We take a look at this week’s cyberpunk and dystopian comic releases.
REBELLION
2000 AD #2505
From the publisher –
Call me The Mighty Tharg, for I am the being from Betelgeuse, who brings you cosmic Thrills!
Open the pulse-pounding pages, Terrans, and let the zarjazness wash through you as your primitive human brains absorb the circuitshattering stories within. We’ve got more highoctane action this prog in the latest instalments of Judge Dredd, Durham Red, Herne & Shuck and Ghosted, and Azimuth’s current arc How to Train Your Dagon reaches its scrotnig finale, but fear not, the Abnett & Bettin droids are hard at work on the next batch of tales!
In case this issue alone isn’t enough to sate your Thrill-receptors, also out now is Judge Dredd Megazine 497, featuring the scrotnig likes of Storm Warning, Rogue Trooper, Mega- City 2099, Lawless, and of course Ol’ Stoney- Face himself, plus the start of a reprint of Starlord classic Timequake as well as chats with script-bot Garth Ennis about his upcoming projects and the creators behind the new Scream! special, out on 28 October, and much more.
2000 AD is a British science fiction comic book, which has been publishing for nearly 50 years 1977, famed for its dark British humour, and satirical and subversive stories. The jewel in the crown is Judge Dredd, a dystopian cyberpunk icon, whilst The Fall of Deadworld is a kind of an alternative history prequel series about Judge Dredd enemy Judge Death. Meanwhile Mega-City 2099 stories serve as a more traditional prequel.
JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE #497
From the publisher –
As we’re fully immersed in the spooky month of October, it means it’s time for Scream! to emerge once more from the crypt, this time as another 48-page seasonal special, and some of the creators behind its stories reveal all in the feature within this issue.
Elsewhere, Garth Ennis chats about his upcoming projects for both Rebellion and US publishers, as well as contributing to the piece celebrating Johnny Red, which gets its first collection of the classic material from the Treasury of British Comics next month, and a spotlight is cast on humour strip The Cloak, which has also been assembled into an omnibus volume.
Meanwhile, there’s further retro-Thrills to be had in Starlord’s Timequake by Chris Lowder (writing under his usual Jack Adrian pseudonym) and Ian Kennedy, John Cooper & Alberto Salinas, which starts this issue, plus there’s more Mega-City 2099, the penultimate parts of the current runs of Rogue Trooper, Lawless and Storm Warning, and the finale to the current Dredd story Rojimbo. Be here in thirty as we start to wrap everything up in time for January’s milestone Meg 500!
Sister publication to 2000 AD, offering more Judge Dredd, more Mega-City 2099, as well as Rogue Trooper, a military scifi making its way to cinema screens soon with Duncan Jones’ movie adaptation (release date not yet determined).
DARK HORSE COMICS
CYBERPUNK 2077: JAYK’S CASE #1
From the publisher –
A private investigator is hired to find the killer of a high-ranking executive, but the objective isn’t for justice — it’s for an escape. Embroiled in a network of Militech agents, he’ll need to find the killer before they do, but what truth are they trying to silence? And with ties to one of Night City’s most dangerous gangs, the death of one corpo may be just the beginning.
Published in collaboration with CD Projekt Red, this is a new murder mystery comic series in the Cyberpunk 2077 IP, which is continuing to thrive with the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 series also starting today. This will be a 4 issue series, with issue 2 schedule for release on December 9th.
IMAGE COMICS
IF DESTRUCTION BE OUR LOT #5
From the publisher –
NEW STORY ARC As Abe begins his journey into the great big world beyond the wall, he learns that it might not be so great after all. In the wasteland you must remember to always look before you leap. But an even more important rule is don’t fall asleep!
If Destruction Be Our Lot is a series set in a world where humanity has died out, and all that remains are the robots that we built continuing on with their programmed tasks. The series follows an Abraham Lincoln animatronic that is experiencing loneliness, and goes out in search of any remaining humanity.
THE LAST DRIVER #3
From the publisher –
OLD ENEMIES, NEW ALLIES, AND THE BRUTAL PAIN OF SACRIFICE! The sins of Clutch’s fiery past are revealed, as the net draws tighter around the high-speed hero. Is his car faster than a speeding bullet? Or will he be left burnt out and leaking by the side of the road?
The Last Driver is a brand new comic series, created by Sean Murphy. It’s a gritty love letter to the classic American road stories, a Mad Max for the cyberpunk genre. High octane, 100 mph, playing like a last hurrah for driving without care before the process is completely sanitised by automation.
YUMI 00-EX #3
From the publisher –
Yumi found Richard. Then she lost everything. A battle through Dubai leaves the city burning. Then Ms. V steals her car, shatters her world, and delivers a betrayal so devastating that even Yumi never saw it coming. Trust is lethal.
