Thrill-Power Countdown #12: 2000ad Annual 1990

In the late 1980s, while the rest of the comic book world is losing their shit over things like Watchmen and Maus, my absolute favourite comic in the entire world is Zenith by Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell.

Zenith hits hard, and not just when the title character is punching holes through the chests of super-dimensional Nazis. It's the first time I really take note of who the writer is and make a vow to follow them wherever they go (literally one of the best decisions of my entire life), and I have vivid dreams I had about being a member of Cloud 9. So when I see the ads for the 1990 Annual in the weekly prog and see there is a Zenith story in there, it physically pains me that I can't get a copy.

Of all of these annuals on this list, only two are ever sold in bookstores near me so that I can buy them at the time. I come to almost all of them late, and it's almost a decade before I get the 1990 effort and finally read this lost Zenith story. And it's not really much of a story at all - Peter St John is telepathically attacked and things get very weird - and doesn't even have the glorious art of Steve Yeowell (Jim McCarthy is an excellent artist - I still have a soft spot for Bix Barton - but Yeowell is the only true Zenith artist.) 

The rest of this annual is fairly mediocre, with forgettable Dredd and Moonrunners, and the reprint is a godawful Tharg-starring story, but it will always be one of my favourite annuals because of that Zenith connection, because there is always a small part of me that still thinks it is the best comic in the world.

Thrill-Power Countdown #13: Judge Dredd Annual 1987

The basic design of Judge Dredd - as envisioned by co-creator Carlos Ezquerra - hasn't changed much in half a century. Those ridiculous shoulder pads, the truly iconic helmet, the gun in the boot, the badge on a chain - it still all looks drokking fantastic.

One of the reasons for this staying power is that it is as rigid as old Joe himself, but still gives artists with very different styles the chance to stamp their own mark. And while this annual is sadly lacking in any new work from our man Carlos, it does have three very different artists bringing some very different styles 

It starts with Ian Gibson - more well known as the definitive Robo Hunter artist and for his work on Halo Jones - who does a great Dredd, although I do prefer his later version with the more ridiculous proportions. Then there is more Bryan Talbot, who somehow gives a very, very silly story about dwarves led by a Sylvester Stallone clone some grit and heft.

And there is Brendan McCarthy, one of the most extraordinary Dredd artists ever, and someone who never tones down his ridiculously trippy style, and gets given a story where Dredd is totally off his tits on some alien hallucinogen, which might make it the ultimate McCarthy Dredd ever. 

With Ron Smith doing his thing on a classic reprint - Dredd versus a horde of Cursed Earth killer spider - this gives any reader a great taste of the various flavours of Dredd, and the heights it can reach.

Thrill-Power countdown #14: 2000ad Annual 2025

It shouldn't rate this highly. On a purely craft level, it's competent enough, but there are no modern classics lurking within.

The Lawless text story is probably the best thing inside those thick covers, because Lawless is always good, but there is also a Tales from the Black Museum, which is the definition of a filler, and the first Rogue Trooper story is reprinted with some grudawful modern colouring.

But the real thrill was in the very existence of a new annual, after all these years. Especially if you got the website edition, with a Bolland cover on a bright primary colour, with that shiny 1980s logo - still the best logo the galaxy's greatest ever had. (The only sign it wasn't done by Bolland back in the day are two background characters looking at the heroes, as if it to say look at these dweebs, a very modern touch from old Brian.)

Just to have something like that in my hands was as thrilling as a thousand future shocks, a back to the future moment that gave me the purest of joys. 

It does annoy me that it's physical dimensions are very slightly bigger than the old annuals though. If you're going to have the Splundig Vur Thrigg badge on the back, you should be able to get the size right. But a new 2000ad annual for Christmas is a true light in the winter darkness.  

Thrill-Power Countdown interlude: Here come the Yearbooks

The 2000ad and Judge Dredd Yearbooks don't get a rating this month - they would all be down in the basement of the rankings if they were - but it's worth mentioning there were a few odd gems in the four years they were produced.

So you get some Cam Kennedy Dredd and some Glen Fabry Slaine. Some Rogue Trooper goodness by the Indigo Prime team of Smith and Weston; and some black-and-white Durham Red by Grant and Ezquerra; a Judge Joyce story by Ennis and Dillon just as they were starting to really kick arse on Hellblazer.  

