2000AD have announced that Mike Hawthorne – the artist who replaced legendary artist Norm Breyfogle on what would have been Breyfogle’s Judge Dredd debut in their upcoming Free Comic Book Day release – has arranged to donate part of his fee to the fund set up to support Breyfogle following his stroke late last year.

Mike said: “Judge Dredd is a character I’ve long wanted to illustrated, so I was absolutely thrilled when 2000 AD offered it to me, but getting this job under these circumstances made the gig bitter sweet. This job, by all rights, should have been Norm’s. I felt immediately that, if I was to take this book, the only right thing to do was to share some of the pay with Norm. So, with the help of the folks at 2000 AD, I made a donation of one full page towards Norm’s medical fund. I only wish I could have given him more.”

He added: “Free Comic Book Day is really about community, and being part of being in a community means helping out when someone is in need. I just want to do my part, and I hope that all the fans out there will continue to help Norm and his family as he continues to recover.  I also hope Norm knows how many people are rooting for him, and are eager to see him back at work.”

The Free Comic Book Day issue of 2000 AD, featuring Judge Dredd: In Through the Out Door by Matt Smith and Mike Hawthorne, will be available from participating comic book stores worldwide on 2nd May.

A free preview of the FCBD issue is available to view here.

The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson (aka Ceej)
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