As we near the end of the winter break for 2000 AD, we take a look at what we can expect from the British weekly anthology and its sister magazine, the monthly magazine Judge Dredd, over the coming year. (Be sure to check out our 2025 review)
Judge Dredd’s important events
Three major storylines for Judge Dredd are on the horizon, starting right away in January with the return of Dredd co-creator John Wagner in “Death of a Judge,” co-starring Mike Perkins, starting with Prog 2464. Rumors have been swirling for months that Wagner might actually kill Dredd. No matter what happens, Dredd stories written by Wagner almost always have some kind of impact on the characters and their world today.
The summer of 2026 will see the culmination of horror in Ken Niemand and Nick Percival’s Judge Dredd series, particularly the 2025 storylines The Shift (2418-2425) and The Messenger (2460-2462), but its seeds can also be traced back to 2023’s A Matter of Life and Dredd (2362). According to an interview with AIPT, this “mega-event” will take place in both the weekly anthology and the Judge Dredd megazine, and will feature two parallel storylines focusing on Dredd, his young clone/surrogate son Rico, and his former apprentice Giant. The works, called “The Oubliette” and “The Black Tower,” will be written entirely by Ken Niemand, with art by Nick Percival, Dan Cornwell, and Jake Lynch. The Black Tower (Meg) runs parallel to the events of Oubliette (2000 AD). Cornwell and Lynch will be in charge of Oubriette’s side, and Percival will be in charge of the “Black Tower.”
Fans of the critically acclaimed A Better World will see the next installment of the ongoing saga this year as Arthur Wyatt, Rob Williams and Henry Flint reunite for The New Future. It’s not well known, but considering how much of a punch A Better World packed, this should be interesting.
More rogue troopers
We’re guaranteed to see more Rogue Troopers next year, besides Judge Dredd, of course. With the film’s release just around the corner, 2000 AD will offer periodic glimpses of Rogue and her world throughout the year, either through a new miniseries/storyline or a series of world-building vignettes. Announced in the last Prog of 2025 (#2463) was the new Venus Bluegenes series, which focused on the eponymous female Genetic Infantryman (nicknamed the “GI Doll”) and sometimes Rogue love interest. Unburned is written with art by Torunn Grønbekk and Silvia Califano. Venus hasn’t appeared in the pages of 2000 AD for a long time (save for a role in the 2024 crossover Nordland Rising), so this could be an interesting new take.
As for the film itself, writer and director Duncan Jones posted an update on Bluesky on December 20th, stating that work on the film is complete. A trailer with a release date will be released in the coming months.
More injection of thrill power
Fast forward to 2026, and the year 2000 brings us the second part of Peter Milligan and Kieran McCune’s new series The Discarded, and the second installment of David Burnett and Lee Milmore’s quirky modern fantasy feature-length series about a man and his demon dogs Hahn and Shaq. The Young Death’s recent comeback with December’s prog “2463” continues with intermittent one-shot appearances by artists Tom Foster and Mike Dowling, who take turns chronicling the early days of fan-favorite Dredd’s nemesis Judge Death.
Dan Abnett and Tazio Bettin’s fan-favorite series “Azimuth” will appear intermittently this year. Progressive 2463 brought major changes, including revelations about the origins of major series characters. Azimuth initially continues in Jprog 2464, but whether the immediate next part of the story will last more than an issue or two in 2000 AD is not a tea leaf for us. Those who are a little out of the loop can expect a collection covering the entire series to date, with the release of Azimuth vol 1 in June 2026.
Throughout 2025, the prog has regularly hinted at future installments of the anthology, either with “Thrills of the Future” spots in teaser images, or hints within editorials. Inbound is as follows.
The Fall of Deadworld: Justice by Kek-W and Dave Kendall – This ongoing horror alternate reality series features a group of survivors trying to survive as the next arc begins and the Dark Judge first emerges. The last complete arc was 2024’s Retribution (published over progs 2352-55, 2357-59, and 2370-74). By Charlie Mike, Dan Abnett and Brian Corcoran – Little is known about this. It could be an entirely new series, it could be a three-part triller, or it could be Future Shock. Whatever it is, Dan Abnett and INJ Calvard’s Brink: The Call of the Void, about the return of the space colony police, should be interesting. Habitat security officer Bridget Curtis is on loan to a special unit and is expected to arrive at Luna Habitat to investigate what happened. Helium: Red October, by Ian Edginton and Disraeli. The third series of Airpunk Saga Helium. At the end of the second series, the Human Federation, living above the poisonous cloud that covers the Earth, prepares to go to war against the Hidden City of Squirrels. Our leaders were pressured to become spies. “The Out Book V” by Dan Abnett and Mark Harrison. The popular series is back again. At the end of Book IV of Progress 2417, Sid Finrea begins searching for his daughter Joey. Sid goes to the outer edge of The Out and catches a glimpse of The Up, hoping to somehow reach The Down and save her. The Devil on the Eastern Front: Dracula, by Ian Edginton and Nick Percival. After the very interesting “Fiends of the Western Front” in 2025, it seems that instead of continuing that arc, we will return to the original series’ title and return to another period of the immortal life of Constanta, facing off against the most famous vampire of them all. Silver returns in this third volume of the Vampires vs. Aliens series. Written by Michael Carroll and Joe Currie. A collection of the first two arcs was released by Kek-W and David Roach as Nightmare New York. After the one-shot in Progressive 2456, it looks like the next arc will jump 50 years back in time, as protagonist Lillian will be teaming up with Inspector Mucha and Lady Sophia Corundum from Kek-W & David Road’s other serial Saphir in 2000 AD to thwart an end-of-the-world plot in 1899.
Judge Dredd Megazine
The first monthly Megazine of 2026 (#488) will launch on January 21st and continue the content established in the October 2025 Anniversary Refresh (#485). The latest stories in the “Armitage”, “Dreadnought”, “Megatropolis”, “Anderson” and “Psy Division” series enter their fourth part, but one new story will soon join the lineup – “Rock of the Reds”, an independent sci-fi soccer comic by John Wagner, Alan Grant and Dan Cornwell – reprinting the first two miniseries in 2025 After spending the entire year, the long-awaited and never-before-seen new arc “Rock the World” finally begins.
Also in 2026, Devlin Waugh is set to return in a new story, “Ceremony,” by Alesh Cotto and Antonio Fuso, and a new arc will begin in Dan Abnett and Phil Winslade’s fan-favorite frontier series, “Lawless.”
The 2000 AD weekly magazine will return on January 7th and the monthly Judge Dredd Megazine will return on January 21st. Both are available at participating UK comic shops and newsstands. Sold internationally in print and digitally via 2000 AD’s webshop. It will also be available for order in the US through Lunar Distribution.
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