2000 AD prog 228, the first appearance of Rogue Trooper

Rogue Trooper is a science fiction strip in the British comic 2000 AD, created by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons. It follows the adventures of Rogue, a G.I. (or Genetic Infantryman, a genetically modified, blue-skinned, manufactured elite soldier) and his three comrades' search for the Traitor General. His comrades are in the form of "biochips" (onto which a G.I.'s entire personality is downloaded at the time of death for later retrieval) and are named Gunnar (mounted on Rogue's rifle), Bagman (on his backpack) and Helm (on his helmet). He is immune to every poison gas known of in the storyline, excepting one series, in which Rogue discovers there is a plant with an entirely new poison. He can submerge in strong acid unaffected. IPC Media the UKs leading consumer magazine publisher, with an unrivalled portfolio of brands, selling over 350 million copies each year. ... Rebellion Developments is a British computer games company, based in Oxford, who are most famous for the first Aliens versus Predator game. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to first comic book to feature a character. ... 1981 1980 in comics 1982 in comics Notable events of 1981 in comics. ... Gerry Finley-Day was a hugely prolific British comic book writer of the 1970s and 80s, responsible for Rogue Trooper, Harry 20 on the High Rock, Invasion (following on from the first episode by Pat Mills), M.A.C.H.1, Ant Wars, The VCs and Fiends of the Eastern... Dave Gibbons (born April 14, 1949) is a British writer and artist of comics. ... // Souther insignia Southers are the good guys fighting the Norts in Rogue Trooper. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (500x644, 109 KB) Summary Scan of 2000AD Prog 228 cover. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (500x644, 109 KB) Summary Scan of 2000AD Prog 228 cover. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Cover of the first issue of 2000 AD, 26 February 1977. ... Gerry Finley-Day was a hugely prolific British comic book writer of the 1970s and 80s, responsible for Rogue Trooper, Harry 20 on the High Rock, Invasion (following on from the first episode by Pat Mills), M.A.C.H.1, Ant Wars, The VCs and Fiends of the Eastern... Dave Gibbons (born April 14, 1949) is a British writer and artist of comics. ... G.I. is the name given to the Genetic Infantry in the Rogue Trooper universe. ... Genetic engineering, genetic modification (GM), and gene splicing (once in widespread use but now deprecated) are terms for the process of manipulating genes in an organism, usually outside of the organisms normal reproductive process. ... Comrade is a term meaning friend, colleague, or ally. ... // Nort insignia Norts are a fictional fascist enemy from Rogue Trooper, who are fighting the Southers. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A backpack A backpack is, in its simplest form, a cloth sack carried on ones back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders (called shoulder straps) and below the armpits. ... This article is about the headgear. ... Acidity redirects here. ...

Story

The story is set on a planet, Nu-Earth, where a perpetual war between the Norts and Southers is being fought. During the war all form of chemical and biological weapons have been used poisoning the planet and the troops of both sides must live in enclosed cities and fight in protective gear. The Southers have, through genetic engineering, developed a race of warriors who are immune to the deadly atmosphere and will therefore be superior troops. The Souther High Command deploy their secret weapon, the Genetic Infantry, in an airborne assault but a traitor has betrayed the secret of the G.I. to the Norts and they are massacred during the drop. // Nu-Earth is the name of a planet near 2 suns and a wormhole that is the main setting for the Rogue Trooper fictional universe. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... // Nort insignia Norts are a fictional fascist enemy from Rogue Trooper, who are fighting the Southers. ... // Souther insignia Southers are the good guys fighting the Norts in Rogue Trooper. ... // Souther insignia Southers are the good guys fighting the Norts in Rogue Trooper. ... Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, bicycles, or other means. ...

With Rogue the only surviving G.I., he goes AWOL in order to track down the Traitor General responsible. Along the way he thwarts numerous Nort schemes, discovers and inadvertently destroys the only portion of Nu-Earth not contaminated by chemical weapons, and is betrayed by every female character he encounters. G.I. is the name given to the Genetic Infantry in the Rogue Trooper universe. ... AWOL (pronounced a-wall) is an acronym for the United States and other armed forces expression Absent WithOut Leave or Absence Without Official Leave. The United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy use the term Unauthorized Absence (UA) instead. ... // Nort insignia Norts are a fictional fascist enemy from Rogue Trooper, who are fighting the Southers. ... // Nu-Earth is the name of a planet near 2 suns and a wormhole that is the main setting for the Rogue Trooper fictional universe. ...

