Back to Someone Old, Someone New, for Rogue Trooper meeting Major Eazy:

Last year saw Rogue return to the pages of the Prog, with a lovely tale by Gerry Finley Day showing he’d not lost it with the character, and excellent art by Staz, really evoking the vibe of the strips origins.
A worthy succesor to the likes of Gibbons and Wilson with his brilliant design work, Staz must be the number one choice if the strip ever becomes ongoing again.
Anyway, really pleased that Staz was up for returning to the fella and it seemed natural to look for a military type from the 70’s to have him meet.
I straight away ruled out Charley Bourne and Darkie from this project, figuring the seriousness of those strips just wouldn’t work on such a fun project.
In my mind that left two to choose from - Major Easy or Hellman.
I initially went for Hellman as i reckon he’s a crimingly over-looked character and i wanted to give him a bit of exposure.
So Staz set to work but then i had second thoughts.
Rogue is such an iconic character that i thought maybe Hellman, in his plain black tank outfit, would get swamped in the piece.
So asked Staz if he’d mind changing to the far more visually striking Eazy and, luckily he did - and mighty glad i am too.
Stunning stuff.

Staz has also posted on this, from where I got the clearer image of the piece from, and he discusses the process and shows his working.

Cover to Judge Dredd Megazine #310 by Colin MacNeil. Out now.

Contents:

• Judge Dredd: “Hot Night in 95” by John Wagner (writer) and Staz Johnson (artist)
• Numbercruncher by Simon Spurrier (writer) and P.J. Holden (artist)
• Judge Andeson: “The Trip” by Alan Grant (writer) and Boo Cook (artist)
• Insurrection: “Insurrection II” by Dan Abnett (writer) and Colin MacNeil (artist)

contextisfortheweak:

The original Rogue Trooper, by Staz Johnson.

Cover to Judge Dredd Megazine #308 by Clint Langley. Out on now.

Contents:

• Judge Dredd: “Hot Night in 95” by John Wagner (writer) and Staz Johnson (artist)
• Numbercruncher by Simon Spurrier (writer) and P.J. Holden (artist)
• Samizdat Squad: “Black Flowers” by Arthur Wyatt (writer) and Paul Marshall (artist)
• Insurrection: “Insurrection II” by Dan Abnett (writer) and Colin MacNeil (artist)

Just a quickie post to say that the current issue of the Judge Dredd Megazine (#307) carries the first part of a three part Judge Dredd story I have been working on. The story also features the return of former Chief Judge Hershey to Mega City 1.

It’s a real pleasure to get a chance to work in the world of Dredd again, I really feel at home.

Anyway, here’s the listing of the issue on the 2000AD website, & a few bits of the art, pencil pages, inked bits etc. Pick up the issue to see it all coloured up by Chris Blythe.

Visit his blog for the break down of two of his Dredd pages.

Cover to Judge Dredd Megazine #307 by Steve Yeowell. Out on Wednesday.

Contents:

• Judge Dredd: “Hot Night in 95” by John Wagner (writer) and Staz Johnson (artist)
• Numbercruncher by Simon Spurrier (writer) and P.J. Holden (artist)
• Samizdat Squad: “Black Flowers” by Arthur Wyatt (writer) and Paul Marshall (artist)
• Insurrection: “Insurrection II” by Dan Abnett (writer) and Colin MacNeil (artist)

Who has returned to Mega-City One? Find out in new Dredd story by John Wagner & Staz Johnson in Judge Dredd Megazine 307, on sale 2 Feb!

Cover to 2000 AD Prog 2011 by Simon Fraser. Out Wednesday.

Contents:

• Judge Dredd: “The Chief Judge’s Speech” by Al Ewing (writer) and Paul Marshall (artist)
• Shakara: “Avenger” by Robbie Morrison (writer) and Henry Flint (artist)
• Rogue Trooper: “Dead Ringer” by Gerry Finley-Day (writer) and Staz Johnson (artist)
• Ampney Crucis Investigates: “The List of Ten” by Ian Edginton (writer) and Simon Davis (artist)
• Sláine: “The Mercenary” by Pat Mills (writer) and Clint Langley (artist)
• Judge Anderson: “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by Alan Grant (writer) and Patrick Goddard (artist)
• Necrophim: “Civil Warlord” by Tony Lee (writer) and Lee Carter (artist)
• Kingdom: “His Master’s Voice” by Dan Abnett (writer) and Richard Elson (artist)

Remember this is the end of year special and a perfect jumping on point for new or returning readers.

Rogue Trooper is one of science fiction comic 2000AD’s most iconic characters. A deserter in a future war, he roams the barren surface of Nu Earth, a chemical ruin of a planet, on a sworn mission to avenge his dead comrades from the Quartz Zone Massacre. He’s accompanied on this mission by three fallen buddies, in the form of biochips imprinted with their personalities after their deaths.

Now Rogue is returning once more to 2000AD and, for the first time since 1985, original series co-creator Gerry Finley-Day is writing the strip.

In this round table*, conducted for the Forbidden Planet International blog and downthetubes by Matt Badham, Matt Smith (editor of 2000AD), Gerry Finley-Day, Staz Johnson (the artist on this new strip) and Pat Mills (veteran comics writer and friend of Finley-Day) all talk about the genesis of the new story, entitled Dead Ringer…

As brought to my attention by the superb AIEEE! blog, a Rogue Trooper strip I drew recently was previewed in the mighty 2000AD last week.
I managed to track down a copy (which wasn’t as easy as I’d anticipated, but ASDA came to the rescue yet again), & for those of you who don’t pick up the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic, here’s a scan. As you can see, the strip was written by the original writer of the strip Gerry Finlay Day, so it was a huge thrill for me, being a massive fan of the character from way back.

This particular prog, marks the return of another legend, art droid Brendan McCarthy to Dredd after a 20 year absence, so it’s well worth picking up.

I’ll post a proper look ‘behind the scenes’ at the Rogue strip as soon as I get time.