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 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.