continuing Brink and a complete Rogue Trooper story, this week we also welcome back Ian Edginton and D'Israeli's Helium back to the Prog, and bring you a one-off epilogue for Red Dragon, by Rob Williams, Steve Yeowell, Patrick Goddard and co! 

JUDGE DREDD // FLAMES AND WHITE PHOSPHOROUS by TC Eglington (w) Paul Marshall (a) Quinton Winter (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
HELIUM // RED OCTOBER by Ian Edginton (w) D'Israeli (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
RED DRAGON // THE LLANGENECH INCIDENT by Rob Williams (w) Steve Yeowell & Patrick Goddard (a) Dylan Teague (c) Simon Bowland (l)
BRINK // THE CALL OF THE VOID by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
ROGUE TROOPER // ENEMY MINED by Andi Ewington (w) Karl Richardson (a) Rob Steen (l)

Comic Cuts — 27 March 2026

It was my hope that I'd be able to put up a little video of my trip to Glasgow, but my plan to do it on Tuesday was scuppered when I woke up feeling lousy. It's just a cold, but add that to a knackering weekend and it knocked me for six.

We — that's Karl Kennedy, one of the organizers of the Commando and British Comics Swap Meets, and I — headed off on Friday at 6.15 am to beat the Friday morning traffic and had a pretty sweet drive. From Essex through Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland and across the Scottish Borders and parts Scottish until we reached Glasgow. We only made two brief stops: one to look at a life-size Lancaster Bomber Memorial on the approach to Lincoln; and at Scotch Corner to grab a drink and a burger.

Arriving in Glasgow around 2.30 pm, we headed for Forbidden Planet, bumped into a couple of friends and arranged a quick drink at the nearby Bavaria Brauhaus bar. A couple of pints later, we headed off to the Airbnb we were booked into and met up with Stuart and Ed (who organize the art show) and Keith Burns, not only a top artist but a firm supporter of the Swap Meets. 

A fish supper later, we headed to the venue, a scout hall that was full of scouts. We had to wait until they were finished before dragging in a load of tables and then unload the car; we finished around 10.30, watched a bit of Red Nose Day before crashing.

I woke up at 3.30 and was unable to get back to sleep again; the room was way too warm and the boiler was revving up every five minutes. I sneaked off downstairs and read for a couple of hours. We were due up at 6.00 and away back to the venue by 7.30 to — in my case — empty six boxes of books onto the table. I had examples of most of the comic reprints and comics indexes that I've done over the years. Plus the new ACTION: THE SEVENPENNY NIGHTMARE. I'd sold a couple of copies before I'd finished unpacking!

The punters came in at 10.00 and I had a steady stream of customers, selling copies of a dozen different titles. I got to chat to a lot of Bear Alley's supporters and some folks — like Stephen Montgomery (co-editor of Sequential) and Colin Brown (who runs the John M. Burns Facebook page) — that I've known for a few years through e-mail and FB posts. I sat next to Colin MacNeil, with Colin Maxwell behind me. It was a pleasure to meet people like John McShane and Dave Alexander, Gordon Tait and Gary Walsh, and we had a bone fide celebrity, Susan Calman, who is a 2000AD fan. I grabbed a selfie with her, but my phone is ancient and the camera not great. 

We left about 4.00 or thereabouts as we were heading back south the same day and were facing a roughly eight hour drive. Eventually, we arrived back in Wivenhoe at 10.30 pm, unloaded boxes (four rather than six) and was in bed by midnight.

I've been keeping myself busy since then, although a night without much sleep leaves you with jetlag that took a couple of days to get over... and by then the cold had taken hold. What profit I'd made went on paying for some more printing; I had to nip into town on Tuesday and picked up five books for £2 (a good haul!), my Mum was over on Wednesday and that's you, dear reader, all caught up. It's six o'clock on Thursday evening, Mel's due home shortly and I'll be cooking dinner in about an hour's time. I realise I have an astonishingly dull domestic life, interrupted with the occasional bit of excitement. 

There's nothing due until at least June. Hopefully I'll have recovered by then!

Commando 5943-5946

Our next action-packed Commando set collects four sci-fi war stories from the 1994 G-Tex collection. Written by Mark Knowles and Ian Clark, with explosive art from Phil Gascoine, Ian Kennedy, Manuel Benet, Carlos Pino and Garijo, issues are on sale today, 26th March. 

5943: Gladiator Challenge 

Take a chance, open this book! See how tomorrow’s warriors will tackle the clashes of the future. There’s still fear and danger to be faced and it will take nerves of steel to read about these heroes of the future... men like Colonel Wolfe Brady!

