2000 AD and Starlord #86
Prog 86 (cover-dated 14 October 1978) is the first issue of the combined '2000 AD and Starlord,' one of the most consequential mergers in British comics history: it brought Strontium Dog and Ro-Busters permanently into 2000 AD's lineup, giving the weekly two of its most enduring strips at a stroke. The same issue contains 'Crime and Punishment,' the debut of Deputy Chief Judge Cal — the Caligula-modelled villain whose coup against Chief Judge Goodman launches the landmark 'Day the Law Died' saga, routinely cited as one of Judge Dredd's foundational epics. The arrival of Steve MacManus as editor with this prog also marks the opening of what fans and historians regard as 2000 AD's Golden Age. In a single issue, readers got the farewell to the Cursed Earth era, the first glimpse of its immediate successor, and an influx of talent that would define the comic for years.
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Starlord was created and edited by Kelvin Gosnell as a premium-format sister title to 2000 AD, launching 13 May 1978 with eight colour pages, better paper stock, and a higher cover price — but its elevated production costs made it economically unsustainable despite healthy sales. IPC management decided to keep the lower-cost 2000 AD, and Starlord's 22nd and final standalone issue, dated 7 October 1978, announced the merger; the following week Gosnell handed editorial control to Steve MacManus, who had served as sub-editor on Starlord and who would go on to edit 2000 AD through the heart of its Golden Age. The dual masthead 'and Starlord' remained on the cover until Prog 127 in August 1979, when a second merger — with Tornado — required yet another title change.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Deputy Chief Judge Cal (soon to become Chief Judge): the six-page story 'Crime and Punishment,' written by John Wagner with art by Brian Bolland, 2000 AD prog 86, 1978.
- Cal is modelled on the Roman emperor Caligula as depicted by John Hurt in the 1976 BBC serial I, Claudius; the character's arc became known as 'The Day the Law Died' (progs 89–108) and was later collected by Titan Books (1982) under the title Judge Caligula.
- Chief Judge Goodman — whose assassination Cal orchestrates — and Judge Quincy, the SJS agent Cal uses to carry out the killing, are both indexed characters in this issue's narrative setup.
- First appearance of Strontium Dog (Johnny Alpha) within the pages of 2000 AD itself, following the strip's origin in Starlord; created by John Wagner (as T.B. Grover) and Carlos Ezquerra, the series would run in 2000 AD for over four decades.
- First appearance of Ro-Busters (Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein) within 2000 AD, the Pat Mills-created strip that would directly spawn the long-running ABC Warriors series.
- Prog 86 is the first issue under editor Steve MacManus, who succeeded Kelvin Gosnell and would oversee 2000 AD from progs 86 to 519 — widely considered the comic's creative peak.
- The dual masthead '2000 AD and Starlord' debuted with this issue and was carried until prog 127 (August 1979), when another merger with Tornado necessitated a further title change.
- The Judge Cal storyline has been adapted beyond print: 'The Day the Law Died' was made into a BBC audio drama in 1995, and a version of the plot underpinned the 1995 Judge Dredd film (where Cal was replaced by the character Rico Dredd).
Cast · 10 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
After returning from his journey to Mega City 2, Dredd finds himself wrongfully accused and then convicted of murder.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).