Geek Culture Reviews

PJ Holden is someone who doesn’t need an introduction. The veteran artist has been a staple part of the comic book industry over the past 20-years and is synonymous with his work within 2000 AD and its related publications. Recently I was able to send some questions over to Paul, who was then kind enough to chat about his work with 2000 AD, and a little bit of life away from drawing our favourite comics.  Cover from Chimpsky’s first appearance in 2000AD (art & colours: PJ Holden) Hi Paul, thank you for taking the time to answer some questions regarding your past and current projects.  PJH - My pleasure! Most comic book readers will know you from your work with Rebellion Publishing with yourself being a well-known figure within the 2000 AD Prog and the Judge Dredd Megazine. For me, I first discovered your work in the Warhammer Monthly comic series. That said, out of everything you’ve worked on what’s been your favourite strip or series?  PJH - Cor, that’s a tough one,...

Rob takes a trip to Deadworld with 2000 AD writer Kek-W… ‘ The Fall of Deadworld: Redemption ’ made its return to the 2000 AD Prog this week. While the battle for Sector 13 and the wider city rumbles on, I spoke to curator of chaos, Kek-W about Deadworld past, and more importantly, its future. Looking back, what first attracted you to writing what’s essentially the Dark Judges origin  story? KW - Well, the first four DREAMS OF DEADWORLD stories that Dave and I did were well received,  so rather than just doing more of the same - stories that showcased the individual Dark Judges - I pitched the idea of telling the back-story of how the four of them destroyed an entire world. How did that happen, how might it work? I figured it was a landscape ripe with dramatic story-telling potential. 'Ripe' being the operative word! (laughs) I also thought it might be interesting to focus in on a ordinary family, to see and experience the collapse of civilization ...

'I Am The Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future' with Michael Molcher... When it comes to the inner workings of 2000 AD , Brand Manager Michael Molcher is a well-known name. From being the go-to droid for PR inquiries to being a chap you'd happily have a pint with down the pub, Michael Molcher is as much the face of 2000 AD as Tharg himself. So when the opportunity arose to chat with him about his debut novel, we'll it was a no-brainer. Hi Michael, thank you for agreeing to answer a few questions about ‘I Am The Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future' . For those who don’t know you, could you tell us a bit about what you do? MM -  It’s a pleasure! By day, I’m the Brand Manager for  2000 AD  and Rebellion’s Treasury of British Comics – which covers everything from running our social media channels to drumming up press coverage to licensing to merchandising. In other words, I am permanently busy! Those who follow you on social media will have see...

Rob speaks to Dave Heeley about his upcoming comic; This Comic Is Haunted... Back in July, The77 Publications headed onto Kickstarter for another round of crowdfunding. This time, the publisher was seeking crowd support for an entirely new addition to their ever-expanding catalogue.  The title for this new anthology is the spine-chilling; ' This Comic Is Haunted '. Headed up by the mysterious Grey Phantom, This Comic Is Haunted offers a shock to the heart for those long abandoned horror periodicals that have recently fallen into the dark superhero-saturated quagmire.  Thankfully, a few comic book readers thought the same. As its Kickstarter campaign closed, This Comic Is Haunted managed to raise £5,820 from 262 soon-to-be terrified backers.  As someone who's managed to have an early look at the finished comic - let's just say you're in for a fright!  Anyway, thanks to the Grey Phantom, This Comic Is Haunted 's human editor (and writer) Dave Heeley ...

Rob speaks to Frankie B. Washington about his career and upcoming comic - Kaijus And Cowboys... Kaijus and Cowboys is an upcoming comic book series that has been co-developed by Matthew Blair and Frankie B. Washington . Set on an alien planet, a lone cowboy robot known only as "The Hunter" confronts a herd of kaiju monsters that threaten his fellow robots. For the launch of their comic, Blair and Washington utalised crowdfunding website Kickstarter to bring the project to life. At the end of the campaign the pair had secured funding for the comic and had amassed $3,912 from 157 backers.  Aside from helping to create Kaijus and Cowboys , Frankie Washington also lends his artistic talents to drawing the 20-page issue. With over 30 years experience as a freelance artist, Washington had had quite a varied career. Not only working on two Miramax movies, he has also worked with an animation studio, advertising agencies, print & comic book publishers, and sketc...

Rob speaks to 2000 AD writer Kenneth Niemand about Kyle Asher's return in 'An Honest Man'... Back in Prog 2225, we were introduced to ex-Judge Kyle Asher, who's returned to Mega-City One after spending the last twenty years on Titan. Throughout the 6-part story, we saw Asher fall foul of the Special Judicial Squad and their "Welcome Wagon" - a conspiracy which saw the SJS increasingly harass Titan returnees until they left the Meg - or worse. Naturally, this action also caught the steely eye of Judge Dredd, and as such, the Lawman aimed to close the project down. Jump forward to Prog 2281 and Kyle Asher our ' A Penitent Man ' is back in ' Judge Dredd: An Honest Man '. This time around we follow Asher as an ordinary Resyk clean-up turns into anything but... I recently spoke to writer Kenneth Niemand about what he has in store for Asher in Judge Dredd: An Honest Man , and what's coming up from the seasoned writer in t...