Story: Mike Knowles
Internal Art: Phil Gascoine
Cover Art: Ian Kennedy
First published 1994 as No. 2725

5944: Roman Challenge
 
Follow Colonel Wolfe Brady once more as he tackles the troubles of the late 21st century. And this time, there are even more fears and dangers to be faced when hackers break into the system and cause chaos. It will take all of Wolfe Brady’s skill to cope...

Story: Mike Knowles
Internal & Cover Art: Manuel Benet
First published 1994 as No. 2738

5945: Viking Challenge

Another challenge to be tackled, another problem defused. For Colonel Wolfe Brady, Britain’s most experienced G-Tex, it was another mission to be treated with respect and handled with all his skill. 
For his opponent, it was more than that. Lieutenant Tavis Magee had clashed with Wolfe before and lost. Now here was his best chance to win and he wasn’t about to mess it up...

Story: Ian Clark
Internal and Cover Art: Carlos Pino
First published 1994 as No. 2754

5946: Rogue Challenge
 
Warriors battle in time once again, as an evil genius brings a new and horrifying element to the G-Tex’s world of computer war games.

Story: Mike Knowles
Internal Art: Garijo
Cover Art: Ian Kennedy
First published 1994 as No. 2746

Rebellion Releases — 25 March 2026

Brace yourselves, readers: starting with this week’s 2000 AD, The Galaxy’s Greatest Comic will now be available to pick up each and every week at ASDA!

The news means ASDA joins major supermarkets across the UK including Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Co-Op and many more in stocking 2000 AD in their magazine section – and overnight, becomes one of the major stockists of the comic in the UK.

The first issue available through ASDA will be 2000 AD Prog 2475, which features a cover from legendary artist Colin MacNeil, and stories including Judge Dredd, Brink, Tharg’s 3rillers, and The Discarded – as well as a complete Future Shock from Andi Ewington and John McCrea.

The news comes ahead of 2000 AD’s first 48-page bumper issue of the year, out on April 1st, which will feature classic characters Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper, a standalone Red Dragon thriller from Rob Williams, Steve Yeowell and Patrick Goddard, and the return of the steampunk aerial adventure of Ian Edginton and D’Israeli’s Helium!

It’s never been easier to get a taste of Thrill-Power, Earthlets – just head on down to your local!

And now, this week's releases...

2000AD Prog 2475
Cover by Colin MacNeil.

JUDGE DREDD // CLIMATE CRISIS by Rob Williams & Ned Hartley (w) PJ Holden (a) Jack Davies (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
BRINK // THE CALL OF THE VOID by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
THARG’S 3RILLERS // WHO IS ADRIAN APOLLO? by Liam Johnson (w) Steven Austin (a) John Charles (c) Rob Steen (l)
FUTURE SHOCKS // LUCKY NUMBER SIX by Andi Ewington (w) John McCrea (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
THE DISCARDED by Peter Milligan (w) Kieran McKeown (a) Jim Boswell (c) Simon Bowland (l)

Rogue Trooper: When a GI Dies by Garth Ennis, Gerry Finley-Day (w) Patrick Goddard, Cam Kennedy (a)
Rebellion 978-183786660-1, 25 March 2026, 144pp, £19.99. Available via Amazon.

Three years after the massacre that destroyed his unit, Rogue finds himself embroiled in a conspiracy that reaches to the topmost levels of Souther high command. In the classic You Only Die Twice, series creator Gerry Finley-Day and artist Cam Kennedy set GI against GI, as Gunnar embarks on an assassination run - under orders he cannot disobey.
    Then Garth Ennis and Patrick Goddard follow up on that story as Rogue investigates the fallout of Gunnar’s deadly mission - and uncover something infinitely more terrible, as the graves of the lost GI Regiment are violated in the most unspeakable way.

Nemesis the Warlock Definitive Edition Volume 5 by Pat Mills, Tony Skinner (w) Carl Critchlow, Chris Weston, Paul Staples, Kevin O'Neill, Clint Langley, Henry Flint (a)
Rebellion 978-183786661-8, 25 March 2026, 240pp, £29.99. Available via Amazon.

The final volume of Definitive Nemesis the Warlock sees the cosmic conflict between Nemesis and Torquemada conclude, locked in a struggle with each other which has spanned time and space. Can Nemesis bring down the corrupt regime, and bring peace to the galaxy? And what happens to Purity Brown after the final battle? This volume collects all the stories through to Kevin O’Neill final work on the series in 2016.
    Written by Pat Mills, this mind-bending volume of Definitive Nemesis features art by Henry Flint (Hawk the Slayer, Judge Dredd), Chris Weston (Paranoid Garden), and Kevin O’Neill (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Metalzoic).