''Vector 13'' is a

comic a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

strip published in the British magazine '' 2000 AD''. It featured the

eponym 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 ...

ous agency set up to investigate anomalous phenomena and

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

. It was influenced by American TV drama ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

'' (which was at the height of its popularity at the time) and other events such as the 1995 release of the alien autopsy film; as the general interest in the paranormal and parapolitics waned, the series was wound up and replaced by ''Pulp Sci-Fi'' as a venue for single issue self-contained stories. In turn it foreshadowed other comics series dedicated to similar agencies, such as

Caballistics, Inc. ''Caballistics, Inc'' is a horror/fantasy story, set in the present day, that has been running in the weekly British anthology comic '' 2000AD'' since December 2002. The strip was created by writer Gordon Rennie and artist Dom Reardon (the latte ...

The format was created by former'' 2000 AD ''editor and long-time contributor

Alan McKenzie Alan McKenzie is a British comics writer and editor known for his work at '' 2000 AD''. Biography McKenzie worked for Marvel UK during the early 1980s, editing ''Starburst'', ''Cinema'' and ''Doctor Who Monthly'' magazines. After leaving the Mar ...

Plot

Each story was presented by the

Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are purported men dressed in black suits who claim to be quasi- government agents, who harass, threaten, or sometimes even assassinate unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses ...

, as being a true file from their cases touching on a whole range of

Forteana Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold w ...

from

Mothman In West Virginia folklore, the Mothman is a humanoid creature reportedly seen in the Point Pleasant area from November 15, 1966, to December 15, 1967. The first newspaper report was published in the ''Point Pleasant Register'', dated ...

to the

Chupacabras The chupacabra or chupacabras (, literally 'goat-sucker'; from es, chupar, 'to suck', and , 'goats') is a legendary creature in the folklore of parts of the Americas, with its first purported sightings reported in Puerto Rico in 1995. The nam ...

and broader

such as those surrounding

Project MKULTRA Project MKUltra (or MK-Ultra) was an illegal human experimentation program designed and undertaken by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), intended to develop procedures and identify drugs that could be used in interrogations to weak ...

. In the middle of the series run (and as the interest in such subjects peaked) the MiB even broke out of their own strip and fictionally took over the running of the magazine from #1014 (appearing as part of the logo from #1015), as traditional mascot character Tharg was allegedly away dealing with a crisis. This first issue coinciding with a promotion of the X-Files series 2 trading cards. Cases were not always consistent - ''"Series 1, Case Nine:

Spear of Destiny A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastene ...

"'' and ''"Series 3, Case Three: The Dream Factory"'' directly contradicted each other; ''Case Nine'' revealed that the Spear Of Destiny was used as the flagpole for the 1969 Moon landing, whereas ''Case Three'' stated that the moon landing had been faked in order to cover up a much more advanced space programme prevalent throughout the solar system.

Bibliography

Installments include: *Series 1: ** "Case One: Who Was the

?" (by

Shaky Kane Michael Coulthard is a British writer and psychedelic artist who best known for his work as a comic and graphic artist under the pseudonym Shaky Kane, as well as Shaky 2000. Biography After working for independent comics and magazines like Pss ...

and John Ridgway, in ''2000 AD'' #951, 1995) ** "Case Two: In Hollow Lands" (by Kek-W and Paul Marshall, in ''2000 AD'' #952, 1995) ** "Case Three: Circle of Evil" (by Nick Abadzis and Kevin Cullen, in ''2000 AD'' #953, 1995) ** "Case Four: Parallel Lines" (by John Tomlinson and

Lee Sullivan Lee Terrence Sullivan (born 6 March 1971) is the British drummer for the London-based alternative rock band Bôa. Lee is the son of Terence Sullivan, the drummer for the rock band Renaissance and his wife, Christine Sullivan. He plays drums, ...

