BARNEY

HITMEN, HEWLIGANS AND HORRORS!

2000 AD publishes a new range of graphic novels

2000 AD Publishing is delighted to announce it will be releasing a new range of graphic novels drawing from over 25 years of thrill-powered sci-fi, horror, fantasy and action comic strips that first appeared in 2000 AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine.

One graphic novel will be released every month from the end of August, and the list will be a carefully selected mix of long-running high profile characters - such as Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog and Nikolai Dante - plus the best one-off series and many of the fan-favourite stories that have previously never been reprinted.

The range launches with a bang at the end of August, with three acclaimed and much-requested collections:

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Button Man: The Killing Game

Button Man: The Killing Game is a creator-owned project written by Judge Dredd co-creator John Wagner, with art by veteran artist Arthur Ranson. The story regularly tops reader polls as favourite 2000 AD story, and has received much acclaim from comics professionals.

The 'Button Man', Harry Exton, was a hired gun, a soldier of fortune, but that was before he was offered the chance to earn even more money by taking part in The Game. Bored millionaires each hire a Button Man and set these trained killers against each other in a fight to the death. Vast sums of money are bet between the names as to who would win each contest. But when Harry decides to quit the game, he finds the only way out is death. Trouble is, nobody bothered to tell Harry exactly whose death they meant.

Button Man will be released in a completely new prestige hardback edition, completely rescanned from the original artwork, and will feature a brand new introduction by John Wagner.

Title: Button Man: The Killing Game
Published: 28 August 2003
Price: £17.99 / $27.95
ISBN: 1 904265 05 7
Format: Colour hardback, 88pp

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HEWLIGAN'S HAIRCUT

Hewligan's Haircut is another fan favourite strip that hasn't seen print for over 12 years now. Written by high-profile UK creator Peter Milligan (Bad Company, X-Statix), and drawn by Jamie Hewlett, the legendary creator of Tank Girl and world-renowned cartoon pop band Gorillaz, Hewligan's Haircut is packed with all the lunatic humor and deranged artwork you would expect.

The surreal story sees Hewligan craft himself the haircut to end all haircuts - but it could end the world too! Pursued by the laws of physics, abstract art pirates and formation-dancing policemen, Hewligan and the lovely Scarlet O'Gasmeter search for the giant stone heads from his fevered dreams - and try to return to (relative) normality...

Title: Hewligan's Haircut
Published: 28 August 2003
Price: £10.99 / $16.95
ISBN: 1 904265 065
Format: Colour hardback, 48pp

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NECRONAUTS

A more recent but no less popular story, Necronauts is an intelligent and genuinely creepy horror tale by prolific 2000 AD writer Gordon Rennie (Judge Dredd, Missionary Man, Caballistics Inc.) with stunning artwork by breakthrough artist Frazer Irving (Judge Death, The Authority). Of recent years, this is 2000 AD readers' most requested reprint, and features two talents who are certain to make a huge US impact this year.

Harry Houdini must join three famous aficionados of the uncanny - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Fort and H.P. Lovecraft - to defeat an evil force which wants to enslave humanity. But this intrepid group must not only face the enemy's terrifying agents on Earth, but also a traitor in their midst.

Necronauts will be released in a high quality European-format paperback edition with a brand new cover image by Frazer Irving, plus a six-page sketchbook, script and covers gallery.

Title: Necronauts
Published: 28 August 2003
Price: £7.99 / $13.95
ISBN: 1 904265 09 X
Format: Black and white paperback, 64pp

OTHER FORTHCOMING TITLES:

September:
Young Death: Boyhood of a Superfiend
John Wagner/Peter Doherty
Young Death is a funny yet creepy memoir of the malevolent Judge Death, as he reveals what it takes to grow up to become a genocidal superfiend. A reader favourite story that takes a new perspective on the leader of the Dark Judges.

October:
Durham Red: The Vermin Stars
Dan Abnett/Mark Harrison
The second part of the Scarlet Cantos trilogy sees sexy gothic vampire bounty hunter Durham Red in the middle of an epic intergalactic confrontation between the human race and mutantkind. A dark space epic, with richly detailed artwork by Mark Harrison.

November:
Judge Dredd/Aliens: Incubus
John Wagner/Andy Diggle/Henry Flint
A stunning collectors' edition of the popular recent Judge Dredd epic, in which the iron-chinned future lawman has to deal with a deadly threat to Mega-City One in the shape of the well-known biomechanical monstrosities.

December:
Banzai Battalion
John Wagner/Henry Flint/Cam Kennedy/Ian Gibson
Led by Captain Bug Stomper, Banzai Batallion are a platoon of three-inch-high robots programmed for garden pest control, but with recently discovered potential for covert operations and infiltration. A fun action title, suitable for readers of all ages.



Reporter: Mark Chapman