2000 AD #566
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeProg 566 (dated 19 March 1988) is one of the most densely packed single issues of the Fleetway-era 2000 AD, serving as both the concluding chapter of the ABC Warriors 'The Black Hole' arc's first run — the story that effectively launched Simon Bisley's career in comics — and the debut issue of Tyranny Rex, John Smith's quirky alien-sculptor character who would grow into one of the more distinctive standalone creations of the late-1980s anthology. It also carries a continuing episode of the Strontium Dog 'Stone Killers' arc, which introduced Durham Red to readers, making this a single prog that touched the origins of three separate character legacies. Falling squarely under the newly installed Fleetway Publications banner, it represents the creative energy of the revamped 1988 weekly, when a larger page size, new editorial direction under Richard Burton, and a wave of new artistic talent were reshaping what the comic could be.
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By Prog 566, 2000 AD had just transitioned from IPC Publications to Fleetway Publications — the changeover occurred at Prog 536 following Robert Maxwell's 1987 acquisition of IPC's comics division. Editor Richard Burton had pushed through a format upgrade with a larger page size and process colour on covers and centre pages. Pat Mills revived the ABC Warriors specifically because two then-unknown artists, Simon Bisley and Simon Short ('SMS'), were available; Bisley, so new he was initially miscredited as 'Steve Bisley,' had never drawn comics professionally before 'The Black Hole.' Meanwhile, John Wagner and Alan Grant had introduced Durham Red into the Strontium Dog strip in the 'Stone Killers' storyline that was running through this period, with writer John Smith debuting Tyranny Rex in this same issue.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Prog 566 is the final issue of the first run of ABC Warriors 'The Black Hole' (progs 555–566); the arc resumed at prog 573 and concluded at prog 581, totalling 21 episodes across 133 pages.
- The Black Hole was written by Pat Mills and illustrated by Simon Bisley (episodes 1–4, 9–12, 17–21) and SMS/Simon Short (episodes 5–8, 13–16) — it was Bisley's first professional comic-book work, and he was initially miscredited as 'Steve Bisley' in early episodes.
- Prog 566 contains an instalment of the Strontium Dog 'Stone Killers' arc, which introduced Durham Red — a vampiric mutant bounty hunter created by John Wagner and Alan Grant — as a recurring partner for Johnny Alpha; Red would eventually headline her own long-running spin-off series.
- Tyranny Rex, a John Smith creation, makes her debut in Prog 566 — the eBay listing for the original issue specifically bills the prog as 'INTRODUCING TYRANNY REX.'
- The ABC Warriors roster appearing in 'The Black Hole' comprised Hammerstein, Joe Pineapples, Blackblood, Mongrol, Mek-Quake, Ro-Jaws, and Deadlock (who rejoins the team during this arc).
- The prog also features a Futuregraph (pin-up) of Chopper by Barry Kitson, tying into the concurrent Judge Dredd 'Oz' epic — a major Dredd storyline of 1988 featuring Chopper as a breakout supporting character.
- The Black Hole was reprinted across multiple formats: Titan Books collected it across ABC Warriors Books 3 and 4; Fleetway Quality issued American-format reprints across issues 04–08 of their ABC Warriors series; it later appeared in The Best of 2000 AD #103–105; and a definitive collected edition was released by DC/Rebellion.
- Prog 566 was published under the Fleetway Publications imprint, which had taken over from IPC Publications at Prog 536 following the 1987 Maxwell acquisition of IPC's comics division.
Cast · 17 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Nemesis the Warlock #8 (1988), The A.B.C. Warriors #4 (1988), Action-serien / Actionserien #2/1991 (1991), A.B.C. Warriors: The Black Hole #[nn] (1991), Magnum Comics #7/1992 (1992), A.B.C. Warriors #2 (2005), Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files #11 (2008), A.B.C. Warriors: The Mek Files #1 (2014)
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