THE 86ERS

Rafe created by Gordon Rennie & Simon Coleby; series created by Rennie & Karl Richardson
22 episodes: 2006-2007, 2009

This series is set in the Rogue Trooper universe and sees the GI pilot Rafe, introduced in "Prog 2003," finding a new battlefield away from Nu Earth.

Touchdown, 6 episodes [30 pgs], 2000 AD progs 1480-85 (Mar. 2006). Story by Gordon Rennie, art by Karl Richardson (pts 1-2) and PJ Holden & Chris Blythe (pts 3-6).

Interference, 3 episodes [15 pgs], 2000 AD progs 1508-1510 (Oct. 2006). Story by Gordon Rennie, art by PJ Holden & Chris Blythe.

Walking to Eternity, 1 episode [10 pgs], 2000 AD "Prog 2007" (Dec. 2006). Story by Gordon Rennie, art by PJ Holden & Chris Blythe.

Grendel, 6 episodes [30 pgs], 2000 AD progs 1544-1549 (June to Aug. 2007). Story by Gordon Rennie, art by PJ Holden & Eva de la Cruz.

Under Pressure, 6 episodes [31 pgs], 2000 AD progs 1625-1630 (Mar. to Apr. 2009). Story by Arthur Wyatt, art by PJ Holden & Eva de la Cruz.

FAMILY

Creators: Rob Williams & Simon Fraser
7 episodes: 2003

Disparaged by fans as "The Sopranos with super powers," a tag you could imagine being used to pitch the series, Family suffered from its format of six pages each month. There could have been a lot to enjoy in the concept of two mob families at war, but the script wasn’t quite engaging enough to make each installment stand out until the next one arrived.

Reprinted? Yes, a Rebellion hardcover is available.

Family, 7 episodes [48 pgs], Judge Dredd Megazine 201-207 (Jan. to July 2003). Story by Rob Williams, art by Simon Fraser.

FIENDS OF THE EASTERN FRONT

Creators: Gerry Finley-Day & Carlos Ezquerra
18 episodes: 1980, 2006

There was a time when Fiends didn't get any respect, and was occasionally laughed about by the editorial staff of the early 1990s. Time has proven the strip a winner, however. It's about a young German soldier involved with the march on Russia who learns that a company of their Rumanian allies are actually vampires. Things get ugly for the hero when Rumania switches sides. It's just a great little story with fabulous art by Ezquerra, and it was also notable for being among the first 2000 AD stories to depart from the traditional science fiction trappings for something more grounded in fantasy.

Eastern Front became more of a cult classic as time passed. In 2004, Black Flame released the first of three tie-in novels penned by David Bishop, clearing the way for a new series to begin in the pages of the Megazine two years later.

Reprinted? This classic adventure reappeared in the Megazine in 2002, and a harback collection from Rebellion was released in June 2006.

Fiends of the Eastern Front, 10 episodes [44 pgs], 2000 AD progs 152-161 (Feb. to Apr. 1980). Story by Gerry Finley-Day, art by Carlos Ezquerra.

Stalingrad, 8 episodes [48 pgs], Judge Dredd Megazine 245-252 (May to Dec. 2006). Story by David Bishop, art by Colin MacNeil.

FINK ANGEL

Character created by John Wagner & Mike McMahon
3 episodes: 2007

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Reprinted? Not as yet.

Pizen: Impossible, 3 episodes [18 pgs], Judge Dredd Megazine 263-265 (Oct. to Dec. 2007). Story by Simon Spurrier, art by Steve Roberts.

FINN

Character created by Pat Mills & Carlos Ezquerra
53 episodes: 1992, 1995-96

Finn originally appeared in his civilian identity in the Crisis series Third World War. It's more of the Mother Earth-talk which Pat Mills was obsessing over in the 1990s, but at least this character has always been built around his views, and not twisted the way the ABC Warriors were around this time. Despite my dislike of the writer's politics, I do concede that this is a frequently thrilling series, and perhaps Pat's most ambitious to date, involving as it does aliens, dragons, secret societies and urban terrorism. On the other hand, the thrills come alongside more pagan preaching about how civilisation is bad because it forced people to learn language and how women are perfect creatures of chaos because of their nature to stab you in the back and sell you out, but you just have to accept that’s women’s nature and work for them anyway. You really have to have an open mind for this gobbledygook to get into this at all; a more satisfying series would feature Finn telling Mandy (or Slaine telling Danu for that matter) to go take a flying leap.

Reprinted? The first two books were collected in a four-issue American miniseries.

Book I, 10 episodes [60 pgs], 2000 AD progs 770-779 (Feb. to Apr. 1992). Story by Pat Mills & Tony Skinner, art by Jim Elston.

Book II, 10 episodes [60 pgs], 2000 AD progs 807-816 (Oct. to Dec. 1992). Story by Pat Mills & Tony Skinner, art by Jim Elston.

