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With a stable of creators that has included such superstars as Alan Moore and Grant Morrison, and such popular series as Judge Dredd, the British comics magazine 2000AD is known to American readers, but mainly at a distance. That is about to change: Rebellion Publishing, 2000AD's publisher, will begin publishing U.S. editions of new and classic series in June. The books, all in graphic novel format, will be available to comics shops through Diamond and to bookstores through Simon and Schuster.

The U.S. line will launch with two classic properties. The first volume of The Judge Dredd Complete Case Files will be in black and white and will cost $19.99 for 300 pages. "That is our number one best-seller" in the UK, Smith said. The other premiere book is The Complete D.R. and Quinch, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Alan Davis. "D.R. and Quinch are a couple of juvenile delinquents who also happen to be aliens," said graphic novels editor Keith Richardson. "They have kind of a 50s retro chic look to them. It's one of Alan Moore's funniest works."

New volumes will follow at a rate of one or two a month. Death Lives, due out in July, is a collection of stories about Judge Dredd's nemesis, Judge Death. "At San Diego, people asked for Judge Death a lot," Richardson said. Next up is ABC Warriors, by Pat Mills, with a rare backup story by Alan Moore. "Pat Mills doesn't let a lot of people play with his toys," said Richardson. "The Alan Moore story was printed once in an annual and never turned up in another collection."

Until now, the magazine and the graphic novels spun off from it have been available only as imports, with spotty distribution in the direct market and none at all in bookstores. "Every week we get a contact from a retailer who hasn't been able to buy the graphic novels they want," said 2000AD account manager Ben Smith.

Richardson said he knows the demand is there from the fans' reactions at San Diego Comic Con. "The last three years we have gone to San Diego, we have sold every bit of stock we brought with us, which has been a considerable amount," he said. "We know we have a strong fan base, but distribution has been sporadic at times."

Rebellion has an enormous catalog to draw from: 2000AD has been running weekly in the UK since 1977, and its spinoff, Judge Dredd Megazine, has been published monthly since 1990. The U.S. line will consist exclusively of graphic novels, which will be very close to the British originals.

"We're not going to be adapting them [for U.S. readers]," Richardson said. "The work speaks for itself. There is a lot of British cynicism and humor in the stories, and things like Monty Python have worked in the U.S. in the past. They are going to be very British, but I think Americans are going to appreciate that."

The books will be printed in the U.S. and distributed by Simon and Schuster. Based on pre-orders, the initial print runs will be around 10,000 copies, according to Smith. All the graphic novels will be paperback, with a 10 x 7.3" trim size. "They won't look unusual on American bookshelves," Smith said. Some will be black and white, some will be in color, and some will be a mix.

Rebellion, which is a game company, purchased 2000AD from Fleetway Publications in the year 2000. "They recognized the potential of the characters to make computer games," said Richardson. "To date, we have had a Judge Dredd game and a Rogue Trooper game which were very successful." There is an iPhone app, and Smith says more e-distribution may be in the cards. "With a games development and technology company behind us, we are not scared of electronic distribution," he said.

But that's in the future. "What we are focusing on now is making the physical books available throughout North America," said Smith. "We are here for the long haul, responding to the market, and new readers are going to be jumping on board

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