The Ballad of Halo Jones

The three volumes of Halo Jones (as the story is often known) first appeared in five-page instalments in the pages of the weekly British comic 2000 A.D. An overt attempt to bring a female perspective to that notoriously testosterone-fuelled publication, it was embraced by readers of both genders and is regarded as one of 2000 AD's highpoints. The eponymous heroine is a highly sympathetic 50th-Century everywoman. The three volumes span several years of her life, and serve as a tour of the well-realised futuristic universe which Moore and Gibson have created. The original intention was for 12 volumes, but the series stopped because of contractual complications. The strip's tone ranges from comic to poignant.

In volume one we are introduced to the eighteen-year old Halo Jones, who lives in a hellish mega-city called The Hoop. The story takes place over one day, and follows Halo's largely comical misadventures on a shopping trip. Halo returns to her apartment to find her flatmate and best friend murdered, and decides to leave Earth.

Volume two depicts Halo's life as a stewardess on a year-long space voyage. She discovers that it was her robotic dog Toby who was responsible for her flatmate's death, and is forced to destroy him.

In volume three Halo is a soldier serving in a Vietnam-style guerilla war on a distant planet, and is courted by a famous, fearsome-looking general. The series ends with her comandeering a spaceship and deserting, determined to take charge of her fate.

The three volumes of The Ballad of Halo Jones are available in a single collection from Titan Books.