THE HISTORY OF 2000AO VIDEOGAMES
When the first issue of 2000 AD hit the newsstands in February 1977, even its galactic editor, Tharg The Mighty, would have been hard-pressed to admit it would still be thrilling readers four decades later. Yet having eclipsed its then-futuristic name, the weekly comic is still going strong, and about to release Prog 2,132, now available in both paper and downloadable form. As befits this longevity, there have been movies, graphic novels, comic spin-offs, toys and merchandising galore based on 2000 AD characters. And, of course, videogames.
By 1983, 2000 AD was a solid success for IPC Magazines and its characters were quickly establishing themselves in youth culture. The iron fist of the fascist Judge Dredd, ruling over an overpopulated city called Mega-City One was the flagship strip, but that’s not to demean the other weekly stars of the comic. And with each of those came a strong emotional backdrop and a depth of character rarely seen at the time, in what was (like videogames) mainly considered something just for kids: the blue-skinned Genetic Infantryman Rogue Trooper, betrayed by his own side and conversing with his dead colleagues, their personalities transferred into his equipment via electronic chips. Mutant bounty hunter Strontium Dog (AKA Johnny Alpha), hated and feared in equal measure for a condition which he didn’t ask for. Or Halo Jones, the teenager who escapes Earth only to fight in a guerrilla war in outer space. The list goes on, yet it was with the gun-for-hire, Johnny Alpha, who became the first 2000 AD character to move into the world of videogames.
“ OUR FIRST CHOICE WAS JUDGE DREDD, BUT HE’D ALREADY BEEN LICENSED FOR A FILM ”
Mark Eyles
Strontium Dog And The Death Gauntlet, released in 1984 by Quicksilva, was not just the first 2000 AD licence, but also one of the first character-licensed games on home computers, and the brainchild of Quicksilva’s software manager, Mark Eyles. “I had previously spoken to and met the then-editor Richard Burton,” says Mark, “who it turned out was a Quicksilva fan. My initial contact had been to
