The Mean Arena
Parkour meets Rollerball. In a hyper-violent, near-future, close-combat, team sport: star player Matt Tallon seeks revenge for his brother's suspicious death. Where Harlem Heroes focussed on the team, this wisely has a central hero and a dramatic question, with other members of the team sketched in as needed. There's a theory that this may have been cribbed from the novel Killerbowl.
The 90s outing (minus the "The") is not a reboot or a retcon: just a brand new story that uses the same name. This is more like Gladiators (the tele show) crossed with that spikey platform from Flash Gordon, but not as exciting as either of them (together or alone).
|
The Mean Arena
(1980-1982) |
Mean Arena
(1993) |
Art by Steve Dillon, then Anthony Williams
- The 2000 AD ABC: The Mean Arena
- Shop: The Mean Arena
| Story Title | Parts | Pages | w indicates a wraparound coverCovers | Year(s) | Issues | Writer | Artist | Colourist | Letterer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Wakefield Warriors] | 5 | 19 | 0 | 1980 | Reprints: X26 (skips page 1)178-180,182-183 | Tom Tully | John Richardson | [b&w] | Peter Knight: 1‑4 Bill Nuttall: 5 various |
| [Florida Fiends] | 4 | 16 | 187: Dave Gibbons 1 | 1980 | Reprints: X26184-187 | Tom Tully | John Richardson | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| [The Southampton Sharks] | 10 | 40 | 0 | 1980-1981 | Reprints: X26191-194,197-202 | Tom Tully | John Richardson: 10‑15, 18 Steve Dillon: 16‑17 Johnny Johnstone: 19 various | [b&w] | Peter Knight: 10‑11, 13, 16‑18 Tony Jacob: 12, 14 Steve Potter: 15 Bill Nuttall: 19 various |
| [The Jensens] | 6 | 25 | 0 | 1981 | Reprints: X26218-223 | Tom Tully | Steve Dillon | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| [The Penzance Riggers] | 6 | 24 | 226: Steve Dillon 1 | 1981 | Reprints: X27226-229,234-235 | Tom Tully | Eric Bradbury | [b&w] | Peter Knight: 1‑3, 5‑6 Bill Nuttall: 4 various |
| [The Salford Slicers] | 3 | 12 | 0 | 1981 | Reprints: X27236-238 | Tom Tully | Mike White: 1 Eric Bradbury: 2‑3 various | [b&w] | Peter Knight: 1, 3 Tony Jacob: 2 various |
| [Edinburgh Executioners] | 8 | 32 | 243: Mike White 1 | 1981-1982 | Reprints: X27239-244,246-247 | Tom Tully | Mike White | [b&w] | Peter Knight: 1‑7 Tony Jacob: 8 various |
| [The Oxford Invaders] | 9 | 36 | 248: Brian Bolland 1 | 1982 | Reprints: X27248-251,253-255,258-259 | A. Ridgeway: 1‑2, 4‑9 Tom Tully: 3 various | Mike White | [b&w] | Peter Knight: 1, 3‑9 Tony Jacob: 2 various |
| [The Allerton Ants] | 7 | 33 | 0 | 1982 | Reprints: X28261-267 | A. Ridgeway | Mike White | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| [Mother Vlad's Vampires] | 11 | 42 | 279: Mike White 1 | 1982 | Reprints: X28268-277,279 | A. Ridgeway | Mike White | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
| [The Video Game] | 3 | 12 | 0 | 1982 | Reprints: X28280-282 | A. Ridgeway | Jim Eldridge: 1 Mike White: 2‑3 various | [b&w] | Peter Knight |
No subtitle. Zombie Crossover Event.The Meat Arena | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2022 | 2300 | Karl Stock | Kieran McKeown | Matt Soffe | Simon Bowland | >> Posters << |
Star Pin‑Up.Matt Talon … Shadow of the Slayers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1981 | 210 | n/a | Steve Dillon | <-- | n/a |
Star Pin‑Up.Brazen of the Mean Arena | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1982 | 267 | n/a | Mike White | <-- | n/a | >> Features << |
| Design a Team for … The Mean Arena | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1981 | 219 | editorial | Readers' Art | [b&w] | n/a |
| The Mean Arena | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1981 | 2KA'82 | editorial | reprints | [b&w] | n/a |
| Designs in Action | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1982 | 2KA'83 | T.M.O. | reprints | [b&w] | n/a | >> Floating Covers << |
| Balls of Steel! | ~ | ~ | 0 | 2008 | X26 | n/a | Neil Googe | Jim Charalampidis | n/a |
| Into the Thames Valley of Death | ~ | ~ | 0 | 2008 | X27 | n/a | Simon Davis | <-- | n/a |
| Blockbuster | ~ | ~ | 0 | 2008 | X28 | n/a | Mark Harrison | <-- | n/a |
| year | episodes | pages |
| 1978 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | 11 | 43 |
| 1981 | 29 | 117 |
| 1982 | 32 | 131 |
| 1983 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | 0 | 0 |
| 1989 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | 0 | 0 |
| 1991 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | 12 | 63 |
| 1994 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 | 5 |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 |
Comic strip data (excludes other content):