The 2000AD Costume pack that we’ve been talking about all week (probably far too much!) will be on the PSN Store today! (out now in the UK). The pack features five costumes and a set of stickers, and costs $5.99 /  €5.99 / £4.79

• Judge Dredd: Helmet, Body, Trousers (pic)
• Judge Anderson: Hair, Body, Trousers (pic)
• Rogue Trooper: Helmet, Belt and Pack, Trousers, Skin (pic)
• Johnny Alpha: Helmet, Body, Legs (pic)
• Hammerstein: Helmet, Body, Legs, Skin (pic)
• 17 2000AD themed stickers (pic)

The costumes are available individually too for $1.99 / €1.99/ £1.59 each – note that Judge Dredd and Judge Anderson come as one selection when buying individually, if you get our meaning there.

To celebrate the release of the 2000AD Costume pack, and because we happened to run into him at a recent event, we are proud to publish a short interview with 2000AD creator Pat Mills.

The questions were put together by all of the molecules, and in the future we will hopefully be interviewing more people who we collaborate with to create DLC for LittleBigPlanet.

Without Further ado, we present, Pat Mills the ‘godfather of British comics’.

Mm:I’m completely new to the 2000AD world, where shall I start?

I guess with Judge Dredd. Maybe with some of the graphic novels -  I would suggest Slaine The Horned God, and Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth

Mm:Who are your biggest inspirations from inside and outside the comic industry?

None I can think of inside. Outside… John Pilger and Robert Graves.

Mm:In the last 20 years we have seen comics being a huge influence on movies, games, music videos, etc. How did that impact back on comics?

Hmm… not as much as the hype suggests, film interest yes.

Mm:Are there any obscure 2000AD characters you would like to see resurrected?

My Visible Man character - we see inside his body.

Mm:Are there any character mash-ups you would like to see? Star Trek versus Rogue Trooper, for instance.

Only my own which are happening… e.G. Savage(invasion) and ABC Warriors’ world crosses over via a common enemy.

Mm:Are there any characters or stories you think would be particularly suited to video games that haven’t been explored yet?

Just about all 2000AD characters. Plus some of my stories outside 2000AD. See my note about requiem below… it has a big goth following!

Mm:Which 2000AD character do you most resemble?

In temperament (tho not physical appearance) Titus Defoe, the 17th century zombie hunter. Because he’s the last Leveller – they were the first socialists… because he has to hide his beliefs in order to make a buck.

Mm:Which do you wish you most resembled?

I assume you mean physically? Damned jones from Defoe… he’s a 17th century assassin.

Mm:Games, like comics, struggle to deal with politics and morals in a satisfactory fashion, and when they try are often sidelined or ridiculed. As somebody who regularly writes explicitly polemic tales do you ever feel like it is a losing battle?

Yes. Yes. Hence my comment about Defoe above. We live in spiritually, emotionally and politically barren Orwellian times.

Mm:The internet has arguably led to the fragmentation of paper publications like 2000AD’s readership.  How do you see this affecting smaller publications in the future, do you think printed comics will exist in ten years time?

I’m not sure I agree. This is a commonly advertised view but has no real basis where 2000AD is concerned. For example, French sales of comic paper products are booming. In Britain we look for reasons to excuse poor sales other than the real reason… Quality, and the lack thereof.

Mm:Our producer Luci says, “I can honestly attribute my love of comics and sci-fi in general to my granddad getting me 2000AD every week as a kid (and i carried on way into my late twenties). Did you have any inkling of the kind of influence 2000AD would end up having on ordinary people?”

Yes, I always knew it had something special. My personal aim was to be subversive and I would like to have been more so!

Mm:She also says

“I wanted to be Halo Jones, Judge Hershey and Venus Blue Genes. The women in 2000AD were always totally kick-ass in a way that seems ahead of its time to me now. They were definitely a big part of the reason I loved it. Was it a conscious decision to have so many awesome female characters?”

I think it went with our generally subversive nature, I wanted 2000AD to challenge stereotypes in every way.

Mm:What’s next for the comics medium, What are you working on now?