Historical influences

Many elements of the Rogue back-story were inspired by World War 2, the American Civil War and the Cold War. Norts (Northerner Unionists) fought against generally less-well equipped Southers (Southern Confederates), and several battles were name-checked, such as the Battle of [Mek-]Bull Run. The Norts appear totalitarian in nature. While their uniforms have Nazi connotations their dialect and names are mostly quasi-Slavic, as if they represented a futuristic version of the Soviet Bloc, although there is some usage of Germanic names as well, for example General Vagner, Admiral Torpitz. Their conduct and methods of waging war are also more barbaric than those of the comparatively civilised Southers. The Norts' protective suits show only the eyes while the Southers have see-through face panels which reinforce the Good Guy/Bad Guy delineation. "Genetic Infantryman" is a direct homage to the supposed "Government Issue" tag that American troops were nicknamed after. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... // Nort insignia Norts are a fictional fascist enemy from Rogue Trooper, who are fighting the Southers. ... // Souther insignia Southers are the good guys fighting the Norts in Rogue Trooper. ... Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders Irvin McDowell Joseph E. Johnston P.G.T. Beauregard Strength 35,000 effectives 32,500 effectives Casualties 2,896 (460 killed, 1,124 wounded, 1,312 captured/missing) 1,982 (387 killed, 1,582 wounded, 13 missing) For other uses... // Nort insignia Norts are a fictional fascist enemy from Rogue Trooper, who are fighting the Southers. ... National Socialism redirects here. ... During the Cold War, the Eastern Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) comprised the following Central and Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Albania (until the early 1960s, see below), the Soviet Union, and Czechoslovakia. ... // Souther insignia Southers are the good guys fighting the Norts in Rogue Trooper. ... // Nort insignia Norts are a fictional fascist enemy from Rogue Trooper, who are fighting the Southers. ... GI or G.I. is a term describing a US soldier or an item of their equipment. ...

Different directions

Gibbons left the strip early on, to be replaced by a succession of artists and writers who have taken the strip in several different directions over the years. Notable artists to have drawn the character include Brett Ewins, Cam Kennedy and Colin Wilson. This quest continued from 1981 until 1985, when the G.I. had his final confrontation with the traitor general and, after a brief further run set on the Planet Horst, Finley-Day ceased writing the strip. Simon Geller took over, reinventing the character as an intergalactic hitman attempting to end the war by assassinating key figures, but this new direction was dropped in 1989. John Smith wrote a 'flashback' story, "Cinnabar", set in Rogue's deserter days, before original series artist Dave Gibbons returned to write a much more radical revamp of the character. Brett Ewins is a British comic book artist best known for his work on Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper in the weekly comic book 2000 AD. Ewins formed a long-term collaborative partnership with fellow artist Brendan McCarthy, working together on such strips as Bad Company. ... Cam Kennedy is a Scottish comicbook artist. ... Colin Wilson is a comic book artist, born in Auckland, New Zealand on the 31st of November, 1949. ... John Smith is a British comics writer best known for his work on 2000 AD and Crisis. ...

In "The War Machine", Gibbons and artist Will Simpson created a different war, set on a different planet, starring a different Genetic Infantryman, this time called Friday. The bio-chips were dropped, and Gibbons concentrated on the politics and economics of war and the sinister nature of the genetic engineering involved. The story was a success. A new ongoing series featuring Friday followed, written by American writer Michael Fleisher, but this was less successful. In Fleisher's final story, "Scavenger of Souls", the bio-chips are reintroduced via an alien 'soul collector'. Will Simpson is a comic book artist who has illustrated comics for such industry heavyweights as DC Comics and Marvel. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Rogue Trooper. ... Michael Mike Fleisher is an American comic book writer. ...

