Zenith fans look out! In a true blast from the past a real fan fave supporting cast member is returning to the pages of 2000 AD this year. More information on Red Dragon in the press release below. Don’t forget you can read Tom Whiteley’s series on the original Zenith run here at BF.
Bore da! This September 2000 AD welcomes back a Welsh legend for an all-new story spinning from the pages of the classic series Zenith!
Originally appearing in 1987 in Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell’s much-loved Zenith, Welsh superhero Red Dragon is returning in 2025 for a new series which looks back at the character’s origins, marking a major new series for The Galaxy’s Greatest Comic!
Original Zenith artist Yeowell returns with writer Rob Williams and artist Patrick Goddard for a new story set across two ages, exploring the beating heart of Welsh courage.
Red Dragon first debuted in the very first Zenith series in issue #535 in 1987: a Welsh superhero recruited by the bratty young superhero to take on the danger of Nazi super-soldier Masterman. Red Dragon, real name Siadwel Rhys, was a pyrokinetic hero who had found fame in the 1960s – but by the 1980s, Zenith found this once-mighty hero had become disillusioned and lost his heart for battle.
Rob Williams explains: “Reading Red Dragon’s story arc in Zenith in 1987 broke my heart, and I wasn’t alone in that. Grant and Steve created this vibrant, deeply flawed, extremely human character and, what’s more – he was a Welsh superhero. Red Dragon sounded and felt like quite a few people I’ve known over the years growing up in South Wales, just they didn’t have the ability to fly (although there were a few alcoholics and arsonists).”
Siadwel’s only appearance to date was in the first “phase” of Zenith, although he’s long been a fan-favourite character – as Yeowell knows all too well, noting that Siadwel has become “one of the mainstays of my sketching repertoire. My first encounter with him was when he appeared in Zenith phase one, more than thirty years ago: a broken and disillusioned figure, fated for a tragic end. So I’m really excited at the opportunity to work with 2000 AD writing veteran Rob Williams and fellow artist Patrick Goddard on this dual timeline story, to show him as a super hero in his 1960s prime – charismatic, confident and principled”.
This new series heads back in time to explore the young and powerful Welsh pyrokinetic in his glory days during the swingin’ Sixties. Yeowell and Goddard will split artistic duties, with Yeowell joined by colourist Dylan Teague to explore the 1960s-set sequence, while Goddard remains in the present day, pencilling events as a documentary crew head to post-Brexit Wales to look at the legacy left by their greatest hero.
To celebrate that legacy, Williams and Goddard will both be heading to Forbidden Planet in Cardiff on Saturday 27th September from 3pm-4pm for a very special Red Dragon signing. To make things even better, they’ll be joined by Rogue Trooper: Ghost Patrol artist – and fellow Welsh hero – Neil Edwards, making this a can’t-miss event for 2000 AD fans!
For the creative team this is an opportunity to explore Welsh heritage and culture, as Williams notes: “When I was asked if I would be interested in telling a Red Dragon story, I started to think about the idea of a Welsh superhero. Of where the UK and Wales was in the 1960s of Red Dragon’s heyday, of showing some of that optimism and bright colour, and then telling a story about where Wales, and Britain, is now.”
Red Dragon starts in 2000 AD Prog 2451, a special bumper issue releasing on 24 September! Subscribe to 2000 AD today to reserve your copy!
