2000 AD: Cavan Scott and Luke Horsman Talk Returning to Enemy Earth

The oversized 2000 AD Prog 2362, the final 2000 AD installment of 2023, releases today, bringing with it the latest installment of Cavan Scott's (Star Wars: The High Republic) and Luke Horsman's (Cadet Dredd) post-apocalyptic Enemy Earth story. The tale began in the all-ages 2000 AD Regened but eventually moved into the main 2000 AD series. That origin speaks to its premise, which focuses on children -- an orphan named Zoe and the president's son, Jules -- surviving the apocalypse. It also speaks to its vibrant visuals. Enemy Earth isn't overrun with zombies or aliens. Instead, the flora and fauna of Earth itself have turned against humanity, making it an ecological fable. The vibrant and dynamic artwork fits both the lush green grotesquery of its contents and the action-packed pace of the narrative.

Rebellion has provided ComicBook.com with a few preview pages from Enemy Earth Book Three (part 3), the new installment included in today's issue of 100-page issue 2000 AD (which also includes new installments of Judge Dredd, Feral & Foe, and more). Those pages can be found below. ComicBook.com also had the opportunity to ask a few questions of Scott and Horsman about bringing their atypical apocalypse to a close. Here's what they had to say.

What can you tell us about the next book of Enemy Earth?

Cavan Scott: We're racing toward the conclusion, and the reveal of what actually caused Earth's flora and fauna to turn against humanity. 

Enemy Earth has been a series with a pretty breakneck pace as the characters seem to run from one potential threat directly into another. Does that pace keep up, or could our heroes catch a breather?

CS: That was part of the origin brief for the series: to keep moving as much as possible, with lots of action and peril. I've tried to keep that breakneck pace going, our characters having to roll with the punches, but have tried to ensure there are quieter moments that allow our cast to just 'be' in the midst of all the chaos!

What else might be different in this installment compared to past Enemy Earth episodes? How does Jules' mutation change things?

CS: Jules' condition becomes central to this last chapter in the story as the link between humanity and Earth's mutated wildlife. Unlike the previous two books, this entire story takes place in one location rather than bouncing from place to place as our heroes reach the scientific base in India that was studying the mutations on the day the Earth went nuts!

Enemy Earth is part of a larger genre of post-apocalyptic survival stories. What do you think sets it apart from other stories of that kind?

CS: I think the obvious answer is that we're keeping kids – or at least young teens – front and centre in Enemy Earth. That doesn't mean that we've shied away from putting them in danger. So far we've seen killer plants and animals, crazed cannibals and deranged cultists. This book adds the military and an other-worldly threat to the long list that our kids have tackled head-on! 

A big part of what makes Enemy Earth stand out is the art, which bucks the trend of deliberated washed-out and distressed visuals that tend to define this genre space. Enemy Earth's look is quite a bit more vibrant and energetic, without going into the apocalypse-punk extreme that something like Mad Max represents. What were the conversations like when you were developing the look of the story?

Luke Horsman: It was actually a very simple process developing the look of the story –  I generally just run with it and throw my own style at a comic and hope for the best. Cavan's script let me play with the designs freely, so there was a lot of fun to be had. 

I'm a cartoonist at heart, so most of my work comes out kind of frantic, loose and energetic, which lends itself to quick paced, short strips.  

Has thinking up mutated creatures to throw at the heroes in these stories required a lot of research? 

CS: Moving the action to India has meant more variety of wildlife to mutate, upping the ante considerably. A lot of the wildlife is already very dangerous, even before it becomes a monster. I mean, we've seen what the Earth's mutation did to humble creatures like London ants and pigeons! Imagine what it does to Indian tigers and serpents!

Have you begun to look at the planets and animals you encounter differently?

LH: There was some definite tentacle research. I drew a lot of tentacles throughout these episodes! I also live in the Yorkshire Dales, so if there were ever to be a mutation of plants and animals, I may have to start digging a bunker. The local sheep are looking suspicious.

CS: I'm a big fan of plant horror so I'm always wary! It's a jungle out there, you know!

2000 AD Prog 2362 is on sale now. 2000 AD returns with the conclusion of Enemy Earth and more in 2024.