Best of 2000 AD proves why the comics are classic

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At first glance, even the name feels ambitious: Best of 2000 AD. How can anything, even a six-volume collection of anthologies running more than 200 pages each, live up to that ambition?

(credit: Jamie McKelvie/Rebellion/2000 AD)

After all, it's not as if 2000 AD is just any comic book series. Launched in 1977, the British weekly has become recognized as one of the most important science fiction titles in comics history-and not just for the characters and stories published, but also for the sheer volume of creative talent that has built reputations thanks to work published in the title. It was 2000 AD that teamed the Watchmen duo of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons for the first time and published important early work by the likes of comic book legend Grant Morrison, current Marvel mainstay Al Ewing, Mad Max: Fury Road writer and visual artist Brendan McCarthy, Gorillaz cocreator Jamie Hewlett, and many more. It's something that's been cited as a creative influence by musicians, movie directors, and novelists alike and a long-standing part of British pop culture for nearly half a century. 2000 AD is, bluntly, a big deal.

What is perhaps the most surprising thing about the new Best of series launching later this month is how successfully it manages to deliver on the promise of its title. A significant part of that success comes down to curation. While the six volumes in the collection haven't been officially separated by theme or any specific criteria, they each have an individual identity that allows them to stand alone for readers looking to pick up just one book for a particular experience.

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