There is also far, far too muany Mark Millar stories, when the writer reallywas at his most obnoxiously provocative, and great artists like Steve Yeowell are wasted on nothing stories.

The soft covers mean the actual package feels flimsier and lighter, and that sense fills much of these efforts, although there are some excellent reprint choices that look spectacular on the glossy, large-size paper.

But it's no surprise the Yearbooks never caught on - they only lasted four years, and were later replaced by the end-of-year giant prog, a formula that has remained successful for more than 20 years now. The Yearbooks were nothing special, even with those odd gems, and certainly not as special as the annuals.

Thrill-Power Countdown #15: 2000ad Annual 1984

There are about a dozen books in the Nemesis The Warlock saga, each incredibly distinctive from the other, but it all started with a couple of short stories in the weekly prog, and sometimes the shorter stories make all the unending hatred generated by the people of Termight easier to deal with.

Take the story in the 1984 Annual - A Day in the Death of Torquemada. He's literally the worst human being who has ever lived, and there is the blackest of humor in seeing how this monster goes around his daily un-life, but it's all over and done in four pages, all gorgeously illustrated by Kevin O'Neill in his detailed prime (O'Neill is also represented with Bonjo from Beyond the Stars, and that's a welcomly goofy palate cleanser to Torquemada's xenophobia.)

But you really are getting bang for your buck with the annuals, Alan Moore is back with a couple of efforts - a minor Ro-Busters piss-take of the Thunderbirds that is rarely reprinted, and a touching Rogue Trooper story by the great Jesus Redondo, where somebody objectively rejects all the horror of Nu-Earth's future war and refuses to fight, and wins his quiet battle against needless death. Moore also provides a severly tongue in cheek behind the scenes look into how the Skizz was created.

Plus you've got a Judge Anderson story that shows Kim Raymond was much more suited to Cassandra than Johnny Alpha, Ian Gibson does some Robo-Hunter with a very familiar looking robot dog on the prowl and there is a very silly Dredd story with Robin Smith's typically lifeless artwork.  

This is the golden age of 2000ad, and it's still chasing the future, with an article on home computing features the obligatory code who could type into your ZX81. Tharg knows that computers are the future, and wants all the Earthlets to be ready for the digital world.

Thrill-Power Countdown #16: Judge Dredd Annual 1989

The only true Strontium Dog is Carlos Ezquerra Strontium Dog, although other artists should still be encouraged to give it a go. And it's almost arguable that the only true Judge Deddd is Ezquerra Dredd, even if that character is much more open to interpretation.

What is certain is that by the mid 80s, Ezquerra is the standard for all Dredd. He's the co-creator, after all, and while he walked away from the character early when he wasn't able to do the first appearance, he is now drawn more Dredd than anybody else, including all the big mega-epics. 

Brian Bolland and Ron Smith - the other definitive artists of the period - both appear in the reprint section of the 1989 Judge Dredd annual, but all the new Dredd material is our man Carlos.

It's not much of a story unfortunately, a vampire infects Mega City One and it goes the way you'd expected, A lot of Dredd stories of this time were both over-stuffed and under-explained, and this is ceertainly one of them.

Still, Dredds vs vampires is the kind of high concept that had to happen somewhere, so it might as well be here, and it's all brilliantly drawn, of course. And the text sections are unexpectedly fascinating - there is a Neil Gaiman text story - but who gives a fuck about that anymore - but it's always fun to find out what the Dredd creative team's favourite books, films and TV are - Grant Morrison's list is exactly what you'd expect, with Aleister Crowley, Philip Larkin and Harlen Ellison all making the list. Please don't ever change, Grant.

Thrill-Power Countdown #17: Judge Dredd Annual 1988

We have some familiar faces  behind the art of this late annual - Mark Farmer does another slick Judge Anderson story, and the main tale is drawn by John Higgins in his absolute prime.

As noted earlier, Higgins is still an A+ artist today. His line has got a little softer in the past few decades, but in the mid-eighties is was sharp enough to cut your throat. His painted work is remarkable - check out World Without End, one of his few American efforts. I still don't understand it, but know it looks gorgeous. His Razorjack comic is fucking fantastic - there was even a crossover with the main Dredd strip a few years back - and I just read his latest Dredger comic last night in the latest Actin special and it was absolute aces.