For me? Film graphic novel tie ins, and also a ten volume series for France which is coming out soon in Britain too - Requiem, Vampire Knight editions, Nickel (on web), Great Art: Oliver Ledroit. Games rights available!

Mm:Do you have any none-comic related projects coming up?

Yes. I’ve Just written a science fiction screenplay for Xingu films called American Reaper. It’s about a cop who goes after identity thieves. In the future old people transfer their identities to young people whose consciousness is then erased.

Mm:What might Tharg the Mighty have to say about Sackboy and LittleBigPlanet?

You know, I’m not a great fan of Tharg. I was one of his creators and I’ve been trying to kill him ever since.

... and on that bombshell, we end this interview! The 2000AD Costume update will be live soon enough, and we’ll be back with a recap of the pack, its contents and price. Splundig Vur Thrigg!

Today on the PSN Store (not right now, but a bit later) there will be a set of five costumes for LittleBigPlanet based on characters from classic British sci-fi comic series 2000AD. Each day this week we’ve been revealing each costume, and today is the last one. Coming up soon we’ll also have an exclusive interview with Pat Mills, creator of 2000AD and Judge Dredd.

So who is it, the missing link, the fifth costume in the set? Well you’ve already read the headline, so I don’t know why we’re still bothering with the suspense… here he is, Hammerstein.

Hammerstein

Years after the Volgan occupation of Western Europe, the United States began a counter-invasion to liberate the area. The invasion had a secret alternate objective however – Earth’s oil reserves were running low and America wished to seize the Volgan’s oil for their own.

The US forces created expendable robot soldiers to take on this task, and named them the ABC Warriors, robots designed to wage war across any terrain in any kind of combat, be it atomic, bacterial or chemical. The first two models were failures. The Mk I robot was an effective killer but could not recognise civilians; the Mk II was given moral values and became a pacifist. The Mk III was given artificial values and emotions, just enough to stop him slaughtering civilians but not question why he was fighting.

The mark IV would be called Hammerstein. He was field-tested by serving with a human regiment where he faced and overcame ‘robophobia’ from his comrades, and came to be a trusted soldier under Sergeant “Country” Farmer’s command. The human generals were pleased by this and began to withdraw human soldiers & mass produce robot ones.

Hammerstein was promoted to sergeant and began to lead the new war robots.

Read more about Hammerstein.

The Hammerstein costume will be available as part of the 2000AD Costume Pack released TODAY on the PSN Store. More information about pricing and contents coming soon.

As we’ve already said oh so many times now, coming this Thursday to the PSN Store is a set of five zarjaz costumes for LittleBigPlanet based on characters from classic British sci-fi comic series 2000AD. Each day this week we’ve been taking a closer look at the characters behind the costumes, by copy pasting things from wikipedia and then editing them to make sense.

We’ve already revealed Judge Dredd, Judge Anderson, and Johnny Alpha and today we look at another iconic character, Rogue Trooper!

Rogue Trooper

Rogue is a G.I.or Genetic Infantryman –  a genetically modified, blue-skinned, manufactured, elite soldier on Nu-Earth, where a perpetual war between the Norts and Southers is being fought. The war has seen all manner of chemical and biological weapons being used to crush the opposition, resulting in the poisoning of the planet. Troops of both sides must now live in enclosed cities and fight in protective gear.

Through genetic engineering, the Southers develop a race of superior warriors called the Genetic Infantry, soldiers who are immune to the deadly atmosphere of Nu-Earth. The Souther High Command deploy their secret weapon in an airborne assault, but a traitor betrays the secret of the G.I. to the Norts, and the soldiers are massacred.

Rogue, the only surviving G.I. goes AWOL in order to track down the Traitor General responsible for the massacre. Along the way he thwarts numerous Nort schemes, discovers and inadvertently destroys the only portion of Nu-Earth not contaminated by chemical weapons, and is betrayed by every female character he ever encounters.

Read more about Rogue Trooper.

The Rogue Trooper costume will be available as part of the 2000AD Costume Pack released this Thursday, 28th May, on the PSN Store. Come back tomorrow for the final costume reveal, and an interview with 2000AD creator, Pat Mills.