Fleischer was replaced with Steve White, who made the military aspect of the strip more up-to-date and tried to reconcile the two versions of the character. He also reintroduced Venus Bluegenes (Helm's treacherous girlfriend from an earlier story who gained a more prominent role during the Simon Geller run) who had her own short spin-off run. His run on the character was also notable for the 2000 AD debut of artist Henry Flint. Despite White's valiant efforts, the two continuities never really gelled: his decision to add a galaxy-wide religious war into the mix may not have helped. Steve White is a British comic book writer (and occasional colourer) who has mainly worked with 2000 AD. His career in comics began in the 1980s at Marvel UK in London, where he worked in various roles on titles like The Real Ghostbusters, Transformers and The Sleaze Brothers. ... Venus Bluegenes is a 2000 AD character. ... Artist on British sci-fi comic 2000AD, Flint has established a cult following for his hyper-detailed and wildly inventive work on series such as Judge Dredd, ABC Warriors, Shakara and Aliens. ... In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer. ...

The character was rested after White's last story in 1996. In 1997 a related character, blue-skinned ambulance pilot Tor Cyan was introduced in the story Mercy Heights. In a later story it was revealed he was cloned from the original G.I.. Tor Cyan is a 2000 AD character. ... Mercy Heights was a 2000 AD strip written by John Tomlinson. ...

In 2002 the original Rogue was reintroduced, again in flashback to his days hunting the traitor general, written by Gordon Rennie. Artists have included Staz Johnson, Dylan Teague, Mike Collins, Simon Coleby and PJ Holden. Rennie states in this interview that he had intended to revamp the character yet again, but had been blocked by 2000AD editorial. He also hints that any return to the Rogue Trooper universe will concentrate on supporting cast and not include the Rogue character. This can be seen in the new series The 86ers. In literature, film, television and other media, a flashback (also called analepsis) is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. ... Gordon Rennie is a former music journalist turned comics writer, responsible for White Trash: Moronic Inferno, as well as several comic strips for 2000 AD and novels for Warhammer Fantasy. ... Stewart Staz Johnson is an English comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on DC Comics Robin and Catwoman series. ... Mike Collins art used for the cover of 2000 AD #1433, featuring the main character from Amercian Gothic Mike Collins is a Wales-based comic book artist and writer and has been working in comics since the mid-1980s. ... Simon Coleby is a British comic book artist who has worked mainly for British sci-fi comic 2000 AD and Marvel Comics. ... Paul Jason Holden is a Northern Irish comic artist based in Belfast. ... The 86ers is a 2000 AD comic strip created by writer Gordon Rennie and artist Karl Richardson, now being drawn by PJ Holden. ...

Bibliography

The Rogue Trooper has appeared frequently in comics and novels (and other merchandising, see the next section).

The initial reprints of the 2000AD stories were printed by Titan Books. The most recent books are printed by Rebellion.

The original Rogue Trooper stories chronicling the hunt for the Traitor General are now collected in four publications by Rebellion

• Rogue Trooper:The Future of War
• Rogue Trooper:Fort Neuro
• Rogue Trooper:The Eye of the Traitor
• Rogue Trooper:To the Ends of Nu-Earth

Additional stories have been collected into two more publications by Rebellion

• Rogue Trooper:Re-Gene
• Rogue Trooper:Realpolitik

Once the Rogue Trooper appeared in 2000AD comic in a single big frame telling the comic's readers not to play with fireworks. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Fireworks. ...

Novels

• Crucible (Gordon Rennie, October 2004 ISBN 1-84416-061-0)
• Blood Relative (James Swallow, March 2005 ISBN 1-84416-061-0)
• The Quartz Massacre (Rebecca Levene, March 2006 ISBN 1-84416-110-2)

Gordon Rennie is a former music journalist turned comics writer, responsible for White Trash: Moronic Inferno, as well as several comic strips for 2000 AD and novels for Warhammer Fantasy. ... James Swallow is a British author, journalist and scriptwriter. ... Rebecca Levene is a British author and editor, best known for editing Virgins New Adventures series of original fiction Doctor Who novels. ...

Games and merchandise

A range of Rogue Trooper material has been produced:-

• The Rogue Trooper Boardgame was released in 1987 by Games Workshop.
• Three Rogue Trooper computer games have been released in 1986, 1990, and 2006.

The game Rogue Trooper is the name of a British boardgame based on the 2000AD comic strip of the same name. ... Games Workshop Group PLC (often abbreviated to GW) is a British game production and retailing company. ... Rogue Trooper computer games have proved popular over the years. ...

References