, in ''2000 AD'' #954, 1995) ** "Case Five: The Henderson Event" (by

and

Dave D'Antiquis Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

, in ''2000 AD'' #955, 1995) ** "Case Six: Marion" (by

Dan Abnett Dan Abnett (born 12 October 1965) is an English comic book writer and novelist. He has been a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, si ...

and

Sean Phillips Sean Phillips (born 27 January 1965) is a British comic book artist, best known for his collaborations with Ed Brubaker on comics including '' Sleeper'', ''Incognito'', the ''Criminal'' series of comics, '' Fatale'', '' The Fade Out'', and '' ...

, in ''2000 AD'' #956, 1995) ** "Case Seven: Are They Cats?" (by

Peter Hogan Peter Hogan is an English writer and comics writer, best known for ''Resident Alien'', which he co-created with artist Steve Parkhouse. Hogan began his comics career as editor of cult British comic ''Revolver'' in 1990–1991, before workin ...

and John Ridgway, in ''2000 AD'' #957, 1995) ** "Case Eight: Echo Location" (by Dan Abnett and

Nigel Dobbyn Nigel ( ) is an English masculine given name. The English ''Nigel'' is commonly found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Walter Scott published ...

, in ''2000 AD'' #958, 1995) ** "Case Nine:

" (by Peter Hogan and

David Hine David Hine (born 1956) is an English comic book writer and artist, known for his work on '' Silent War'' and ''The Bulletproof Coffin''. Career Hine has been working in comics since the early 1980s. For '' Crisis'', he drew the series ''Sticky F ...

, in ''2000 AD'' #959, 1995) *Series 2: ** "Case One: Berserkers" (by Brian Williamson and John Ridgway, in ''2000 AD'' #965, 1995) ** "Case Two: Danse Macabre" (with Dan Abnett and Kevin Cullen, in ''2000 AD'' #966, 1995) ** "Case Three: Heatwave" (by Kevin Gill and

, in ''2000 AD'' #967, 1995) ** "Case Four: Operation Mordred" (by Peter Hogan and Lee Sullivan, in ''2000 AD'' #968, 1995) ** "Case Five: Shadrach" (by Dan Abnett and

Nick Percival Nick Percival is a British graphic artist and graphic novelist primarily known for his published comic book, concept artwork and career in computer animation directing. Biography Percival's first published work was in the monthly British comic ...

, in ''2000 AD'' #969, 1995) ** "Case Six: A Salver in the Heavens" (by Dan Abnett and John Ridgway, in ''2000 AD'' #970, 1995) ** "Case Seven: Psi-Wars" (by Kek-W and Kevin Cullen, in ''2000 AD'' #971, 1995) ** "Case Eight: Red in Tooth and Claus" (by John Tomlinson and Lee Sullivan, in ''2000 AD'' #972, 1995) ** "Case Nine: Blackout" (by Dan Abnett and

Mike Perkins Mike Perkins is a British comic book artist known for his inking work and full art duties on comic books such as ''Captain America'', '' Ruse'' and Stephen King's ''The Stand''. Career Mike Perkins began drawing at a very early age. After att ...

, in ''2000 AD'' #973, 1996) ** "Case Ten: Thrillkill" (by Brian Williamson and

John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...

, in ''2000 AD'' #974, 1995) ** "Case Eleven: K2" (with Kevin Gill and Mike Hadley, in ''2000 AD'' #975, 1995) *Series 3: ** "Case Zero: Oath of Office" (by

Gordon Rennie Gordon Rennie is a Scottish comics writer, responsible for ''White Trash: Moronic Inferno'', as well as several comic strips for '' 2000 AD'' and novels for ''Warhammer Fantasy''. In May 2008, he announced he was leaving comics to concentrate f ...

and Garry Marshall, in ''2000 AD'' #987, 1996) ** "Case One: Extraction Point" (by

Simon Jowett Simon Jowett is a British author and scriptwriter. Biography His early work was in comics, as the writer of the James Bond stories ''Silent Armageddon'' (1993, drawn by John M. Burns) and ''Shattered Helix'' (1994, drawn by David Jackson, ove ...

and Paul Johnson, in ''2000 AD'' #988, 1996) ** "Case Two: Trinity" (by

Simon Furman Simon Christopher Francis Furman (born 22 March 1961) is a British comic book writer who is best known for his work on Hasbro's ''Transformers'' franchise, starting with writing Marvel's initial comic book to promote the toyline worldwide, a ...

and

John Higgins John Higgins, (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry ( ...

