Interview: 2000AD Creators Talk About The 2018 Summer Special

Tillie Walden - Future Shock

ComicBook.Com: Do you remember your first encounter with 2000AD? Were there any stories or artists that made working on this special particularly exciting?

Walden: My first encounter was only recently, and it was through my British publishers Avery Hill. Ricky Miller introduced me to 2000AD as a part of a larger comics education. I had never seen it previously!

ComicBook.Com: "Future Shocks" place almost no restrictions on artists. How did you go about deciding what sort of story you wanted to tell?

Walden: It can be harder when there are no restrictions, so much possibility. But the idea of having to come up with a twist ending took me down a path that ultimately led me to my story. I think that's the way to go about it - you can't come up with a whole story in one go, it helps to work on it in pieces.

ComicBook.Com: The biggest constraint of working on a "Future Shock" is telling a complete narrative in very few pages. What did you find was most important to focus on as a storyteller conveying so much information in a concise fashion?

Walden: For me the layouts were the key. Fitting in all the info into the panels while also not cramming too much into one space. That was the challenge and I found it fun to work around!

ComicBook.Com: There's a long history of "Future Shocks" showcasing great, rising talent. Is it a format you'd be interested in revisiting in the future?

Walden: Absolutely! I'm always on board to draw more comics.

Alex de Campi - Rogue Trooper

ComicBook.Com: When you were invited to work on the Summer Special, what attracted you to the stories of Rogue Trooper?

de Campi: I've always been a huge fan of war stories in general, and most of what I read for pleasure is nonfiction / military history. And I have always loved Rogue Trooper and knew the stories really well. I specifically didn't want to do Judge Dredd for the summer special as I'm only the second woman (and only American, I think) to write Dredd for 2000AD. I'd written a bunch of Dredd stories already. So I wanted to pick another classic 2000AD character and let a third woman do Dredd.

Also, this is probably my only chance to write Rogue. You can get away with things in the Specials that Tharg won't allow in the Prog or the Meg — there are no plans to bring Rogue back (I asked!) so this was a rare shot at the character in his classic form. I grabbed it.

ComicBook.Com: Do you remember your first encounter with 2000AD or Rogue Trooper? Did working on this installment bring any fond memories to mind?

de Campi: 2000AD got me back into comics as an adult in a very real way. When I was living in London, one of my ex-husband's friends, a fellow British army officer, was moving out of London barracks. He looked at me and said, "you look like you like comic books. I can't take these with me, do you want them?" It was a huge box of 2000ADs and Vertigo books from Vertigo's good era. I fell in love again. Before then, I probably hadn't read a comic in 15 years.

ComicBook.Com: Working on a Rogue Trooper story, was there anything that surprised you or that you found to be particularly fun?

de Campi: He's a particular challenge to write because of his three bio-chip buddies. You need to make sure Bagman, Helm and Gunnar have an actual purpose in the story and as much of an arc as Rogue does. Other than that, it's just this fun fun party town of a future where there is Only War and you can take any battle you know about from history and apply aspects of it to a Rogue Trooper story.

ComicBook.Com: For American readers or others who might be unfamiliar with Rogue Trooper, what would you tell them they are missing out on?

de Campi: Well, as noted, grim future, Only War. On Nu Earth, which is completely ravaged by war, you have your Norts (bad guys) and Southers (good guys). They fight. The Southers created Genetic Infantrymen (GIs), who are blue, and can breathe the poisoned atmosphere of Nu Earth whereas normal soldiers have to wear protective gear. All the GIs were destroyed in an ambush, except Rogue and his three buddies who were backed up onto memory chips. Now Rogue roams Nu Earth, looking for the general that sold them out.

If you like this, there are a hojillion pages of classic Rogue Trooper available on the 2000AD app, with amazing Brett Ewins and Cam Kennedy art, and by folks like Alan Moore and Gerry Finley-Day, and you 100% should read them.

Marguerite Sauvage - Judge Anderson

ComicBook.Com: When you were approached to illustrate a poster for the Summer Special, what drew you to Anderson as a subject?

Sauvage: I was approached to do a Judge Anderson poster directly.

ComicBook.Com: What was your first exposure or interest in the 2000AD line? Is there a favorite past story or memory that sprang to mind when invited to work on this issue?

Sauvage: As you may know I grew up in France, there was no 2000AD in this country, it was more Metal Hurlant magazine or anything bande-déssinée related, so no past memories or story related to 2000AD.

ComicBook.Com: As you designed your montage of Anderson, were there any particular stories or references you looked at before designing your version of Anderson?

Sauvage: I looked at as much story and references I could find to get impreganted with the spirit and ambiance of the books and of the character. I was specifically driven by the art of Arthur Ranson.

ComicBook.Com: Having spent some time with Anderson now, is there something about the character that you believe makes her an essential figure in 2000AD lore?

Sauvage: I have no specific belief about the character, I welcomed her as she was: one of the main characters, with a strong history background.