# Pat Mills
**Pat Mills** is a British comic writer and editor, known as the creator and first editor of the science-fiction anthology *2000 AD* and as the writer-creator of strips including *Sláine*, *Nemesis the Warlock*, *A.B.C. Warriors*, and the First World War story *Charley's War*. He is widely described in the comics press as "the Godfather of British comics".[1](https://millsverse.com/about/) • [2](https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/authors/Pat-Mills/186499067) He also developed *Judge Dredd* with its creators John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, co-created the girls' supernatural comic *Misty*, and saw his 1980 *Doctor Who* strip "The Star Beast", drawn by Dave Gibbons, adapted as the 2023 television special for the series' 60th anniversary.[2](https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/authors/Pat-Mills/186499067) • [3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pat_mills)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Signature creation | Creator and first editor of *2000 AD* (1977); developed *Judge Dredd* and created *Sláine*, *Nemesis the Warlock*, and *A.B.C. Warriors*[2](https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/authors/Pat-Mills/186499067) |
| Acclaimed war story | *Charley's War*, a ten-volume antiwar story drawn by Joe Colquhoun[1](https://millsverse.com/about/) |
| American work | *Marshal Law*, an anti-superhero satire co-created with Kevin O'Neill for Marvel's Epic Comics[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pat_mills) |
| Girls' comics | Co-creator and consultant editor of *Misty* (IPC, 1978–1980), a supernatural mystery comic for girls that ran 101 weekly issues[4](https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/37848/3/Chapter%2012%20-%20Misty%20(1).pdf) |
| Screen adaptations | "The Star Beast" became the 2023 *Doctor Who* 60th-anniversary special; *Accident Man* was adapted for two films, the second starring Scott Adkins[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pat_mills) • [1](https://millsverse.com/about/) |
| Creator ownership | Founded the independent weekly *Toxic!* in 1991 and launched the anthology *Spacewarp* in 2020, where artists retain copyright[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pat_mills) |
| Non-fiction | *Be Pure! Be Vigilant! Behave! 2000AD & Judge Dredd The Secret History*, *Kiss My Axe!*, and *Pageturners*[1](https://millsverse.com/about/) |
## Early career
Mills began his long comics career as a sub-editor on DC Thomson's romance comics in Dundee, where he trained as a magazine journalist. He has said that few people were interested in writing comics at the time, which made it easy to sell his stories.[5](https://www.2000ad.org/?choice=patm&page=profiles&zone=droid) • [6](https://www.screamingeyepress.com/interviews/pat-mills/) He moved to London in 1970 to work for IPC as a writer and sub-editor on romance magazines.[7](https://comic-con-prod-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/4/2023/10/CCI23_SouvenirBook.pdf)
## Battle, Action, and 2000 AD
**The IPC years.** With John Wagner, Mills co-created the war comic *Battle Picture Weekly* (IPC, 1975–1988), and he then devised *Action* (1976–1977) to compete with DC Thomson's *Warlord*. *Action* moved away from classic war settings into contemporary urban stories with heavy violence, adapting box-office hits such as *Jaws* (as "Hookjaw") and *Rollerball* (as "Death Game 1999"). Its subjects, from teenage gangs to football hooliganism, provoked outcry in the press and on television; the 23 October 1976 issue was withdrawn and pulped, and the comic continued in sanitized form.[4](https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/37848/3/Chapter%2012%20-%20Misty%20(1).pdf)
In 1977, IPC gave Mills a brief to create a new science-fiction adventure comic, which became *2000 AD*.[8](https://thesis.ncad.ie/T1511_Judge%20Dredd%20the%20development%20of%20the%20comic%20character_NC00332828.pdf) He has described the new title as a retreat after *Action*: once his stories were science fiction, the violence was no longer a problem. He lengthened stories from two or three pages to more than six for a cinematic feel, and was paid £250 a week, which he says was more than his publisher paid himself.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/08/how-we-made-2000-ad-judge-dredd-comics-interview)