, in ''2000 AD'' #989, 1996) ** "Case Three: The Dream Factory" (by Kek-W and

Steve Yeowell Steve Yeowell () is a British comics artist, well known for his work on the long-running science fiction and fantasy weekly comic '' 2000 AD''. Biography Having trained in 3D design (specialising in silversmithing and jewellery), Yeowell bega ...

, in ''2000 AD'' #990, 1996) ** "Case Four: Parts and Labour" (by Dan Abnett and Mick Austin, in ''2000 AD'' #991, 1996) ** "Case Five: Assassin" (by

and

, in ''2000 AD'' #992, 1996) ** "Case Six: Screaming Friar" (by Brian Williamson and

, in ''2000 AD'' #993, 1996) ** "Case Seven: Buzz-Saw" (by Kevin Gill and Kevin Cullen, in ''2000 AD'' #994, 1996) ** "Case Eight: Worlds at War" (by Dan Abnett and John Ridgway, in ''2000 AD'' #995, 1996) ** "Case Nine: Down to the Woods" (by Brian Williamson and Kevin Cullen, in ''2000 AD'' #996, 1996) ** "Case Ten: Video Nasty" (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 ...

and John Ridgway, in ''2000 AD'' #997, 1996) ** "Case Eleven: Imaginary Friend" (by Nick Abadzis and Paul Johnson, in ''2000 AD'' #998-999, 1996) *Series 4: ** "Case One: Devil in the Deep Blue Sea" (by Steve White and

Henry Flint Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, in ''2000 AD'' #1024, 1997) ** "Case Two: It's Good to Talk" (by Nick Abadzis and

, in ''2000 AD'' #1025, 1997) ** "Case Three: The Blackwater Incident" (by Shaky Kane and

David Bircham David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, in ''2000 AD'' #1026, 1997) ** "Case Four: Bad Moon Rising" (by Steve White and Amanda Fletcher, in ''2000 AD'' #1027, 1997) ** "Case Five: Patent Pending" (by Gordon Rennie and

, in ''2000 AD'' #1028, 1997) ** "Case Six: Bodysnatchers" (by Gordon Rennie and

Alex Ronald Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple peo ...

, in ''2000 AD'' #1029, 1997) ** "Case Seven: The Immortality Question" (with

Paul Neal Paul Neal is a British comics writer. He has worked for Fleetway Publishing on ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' and the long running science fiction anthology '' 2000 AD'' in the late 1990s. Much of his work was created in collaboration with the artist ...

and Cyril Julien, in ''2000 AD'' #1030, 1997) ** "Case Eight: Unhallowed Ground" (by Gordon Rennie and Allan Bednar as "Neal Brand", in ''2000 AD'' #1031, 1997) ** "Case Nine: The Sad Child" (by Dan Abnett and Paul Marshall, in ''2000 AD'' #1032, 1997) ** "Case Ten: Case Closed?" (by David Bishop and Simon Davis, in ''2000 AD'' #1032, 1997) *Series 5: ** "Case Zero: Shadows and Light" (by Gordon Rennie and

Dylan Teague Dylan may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Bob Dylan (born 1941), American singer and songwriter ** ''Dylan'' (1973 album), a 1973 album by Bob Dylan ** ''Dylan'' (2007 album), a 2007 compilation album by Bob Dylan * Dylan (musician), profess ...