The Origin, 4 episodes [27 pgs], 2000 AD progs 924-927 (Jan. to Feb. 1995). Story by Pat Mills & Tony Skinner, art by Liam Sharp.

Book III: Interventions, 20 episodes [120 pgs], 2000 AD progs 928-937 and 940-949 (Feb. to July 1995). Story by Pat Mills & Tony Skinner, art by Paul Staples.

Season of the Witch, 9 episodes [54 pgs], 2000 AD progs 991-999 (May to July 1996). Story by Pat Mills & Tony Skinner, art by Paul Staples.

FIREKIND

Creators: John Smith & Paul Marshall
13 episodes: 1993

This story was initially announced in 1991 and took two years to see print, but it was certainly worth the wait. It's the story of a totally alien civilisation and the two types of visitors it attracts, benign and malignant. Sadly, the printers missed an episode midway through the story. It was presented in prog 840, after the story had concluded.

Reprinted? This story was reprinted in Extreme Edition #8 (Apr. 2005).

Firekind, 13 episodes [78 pgs], 2000 AD progs 828-839 and 840 (Mar. to June 1993). Story by John Smith, art by Paul Marshall.

FLESH

Creator: Pat Mills
61 episodes: 1977-79, 1992-93, 1996, 2007

This longtime cult favorite explained why the dinosaurs died out. They were hunted to extinction by cowboys from the future, led by square-jawed Earl Reagan. Events in the first Flesh book, particularly the birth of the tyrannosaur Satanus, came back to haunt both Judge Dredd and The ABC Warriors.

Trivia: Massimo Belardinelli bowed out of Flesh Book II with two episodes left to go in order to draw The Angry Planet, the lead feature in Tornado.

Reprinted? Many early Flesh episodes are reprinted in the 1989 Annual and in volume 4 of the Megazine. Flesh Book II was reprinted in Extreme Edition #7 (Feb. 2005). "Legend of Shamana" was reprinted as a four-part American miniseries.

Book I, 19 episodes [87 pgs], 2000 AD progs 1-19 (Feb. to July 1977). Story by Pat Mills. Artists include Ramon Sola, Boix, "Carrion."

untitled, 1 episode [6 pgs], 1977 2000 AD Summer Special (July 1977). Story and art not credited.

The Buffalo Hunt, 1 episode [6 pgs], 1978 2000 AD Annual (Sep. 1977). Story and art not credited.

Book II, 14 episodes [78 pgs], 2000 AD progs 86-99 (Oct. 1978 to Feb. 1979). Story by Roy Preston & "Geoffrey Miller" (Kelvin Gosnell), art by Massimo Belardinelli (pts 1-12) and Carlos Pino (pts 13-14).

The Legend of Shamana, 18 episodes [108 pgs], 2000 AD progs 800-808 & 817-825 (Sept. 1992 to March 1993). Story by Pat Mills & Tony Skinner, art by Carl Critchlow.

Chronocide, 7 episodes [42 pgs], 2000 AD progs 973-979 (Jan. to Feb. 1996). Story by Dan Abnett & Steve White, art by Gary Erskine & Simon Jacob.

Hand of Glory, 1 episode [10 pgs], 2000 AD prog 1526 (Feb. 2007). Story by Pat Mills, art by Ramon Sola & Rufus Dayglo.

FREAKS / FACES

Creators: Peter Milligan & John Higgins
14 episodes: 1987, 2004

Freaks is the story of Carl Woolf, a London club kid abducted by three-eyed aliens from a militaristic society who want to learn about Earth weapons. This and Universal Soldier were announced as short-run series that had the possibility of return engagements if public demand warranted it. Freaks didn't make a return engagement at the time, although it needed to in order to develop some interesting subplots Milligan had dropped in. As it stood, Freaks was something of an honorable failure, since the storylines could, and should, have gone much farther. John Higgins gave himself the task of rectifying that, with a sequel series scripted in collaboration with American writer Mindy Newell.

Freaks, 6 episodes [30 pgs], 2000 AD progs 542-547 (Oct. to Nov. 1987). Story by Peter Milligan, art by John Higgins.

Faces, 8 episodes [48 pgs], 2000 AD progs 1412-1419 (Oct. to Dec. 2004). Story by John Higgins & Mindy Newell, art by Higgins.

FROM GRACE

Creators: Si Spurrier & Frazer Irving
5 episodes: 2003

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From Grace, 5 episodes [30 pgs], 2000 AD progs 1357-1361 (Sep. to Oct. 1993). Story by Si Spurrier, art by Frazer Irving. (Episode five is double-length.)

REBELLION REPRINTS

Storming Heaven: The Frazer Irving Collection (1/07). Reprints "A Love Like Blood," "Storming Heaven," "From Grace," two Future Shocks, three Terror Tales and two "Shaun of the Dead" episodes.


Continue to part six...
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