2000 AD in Stages

Rogue Trooper

A blue-skinned Genetic Infantryman (bred for war) stalks the poisonous battlefields of Nu Earth seeking revenge for the massacre of his comrades by a traitor general. In order to provide some dialogue for the loner, Rogue is accompanied by the bio-chips (i.e. encoded personalities) of three dead comrades, slotted into his equipment: the appropriately (and oddly presciently) named Helm, Bagman and Gunnar.

Rogue Trooper was a tent-pole strip when it first appeared, and was not often out of the comic for almost a five year run. However, the climax of the main narrative thread led to drift and when the original writer left it listed out of the thrill lanes, eventually running aground in the 1989 Winter Special (with the incongruous conclusion of The Hit sequence).

The "Rogue Trooper" franchise was then entirely rebooted with a new main character: Fr1day. Once that experiment came to a close, the main sequence Rogue was relegated to flashback duties, and remains so.

Going Rogue
(1981-1982)
Total War
(1982-1983)
Closing In
(1983)
The Traitor
(1984)
Horst
(1985-1986)
Hit Man
(1986-1989)
Alternatives
(1992-1999)
Flashbacks I
(2002-2006)
Flashbacks II
(2010-2024)

Art by Dave Gibbons

Story Title Parts Pages
w indicates a
wraparound cover
Covers
Year(s) Issues Writer Artist Colourist Letterer
Linked to Venus Bluegenes
Venus appears as a mental projection.
[The Hit Man]
5 26 0 1986 495-499
Simon Geller
Steve MacManus
various
Steve Dillon [b&w] Gordon Robson
Linked to Venus Bluegenes
Venus appears as a mental projection.
Hit One
12 62 0 1987 520-531 Simon Geller Steve Dillon [b&w] Gordon Robson
Linked to Venus Bluegenes
Venus appears as a mental projection.
The Legend
1 2 0 1988 567 unknown Steve Dillon [b&w] Gordon Robson
Linked to Venus Bluegenes
Venus appears as a mental projection.
[Hit Two]
5 27
568: Steve Dillon
1
1988 568-572 Simon Geller Steve Dillon [b&w] Gordon Robson
Hit 3 2 12
574: Steve Dillon
1
1988 574-575 Simon Geller Steve Dillon [b&w] Gordon Robson
Through the Eyes of a Gun 1 5 0 1988 589 Steve Dillon Steve Dillon <-- 2pp, [b&w] John Aldrich
Linked to Venus Bluegenes
Venus appears as a mental projection.
Hit Four: The New Moral Army
5 31
598: Steve Dillon
602: John Higgins
2
1988 598-600, 602-603 Simon Geller Steve Dillon [b&w] Tom Frame
Linked to Venus Bluegenes
Venus appears as part of a fever dream.
Nu Earth Flashback: Cinnabar
10 52 0 1989
Reprints:

M4.16‑M4.18
X15
624-630, 633-635
John Smith
Steve Dillon (P)
Kevin Walker (I)
various
[b&w] Gordon Robson
The Hit: Conclusion 1 16 0 1989 WS2 Steve Dillon Chris Weston [b&w] Gordon Robson
>> Posters <<
Linked to Venus Bluegenes
Star Scan.
[Rogue & Venus]
1 1 0 1988 607 n/a Braithwaite <-- n/a
[Rogue Trooper] 1 1 0 1989 614 n/a Kevin Walker <-- n/a
>> Features <<
There were no more "Freeze Frames".Freeze Frame: No. 1 Rogue Trooper
1 1 0 1987 537 n/a John Higgins <-- n/a
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