I'm not sure I had any great pearls of wisdom to impart. "Don't fuck it up," I suspect. Matt was always the right man for the job; he didn't need any advice from me.

How do you think he's handled the book?

I think he's done, and continues to do, a brilliant job. There's a real creative energy in the comic right now, a great variety of genres and styles. And Matt has a good eye for new talent, which is an important part of the job.

What are your favorite classic thrills?

Old school "Judge Dredd" and "Strontium Dog." Big Johnny Alpha fan, me. You can see a lot of him in my characters. Early "Nemesis" and "Slaine." I was always very fond of "Robo-Hunter," too. I can't wait for my son to be old enough to read that stuff. He's obsessed with robots. It's going to blow his mind.

Interior art from "Judge Dredd Vs Aliens: Incubus"

We already know about "Snapshot" and "Lenny Zero." What's your next thrill, new or old, that you'll be bringing back to "2000 AD?"

I'd love to do some more "Lenny Zero" or "Snow/Tiger," but it's just a question of being able to fit it into my schedule. I have quite a lot on my plate at the moment -- a mix of work-for-hire and creator-owned comics, plus some screen work -- so I think I just need to make it through the rest of this year before I think about what comes next.

One of my favorite Dredd stories of all-time is the crossover tale "Judge Dredd vs. Aliens: Incubus." You got to co-write that story with John Wagner. What was it like to co-write Dredd with his co-creator and how did the project come about?

Thanks, man. That was a lot of fun, and a great honor. I set the deal up with Dark Horse with the intention of John writing it solo. He asked me for ideas, so I pitched him a bunch of stuff to throw into the melting pot. I was surprised, to say the least, when he invited me to co-write the series with him. John is one of my writing heroes and probably the single biggest influence on my own work, so it really was incredibly flattering. I learned a lot working with him, especially when it comes to pacing and team writing. I spent a few days at John's house, where we hammered out the basic storyline. Then he'd write the first few episodes and I'd rewrite them; then I'd write the next few episodes and he'd rewrite them. Before long you couldn't see the join. It worked out really well, and was a lot of fun.

John Wagner and Andy Diggle with artist Henry Flint on a "Judge Dredd" comic is an insane team. When are we going to see part two?

Maybe we should drop Dark Horse a line! I've always wanted to write "Judge Dredd vs. Superman," too, but I suspect DC are less interested in doing cross-company books these days.

"Lenny Zero" returns to "2000 AD" later this summer, correct?

I'm writing the new "Lenny Zero" series right now. It's called "Zero's Seven" and it's being drawn by Ben Willsher. It's a big crazy heist caper, with Lenny putting together an oddball crew -- including a talking polar bear and a sentient ATM called Johnny Cash -- to steal a billion creds from Justice Department. Complications ensue. There are a couple of old familiar faces in there too, which I won't spoil here. It's been fun to write.

Who would play the character of Lenny Zero in a movie? The seedy underworld ex-Judge seems like a perfect fit for the gritty real-world way the film producers envision Mega-City One.

I think in the very first script I suggested a Steve McQueen or George Clooney "type," but I never really had an actor in mind for him. He's not really a tough guy, more of a chancer. I'm going to go slightly left-field and say Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

In a recent CBR interview, Pat Mills had some less-than-nice things to say about the "2000 AD" editorial team from 12 years ago, which was when you were with the book. Care to respond to his comments?

It's kind of painful to dredge it all up, to be honest -- it was quite stressful. But Pat seems to nurture old grudges like prize orchids, and proudly puts them on display at any opportunity. He's had a go at me in several interviews over the past few years, so I'll take this opportunity to put across my side of the story.

First of all, it's worth stressing that Pat deserves a huge amount of respect as the launch editor of "2000 AD" and main driving force behind its creation. His reputation as the "Godfather of British comics" is well deserved. I believe he spent something like a year preparing material for the launch in 1977, though it's my understanding that he resigned as editor within a year of the first issue seeing print. I didn't discover the comic myself until a few years later, but Pat's writing on strips like "A.B.C. Warriors," "Ro-Busters," and "Nemesis the Warlock" was inspiring. I can still re-read those old stories with a huge amount of pleasure, and I'd encourage anyone to seek them out.

