Happy Birthday, 2000AD!

Today marks the 45th birthday of the Galaxy's Greatest Comic - a.k.a. the British sci-fi, fantasy and horror anthology title 2000AD. I have been collecting the comic since the early 1990s and have been a subscriber for many years. When times were tough I got rid of 100 or so comics from my collection and have always regretted having to do so.

There is so much to love about 2000AD, although I am not a fan of some perennially popular strips. My favourites include Judge Dredd (of course), Nikolai Dante, Brink, Brass Sun, Kingdom... and those are just the ones that come to me now off the top of my head.

My work has actually appeared within the pages of 2000AD, once, when my festive tale Miracle on 34th and Peltzer appeared in Prog 1961 back in 2015. In 2020 it was reprinted in Judge Fear's Big Day Out and Other Stories, along with the Judge Dredd stories I wrote for the Judge Dredd Megazine.

I am fortunate that over the years I have got to work with a number of 2000AD artists. Usually it means that have provided a cover painting or internal illustrations for one of my books - most recently Neil Googe, Chris Weston, Simon Fraser, and Tazio Bettin - but some have actually illustrated comic strips I have written, such as Steve Yeowell on The Tale of the Hound.

I attended the 40th anniversary celebrations in London back in 2017, but for some reason the Imposter Syndrome was strong that day and so I barely spoke to anyone, even though many of the creators are known to me personally.

But tonight I shall be raising a glass in Tharg's honour and wishing 2000AD a very Happy Birthday. Here's the next 45 years!

Steampunk Thursday: Anno Frankenstein

Ten years ago*, Abaddon Books published by seventh Ulysses Quicksilver adventure, Anno Frankenstein. Here's the blurb taken from Amazon:

Ulysses Quicksilver, agent of the crown, jumps into a time vortex pursuing Daniel Dashwood, a madman bent on sharing modern technology with Hitler’s forces and changing history to suit his evil ends.

Rewind several decades, to the time of the Second Great War, to Darmstadt. The Nazis are battling the steampunk empire of Magna Britannia, cooking up necrotic super-soldiers in the gothic towers of Castle Frankenstein.

In the forests outside the castle, other forces are gathering. Ulysses’ father is there, proving that dashing good looks and a talent for swashbuckling adventures run in the family, and wondering why his British masters have partnered him with weakling scientist Dr. Jekyll. The ladies of the Monstrous Regiment are also there to help, but there may be other gothic monsters in the hills... 

“Jonathan Green gets mileage out of his monsters, with big action set-pieces that read like things we’d like to see in a rip-roaring summer movie.” - SFX Magazine

I had a lot of fun, riffing off the works of Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson, Stan Lee et al, and I think that comes through in the novel, which is the longest** Ulysses Quicksilver adventure in terms of page count.

If you've yet to read it yourself, the good news is that Anno Frankenstein is is in Rebellion Publishing's January ‘Time Travel’ eBook sale. The eBook is available worldwide, until the end of the month, for only 99p! However, please not that this discounted price is only valid on the Rebellion Publishing webshop.

So what are you waiting for? Why not download it today?

* Yes, you read that right. Ten. Years.

** If I'm remembering that rightly. If not, it's probably Human Nature.

The 12 Days of Christmas - Day 8: Christmas Past

Twelve years ago I wrote a festive-themed Ulysses Quicksilver short story, which was published with my third Pax Britannia novel Human Nature.

Christmas Past, as the story was called, featured a murder mystery set in Oxford, or at least the Pax Britannia universe version of the City of Dreaming Spires.

You can still read Christmas Past, as it appears in the Ulysses Quicksilver Omnibus Vol. 1, which is still on sale from Amazon.

Tie-in Tuesday: Free Scarlet Traces eBook

If you sign-up to Rebellion Publishing's newsletter you get a free eBook delivered straight to your inbox every month - and December’s free eBook is Scarlet Traces: An Anthology Based on The War of the Worlds, edited by Ian Edginton.

