blogging by Andrew Wickliffe

2000 AD 1 (26 February 1977)

144891There’s definitely some weird stuff in the first issue of 2000 AD. Quite a bit of silly stuff too. Pat Mills wrote–either solo or with a partner–every story in the issue so the lack of creativity on some of the series might just be exhaustion.

The first one, Invasion, is the strongest. Great art from Jesus Blasco. It’s about some Eastern European country invading Britain; very methodically told. Looks great.

Flesh is about dinosaur hunters from the future. Joan Boix’s art has more personality than quality. It’s likable enough, as it’s cowboys and dinosaurs.

The Dan Dare is lame. Massimo Belardinelli has problems with figures, the writing’s dull.

Nothing’s as lame as M.A.C.H. 1 though. It’s a “Six Million Dollar Man” knockoff. Enio’s art is pretty weak.

Harlem Heroes is the nuttiest–a future version of the Globetrotters. Young Dave Gibbons on the busy art.

CREDITS

Invasion, The Resistance, Part One; writer, Pat Mills; artist, Jesus Blasco; letterer, Bill Nuttall. Flesh, Book One, Part One; writer, Mills; artist, Joan Boix; letterer, Nuttall. Dan Dare, Part One; writers, Ken Armstrong and Mills; artist, Massimo Belardinelli; letterer, Nuttall. M.A.C.H. 1, Vulcan, Part One; writer, Mills, artist, Enio; letterer, Nuttall. Harlem Heroes, Part One; writers, Tom Tully and Mills; artist, Dave Gibbons; letterers, Gibbons and Nuttall. Editor, Kelvin Gosnell; publisher, IPC.

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2 responses to “2000 AD 1 (26 February 1977)”

  1. vernon wiley

    While English comics are generally very competently drawn, they have a REALLY limited palette of writers, an astounding fact when you consider how many good comic writers came from the United Kingdom. That said, they produce few of any lasting memory. A good current 2000 ad series would have to be “Zombo”(?), which has some of the wryest social commentary in comics.

    Reply
  2. backlashcomix

    I used to get 2000AD when I was younger, but I found the weekly magazine format quite hard to follow. Out of 5 stories, I was sometimes only interested in 1 or 2 of them, so I’d only have about 6 pages to read. That’s okay for funnies, however I want to get immersed in plot driven stories, and even the 24(?) page monthly American comics always seemed kind of short. I guess that’s why collections and graphic novels are what I most remember enjoying as a kid. I would say on a positive slant for 2000 AD as opposed to marvel/DC of the same time was that the American comics all generally looked the same, and Britain’s always had a more unorthadox approach to mixing both writing and drawing styles. I got an Eagle annual from the 50s and Frank Hampton’s Dare Dare was really well done, PC 49 well done, Harris Tweed well done etc. but ALL of them were drawn in alternative styles.

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