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ROGUE ONE
character might need someone to talk to, and
I came up with the concept that he might
have a backpack which was sentient. They
would have this symbiotic relationship,
where he was the physical hero and the
backpack was the strategist, but that didn’t
seem to fl y”. Instead, he and Finley-Day came
up with the bio-chips, which would become
the most enduring and original aspects of
Rogue and his world.
Of the initial images that Gibbons would
create for Rogue Trooper, one in particular
stands out to this day. “I think the key
image I came up with was of Rogue standing
against a hazy background with the word
‘WAR’ coming out of it,” Gibbons says. “The
piece was inspired by a strip which [artist]
Paul Neary had done for one of the Warren
magazines, where he had a piece of graffi ti
which said something like ‘war’, ‘death’ or
something like that.”
When he fi rst appeared in issue 228 of
2000AD, Rogue Trooper joined a growing
roster of instantly iconic and visually
arresting characters, including Judge Dredd,
Strontium Dog, Nemesis The Warlock,
Slaine, and more. The fan reaction to Rogue
Trooper was instantaneous and positive,
with the combination of Gibbons’ dynamic
visuals and Finley-Day’s tried and tested war
credentials exploding from the pages.
“I was surprised by how popular Rogue
was, the mix of a basic heroic character
in a science fi ction setting, just seemed to
work in a limited environment, in the same
way that Mega City One offered a limited
environment for Judge Dredd to operate in,”
Gibbons says. Although his time working
with Rogue Trooper was initially short lived
(he would later return to offer his revisionist
take on the character with War Machine),
Gibbons remains proud of one of his earliest
creations, born just fi ve short years before
Watchmen. “I’ve been very lucky to have
a long career where I have been identifi ed
with Rogue Trooper, Dan Dare, Harlem
Heroes, Doctor Who, Green Lantern and
then of course Watchmen. I love comics,
so the chance to do anything that becomes
considered a landmark, especially as a fan of
the medium, I feel really proud of that.”
Rogue Trooper’s adventures continue
to appear in 2000AD, and he may soon be
stepping outside of comics as Moon director
Duncan Jones announced that he would
be adapting Rogue’s one-man mission of
vengeance for the big screen. MacManus
is looking forward to seeing Rogue head to
cinemas: “I don’t see how a production of
Rogue Trooper could fail. There’s a great cast
of characters to surround him with, and to
cause him problems.”
Gibbons fi nds himself similarly excited: “I
was thrilled to hear that Duncan Jones was
attached to the movie. I have huge respect for
him as a fi lmmaker and from what I’ve seen
he obviously gets the character and is a huge
fan. For me, it’s really all about him and his
take on Rogue Trooper.” It’s not bad going for
a 40-year-old blue guy.
Follow Dave Gibbons @davegibbons90
Steve MacManus’ The Mighty One: My Life
Inside The Nerve Centre is available from
book sellers.