This wonderful anthology includes stories by Stephen Baxter, I. N. J. Culbard, Adam Roberts, Emma Beeby, James Lovegrove, Nathan Duck, Mark Morris, Dan Whitehead, Chris Roberson, Maura McHugh, Andrew Lane, and Yours Truly.

As a special Christmas treat, they even have a beautiful hardcover copy of Scarlet Traces to give away to one lucky winner! So, if you don't already, sign up for the Rebellion Publishing newsletter now to enter the giveaway.

Tie-in Tuesday: Forever Autumn

Today, Tuesday 22nd September, is the autumn equinox.

There are a couple of short story anthologies coming out this autumn, featuring tales by Yours Truly.

Uprising: A Necromunda Anthology is released on 1st October.

My story, Paradise, sees a gang of Orlocks looking for a lost dome, rumoured to be an oasis of fresh water and clean air; a veritable... paradise. But the Dust Dogs aren't the only ones searching for it...

Paradise is the first piece of Necromundan fiction I have had published since 2003.

Judge Fear's Big Day Out and Other Stories is a collection of prose tales that first appeared in the monthly Judge Dredd Megazine and the anthology comic 2000AD.

The 'Other Stories' include four of mine, that first saw print a few years ago. If you missed them at the time, look out for Judge Fear's Big Day Out and Other Stories when it is published on 12th November.

Steampunk Thursday: Scarlet Traces on the 2000 AD Thrill-Cast

The latest 2000AD Thrill-Cast focuses on the new Scarlet Traces anthology. It consists of an hour-long discussion between Scarlet Traces co-creator and anthology editor Ian Edginton, writer Maura McHugh, Rebellion commissioning editor David Moore join, and 2000 AD publicity droid Molch-R, about the world of Scarlet Traces, the legacy of H G Wells' original novel, imperialism and speculative fiction, and moving from comics into prose.

It's an interesting listen, but when the spectre of steampunk rears its ugly, cog-adorned head, it's clear that people have a problem with steampunk, to the point where Pax Britannia, Rebellion's own steampunk novel series, doesn't even get a passing mention.

You can purchase Scarlet Traces: A War of the Worlds Anthology, which includes my story Wonderful Things, here.

10 years of Pax Britannia!

Did you know, according to the Rebellion Publishing website, Unnatural History, the first Pax Britannia novel, was published ten years ago today?

I first pitched the idea for what would become Abaddon Books' Steampunk science fantasy series, when Jonathan Oliver - now Editor-in-Chief of Abaddon, Solaris and Ravenstone Books - put out the call for authors, but the kernel of the idea had been knocking around in my mind for years before that.

The oldest notes I can find that would be recognisable as the basic outline of what would become Unnatural History are dated 1990. (I wouldn't be published for the first time until 1993.) The dinosaurs in the Challenger Enclosure at Regent's Park Zoo get a mention, as does Queen Victoria being in a life support throne. There's even a line about bases on the Moon and Mars, but the protagonist is one Mandeville Sachs, Gentleman Adventurer, rather than Ulysses Quicksilver.

So although later today, I'll be raising a glass to Ulysses Quicksilver and toasting the Pax Britannia series as a whole, the idea is actually at least 27 years old, making it older than my writing career (which is 25 years old this July)!

And what's lovely is that people are still discovering the series for the first time and, I'm pleased to say, enjoying it. And who knows, maybe one day I'll get to bring Ulysses Quicksilver's story to a conclusion.

Friday the 13th - Unlucky for some?

Whether you're superstitious or not, you can't help but at least recognise the associations surrounding today's date, Friday the 13th.

For many, it is considered to be an unlucky day, so in an effort to avert that ill-fortune, today I am drawing your attention to a couple of freebie of mine, that you can download and enjoy for no money whatsoever! Simply click on the appropriate image below.

Happy 39th Birthday, 2000AD!

Today, 2000AD is a grand 39 years-old! I those almost four decades, it has become a mainstay of British comics, and a pop culture icon. I have also been fortunate enough to have been published in the comic, just once, before Christmas last year.