Coming this Thursday to the PSN Store is a set of five zarjaz costumes for LittleBigPlanet based on characters from classic British sci-fi comic series 2000AD. Each day this week we will be taking a closer look at the characters behind the costumes, with edited bios lifted from wikipedia! Yesterday we revealed Judges Dredd and Anderson, and today we’re gonna take a peek at Strontium Dog – Johnny Alpha.

Johnny Alpha

After the Great War of 2150 wiped out 70% of Britain’s population, the number of people mutated through showers of Strontium-90 in nuclear fallout increased. These mutants were met with loathing by the “norms”, and institutionalised racism laws were passed forbidding mutants from owning businesses, and segregating them into ghettos such as the one in Milton Keynes. Only a vicious guerilla war prevented total extermination of all mutants and ensured them some basic freedoms.

By 2180, one of the few jobs left is that of bounty hunter, a job considered too dirty for normal humans. The strongest of mutants thus hunt down criminals throughout the galaxy for the Search/Destroy agency, whose distinctive SD badges give them the nickname Strontium Dogs. The SD agents operate from an orbiting space station known as The Doghouse.

The most famous and respected of the Strontium Dogs is Johnny Alpha, whose mutant eyes allow him to see through walls and read minds. He is responsible for such legendary achievements as leading the mutant uprising on Earth, and bringing Adolf Hitler to the future to face trial. His legendary career and his assistance to mutants in trouble has made him an icon to Earth’s mutants. He is a highly skilled and dangerous fighter.

Read more about Johnny Alpha.

The Johnny Alpha costume will be available as part of the 2000AD Costume Pack released this Thursday, 28th May, on the PSN Store. Come back tomorrow for another costume reveal my friends, but in the mean time enjoy this awesome Johnny Alpha 2000AD comic cover remake, made by our talented community designer chap, Tom. Don’t forget to check out yesterday’s comic too!

Borag Thungg, Earthlets! Coming this Thursday to the PSN Store is a set of five costumes for LittleBigPlanet based on characters from classic British sci-fi comic series 2000AD, but can you guess which five?

Over the next few days we’ll be revealing the costumes, with a look at the characters they are based on, and some specially recreated comic covers based on original covers from back in the day.  Why? Because we can!

You’ll have to wait until Thursday to see them all, when we’ll also have an exclusive Mm interview with series creator - Pat Mills - for you to read whilst you wait for the store to update.

Today we look at two of the most iconic of all the 2000AD characters, including a character once played by Sylvester Stallone in a movie adaptation - Judges Dredd & Anderson.

Judge Dredd

Senior Judge Joe Dredd, one of a number of clones of Chief Judge Eustace Fargo, is the most famous of the elite corps of Judges that run Mega-City One with the power not only to enforce the law, but also to instantly sentence offenders – and (if necessary) execute them.

Joseph Dredd was cloned from the DNA of Chief Judge Fargo, the first chief judge. Their growth was artificially accelerated so that they emerged in 2066 with an apparent physiological age of 5, with all the appropriate knowledge for their age electronically implanted in their brains by computer during gestation. The name Dredd was chosen by the genetic scientist who created them, Morton Judd, to “instill fear in the population.”

Dredd puts his duty to uphold the law above everything, and is often heard proclaiming “I AM THE LAW!” 

Read more about Judge Dredd.

Judge Anderson

Like her namesake Cassandra from Greek mythology, Judge Anderson has psychic powers. In addition to being able to sense approaching danger and foresee events of the near future, she also has telepathy. This allows her to read other people’s minds and use mental attacks. These abilities allowed her to be a member of Mega-City One’s corps of Judges as member of the Psi Division, which includes all Judges possessing psychic abilities.

In contrast to Dredd, she has always been critical of the weaknesses evident in the Judicial system of Mega-City One. Also in contrast to Dredd, she has a sense of humor and she is able to form personal friendships with fellow Judges. She is able to feel doubt and remorse, two feelings that Dredd doesn’t allow himself.

Read more about Judge Anderson

The Judge Dredd and Judge Anderson costumes will be available as part of the 2000AD Costume Pack released this Thursday, 28th May, on the PSN Store. Come back tomorrow for another costume reveal!