In 1990 a seismic shock swept through the comics industry, as an upstart new comics anthology rumbled into production for the first time.
Judge Dredd Megazine, a sister title to the legendary British comics anthology
2000 AD, was brought to life!
Thirty-five years later and the
Megazine is still going strong, and this October we'll be celebrating 35 drokkin' years of awesome comics with a celebratory issue featuring the return of beloved characters and series, a celebration of everything that the
Megazine has stood for across the last three and a half decades!
"Thirty-five is an extraordinary birthday for any comic to have reached, let alone one that was tasked with expanding the universe of its older sibling's lead character and has been running neck and neck with it ever since," says Ben Smith, Head of Film, TV and Publishing for Rebellion.
"Such longevity would have been impossible without our editor Matt Smith guiding the
Judge Dredd Megazine for more than half its lifetime, nor without the incredible artists and writers who have sustained it with classics, bold experiments, unexpected adventures, new characters, alongside the journalists giving us one-to-one interviews that cover the history and present of the comics medium in the UK. Most important of all, we are enormously grateful to the
Megazine's readers; subscribers and newsstand regulars, both physical and digital customers who have ensured its ongoing success."
From its debut at the start of the 90s,
Judge Dredd Megazine has been home to some of the most acclaimed and beloved comics in
2000 AD history, including Judge Dredd: America; Young Death, and Judge Anderson: Satan, as well as debuting new series including Dreadnoughts, Lawless, Armitage, Missionary Man, and Devlin Waugh.
Current editor Matt Smith says "The Meg reaching its 35th anniversary is a fantastic achievement, and testament to the wonderful work being published in its pages that readers are still flocking to. It’s fair to say that before the turn of the millennium the Meg’s future was not guaranteed – but it’s flourished over the past quarter of a century, building on some of the stunning stories of the nineties to become the unmissable companion to
2000 AD. Lawless, Dreadnoughts, Megatropolis, Angelic, Spector and more have shown that the Meg may be approaching middle age but it’s stronger and more vital than ever.’
Judge Dredd Megazine 485 is out on the 15th October, and kicks off with a new one-off America story from Rob Williams and Colin MacNeil - who was the artist on the original ground-breaking America storyline which rocked the very first issue of the Meg back in 1990! America Beeny has aged in real time since she first appeared in that story, and was taken in by the Judges and trained to be one of them. Now an active Judge, Beeny and Dredd head off into the Cursed Earth to find a message from the past waiting for them...
Megatropolis, the alternate-universe retelling of Judge Dredd and Mega-City One from Ken Niemand and Dave Taylor, is another headline feature in October's Meg. Returning to the art-deco noir of this unpredictable universe, which debuted in
Judge Dredd Megazine back in 2020, much-anticipated sequel will feature the final published artwork from co-creator Dave Taylor, who sadly passed away earlier in the year. Although he hadn't completed this story at that time, his pages are a reminder of the fierce and passionate flair that he brought to his storytelling - and
2000 AD have pledged to complete the run in tribute to him, with Chris Weston joining the series to draw the final pages.
Elsewhere Judge Anderson has a demonic new case to solve as well, returning to the
Megazine which has been her home since 1992 courtesy of Alec Worley and Ben Willsher After a film premiere is taken over by a demonic incursion, Anderson is on the scene, ready to take the psychic battle to the silver screen!
And if you're looking for hard-hitting political realism in your comics, the return of Dreadnoughts is just what you're looking for. This Meg-Original series has been critically acclaimed for exploring how we went from our current police system to the judge state that will take over in Judge Dredd's era. Mike Carroll, John Higgins and Sally Hurst head back into the darkness this issue...
Also returning is the gruff detective Armitage, who debuted in
Judge Dredd Megazine #9 back in 1991. Working the tough streets of Brit-Cit, Armitage has a new case thanks to Liam Johnson and Staz Johnson which finds him exploring a serial killer whose patterns seem to replicate the murder spree of Jack the Ripper! And the anniversary line up is rounded off by the latest instalment of Rok The God, John Wagner, Alan Grant and Dan Cornwell's sci-fi sports series!
The ground-shaking anniversary issue of
Judge Dredd Megazine delivers over 100 pages of hard-hitting action and features, and is a true celebration of an incredible run - which continues to thrill readers around the world decades after debuting. Don't miss this latest issue of one of the longest-running comics in history!
Celebrating 35 years of publication,
Judge Dredd Megazine 485 will be published on 15th October 2025.
And now, this week's releases...
2000AD Prog 2453Cover: Boo Cook.
JUDGE DREDD // AND TO THE SEA RETURN by Rob Williams (w) Henry Flint (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
RED DRAGON by Rob Williams (w) Steve Yeowell & Patrick Goddard (a) Dylan Teague (c) Simon Bowland (l)
BRASS SUN // PAVANE by Ian Edginton (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
VOID RUNNERS // BOOK TWO by David Hine (w) Boo Cook (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
ROGUE TROOPER // GHOST PATROL by Alex de Campi (w) Neil Edwards (a) Matt Soffe (c) Jim Campbell (l)
Scream! The Specials 1985-2024Rebellion ISBN, 400pp, £49.99.
Available via Amazon.
Enter our nightmare world at your peril! Following the acclaimed 40 Years of
Scream!, this companion volume features previously uncollected material from the holiday specials spinning out of the main title.
From the original run in the 1980s to the latest, oversized 40th anniversary issue, this collection completes the Scream! archives with stories by veteran writers and artists Dave Gibbons, Eric Bradbury, Barrie Tomlinson and Tom Tully, as well as recent revival strips including the work of Alex Paknadel, Torunn Grønbekk, Henry Flint, and DaNi.
