Tharg the Mighty

Tharg the Mighty — known to devoted readers as "The Mighty One" — occupies a singular place in British comics history as the fictional alien editor of 2000 AD, the influential science fiction anthology that launched in 1977. Tharg made his debut on the cover of that very first issue and has since appeared in nearly every subsequent edition, a distinction shared only with the iconic Judge Dredd.

Though ostensibly a green-skinned extraterrestrial overlord presiding over a staff of "Thrill-powered" creators, Tharg has also featured in actual strip narratives, with scripts contributed under the veil of the "TMO" credit by some of the medium's most respected writers, including Alan Moore, Alan Grant, and John Wagner. This collaborative fiction — maintaining the conceit that Tharg himself authors the work — has given the character a surprisingly rich and sustained story presence across decades.

Within the 2000 AD publishing catalog, Tharg is credited as writer across more than 300 issues spanning 1987 to 2025, with appearances extending to special editions including the 2000 AD Free Comic Book Day release, the 40th Anniversary Special, and various Christmas Annuals. Whether one regards the byline as editorial tradition or elaborate in-joke, Tharg's endurance reflects the genuine warmth readers have developed for the character — a mascot who became, in his peculiar way, the human face of a fiercely inventive comics institution.