> Dear All,

> I recently wrote a "mission statement" for the direction I want 2000 AD to
take
> during my tenure as Editor, and distributed it amongst our creators. So
far it
> has met with great enthusiasm. I thought you lot might be interested to
read
> it, if only to initiate debate. Think of it as my "Manifesto for
> Thrill-Power"...

> Andy

> 2000 AD: A NEW BEGINNING

> THE PROBLEM

> "2000 AD just isn't as good as it used to be." That seems to be the
> consensus opinion of the 25,000 readers who have stuck with us over the
last
> 23 years... not to mention the 100,000 who have abandoned the comic during
> that time. Sure, nostalgia plays a part, but that's not the whole story.
On
> the whole, I think 2000 AD is better right now than it has been for
several
> years - but at the same time, I can read progs from 20 years ago that
still
> pack more of a punch than some of the stuff we're publishing now. So
what's
> gone wrong?

> 2000 AD was created with a powerful sense of energy and vision - you can
> still feel it in those early progs. But over the years, that original
vision
> has become diluted. For quite a while now, 2000 AD seems to have been
> running on autopilot, and somebody needs to stand up and question whether
> it's actually heading in the right direction.

> I believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But if it is broke, we'd
> better figure out what's wrong, and fix it - sharpish! That's what this
> document is all about. I believe we can make 2000 AD a lot more fun and
> exciting than it is at the moment.

> What follows is basically my vision for the future of 2000 AD, and the
kind
> of stories I think we should be publishing. It would be naïve of me simply
> to try and set the clock back to 1977 - the world, the market and the
> readers have obviously changed radically since then - but a lot of the
core
> values of those early days are sorely missing now. 2000 AD used to appeal
to
> readers young and old alike - and it should do again. I really believe
that
> if we can put some of that energy, that imagination and that attitude back
> into the great work we're already doing, we can once more make 2000 AD a
> creative force to be reckoned with.

> THE HIT

> 2000 AD readers talk about getting their weekly 'hit' or 'fix' of
> Thrill-power, and they're only half joking. The comic should be a drug; a
> jolt of raw, unrefined energy and imagination. We aren't there just to
raise
> a faint ironic smile on the readers' lips; we should blast them into a
whole
> new reality! 2000 AD should be fast, dense, bizarre, twisted, funny,
insane,
> rebellious, dark, ironic, imaginative and exciting! We should blow the
> readers' minds wide open, and give them something they can't get anywhere
> else!

> What we should never be is bland, derivative and familiar. 2000 AD should
be
> the comic other people copy... not the other way round.

> We may all have different ideas of what 2000 AD is all about, or what it
> should be. I think it's the editor's job to provide a vision for the
comic,
> a common goal for us all to aim for. So let's get down to the basics, and
> build it up from there.

> WHAT IS 2000 AD?

> 2000 AD IS A SCI-FI ACTION COMIC. The three pillars of its foundation are
> sci-fi, action (ie. violence!) and humour. Any story that doesn't include
> all three is liable to run into trouble... unless it's very, very good!
> Almost all the stories in 2000 AD include some element of humour, but
> out-and-out comedy strips that don't put an emphasis on physical action
and
> jeopardy tend to get crucified by the readers.

> I want to make the readers happy... because I'm one of them. I'm a 2000 AD
> fan. I want to publish the kind of stories I like. The kind of stories
that
> blew the back of my head off 20 years ago, and have kept me hooked ever
> since. Let's give 2000 AD its balls back!

> What follows is a general call-to-arms for every 2000 AD creator. Much of
it
> is undoubtedly grandmother/eggs stuff, but it never hurts to re-state the
> obvious...

> DENSITY

> One of the reasons ex-2000 AD writers have been so successful in the
> American comics market is that 2000 AD (and the whole British boys'
> adventure market of old) teaches writers how to condense. When you can
tell
> a complete action story with a beginning, middle and end (and a point!) in
> five pages, you've cracked the art of comics writing. So let's keep it
> dense, tight, snapping along at a cracking pace. Never use two panels (or
> pages, or episodes!) where one will do. In comics, less really is more.
> Condensing the action down into the least possible number of panels
actually
> increases the drama; it's like a form of distillation. Boil that barrel of
> beer down into a shot-glass of rocket fuel!