When Yumi’s boyfriend, an MI6 operative, disappears, Yumi storms the agency, hacks their network, and generally makes a bit of a mess. In the process, she meets up with an Artificial Intelligence Lamborghini, more tank than car, with more than a few hidden tricks. That’s the basis for this anti-spy miniseries comic.
MAD CAVE STUDIOS
TERRORBYTES HALLOWEEN ANNUAL #1
From the publisher –
Halloween arrives with a fresh dose of futuristic horror in this terrifying special issue of TERRORBYTES! Featuring two all-new tales from the winners of Mad Cave’s 2025 Talent Search—along with a chilling bonus story by Mark London—this oversized one-shot delivers unforgettable nightmares where technology, humanity, and fear collide. Three visions of tomorrow prove the scariest monsters aren’t hiding in the dark… they’re already here.
Terrorbytes is a scifi/horror anthology series looking at the dark side of modern technology, and how it interacts and interferes with us on a psychological level. Basically a series of cautionary tales that mix horror and satire, written by a rotating series of writers.
INDEPENDENT
THE PATROLMAN BOOK ONE
From the publisher –
In a London fallen to gang control, sealed off from the rest of the world, retired super criminal Theo Deviant is bored.
Corrupt corporations run the city, trading with the rest of the world, offending his anarchist instincts.
Theo realises the only person able to restore London and bring down the Lord Mayor, the enigmatic figure controlling the gangs, is the Patrolman.
But the vigilante nemesis is dead, killed by Theo’s own hand.
So it’s now up to him to train a new Patrolman and take the city back…
Having reached its Kickstarter goal, but with plenty of time left to get on board, The Patrolman has been created as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of Time Bomb Comics. The story is set in an alternate London ruled by a corrupt Lord Mayor, and the corporations under his influence. After his greatest nemesis, The Patrolman, is killed, a replacement is handpicked to be trained, in order to carry on the ongoing fight. The issue will contain 52 full colour pages, and you can see the available reward tiers on the Kickstarter page – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/timebomb/the-patrolman-book-one
BREEZE #2
From the publisher –
Welcome to Babylon, where megacorporations own your soul and tyrannical super-soldiers keep you in line. Fortunately, firepower is affordable.
In Breeze Issue #2, hacker Galli and cybernetic gunslinger Synth are on the run after pulling off the score of a lifetime. Unfortunately, escaping with their lives proves considerably harder than stealing whatever it was they stole.
With corporate troopers closing in and a particularly persistent bounty hunter on their trail, Galli and Synth have to figure out what they actually stole; and why everyone suddenly wants them dead.
Oh, and somewhere along the way, there’s a cybernetic cat.
With just one day left of its Kickstarter campaign, Breeze #2 is a full colour, 35 page comic set in Babylon, a sprawling corporate megacity in the Dawnward Universe, amid a neon-drenched future dominated by megacorporations. In issue #1, hacker Galli joined up with a group of freelancers, who then embarked on the heist of a lifetime—robbing a megacorp. But when you rip off a corporation who have their own squad of super soldiers, getting away with it is not going to be easy. Especially when you also have a bounty hunter on your tails. Breeze is currently funding on Kickstarter, and you can check out all the details, and pledge to the campaign, on the Kickstarter page here – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/breezecomic/breeze-a-cyberpunk-inspired-comic-issue-2
AVALON #1
From the publisher –
Set in the year 3164, AVALON takes place in a megacity-state built from what was once the United States and all of Europe, a vertical sprawl of neon, rain, and body modification. Humanity has entered a transhumanist age run by consumerism, and the key to immortality lies in cloning Consciousness.
Nico is a Runner, a mercenary who moves small, precious cargo through Avalon’s underworld without asking questions. Her partner Epsy, a brilliant hacker, guides her through the city’s alleys and bridges from the chair. When a routine run descends into chaos, the pair uncover secrets that could change the trajectory of humanity and put them in the sights of Hale Atlan, the CEO of the centuries-old Atlan Industries and a woman who will stop at nothing for immortality.
Already fully funded on Kickstarter, Avalon is a vast, vertical megacity-state, and is a combination of the former United States and Europe. POV character Epsy, a pragmatic altruist, is a hacker, and is effectively the support agent for her girlfriend, loudmouth Nico. Nico is a runner, specialising in transporting illicit packages through the vast megacity, whilst avoiding the attention of the large corporations that rule Avalon.
CYBERSTOPIA – Discord
Cyberstopia now has a Discord server! Please join us and build a community for cyberpunk and dystopia discussion. We have sections for all the latest news, channels for discussion of The Ghost in the Shell series, as well as upcoming shows like Edgrerunners 2, Blade Runner 2099, and Neuromancer, as well as an author section with a number of cyberpunk authors talking about their work, giving updates on your current projects, etc… It’s a great place to hang out.
https://discord.gg/purcXCnXzE
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