Be Pure! Be Vigilant! Behave!: 2000AD and Judge Dredd: The Secret History

As 2000AD and Judge Dredd celebrates its 45th birthday in 2022, Pat Mills at last writes the definitive history of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic, and the turbulent, extraordinary and exciting events that shaped it.

Pat Mills is the creator of 2000AD and one of the comic’s top writers. He is also the creator of Action, co-creator of Battle, Misty, Marshal Law, Requiem Vampire Knight, Charley’s War (described as “the greatest British comic strip ever created”) and the black comedy text novel Serial Killer. As 2000AD and Judge Dredd celebrates its 40th birthday, Pat at last writes the definitive history of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic, and the turbulent, extraordinary and exciting events that shaped it.

Be Pure! Be Vigilant! Behave! is the infamous slogan of Torquemada, the comic’s favourite villain. It once appeared on the Berlin Wall, and symbolizes the subversive nature of 2000AD that changed so many readers’ lives and influenced generations of film directors, actors, rock bands, novelists and even school headmasters. Everything you’ve always wanted to know about Judge Dredd, Slaine, Nemesis, ABC Warriors, Flesh, Bill Savage and more, is in this book. Plus the writers and artists who created them and the real-life people and events they drew on for inspiration.

The scandals, the back-stabbing and the shocking story that was regarded as “too sensitive” to ever see the light of day is finally told. Pat relates the dark story of the maths teacher who inspired his version of Judge Dredd, the creators’ angry battles with the censors and each other, why certain writers, stories and even readers have been banished from the comic, a step-by-step account of how Judge Dredd was created, and how to write or draw for 2000AD today.

This is a unique, personal, and passionate account by the man who made 2000AD happen. Funny, sad, angry, defiant, and outrageous: it’s the Comic Book memoir of the year!