**Judge Dredd.** When co-creator John Wagner temporarily stepped away from the fledgling comic, Mills took over the development of *Judge Dredd*, writing early stories that established the satirical authoritarian dystopia of [Mega-City One](https://www.edgepedia.org/mega-city-one). His *Cursed Earth* storyline, published in Progs 61–85 (1978) with art by Mike McMahon and Brian Bolland, became the character's most successful serial to date.[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pat_mills) • [10](https://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/id/eprint/24690/3/978-3-031-07353-3.pdf) After steering the comic to launch, Mills resigned as editor and became a full-time writer.[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pat_mills)
**Creator credits.** As art editor, Kevin O'Neill clandestinely introduced credit panels naming writers, artists, and letterers, something British comics had traditionally lacked. Mills told management the panels were an experiment, and they remained.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/08/how-we-made-2000-ad-judge-dredd-comics-interview)
## Major strips
Mills's output for *2000 AD* and its short-lived sister title *Starlord* (1978) includes *M.A.C.H. 1*, *Flesh*, *Invasion!*, *Ro-Busters*, *A.B.C. Warriors*, *Nemesis the Warlock* (created with O'Neill in 1980, pitting an alien against the Inquisition-style villain Torquemada), and *Sláine*, a reimagining of [Celtic mythology](https://www.edgepedia.org/celtic-mythology) co-created with his first wife, Angie Kincaid.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/08/how-we-made-2000-ad-judge-dredd-comics-interview) • [5](https://www.2000ad.org/?choice=patm&page=profiles&zone=droid) • [11](https://2000ad.fandom.com/wiki/Pat_Mills) He has remained a prolific writer for *2000 AD*, later adding *Defoe*, about a 17th-century zombie hunter, and *Greysuit*, a super-powered agent thriller.[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pat_mills)
**Charley's War.** His most acclaimed work is *Charley's War*, a ten-volume antiwar story about an ordinary British soldier in the First World War, drawn by Joe Colquhoun for *Battle* from 1979. Mills has said the story's theme is that the British government and its ruling class were responsible for the murder of a generation, and he credits Colquhoun with showing the humanity and heroism of ordinary people rather than "cowards in capes". He names it the work he is proudest of.[1](https://millsverse.com/about/) • [6](https://www.screamingeyepress.com/interviews/pat-mills/) • [12](https://downthetubes.net/british-comics-reference/british-comic-characters-and-strips-profiled/charleys-war/background-to-charleys-war/charleys-war-creators/interview-pat-mills/pat-mills-readers-questions/)
**Marshal Law.** With Kevin O'Neill, Mills created *[Marshal Law](https://www.edgepedia.org/marshal-law)* for Marvel's Epic Comics at the invitation of editor Archie Goodwin, a brutal satire of American superheroes in which the hero is a licensed superhero hunter. Mills has said he loathes superheroes, which qualified him to write about one who hunts them.[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pat_mills) • [6](https://www.screamingeyepress.com/interviews/pat-mills/)
## Misty and girls' comics
Mills was co-creator and consultant editor of *Misty* (IPC, 1978–1980), a supernatural mystery comic for girls aged 8 to 14 that ran for 101 weekly issues, three holiday specials, and eight annuals. It grew from his idea for a girls' horror comic that would carry his serial "Moonchild", an adaptation of [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king)'s *Carrie*. When Mills turned down an editorial role, the comic passed to co-creator Wilf Prigmore and became a different, more blended publication than he intended. He also wrote girls' comic serials for *Jinty* and *Tammy*, including "Land of No Tears" and "Concrete Surfer", and has described his approach as applying girls' comic principles, in which emotion is allowable, rather than boys' comic principles.[4](https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/37848/3/Chapter%2012%20-%20Misty%20(1).pdf) • [13](https://jintycomic.wordpress.com/2016/10/29/pat-mills-interview/) Academic work on *Misty* has analyzed his step-by-step creative method, which he calls "The Formula", as a guide to writing girls' comic stories.[14](https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/jaws_00036_1)
## Independence and later projects
Seeking creative freedom and ownership, Mills founded the independent color weekly *Toxic!* in 1991, which introduced his cult character *Accident Man*, an assassin who stages kills as freak accidents; the comic lasted less than a year, and the character reached film in 2018 and a second movie starring [Scott Adkins](https://www.edgepedia.org/scott-adkins).[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pat_mills) • [1](https://millsverse.com/about/) In 1988 he had co-founded the political anthology *Crisis*, which was not a commercial success but incubated writers including [Garth Ennis](https://www.edgepedia.org/garth-ennis).[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pat_mills)
In 1995 he broke into the French market with *Sha*, drawn by Olivier Ledroit, which led to the ongoing French series *Requiem, Vampire Knight*; he is working on its final volume with Ledroit.[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pat_mills) • [1](https://millsverse.com/about/) In 2020 he launched *Spacewarp*, an all-ages science-fiction anthology notable for allowing artists to retain copyright on their work.[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pat_mills) Recent Kickstarter campaigns include *Sha 1: The Shadow One* and *Ragtime Soldier*, a First World War story set in Dundee.[1](https://millsverse.com/about/)