, in ''2000 AD'' #1060, 1997) ** "Case One: Side Step" (by Dan Abnett and

Chris Weston Chris Weston (born 1969) is a British comics artist who has worked both in the US and UK comics industries. Biography Weston was born in January 1969 in Rinteln, Germany, and lived in various countries as a child. His career began when he was ...

, in ''2000 AD'' # 1062, 1997) ** "Case Two: Cryptogram" (by Dan Abnett and Alex Ronald, in ''2000 AD'' #1063, 1997) ** "Case Three: Graven Images" (by John Smith and Cliff Robinson, in ''2000 AD'' #1064, 1997) ** "Case Four: HALO" (by Chris Standley and Robert McCallum, in ''2000 AD'' # 1065 (1997)) ** "Case Six:

MK-Ultra Project MKUltra (or MK-Ultra) was an illegal human experimentation program designed and undertaken by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), intended to develop procedures and identify drugs that could be used in interrogations to weak ...

" (by Gordon Rennie and Alex Ronald, in ''2000 AD'' #1067, 1997) ** "Case Seven: Night of the Jaguar" (by Steve White and Marc Wigmore, in ''2000 AD'' #1068, 1997) ** "Case Eight: Midnight Rambler" (by Gordon Rennie and Paul Johnson, in ''2000 AD'' #1069, 1997) ** "Case Nine: JFKed" (by Dan Abnett and Allan Bednar as "Neal Brand", in ''2000 AD'' #1070, 1997) ** "Case Ten: Angels" (by

Robbie Morrison Robbie Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer known for his work in the weekly anthology '' 2000 AD'', where he co-created the long-running serial ''Nikolai Dante'' with artist Simon Fraser. Career Morrison began his career in '' 2000 ADs s ...

and Lee Sullivan, in ''2000 AD'' #1071, 1997) ** "Case Eleven: Search & Rescue" (by Gordon Rennie and Cliff Robinson, in ''2000 AD'' #1072, 1997) ** "Case Twelve: Deep Freeze" (by Kek-W and Paul Marshall, in ''2000 AD'' #1073, 1997) ** "Case Thirteen: Sands of Death" (by Robbie Morrison and Alex Ronald, in ''2000 AD'' #1074, 1997) ** "Case Fourteen:

" (by Chris Standley and Allan Bednar as "Neal Brand", in ''2000 AD'' #1075, 1997) ** "Case Fifteen: Time's Arrow" (by Gordon Rennie and Patrick Woodrow, in ''2000 AD'' #1076, 1998) *Series 6: ** "Case One:

Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

" (by Dan Abnett and Robert McCallum, in ''2000 AD'' #1078, 1998) ** "Case Two: Chill Out" (by D. McDonagh and Charles Gillespie, in ''2000 AD'' #1079, 1998) ** "Case Three: Shades of Grey" (by Dan Abnett and Robert McCallum, in ''2000 AD'' #1080, 1998) ** "Case Four: Einstein's Monsters" (by Gordon Rennie and Cyril Julien, in ''2000 AD'' #1081, 1998) ** "Case Five: Seal of Solomon" (by Gordon Rennie and Alex Ronald, in ''2000 AD'' #1082, 1998) ** "Case Six: Godhead Revisited" (by Dan Abnett and Allan Bednar, in ''2000 AD'' #1083, 1998) *A stand-alone episode: ** "Divine Fury" (with Lee Marks and Cliff Robinson, in ''2000 AD'' #1117, 1998) *Specials: ** "Case 459: Sheep's Clothing" (by Dan Abnett and

, in ''2000 AD Winter Special 1995'') ** "Case 667: Suburban Hell" (by

Igor Goldkind Igor Goldkind was born April 20, 1960, in Lansing, Michigan, and raised in San Diego, California. He is an author, poet, and lecturer who currently specializes in digital storytelling and information architecture. Biography The son of San Diego ...

, Dix and Nick Abadzis, in ''2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 1996'')

External links

2000 AD page
British comics Forteana 2000 AD comic strips 2000 AD characters Fictional government investigations of the paranormal

Plot

Bibliography

See also

External links