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 |
Art by Cliff Robinson
- The 2000 AD ABC: Tharg's Future Shocks
- Shop: Tharg's Future Shocks
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 | 5 | 25 |
2025 | 0 | 0 |
2026 | 0 | 0 |
Comic strip data (excludes other content):