''Diceman'' was a short-lived British comic which ran for five issues in 1986. It was a spin-off from '' 2000 AD'' and was devised by

Pat Mills Patrick Eamon Mills (born 1949) is an English comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since. He has been called "the godfather o ...

, who also wrote almost all of the stories. It was edited by

Simon Geller Simon Geller (1919/1920 - 1995) was an American classical music station radio personality who ran a one-man radio station in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Radio career Geller was a radio engineer before starting his own station. The station, WVCA ...

, but purported to be edited by a monster called Mervyn. The stories were designed to be played like

gamebook A gamebook is a work of printed fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making choices. The narrative branches along various paths, typically through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages. Each narrative typically does not ...

s. Each issue contained two or three such stories and was published every two months.

Stories

The comic mostly contained stories based on characters who already appeared regularly in ''2000 AD''. Its

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

character Diceman, also known as Rick Fortune, was created specially for the comic (by Pat Mills and

Graham Manley Graham Manley is a British comic artist. Biography Graham Manley has worked for a wide range of British comics, and is credited by Tony O'Donnell as inspiring the creation of ''Near Myths''.Ewing, Garen. Interview with Tony O'Donnell (July 1998 ...

), but did not appear until the second issue. Fortune was a "psychic investigator", a 1930s American private detective with psionic powers. He also had a pair of stone dice, recovered from the ruins of

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

, which he could use to summon various powers including a three-headed lizard demon called Astragal to assist him. The ''Diceman'' strip was different from the others in that the reader not only had to avoid being killed, he also ran the risk of being driven insane (if his "sanity score" dropped to zero). The only other story in the comic which was not derived from ''2000 AD'' was "You are

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

in: ''Twilight's Last Gleaming''", a satirical spoof in which the reader, playing the part of the American president, must prevent nuclear war breaking out. In contrast to the strip Diceman, this strip also had a sanity score, but if it got too ''high'', then the Secret Service assume that the president must have been replaced with an imposter (a comment on Reagan's perceived intellectual limitations). This game was exceptionally difficult compared with the others in the comic, as the player must make irrational decisions to avoid arrest and execution, while trying to make the right decisions to prevent a nuclear launch by either side. In fact the player transpires to have very little control over the outcome, and almost every option inevitably results in

World War III World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical World war, worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use ...

, suggesting that nuclear diplomacy is very difficult to control once

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

tensions have begun. The other strips which appeared in ''Dice Man'' were ''

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology Comic book, comic. He is the ...

Nemesis the Warlock ''Nemesis the Warlock'' is a comic series created by writer Pat Mills and artist Kevin O'Neill which appeared in the pages of the British weekly comics anthology '' 2000 AD''. The title character, a fire-breathing demonic alien, fights agains ...

, Sláine,

Rogue Trooper ''Rogue Trooper'' is a science fiction strip in the British comic '' 2000 AD'', created by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons in 1981. It portrays the adventures of a " Genetic Infantryman" named Rogue and three uploaded minds mounted on his ...

'', '' Torquemada'' and ''

ABC Warriors ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

''.

Creators

Writers

: ''Diceman, Nemesis, Sláine, Rogue Trooper, ABC Warriors, Judge Dredd ''(with John Wagner)'', You Are Ronald Reagan!'' * Simon Gellar: ''Rogue Trooper'' *

John Wagner John Wagner (born 1949) is an American-born British comics writer. Alongside Pat Mills, he helped revitalise British comics in the 1970s, and continues to be active in the British comics industry, occasionally also working in American comics. ...

: ''Judge Dredd'' (with Pat Mills)

Artists

Steve Dillon Steve Dillon (22 March 1962 – 22 October 2016) was a British comic book artist, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on ''Hellblazer'', ''Preacher'' and ''The Punisher''. Early life Dillon was born in London in 1962 and raised i ...

: ''Diceman, ABC Warriors, Rogue Trooper'' *

Bryan Talbot Bryan Talbot (born 24 February 1952) is a British comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'' and its sequel '' Heart of Empire'', as well as the ''Grandville'' series of books. He collaborated ...

: ''Judge Dredd, Nemesis'' * Kevin O'Neill: ''Nemesis'' * David Lloyd: ''Sláine'' * Nik Williams: ''Sláine'' *

Mark Farmer Mark Farmer (born 1957 in Birmingham) is a British comic book artist. He is best known as an inker, often working with Alan Davis. Career Farmer got his start in the UK comics industry before becoming part of the British Invasion, the wave of ...

: ''Sláine'' *

: ''Diceman'' * John Ridgway: ''Diceman'' * Mike Collins: ''Rogue Trooper'' *

Hunt Emerson Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

: ''You Are Ronald Reagan!''

List of stories

Judge Dredd
''House of Death''
Issue: 1
Pages: 20
Story: John Wagner
Game: Pat Mills
Art: Bryan Talbot
Dated: February 1986 Nemesis The Warlock
''The Torture Tube''
Issue: 1
Pages: 19
Story/Game: Pat Mills
Art: Kevin O’Neill
Dated: February 1986 ''You Are Torquemada: The Garden Of Alien Delights''
Issue: 3
Pages: 20
Story/Game: Pat Mills
Art: Bryan Talbot
Dated: June 1986 Sláine
''Cauldron Of Blood''
Issue: 1
Pages: 19
Story/Game: Pat Mills
Art: David Lloyd
Dated: February 1986 ''Dragoncorpse''
Issue: 2
Pages: 19
Story/Game: Pat Mills
Art: Nik Williams
Dated: April 1986 ''The Ring Of Danu''
Issue: 4
Pages: 28
Story/Game: Pat Mills
Art: Mike Collins / Mark Farmer
Dated: August 1986 Diceman
''In The Bronx, No-one Can Hear You Scream!''
Issue: 2
Pages: 24
Story/Game: Pat Mills
Art: Graham Manley
Dated: April 1986
''Dark Powers''
Issue: 3
Pages: 19
Story/Game: Pat Mills
Art: John Ridgway
Dated: June 1986 ''Bitter Streets''
Issue: 4
Pages: 29
Story/Game: Pat Mills
Art: Steve Dillon
Dated: August 1986 ''Murder One''
Issue: 5
Pages: 28
Story/Game: Pat Mills
Art: Steve Dillon
Dated: October 1986 ABC Warrior
''Volgo The Ultimate Death Machine''
Issue: 2
Pages: 11
Story/Game: Pat Mills
Art: Steve Dillon
Dated: April 1986 Rogue Trooper
''Killothon''
Issue: 3
Pages: 19
Story/Game: Pat Mills
Art: Steve Dillon
Dated: June 1986 ''Space Zombies!''
Issue: 5
Pages: 15
Story/Game: Simon Gellar
Art: Mike Collins
Dated: October 1986 You Are Ronald Reagan!
''Twilight’s Last Gleaming!''
Issue: 5
Pages: 17
Story/Game: Pat Mills
Art: Hunt Emerson
Dated: October 1986

References

''Diceman'' profile at ''2000 AD''Diceman profile at ''2000 AD''
{{Buster 1986 comics debuts 1986 comics endings 2000 AD (comics) Bi-monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom British comics characters Comics magazines published in the United Kingdom Comics based on real people Comics by Pat Mills Cultural depictions of Ronald Reagan Defunct British comics Fictional private investigators Fleetway and IPC Comics titles Gamebooks Humor comics Magazines established in 1986 Magazines disestablished in 1986 Parody comics Parody superheroes Comics about politics Satirical comics