> Atmosphere is all well and good, but when it takes six panels for somebody
> to find their car keys, the readers just aren't getting their money's
worth.

> CONCEPT

> The best 2000 AD series are based around a single character with a strong
> defining motivation, simple enough to be summed up in a single sentence.
For
> example, "He's Dirty Harry in New York of the future; judge, jury and
> executioner!" or "He's  a genetically engineered soldier who goes AWOL to
> search for the traitor who killed his fellow GIs;" or "She's an ordinary
> girl living in a futuristic slum who dreams of just getting out."

> Plot and setting are important, but still very much secondary to the core
> character concept: Who is the hero, and what does he/she want?

> EYE CANDY

> There are too many 'talking heads' stories in 2000 AD. There's nothing
wrong
> with good dialogue and character interaction, but conversation itself must
> never be the be-all and end-all of the story. Stories must unfold though
> visual action, not verbal exposition. The rule of thumb is; no more than
> three balloons/captions per panel, and no more than 25 words per
> balloon/caption.

> If a casual browser leafs through the pages of 2000 AD and just sees a
> succession of talking heads, he'll probably put it straight back on the
> shelf. If he sees big, eye-grabbing visuals, weird locations, cool-looking
> hardware and exciting action, he might just stop and read it long enough
to
> decide whether he wants to buy it.

> This applies to characters as much as situations. 2000 AD used to be full
of
> bizarre-looking aliens, cyborgs, robots, freaks and mutants - and they
were
> the heroes! Nowadays, most of our characters look like they just stepped
out
> of a mainstream Hollywood movie. Let's remember to create characters with
a
> bold and unique visual style.

> Comics is a visual medium, and we've only got five or six pages to grab
the
> reader and give him that hit. Writers need to give the artists plenty of
> incredible, dynamic images to draw which will fire their imaginations.
Okay,
> so we can't expect a big, in-yer-face 'money shot' (so to speak) on every
> page... but let's aim for one on every other page, where possible -
> especially for the cliffhangers. Speaking of which...

> GRAB 'EM BY THE BALLS!

> 2000 AD is an action comic, remember. It's in danger of becoming too
> 'sophisticated' for its own good. Sure, a touch of knowing irony is one of
> the key ingredients for a successful 2000 AD story - but at the same time,
> we should never be too 'sophisticated' to go for the big, cheesy,
> grab-'em-by-the-balls cliffhanger. There used to be an energy and rawness
to
> the action which is missing nowadays. It's all part of the 'hit' the
readers
> crave - they want thrills, dammit!

> End every episode on a high note, and leave the readers gagging to find
out
> what happens next. It's the only way to maintain a weekly readership. If
> they don't care, why should they pick up the next issue?

> GET WEIRD!

> Another of the dangers of becoming too 'sophisticated' or, dare I say it,
> 'mature' (shudder) is that it can stifle the imagination. If, when you're
> writing a story, there's a little voice inside your head saying, "Yeah,
but
> that would probably never happen in real life," take it out and shoot it!
We
> need to take the readers to the weirdest, most whacked-out fringes of our
> fevered imaginations. That's what they're paying us for!

> We should give the readers something they can't get anywhere else - be it
> movies, TV, video games, whatever. When 2000 AD looks bland and
conventional
> compared to the average computer game, we're in trouble. First and
foremost,
> let's all BE ORIGINAL!

> ENOUGH, ALREADY...

> So there you go, that's what I'd like us all to aim for. Shouldn't be a
> problem - most of the creators I've spoken to have echoed similar
> sentiments. The fact is, everybody loves 2000 AD - they just don't all
love
> what it became. But I think the comic has been steadily improving over the
> last few years, so we're heading in the right direction. Now that 2000 AD
> has a new look, a new editor and a new owner, let's have some fun with it!

> Andy Diggle
> Editor, 2000 AD

> "I'm with Rowdy Yates Block! Who you fighting with?"