Dog Days

Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog take a summer break in this year's 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special

- STEPHEN JEWELL

LIKE CHRISTMAS ANNUALS, summer specials were for decades a fun, extra-length treat for British weekly comic readers. It’s a tradition that this year's 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special emulates, as characters like Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog and Ampney Crucis head off on holiday.

“I like both summer specials and annuals, although specials have always been a bit more ephemeral compared to hardbacked annuals, so there's a definite summer holiday flavour in that sense,” says Al Ewing.

His Judge Dredd tale is a sequel to John Wagner, Alan Grant and Carlos Esquerra’s “Costa Del Blood” from 1989's