2000ADHD – A Prog a Day – Prog 596

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Welcome to my personal Prog slog through 2000AD. Here, I post daily about my favourite story from each Prog. I started doing this as a means of focusing my attention on something. A hobby, if you will. Something that will bring joy and fond memories for fans as well as draw attention to and hopefully bring in new readers to The Galaxy’s Greatest Comic. I have never read these Progs before. I recall reading some of Flesh at some point in my childhood, knew of Judge Dredd from a PlayStation One game and then the 1995 Movie, Rogue Trooper from the PlayStation 2 Game and had heard of other stories and seen other characters from seeing posts online. So I’m pretty much experiencing most of these stories as an intergalactic virgin. Or something. So if you are an established reader whose loyalty to Tharg has been unwavering, or if you’ve dropped off reading 2000AD, lie somewhere in between or if you are a newcomer to The Galaxy’s Greatest Comic then please let me know via the comments or hit me up on my socials!

I’ve recently started working on a Letterboxd list, compiling movies that have/may have influenced strips within 2000 AD and adjacent titles such as Misty and Scream! Feel free to check it out here, drop me a follow and let me know of any other titles I should add.

Without further ado…

Welcome to Prog 596 featuring ‘Chopper‘, ‘Moon Runners‘, ‘Tharg’s Future-Shocks‘, ‘Tyranny Rex‘, ‘Zenith‘ and ‘Judge Dredd‘, published on 15 October 1988.

Cover Art Robot: Cliff Robinson

Dredd issues a red card on this weeks cover!

My pick of the Prog is: Judge Dredd

Script Robot: John Wagner

Art Robot: C Weston

Lettering Robot: T Frame

The circus is in town! But not for long… Dredd and fellow Judges debunk every myth behind the various acts such as the bearded lady, the strong man and so on and the paying audience kicks off but are threatened with potential Cube time if they approach Dredd for a refund as any money that has been used for illegal means will mean legal action. As a result, nobody pursues a refund and Dredd comments on how the Justice Department could use the money. We tie this short tale off with Dredd asking a clown what he’s grinning at and the clown fearfully says he’s not grinning at anything as it is painted on and he’s left standing in front of a sign saying “CLOSED BY ORDER DREDD” and the clown is crying. Could that be a Pagliacci reference?

Prog 596 gets driven outta town! Join me on the next one to see who/what grabs the pick of Prog 597.

Florix Grabundae!

Have you read this Prog? If so, what was your favourite strip? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!