Tharg the Mighty

Tharg the Mighty — known to devoted readers simply as "The Mighty One" — is the fictional alien editor of the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD, a role the character has occupied since the very first issue launched in 1977. Alongside Judge Dredd, Tharg holds the distinction of appearing in nearly every issue the comic has published, an extraordinary streak of longevity by any measure.

Though not a flesh-and-blood creator in the conventional sense, Tharg functions as the editorial voice and mascot of 2000 AD, occasionally stepping into actual strips and stories. Those narratives have attracted some of the medium's most respected writers — Alan Grant, Alan Moore, and John Wagner among them — though credits on such pieces are typically attributed simply to "TMO," the in-universe shorthand for The Mighty One. It is a neat piece of institutional mythology that keeps the character's fictional authority intact.

In the catalog record, Tharg carries writing credits across 304 issues spanning 1987 to 2025, with appearances concentrated in the main 2000 AD title as well as special editions including the 2000 AD Free Comic Book Day issue, the 40th Anniversary Special, and the Christmas Annual. Whether one reads the byline as editorial voice or collective fiction, Tharg remains the most consistently present personality in British comics publishing.