I wasn't a comic that I had written, but it was a story featuring cultural icon Judge Dredd himself. That's right - I've written for 2000AD before, and I've written comics before, but I have never had a comic published inside the pages of 2000AD.

Despite being 44 years-old myself, that is still a writing achievement I would like to unlock. And who knows, maybe 2016 could be the year it happens.

The one time I have actually been published within the pages of 2000AD was in last year's bumper Christmas issue.

But for the time being, Happy Birthday, 2000AD! And to celebrate, why not head over to the 2000AD online shop and grab yourself a birthday bargain? (I'm after the Aquila graphic novel, myself.)

Steampunk Thursday: Half Price Steampunk

Pick up some half price Pax Britannia over at the Rebellion store now!

25% off Pax Britannia!

There's currently 25% off everything at the Rebellion eBook store, and that includes my Steampunk Ulysses Quicksilver Pax Britannia novels.

So if you have a Kindle, or another eReader of choice, that's currently missing som quasi-Victorian action and adventure meta-fictional fun, then point your cursor this way and click here.

A late Christmas present...

For everyone!

Now I know Krampusnacht was celebrated back on the 5th December and the Feast of Saint Nicholas was on the 6th December, but Family Green are away in the snowy Austrian Tyrol at the moment, and in a fit of seasonal generosity, inspired by the inspiring surroundings, I am giving away a story I wrote back in 2012.

You can download a pdf of Claws here.

If you enjoy Claws, and you like you future police enforcement Mega-City One-flavoured, then chances are you will also enjoy my latest seasonal Judge Dredd offering, You'd Better Be Good, For Goodness' Sake.

And of course you can find out all about the Krampus in my Christmas book Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts.

Tie-in Tuesday: Judge Dredd Megazine #355

Coming soon...

And check out the announcement below (for what should be #355 of the Meg), creeps*...

* Just kiddin'. ;-)

The London Super Comic Con

One of the advantages of living in London is that a wide variety of conventions and genre events are readily accessible. The latest was the London Super Comic Con which three-quarters of Family Green attended yesterday, dragging a couple of friends along for company this time as well.

The event was rather like a cut-down MCM or Kapow! featuring cosplayers - including the funkiest Predator I've ever seen, as well as an utterly awesome Iron Man - comic geeks and sci-fi nerds, and a cross-section of ages too.

During the course of the day I briefly caught up with Ben Smith and Michael Molcher of 2000AD/Abaddon Books/Rebellion Developments, Kev Crossley, Ian Edginton, Al Ewing, Si Spurrier and Lavie Tidhar. My son's friend enjoyed himself so much, the two boys are already planning their costumes for MCM in May, so I'd say a good day was had by all.

Steampunk Thursday: Steampunk Free Day

It's been a week since we saw in the New Year and two weeks since Christmas, so it's quite possible you might be suffering from the January blues right about now (especially considering the miserable weather we've been having here in the UK).

So what better way might there be to cheer yourself up than to download a free eBook or two onto your brand new Kindle Fire*?

Interested? Of course you are.

Rebellion Publishing are giving away two of my titles to help alleviate those post-Christmas blues, my Second World War Zombie thriller Götterdämmerung and the first Pax Britannia novel Unnatural History, which was first published in processed tree carcass form back in 2007**!

So don't delay - download them today! (And if you enjoy them, why not send me a brief review?)


* Other eReaders are available.

** That's almost seven years ago!

Pax Britannia: Dark Side on the Abaddon Books Advent Calendar today!

I am delighted to be able to tell you that Abaddon Books' Advent Calendar eBook offering today is my very own Pax Britannia: Dark Side.

Ulysses Quicksilver visits the British lunar colonies, searching for his missing brother, Barty, believed to be on the run from gambling debts on Earth. The clues lead our detective and his faithful butler into the path of unsolved murders, battling robots, shady millionaires and stolen uncanny inventions. Used to working inside the law, Ulysses is stalled when his pursuit puts him on the wrong side of the Luna Prime Police Force. 