## Doctor Who and screen work
Mills has written both comic stories and audio dramas for *Doctor Who*. His 1980 strip "The Star Beast", written with artist Dave Gibbons, was adapted as the first television special celebrating the series' 60th anniversary in 2023, starring [David Tennant](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-tennant); showrunner Russell T. Davies praised the story of two children and a monster in their shed as fitting the Doctor's reunion with Donna.[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pat_mills) • [1](https://millsverse.com/about/) Through his company Repeat Offenders he develops graphic novel concepts for film adaptation, such as *American Reaper*.[3](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pat_mills)
## Writing about writing
Mills has published three non-fiction titles: *Be Pure! Be Vigilant! Behave! 2000AD & Judge Dredd The Secret History*, *Kiss My Axe! Sláine The Warped Warrior The Secret History*, and *Pageturners: How to write iconic stories from the creator of 2000AD*, which shares his advice on comic, film, and novel writing and on selling stories.[1](https://millsverse.com/about/) • [15](https://iconoblast.substack.com/about) He also writes the Substack *Iconoblast*, covering the secret histories of *Marshal Law*, *Misty*, and *Charley's War*, and co-wrote with Kevin O'Neill the dark comedy thriller novel *Serial Killer*; O'Neill died recently, as Mills notes on the site.[15](https://iconoblast.substack.com/about) On creator rights, he has argued publicly that characters should die with their creators, saying that with *Sláine* and *A.B.C. Warriors* ending he is adamant the characters will not be revisited by other writers.[16](https://comicscene.org/2021/05/19/pat-mills-asks-should-characters-die-with-their-creators/)
## Recognition and personal life
His awards include an Eagle Award for *Requiem Vampire Knight* as Best European Comic, a UKCAC Award for Favourite Villain for Torquemada, and a Cine-Excess IX Lifetime Achievement Award.[1](https://millsverse.com/about/) He lives in a small Andalusian village in the Serrania de Ronda with his wife Lisa, who is also his independent publisher, and, by his own account, far too many rescue cats.[1](https://millsverse.com/about/)
## References
1. [About Pat Mills, MILLSVERSE](https://millsverse.com/about/)
2. [Pat Mills, Official Publisher Page, Simon & Schuster UK](https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/authors/Pat-Mills/186499067)
3. [Pat Mills, Notable People Project](https://notablepeopleproject.org/pat_mills)
4. [Julia Round, "Misty, Mash-Ups, and the Marginalized in British Girls' Comics", Bournemouth University](https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/37848/3/Chapter%2012%20-%20Misty%20(1).pdf)
5. [Pat Mills profile, BARNEY, 2000AD.org](https://www.2000ad.org/?choice=patm&page=profiles&zone=droid)
6. [Interview with Pat Mills, Screaming Eye Press](https://www.screamingeyepress.com/interviews/pat-mills/)
7. [San Diego Comic-Con Souvenir Book 2023](https://comic-con-prod-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/sites/4/2023/10/CCI23_SouvenirBook.pdf)
8. ["Judge Dredd: The Development of the Comic Character", NCAD thesis](https://thesis.ncad.ie/T1511_Judge%20Dredd%20the%20development%20of%20the%20comic%20character_NC00332828.pdf)
9. ["How we made 2000 AD", The Guardian, 8 December 2015](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/08/how-we-made-2000-ad-judge-dredd-comics-interview)
10. [Palgrave Studies in Comics and Graphic Novels (chapter on "The Cursed Earth")](https://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/id/eprint/24690/3/978-3-031-07353-3.pdf)
11. [Pat Mills, 2000ADopedia (Fandom)](https://2000ad.fandom.com/wiki/Pat_Mills)
12. [Pat Mills: Readers' Questions, downthetubes.net](https://downthetubes.net/british-comics-reference/british-comic-characters-and-strips-profiled/charleys-war/background-to-charleys-war/charleys-war-creators/interview-pat-mills/pat-mills-readers-questions/)
13. [Pat Mills interview, A Resource on Jinty, 29 October 2016](https://jintycomic.wordpress.com/2016/10/29/pat-mills-interview/)
14. [Catherine Louise Wild, "Pat Mills's Formula", JAWS: Journal of Art & Writing 7(1–2), 2022](https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/jaws_00036_1)
15. [About Iconoblast, Pat Mills on Substack](https://iconoblast.substack.com/about)
16. [Pat Mills asks Should Characters Die With Their Creators?, ComicScene, 19 May 2021](https://comicscene.org/2021/05/19/pat-mills-asks-should-characters-die-with-their-creators/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Visual arts and design › Illustration and illustrators › Comic books and characters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license