Cover to "Lenny Zero and the Perps of Mega-City One" by Diggle and Jock

As a teenager I started up a written correspondence with Pat, along with several other "2000 AD" creators, which helped put me on the path to becoming a professional writer. And when I studied comics for my degree dissertation, Pat was one of many creators who kindly offered me his time and advice -- as well as buying the drinks! -- so I have a great deal to thank him for.

Sadly the experience of working as Pat's editor was very different. As I said earlier, I felt that the comic had lost its way somewhat by the time I came on board. One of the first things I did when I became editor was to write a two-page "mission statement" laying out what "2000 AD" meant to me, and how I felt we could and should try to bring it back to its former glory. I sent it to every writer, artist, colorist, letterer and designer working on the title, and everyone reacted very positively -- except Pat.

Pat isn't exactly the shy and retiring type, and I suspect he was used to getting his own way. For most writers, pitching story ideas and getting some of them knocked back is part and parcel of being a freelancer. It's a normal, everyday part of the job. But I suspect Pat wasn't used to hearing "no" for an answer. He still complains in interviews about the fact that we turned down his "Requiem Vampire Knight" pitch; but honestly, what comics writer has never had a pitch turned down?

Pat brought great vision and leadership to his "2000 AD" editorship, commissioning and personally rewriting every strip in those early issues. It's the editor's job to apply quality control and to lead from the front, rather than just wave everything through and get it to the printers on time. That leads to crappy comics, falling sales and everyone out of a job. Sometimes you have to ask for a second draft. Otherwise you end up with "George Lucas Syndrome" where nobody dares tell the great man that the work isn't up to scratch.

Pat's manner was often confrontational and accusatory. He once told me that, because he'd had bad experiences with editors and publishers in the past, he now preferred to, as he put it, "shoot first and ask questions later." Which personally I don't think is a terribly constructive way for a freelancer to approach his dealings with his editor, but that's how he chose to play it. He would use phrases like, "Don't make me throw my rattle," and "Don't make me get out of my pram," basically threatening to throw a tantrum if he didn't get his own way.

And Pat's tantrums are legendary. In the old days they apparently used to call them "Mills Bombs," or so I've been told. Anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of one of his hour-long hectoring rants will know exactly what I'm talking about. One well-respected artist told me about an angry phone call he'd received from Pat where he couldn't get a word in edgeways, so he went downstairs, got himself a beer from the fridge, drank it, went back upstairs -- and when he picked up the phone, Pat was still complaining.

Pat once did it to me at our Christmas drinks, when we'd invited the creators to a pub in London. He never bothered to introduce himself to the two dozen or so fellow writers and artists who were gathered there. He just made a beeline straight for my table and lectured me for an hour about why I was such a terrible editor. Then he turned around and left. It did amuse me when I subsequently read an interview in which Pat complained about his fans' supposed lack of social graces.

So having had a very positive experience with Pat as a student, I was doubly shocked to experience the flipside when I began working with him editorially. I was employing dozens of different creators at the time, publishing 5 different stories a week; 1500 story pages a year. That's a lot of juggling, a lot of deadlines, and it's the editor's job to make it all fit together, on time and on budget. But dealing with Pat, and his unhappiness with my tenure, took up an increasing amount of my time and energy. As the saying goes, "the squeaky wheel gets the oil."

He accused me on more than one occasion of trying to "replace" him on stories like "Nemesis" and "A.B.C. Warriors," which was simply not true -- even though Jason Kingsley, the new owner and publisher, told me I was welcome to do so if I wished. But I didn't want anyone else to write those characters. I just wanted to raise the bar.

Pat complained that I had "taken his artist away from him" when I offered Henry Flint the choice of more "A.B.C. Warriors" or the new series "Shakara," and Henry chose the latter.