But why is Ulysses’ ex-fiancée Emilia also in the colonies? Who is the strange eye-patched man following Ulysses? And what is really happening in a secret base on the dark side of the moon?

Used to meeting every adventure with a devil-may-care attitude and a snappy one-liner, Ulysses will be forever changed by the revelations he discovers on this most deadly of trips.

So if you fancy downloading a full length Steampunk novel featuring murder, mystery, industrial espionage, giant robots, and Wellsian aliens on the Moon (and for only 98p), then click this link!

Short Story Saturday: Nazi Zombie Army 2

Nazi Zombie Army 2 (the sequel to Nazi Zombie Army, funnily enough) is out later this year.

Back in February, my short story Götterdämmerung was released to coincide with the release of the original Nazi Zombie Army.

Well, register now for the Rebellion newsletter and you could end up with a free download of the NZA2 soundtrack! 

So what are you waiting for? Sign up now!

Tie-in Tuesday: Nazi Zombie Army

It's more than a couple of months now since my Sniper Elite-linked short story Nazi Zombie Army: Götterdämmerung was released upon an unsuspecting public.

If you've not read it, it's action-packed, it's grim and gritty, and I can see it appealing to the current generation of pubescent gamers in particular. It seems that a certain mom from the US thought the same...


I downloaded this book onto my tablet for my 14 year old son as I was desperate to find something he would read. Having always struggled to get him to start a book, let alone finish it, I knew I had to find something that had elements similar to the games he loves playing on Xbox. When I found this I was a tad excited - Nazis, Zombies and full on adventure, how could he resist?

All I can say is congratulations to the author, my son actually chose to turn his Xbox off at night and it was a great pleasure for me to see him curled up in bed, enjoying a book. He finished it within a week, an unheard of experience!

I also read this as I wanted to see just exactly what had intrigued my son so much, and even though the story itself isn't something I would usually choose, this author does have a real talent at grabbing the reader from page one and taking them on a wild ride. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, especially people with teen boys, its exactly the kind of thing they love!

5 stars!


So there you go. If you're a teen boy, or you know one, or you belong to that group none as 'anyone', why not download a copy of Nazi Zombie Army: Götterdämmerung yourself today?

Nazi Zombie Army: Götterdämmerung

It's Wednesday and, oh look, I've got another book out. Well, okay, maybe book is exaggerating things a little. It's an eBook and the story's about 10,000 words long, but it only costs 77p!

Following in the well-trodden footsteps of fellow Abaddon authors Jasper Bark and Scott K Andrews, I have written a story set within the world of Sniper Elite, Rebellion Developments' flagship World War Two first-person shooter.

My story is a prequel to the new game Nazi Zombie Army*. Götterdämmerung tells the story of a team of British soldiers sent behind enemy lines towards the end of the war, to discover precisely what it is the Nazi Occult Division are up to and to put a stop to it.

Here's the blurb from the book's Amazon page:


The Nazis, desperate for victory at all costs, explored every avenue open to science, including some long forgotten... and some best left dead. But what if they had succeeded?

In the obscure village of Totenstadt, a team of the Reich's best minds, under the terrible Colonel von Teufel, are blending technology and the occult to create a new and terrible weapon, to test the boundary between life and death itself.

Elite British snipers Joe Randall, George "Ginger" Gibbs and Harry Atkins are sent deep into enemy lines to locate and destroy the facility. The mission will test their courage - and their sanity - to the limits...


You can pick up a copy of Götterdämmerung (published by Abaddon Books) for your Kindle here. You can purchase a copy of the game Nazi Zombie Army on Steam here.


Warning! The following video contains scenes of gore, Nazis and the occult!



* Goodness knows what sort of hits this blog is going to receive now that I've got the words 'Nazi', 'Zombie' and 'Army' in the title of a post.

Coming February 2013