Nu Earth

By Failboat Press

2000ad is kind of a strange beast. Barely known in North America, yet in the UK it is an institution with a devoted following. I’ve probably read more of it than most people who lived in North America, mostly through reprints of Judge Dredd I’ve hauled out of quarter bins, and the collections that 2000ad has been putting out for last few years.

I’ve bought a few issues since I moved to the UK, but there generally wasn’t enough to make me want to come back next week or I had no idea what was going on in the stories (for those that don’t know, it’s an anthology title with rotating characters and creators). Actually, the real reason is because I found a shop in Euston that sold a bunch of the graphic novels for £2 each, and if my choice is one of those or the newest prog I know what I’m going to choose.

But anyway! 2000ad is also notable for having the closest thing to doujinshi that exists in the western comics scene, in that there are a number of fanzines coming out that are at the least accepted if not encouraged. You can buy them in some comic stores, some people have actually produced content for both, and 2000ad doesn’t seem to be suing anyone.

With all that lead in you can probably guess that Nu Earth is a 2000ad fanzine, however it’s extra awesome because it was created by the same people that made the Songbird/Birdsong anthology which is just packed full of awesomeness and features comics by three different people I’ve reviewed on this blog and really enjoyed.

This one doesn’t have exactly the same line up, but it does have a beautiful Rogue Trooper story by Will Kirkby, that I think will be completely unintelligible to anyone who is not already familiar with the characters, a Nikolai Dante strip by Matthew Taylor that seems like it could have been a one off in that universe (and features cyborg warbears!), an ABC Warriors strip where I didn’t really get the joke, but which has really nice art by WJC, a cute 2000 A to Z by Ryan Taylor, and lots of other cool stuff including an appearance by Doctor Who.

This is something fans of 2000ad should definitely pick up, and considering the price is free (to create exponential thrills Earthlet), it’s probably worth getting even if you’ve never heard of the comic before. I mean, check out that swank cover, it's printed on gold paper!