2000 AD Prog #2469

Call me The Mighty Tharg, the being from Betelgeuse, who brings you weekly Thrill-power!

A couple of endings this prog, my Squaxx, alongside the ongoing excitement of The Discarded, Herne & Shuck, and Judge Dee — firstly, the 3riller Money Shot: High Stakes (featuring a cameo from a long-lost 2000 AD character not seen since the mid nineties!) comes to a scrotnig close; and secondly the Dredd nerve-shredder Death of a Judge reaches its explosive climax, with the lawman facing a fiery finale.

Is this Joe’s last hurrah? You’ll have to read the story to find out, Terrans — but what it is, for the time being at least, is John Wagner’s last Dredd. If you’ve read his interview in the latest Meg (and if not, why not? Copies of #488 are still available), you’ll be aware that he’s stepping away from writing after decades at the coalface of comic-book scripting.

Few would disagree that he’s one of the finest writers to have graced UK comics (and many US ones too), and his influence runs through the GGC like a stick of rock, as co-creator of Dredd, Strontium Dog, Robo-Hunter, Ace Trucking Co, Button Man and more.

Here’s to you, John!