2000 AD #535

Aug 1987 · IPC · 0.28 GBP

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★ 1st appearance — Zenith

About this Issue

Prog 535 is the launchpad for Zenith — the strip that introduced Grant Morrison to a mass readership and gave 2000 AD its first serious ongoing superhero protagonist. The prologue episode, set in wartime Berlin, establishes the Maximan-versus-Masterman conflict and the Lloigor mythology that would underpin all four phases of the saga, making this the structural keystone of one of the most acclaimed British superhero runs ever published. Coming at the exact moment IPC's comics division was being absorbed into Fleetway under Robert Maxwell, the issue captures a genuine generational handover: established strips like Strontium Dog and Judge Dredd sit alongside a bold new voice that would go on to reshape superhero comics on both sides of the Atlantic. Zenith Phase 1, which opens here, went on to win the 1987 Eagle Award for Favourite Single or Continuing Story.

Contains 5 stories

Prologue: Ground Zero

6 pp · Military, Superhero

Fraulein HausDr. Driesch

The Royal Affair, Part 4

5 pp · Adventure, Science Fiction

King Clarkie IIVera Duckworth

Return of the Mean Team, Part 10

5 pp · Adventure, Science Fiction

Bad Jack Keller

The Alabammy Blimps, Part 1

8 pp · Adventure, Crime, Detective-Mystery, Satire-Parody, Science Fiction

Otis McCoySir Ralf BonkingtonHivesJethro McCoyJudge Stine

In the lawless wasteland of the Forbidden Zone, Judge Dredd and a squad of fellow Judges launch a rescue mission after the ambassador from Brit-City crashes their diplomatic skimmer. Meanwhile, the ambassador has already fallen prey to a violent robbery—only to be saved at the last moment by Alabammy Blimps, a gang of fierce, female cannibals who were just about to prepare their next meal.

Night Shift

4 pp · Humor, Horror-Suspense

Mr. Stubbs

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History

Prog 535 went on sale 15 August 1987 during an active editorial shake-up driven by editor Steve MacManus and assistant editor Richard Burton, who were deliberately commissioning new talent alongside veteran strips. Grant Morrison had been developing the Zenith concept since around 1982, originally in a grimmer register, but reshaped it as a conscious counter-reaction to the earnest darkness of contemporaries like Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen; the final character designs were provided by Brendan McCarthy, though Steve Yeowell drew the actual strip throughout Phase 1. The Strontium Dog instalment was scripted by Alan Grant and drawn by Carlos Ezquerra, while the Judge Dredd story was scripted by John Wagner and drawn by Steve Dillon — who also supplied the cover.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Zenith (Phase 1 prologue): created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Steve Yeowell, with original character designs by Brendan McCarthy — 2000 AD's first serious ongoing superhero strip.
First appearance of Maximan (British WWII super-soldier William Whitlock) and Masterman (Nazi super-soldier housing the Lloigor entity Iok Sotot) — both central antagonists and supporting figures in the Zenith saga.
Zenith himself (Robert McDowell) does not appear in this prologue episode; the issue establishes the 1944 Berlin battle between Maximan and Masterman as backstory before the present-day narrative begins in subsequent progs.
Judge Dredd story 'Alabammy Blimps' (Part 1) begins in this issue, written by John Wagner and drawn by Steve Dillon, who also provided the cover art.
Strontium Dog: 'The Royal Affair' (Part 4) continues Johnny Alpha and Middenface McNulty's story, scripted by Alan Grant with art by Carlos Ezquerra.
Mean Team (Part 10) also runs in this issue, written by Alan Hebden and drawn by Massimo Belardinelli.
Joe Pineapples is an established ABC Warriors character whose first appearance predates this issue (Prog #119, 1979); his listing here reflects an in-issue appearance, not a debut.
Zenith Phase 1 (Progs 535–550) was later collected by Titan Books (1988) and subsequently reprinted in a complete hardcover by Rebellion (2013); the full series was issued as a colour omnibus by Rebellion in 2024–2025.