Press Release

A brand new series with a hot-footed new anti-hero: this week’s 2000 AD unveils Skip Tracer, new sci-fi action from Doctor Who writer, James Peaty!

Nolan Blake is a former colonial shock trooper turned tracker-for-hire for hire living in vast outer space colony known only as The Cube. Part-Casablanca, part-Mos-Eisley, The Cube is an underfunded and dilapidated dumping ground for the poor and dispossessed of the galaxy, a nexus point for all manner of crime and villainy and the perfect place for the undesirables of the galaxy to skip out and hide when things start to go awry – and it’s Nolan’s job to find those who’d rather remain hidden and bring them in…for a price!

Written by Peaty (Doctor Who, Supergirl), with art by Paul Marshall (Judge Dredd), colours by Dylan Teague (Judge Dredd, Jonah Hex), and letters by Simon Bowland (Sandman Universe) this brand new series debuts in 2000 AD Prog 2081, out on 16th May in the UK and Ireland, and 11th July in North America.

Skip Tracer is the first new character created by Peaty for 2000 AD and Heavy is the Head is his first major story for the legendary weekly anthology, with Nolan discovering that tracking down his latest quarry will take more than just running…

James Peaty said: “The series came about when editor Matt Smith invited me to pitch him some ideas for the weekly. I was originally kicking around a future war idea, but that all fell by the wayside when Nolan Blake appeared on the scene. Matt was keen on the original pitch, but very astutely pointed out that the series lacked a defined precinct/location. It was only when I came up with the idea of The Cube – and where that fit into the universe we’ve built ­– that everything really locked into place. All of those elements began to inform both the story we were telling and Nolan’s character. I’m very pleased with the world we’ve set up and I think it has a lot of potential. 

“As for what it’s in store; well, this initial story is a perfect introduction to both our lead character and the broader world he inhabits. It follows Nolan as he investigates the murder of Armand Zyn, an alien smuggler who’s killed by an unknown gunman while Nolan’s in the process of bringing Zyn into custody. But as Nolan starts to investigate Zyn’s death he’s soon drawn into a conspiracy that has ramifications far beyond the confines of The Cube…”