2000 AD #1570
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeProg 1570 sits in the middle of 'Emphatically Evil: The Life and Crimes of PJ Maybe' (progs 1569–1575), the multi-part John Wagner and Colin MacNeil story that reintroduced Mega-City One's canniest serial killer after years of absence and set up his long-running disguise as Mayor Byron Ambrose — a thread that would run through the Dredd universe for nearly a decade. The arc is simultaneously the first major case handled solo by Judge Beeny as a fully qualified judge, making this prog a quiet but consequential turning point for one of Dredd's most important supporting characters. Coming at the start of 2008, it also represents 2000 AD under Rebellion actively weaving its anthology strips — Judge Dredd, Kingdom, and Strontium Dog — into interlocking long-form narratives rather than self-contained thrills.
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By early 2008, Rebellion's 2000 AD had recently undergone a cover logo redesign and was deep into a period of ambitious multi-strand storytelling overseen by editor Matt Smith. John Wagner, who had been writing Judge Dredd almost continuously since the character's debut, reunited with Colin MacNeil — a frequent Dredd collaborator — for 'Emphatically Evil,' which ran across seven consecutive progs from 1569 to 1575. The prog also carried ongoing instalments of Dan Abnett and Richard Elson's Kingdom (then in its 'Promised Land' arc, progs 2008/1567–1576) and of Strontium Dog, John Wagner's long-running mutant bounty hunter strip featuring Johnny Alpha and Wulf Sternhammer.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Prog 1570 is the second episode of 'Emphatically Evil: The Life and Crimes of PJ Maybe' (progs 1569–1575, January–February 2008), written by John Wagner with art by Colin MacNeil.
- The 'Emphatically Evil' arc serves as Judge Beeny's first major solo case following her early promotion to full judge status — a plot point confirmed across multiple Dredd reference sources.
- PJ Maybe — serial killer since prog 534 (1987) — is depicted in this arc consolidating his secret identity as Mayor Byron Ambrose, a disguise that would sustain storylines well into the 2010s.
- PJ Maybe was co-created by John Wagner and artist Liam Sharp; his first appearance was in 2000 AD #534 (1987).
- The prog also carries a chapter of Kingdom by Dan Abnett and Richard Elson — the 'Promised Land' arc (progs 2008/1567–1576) — featuring genetically modified dog soldier Gene the Hackman battling giant insect invaders known as 'Them'.
- Strontium Dog, featuring Johnny Alpha and his Viking partner Wulf Sternhammer (created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra), also runs in this prog as part of an ongoing 2008 story arc.
- The entire 'Emphatically Evil' arc was later collected in the trade paperback Tour of Duty: The Backlash (Rebellion, September 2010) and subsequently reprinted in Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 45.
- Prog 1570 appeared under the newly tweaked 2000 AD cover logo introduced at the end of 2007; contemporary reader accounts note the cover features Gene the Hackman in combat with giant insects.
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Reprinted in Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files #45 (2024)
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