27. JOHNNY ALPHA (2000 AD)

The second most iconic 2000 AD character after Judge Dredd himself, Johnny Alpha was the poster child for Strontium Dog, an extremely popular series about a group of mutant bounty hunters. Although originating in Starlord, Strontium Dog switched to 2000 AD after the former's closure and soon became a staple series thanks mainly to the presence of Alpha and his cohorts Durham Red, Middenface McNulty and Wulf Sternhammer. Alpha himself was, of course, a mercenary but despite working largely for greenbacks he was possessed of a strong sense of duty and honour. Equally, though, Alpha demonstrated a stubbornly unforgiving streak, brooking no slight or double-cross and punishing transgressions harshly – as the vampiric Durham Red discovered to her great regret. In 1990 Alpha was killed off in a story that martyred him in order to saves all mutants from extermination. Ezquerra was so mortified by the decision that he refused outright to draw the story and replacements were brought in to carry out the deed. Wagner later admitted that Ezquerra was right and that killing Alpha had been a huge mistake. The character was subsequently revived by both of his creators for a brief resurgence in 1999.

Trademarks: Glowing eyes, granite jaw, distinctive metal headpiece, trademark variable cartridge blaster handgun and electroknux.

On Screen: An aborted Strontium Dog TV treatment by Wagner never came to fruition and the closest Alpha has come to the screen is a series of audio dramas (radio plays released on CD) where he is voiced by 2000 AD fan Simon Pegg.

Did You Know?: One of Alpha's landmark achievements was tracking and capturing Adolf Hitler back in the past and subsequently returning him to the future to stand trial for his crimes.

Buy Strontium Dog: the Life and Death of Johnny Alpha now on Amazon