In this annual he's in the Cursed Earth, and it's another fairly rote story for that setting. It's surprisingly brutal, with a lone female judge's horrific death setting off the plot, with some doses of dark humour - the villains are literally named the Bad Guys, with an army of creeps with names like Rough Guy, Tough Guy, Little Guy, Little Little Guy, Titchy Little guy and Girl Guy. Higgins' painted pages sell that absurdity, and the blasted wasteland of the Cursed Earth never looked shinier or sharper. 

It's a solid annual of its time, but does lose points for trying to use Bolland's single page that he did for prog 500, but was rejected because the artist dared to spend his page asking here the money from all the merchandise featuring his art was going, and it's been re-lettered here to say Bolland was 'bored stiff' of drawing Dredd so many times. It's a blatant grasp for some Bolland material, but definitely leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

Thrill-Power Countdown #18: 2000ad Annual 1982

We're in the period of great Bolland covers - and this is another fine effort - with the artist also producing some rare inside pages, and obviously enjoying his opportunity to draw some extremely goofy alien monsters, as Dredd deals with carnage at an alien zoo (even going down the throat of one of them to get his man).

It's also the period of Alan Moore doing all sorts of odd things for 2000ad, including a bunch of small short stories. His Ro-Busters story in this edition is obviously Moore - a little sad, a little whimsical, a little edgy - and has some wonderful art by Steve Dillon (more on the tragedy that there weren't more Moore/Dillon collaborations in a later annual).

The memory banks of 2000ad are raided for some Mach One, which only shows how much the comic has evolved in the few short years; the seemingly obligatory Flesh; and some groovy early Dredd. There's still too much filler, and way more Tharg than anybody needs, and the Strontium Dog story again shows how weak it can be when Carlos Ezquerra isn't involved. At least the always welcome Colin Wilson produces some fine line artwork in a short story.

There is not much else to say about the 1982 effort -  the 2000ad annuals are getting better every year, and still not near the heights they will reach in a couple of years, but they are in sight. 

Thrill-Power Countdown #19: 2000ad Annual 2026

The return of the annual in the past couple of years has truly filled my heart with joy, which is why this annual may be rated a little higher than it deserves. I might be paying almost 20 times the amount I paid for last year's effort than I did for the annual I bought in late 1985, but the reemergence of the annual has strengthened my belief that this is the best format for pure thrills (especially when I've given up on the weekly prog due to international distribution nightmares.)

Like all comics in this day and age, it has to come with a bloody variant cover, and Simon Bisley produces something quite strange for the webshop-only edition, but Ladronn's cover is so beautifully stylized that it still feels new and bold, even if it's just Dredd and chums standing around.

Inside those thick covers, it's an eclectic mix of reprint - Steve Dillon is represented with some unseen Hap Hazzard (although there is some shameful modern colour work on it - Steve's stuff always looked better with flat colours); the late, great Marty Emond's Chopper story is still breath-taking; there are some short doses of Glenn Fabry and John Hicklenton (the latter is far more appreciated these days, to the point that they are now reprinting a typically dire comic script written by Jim Alexander). 

The largest chunk of reprint is the Satanus Unchained story from 2001, which has some of the usual lovely art by Colin MacNeil, but the story is still more famous for infuriating Satanus creator Pat Mills (to be fair, it doesn't take much to infuriate Pat.)

The new stories are also a mixed bag, but giving Joe Currie two Dredd strips to draw is a great idea - Currie is one of the current stars of the weekly prog with some wonderful and extremely idiosyncratic work on the vampires v aliens Silver strip. But the final story in the book only has Currie's art going for it, because the script is literally incomprehensible, to the point there is a Tharg note explaining this is a "different Mega-City One". 

Currie is really good, though, even if the story doesn't make any kind of sense, the part where the Dark Judges run riot is properly horrifying. Also, Staz Johnson is an excellent Rogue Trooper artist, with the right dose of gritty detail on his story.

So we're far from the heights of the great annuals of the past, but it's an interesting step forward. The line-up for this year's effort has recently been announced and looks like it's going to be an absolute cracker, and worth paying 20 times over.