If, like myself, you are a crusty old comics fan of a certain age then you will no doubt be delighted that the latest incarnation of 2000 AD-inspired, fan-created anthology comic Zarjaz (opening as the Zarjaz Sci-Fi Special 2024) is concentrated on the characters and strips of the first five years of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic. Original Zarjaz showrunner Andrew Lewis’s return to the title brings us some of the mainstays you’d expect like Judge Anderson and Strontium Dog, some characters who were hugely popular in their day but are now mostly forgotten including Blackhawk and MACH 1, and one or two totally obscure surprises. It’s a fun and energetic compilation that hones in on the Golden Age of the venerable British weekly.
Zarjaz has always been an exercise in nostalgia in whatever iteration it has appeared in and, as such, much of the work herein will not be as accessible to those less familiar with the rich history of 2000 AD. Even the seasoned reader may have to stretch the limits of their memories at points but that, of course, is all part of the anthology’s reason to exist. Readers will be drawn in by the way various stories reconnect them with their past as much as they are by writing or art. It’s a loving tribute to a certain era of its inspiration.
This is admittedly a huge collection of strips, more annual-sized than issue-sized, so nominating a handful of strips that especially appealed to me is, to a degree, doing the issue a disservice. Such is always the realities of reviewing comics anthologies. The opening story, ‘The Holo Man’ by Craig Dawson and Brett Burbridge, reprising the early ‘80s future war strip The VCs benefits by stepping back to an extent from the main cast and giving us a fatalistic look at the inevitable horrors of war. The black and white visuals here are very evocative of the original without slavishly imitating them.
From the world of Judge Dredd Tom Davies and Chris Geary’s ‘Green is the New Grey!’ uses a clever application of colour in an otherwise b&w strip to bring to life the antics of a rogue eco-activist. Geary’s solid genre fiction comics work surely deserves to be featured in Rebellion’s wider catalogue at this stage. Davies is also the writer on a Strontium Dog/Rogue Trooper story that is more encounter than team-up with more suitably retro visuals from Bib Brice. This is a very satisfying short, giving a credible reason for the characters to meet and an intriguing twist at the end.
The dark whimsy of ‘Whatever Happened to the Biotronic Man Stickers Kid?’ (a story revolving around the free gift given away with 2000 AD Prog 2 back in 1977!) immediately brings a smile to the face on a page turn later on in this volume. T.M.O. and James Newell have a lot of fun creating a story that parallels early 2000 AD fandom with comics ephemera even if it does perhaps fizzle out at the end. And Pete Howard and Brett Burbridge’s ‘Ottodogs’ does some interesting things with the form in terms of lettering and colour to revisit the bleak humour of the early years of the Judge Dredd strip as a cadet mission into the Cursed Earth goes horribly wrong.
Zarjaz is the kind of project that is fan-motivated so the levels of craft in here ranges from the raw and unpolished through to ready for prime time. Peppered throughout are features that either add context or are just a bit of throwaway fun. But if you were there at the very beginnings of 2000 AD then there’s going to be more than the odd charge of nostalgic thrill-power in these pages.
Craig Dawson, Daniel Whiston, Tom Davies, Michael Crouch, Leo Healy, David Court, Laurence Alison, Chris Lackie, Mark Bennington, T.M.O., Paul Malone. Andy Smith, Matt Ellis, Nick Xylas, Pete Hobson, Pete Howard (W), Brett Burbridge, Ross Bampfylde, Chris Geary, Rob Anthony, Paul Malone, Torgo Wells, Jack Bates, George O’Shea, Bob Brice, Mark Bennington, Patrick Brown, James Newell, Roy Stewart, Tim Burnell, Mike Slattery (A), Roy Stewart (C) Rob Anthony, Chris Geary, Torgo Wells, Bhuna, Patrick Brown, Paul Malone, Mark Bennington, Mike Slattery (L), Andrew Lewis (E) • £13.49
Review by Andy Oliver
