Tharg's Future Shocks
Rebranded in the year 2000 as just "Future Shocks" (after the long hiatus of Tharg during his ousting by the Vector 13 crowd), these are a staple of 2000 AD - a place to tell a short, one-off thrill.
Sometimes things don't quite fit in the bracket of being either futuristic or having a particularly twisty ending (or even neatly fitting in a single episode), so the one-off idea is also served either without any branding, or as (with varying longevity) Ro-Jaws' Robo-Tales, Tharg's Time Twisters, Tharg's Dragon Tales, Tales From Beyond Science, Terror Tales, Vector 13, Pulp Sci-Fi, Tales of Telguuth or Past Imperfect. A modern take on the idea has been to do specifically three-parters under the Tharg's 3rillers banner.
The Dreddverse gets similarly served with the sporadic Tales From Mega-City One and more successful Tales From the Black Museum.
| 1977 | 1978 | 1979-1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983-1984 | 1985 | 1986 |
| 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992-1993 | 1994-2000 | 2001 |
| 2002-2003 | 2004-2007 | 2008-2011 | 2012-2014 | 2015-2017 | 2018-2020 | 2021-2023 | 2024-2025 |
Art by Cliff Robinson
- The 2000 AD ABC: Tharg's Future Shocks
- Shop: Tharg's Future Shocks
- In Orbit Every Wednesday: What's the Ultimate Future Shock?
| 1979 | |||||||||
| Story Title | Parts | Pages | w indicates a wraparound coverCovers | Year(s) | Issues | Writer | Artist | Colourist | Letterer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold Kill | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1979 | 94 | Mike Cruden | Garry Leach | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| Brain Drain | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1979 | 95 | Steve Moore | Ron Tiner | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| The End of the Universe? | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1979 | 96 | Gary Rice | Brett Ewins | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| Dear Mum | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 1979 | 97 | John Richardson | John Richardson | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| The Four-Legged Man | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 1979 | 98 | Mike Cruden | Mike Dorey | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
Linked to [Alec Trench]A Close Encounter of the Fatal Kind | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1979 | Reprints: 2KA'91 M402 (supplement) 102 | Alan Grant | Carlos Ezquerra | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| Together | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1979 | 108 | John Higgins | John Higgins | [b&w] | John Aldrich |
| Sacrifice | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1979 | 109 | Alan Hebden | Mike White | [b&w] | Jack Potter |
| First Encounter | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1979 | SFS2 | Oleh Stepaniuk | Alan Craddock | [b&w] | S. Richards |
| The Last Jungle in the World | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1979 | SFS2 | Alan Grant | N. Neocleous | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| Colin's Dream | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1979 | 116 | Chris Stevens | Massimo Belardinelli | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| Hand of Friendship | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 1979 | 117 | John Richardson | John Richardson | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
No supertitle.Benny's Tale | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1979 | 2KA'80 | unknown | David Jackson | <-- | unknown |
No supertitle.Going Straight | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1979 | 2KA'80 | unknown | Jose Luis Ferrer | [b&w] | unknown |
No supertitle.Programmed to Destroy | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1979 | DDA'80 | unknown | Massimo Belardinelli | [greyscale] | unknown |
No supertitle.The Prisoner of Xendor | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1979 | SLA'80 | unknown | unknown | <-- | unknown |
| Time Trap | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1979 | 135 | Roy Preston | John Cooper | [b&w] | Paul Bensberg |
| 1980 | |||||||||
| A Holiday in Hell | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1980 | SFS3 | Alan Moore | Dave Harwood | [b&w] | Tom Frame |
Linked to Tharg the MightyThe Mumps From Beyond the Moon | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1980 | 2KA'81 | Alan Grant | Robin Smith | [b&w] | Jack Potter |
| Duel in the Dunes | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1980 | 2KA'81 | Oleh Stepaniuk | Rob Moran | [spot color] | John Aldrich |
| year | episodes | pages |
| 1977 | 19 | 61.5 |
| 1978 | 31 | 81 |
| 1979 | 17 | 64.5 |
| 1980 | 3 | 16 |
| 1981 | 37 | 157 |
| 1982 | 29 | 96 |
| 1983 | 6 | 17.5 |
| 1984 | 22 | 64 |
| 1985 | 22 | 68.5 |
| 1986 | 22 | 77 |
| 1987 | 30 | 87 |
| 1988 | 28 | 85 |
| 1989 | 32 | 116 |
| 1990 | 13 | 46 |
| 1991 | 16 | 71 |
| 1992 | 10 | 42 |
| 1993 | 10 | 50 |
| 1994 | 4 | 23 |
| 1995 | 7 | 35 |
| 1996 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | 7 | 35 |
| 2001 | 20 | 100 |
| 2002 | 12 | 62 |
| 2003 | 6 | 31 |
| 2004 | 8 | 40 |
| 2005 | 1 | 5 |
| 2006 | 5 | 25 |
| 2007 | 4 | 20 |
| 2008 | 6 | 30 |
| 2009 | 6 | 30 |
| 2010 | 6 | 26 |
| 2011 | 4 | 17 |
| 2012 | 4 | 16 |
| 2013 | 4 | 16 |
| 2014 | 9 | 37 |
| 2015 | 6 | 25 |
| 2016 | 4 | 16 |
| 2017 | 7 | 28 |
| 2018 | 7 | 31 |
| 2019 | 7 | 30 |
| 2020 | 10 | 47 |
| 2021 | 7 | 34 |
| 2022 | 7 | 35 |
| 2023 | 10 | 49 |
| 2024 | 6 | 30 |
| 2025 | 4 | 20 |
| 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| 2027 | 0 | 0 |
Comic strip data (excludes other content):