Pat complained, after the fact, that I had commissioned several different artists to draw subsequent "A.B.C. Warriors" stories, though he never raised any objection with me. My intention had been to try to recreate that "jam session" vibe when multiple artists drew the early strips (Mick McMahon, Kevin O'Neill, Brendan McCarthy, Carlos Ezquerra, Dave Gibbons), but I would have been more than happy to find a single artist for the whole series if Pat had simply asked.

Pat got upset that I turned down his initial pitch for the sequel to "Deadlock" on Termight (which had been my suggestion in the first place, incidentally), and instead of rewriting the pitch or coming up with another story, he complains to this day that I "refused to commission" any more.

Pat got very upset when I asked Gordon Rennie to write a "Satanus" story, because he had originally created this tyrannosaurus who, twenty years previously, had appeared in the company-owned, shared universe "Judge Dredd" strip which has been written by literally dozens of different people.

The publisher and I were more than happy for readers to use "2000 AD" characters in fan fiction, but Pat threatened them with legal action. I could go on.

It was exhausting and stressful, and in the end I just lost patience. I found out some time after the fact that one script, which I had been particularly unhappy with, had actually been co-written with another writer, though Pat had never mentioned it to me, nor asked for the co-writer to be credited. And yes, I did re-write some of the dialogue in that script, which made Pat absolutely furious. I can quite understand that. But editorial re-writing had been part and parcel of "2000 AD" since Pat himself instigated the practice back in 1976, and it was far, far less prevalent under my tenure than it was under his. It's not something I'm proud of, and I wish I hadn't done it, but I'm not going to deny it.

I also changed some dialogue in Robbie Morrison's "Nikolai Dante" scripts; Robbie was similarly upset, but he acted like a professional, took it up with me, and I agreed not to do it any more. Robbie and I are still friends. I once asked John Wagner to rewrite a six-page "Judge Dredd" story, and he asked me to rewrite it for him. Me and John are still friends. This is the job.

Obviously I made mistakes. I could have handled the situation better, and with more experience, hopefully I would have. But I think it's telling that, of the dozens of creators we employed at "2000 AD," Pat was the only one I had this persistent problem with. When I tried to be tactful and diplomatic, he accused me of being like an untrustworthy "double-glazing salesman." When I tried to be frank and forthright, he accused me of being a rude and disrespectful "creator baiter."

Doubtless I would have stayed longer at "2000 AD" if my working relationship with Pat had been better, but in the end I just couldn't face it any more. It was like rolling a boulder up a hill, and I was miserable.

Pat has claimed in several interviews that I'm the worst editor "2000 AD" ever had. Maybe he's right and I'm wrong. But if so, why did no-one else seem to have a problem with me? Why am I still on friendly terms with the other creators I worked with at "2000 AD?" Why have Pat's contemporaries like John Wagner, Alan Grant and Carlos Ezquerra been so complimentary about me? John invited me to co-write "Judge Dredd vs. Aliens: Incubus" with him; Carlos said he was very happy with my editorship and has asked me to collaborate with him on new projects; and Alan recently said he thinks I'm one of the two best editors "2000 AD" ever had, and that I was "a delight to work with."

Perhaps Pat thinks they're all poor judges of character who allowed me to pull the wool over their eyes. Or maybe they all secretly hated me but were too cowardly to say so, and Pat was the only man courageous enough to speak out. You'd have to ask them.

Anyway. That's a horrible note to end the interview on, so let me just say that I'm glad "2000 AD" is still thriving under Matt Smith's editorship, and I'm hoping the new "Dredd" movie will help to bring in a whole new readership for 35 years of classic material, the best of which is still available in trade paperback form.

And despite everything, I'd very much encourage people to pick up those early Pat Mills books like "Nemesis the Warlock," "Ro-Busters," "A.B.C. Warriors" and "Slaine." They really are great.

"Lenny Zero: Zero's Seven" by Andy Diggle and Ben Willsher debuts in "2000 AD" prog 1792, on sale now in the UK and digitally at 2000adonline.com and in print August 1 in North America.