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
| Story Title | Parts | Pages | w indicates a wraparound coverCovers | Year(s) | Issues | Writer | Artist | Colourist | Letterer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grawks Bearing Gifts | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1981 | 203 | Alan Moore | Ian Gibson | <-- pp1-2, [b&w] | Tom Frame |
Linked to Joe Black Clever title: it's not "Trial and Error".Trail and Error | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1981 | 204 | Kelvin Gosnell | Mike Dorey | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
Cameos a Geek (from The V.C.s).The Easy Kill | 1 | 4.5 | 0 | 1981 | 205 | [R.E. Wright] | Garry Leach | p1[greyscale], [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| The Last Man | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1981 | 206 | Gary Rice | Brett Ewins | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| The Sound of Silence | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1981 | 207 | Kelvin Gosnell, Alan Grant | Mike White | [b&w] | Tony Jacob |
| Fish in a Barrel | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1981 | 208 | Steve Moore | Eric Bradbury | [b&w] | Steve Potter |
Linked to Abelard SnazzThe Return of the Two-Storey Brain | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1981 | 209 | Alan Moore | Mike White | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| The Collector | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1981 | Reprints: M202210 | Kelvin Gosnell | Ian Kennedy | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| Ernesto Hornetz Must Die | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1981 | 211 | Gary Rice | Mike White | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| Long Live the Queen | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1981 | 212 | Kelvin Gosnell | Eric Bradbury | [b&w] | Tony Jacob |
Linked to Agent RatSlashman Kowalski and Rat | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1981 | Reprints: M351 (supplement)213 | Steve Moore | Mike White | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
No supertitle.The English / Phlondrutian Phrasebook | 1 | 6 | Brendan McCarthy 1 | 1981 | 214 | Alan Moore | Brendan McCarthy | [b&w] | unknown |
| A Space Oddity | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1981 | SFS4 | David Perry | Joe Collins | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
Linked to Joe BlackBlooming Cold | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1981 | 215 | Kelvin Gosnell | Garry Leach | [b&w] | Jack Potter |
| The Man Who Was Too Clever | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1981 | Reprints: X26216 | Peter Milligan | Brett Ewins | [b&w] | Steve Potter |
| The Last Rumble of the Platinum Horde | 1 | 5 | Mike McMahon 1 | 1981 | Reprints: 474217 | Alan Moore | John Higgins | [b&w] | Tony Jacob |
| New Cruise Blues | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 1981 | 218 | Steve Moore | Steve Kyte | [b&w] | Jack Potter |
| They Sweep the Spaceways | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1981 | 219 | Alan Moore | Garry Leach | [b&w] | Steve Potter |
| Hen-Pecked Henry | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1981 | 220 | Steve Moore | Jose Casanovas | [b&w] | Steve Potter |
| 'Ang About | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1981 | 221 | Kelvin Gosnell | Eric Bradbury | [b&w] | Tony Jacob |
| Diversion | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 1981 | 222 | Kelvin Gosnell | Colin Wilson | [b&w] | Tony Jacob |
| The Machine | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1981 | 224 | Kelvin Gosnell | Jesus Redondo | [b&w] | Tony Jacob |
| Seeing is Believing | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1981 | Reprints: SFS16225 | Kelvin Gosnell | Colin Wilson | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| Scrambled Eggs | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1981 | 226 | Alan Hebden | Garry Leach | [b&w] | Bill Nuttall |
| The Last of the First Ones | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1981 | 2KA'82 | Gary Rice | Colin Wilson | [b&w] | Tom Frame |
| Giant Leap | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1981 | 230 | Kelvin Gosnell | Jesus Redondo | [b&w] | Steve Potter |
| The Red House | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1981 | Reprints: M373 (supplement)231 | Steve Moore | Jesus Redondo | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| The Regrettable Ruse of Rocket Redglare | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1981 | Reprints: 467234 | Alan Moore | Mike White | [b&w] | Steve Potter |
| Once Upon an Atom… | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1981 | 235 | Steve Moore | Alan Langford | [b&w] | Steve Potter |
| Sign of the Times | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1981 | Reprints: M392 (supplement)235 | Alan Hebden | Mike White | [b&w] | Jack Potter |
| Space to Let | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1981 | 236 | Kelvin Gosnell | Anthony Jozwiak | [b&w] | Jack Potter |
| A Little Problem | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1981 | 237 | Steve Moore | Johnny Johnstone | [b&w] | Jack Potter |
| A Cautionary Fable | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1981 | 240 | Alan Moore | Paul Neary | [b&w] | Steve Potter |
| The Masks of Arazzor | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1981 | 241 | Steve Moore | Jose Casanovas | [b&w] | Bill Nuttall |
Linked to Joe BlackJoe Black's Tall Tale | 1 | 2.5 | 0 | 1981 | Reprints: M365 (supplement)241 | Kelvin Gosnell | John Higgins | [b&w] | Tony Jacob |
| Love Thy Neighbour | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1981 | 242 | Kelvin Gosnell | Jesus Redondo | [b&w] | Steve Potter |
| Mister, Could You Use a Squonge? | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1981 | 242 | Alan Moore | Ron Tiner | [b&w] | T. Skomski |
| 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 |
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