2000AD dabbled with darkness way before it became normal for a superhero’s nemesis to be their neuroses. Spawned in the punk era, the crazy, violent, garish comic is best known for giving us Judge Dredd, the fascist future cop who was judge, jury and executioner – and a hero to whole generation of (mostly) boys who didn’t know any better.
Paul Goodwin’s documentary efficiently makes the case for the comic’s enduring influence, spooling through triumphs (2000AD gave work to graphic novels’ finest, including Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman) and disasters (sexist marketing campaigns, in-house bitching, dumb and nasty titillation).
Everything from the post-apocalyptic ballyhoo of Mad Max: Fury Road to the Fallout video game series owe its gleefully violent tone a debt. But 2000AD did it originally with bold, brutal style.
