View source for Tharg the Mighty

{{Infobox comics character <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
| image          = Tharg.jpg
| converted      = y
| imagesize      = 100
| caption        = Tharg, from ''2000 AD'' #1700
| publisher      = Originally [[IPC Media]] ([[Fleetway]]) until 1999, thereafter [[Rebellion Developments]]
| debut          = ''[[2000 AD (comics)|2000 AD]]'' #1 (26 February 1977)
| creators       = [[Pat Mills]]
| alter_ego      = 
| full_name      =
| species        = <!-- optional -->
| homeworld      = Quaxxann
| alliances      = <!-- optional -->
| partners       = <!-- optional -->
| supports       = <!-- optional -->
| aliases        = The Mighty One, TMO
| powers         = Rigellian hotshot
| cat            = 
| subcat         = 2000 AD
| hero           = 
| villain        = 
| sortkey        = Tharg the Mighty
}}

'''Tharg the Mighty''' or '''The Mighty One''' is the fictional [[editing|editor]] of the British science fiction [[comics anthology|comic]] ''[[2000 AD (comics)|2000 AD]]''. The character was introduced on the cover of the first issue in 1977 and is one of only two characters to appear in almost every issue of the comic, the other being [[Judge Dredd]]. Tharg occasionally appears in stories, and strips involving him have been written by such notable writers as [[Alan Grant (writer)|Alan Grant]], [[Alan Moore]] and [[John Wagner]], albeit usually credited to "TMO" – "The Mighty One".

==Characterisation==
Tharg is depicted as an [[Extraterrestrial life|alien]] from Quaxxann, a fictional planet that orbits the star [[Betelgeuse]].<ref name="Factoids">{{ Cite comic | story=Tharg Factoids [column] | title=[[2000 AD (comics)|2000 AD]] | issue=#1033 | date=March 1997 | publisher=Originally [[IPC Media]] ([[Fleetway]]) until 1999, thereafter [[Rebellion Developments]] | location=[[London]]}}</ref> The character has green skin, a white [[mohawk hairstyle]] and a red device called the rosette of Sirius on his forehead. He is written and performed for comic effect as an authoritarian egoist.<ref name="Kardwell">{{cite web|last1=Kardwell|first1=Mark|title=Tharg the Mighty on his return to comics in '2000AD' Prog 2014|url=http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2013/12/tharg-the-mighty-on-his-return-to-comics-in-2000ad-prog-2014/|website=Comic Book Resources|access-date=10 May 2016|date=13 December 2013}}</ref> He eats [[polystyrene]] cups.<ref>{{ Cite comic | writer=MIB | artist=[[Simon Davis (artist)|S.B. Davis]] | story=Vector 13 - Case Ten: Case Closed? | title=[[2000 AD (comics)|2000 AD]] | issue=1032 | date=March 4, 1997 | publisher=[[Fleetway|Fleetway Publications Ltd.]] | location=[[London, UK]]}}</ref>

Tharg writes the comic's introduction, answers letters, and doles out prizes to readers (for artwork or story suggestions) - winners could choose payment either in [[pounds sterling]] or in "galactic groats". Tharg speaks mostly in [[English language|English]], but with various pithy Betelgusian aphorisms thrown in for colour.

In addition to the editorial duties in ''2000 AD'' being attributed to Tharg, all writing, art, lettering, sub-editing and [[public relations|PR]] is attributed to malcontent, feckless and long-suffering [[Robot|droids]] that appear as caricatures of their actual counterparts.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Parkin|first1=Lance|title=Magic Words: The Extraordinary Life of Alan Moore|publisher=Aurum Press Ltd|location=London|isbn=9781781310779|page=105|chapter=Script Robot Alan Moore|date=December 2013 }}</ref>

In one episode, a Tharg suit in the comic's office was explained as a skin that Tharg [[ecdysis|had shed]].

== Creation and concept ==
The concept of using a fictional character to host the comic is comparable to the tradition of [[Horror comics#Horror hosts|hosts in horror comics]]. It was commonplace in British comics in the 1970s when ''2000 AD'' began publication.<ref name="Future">{{cite AV media | people=Goodwin, Paul (Director) | date= 2015 | title=Future Shock! The Story of 2000 AD | medium= DVD | location=England | publisher=Metrodome}}</ref> For example, ''[[Warlord (DC Thomson)|Warlord]]'' was supposedly edited by Lord Peter Flint and ''[[Bullet (DC Thomson)|Bullet]]'' by a character named Fireball.<ref name="Kardwell" /> ''2000 AD'''s short-lived sister title ''[[Starlord (comics)|Starlord]]'' used a similar device with the eponymous alien Starlord as did ''[[Tornado (comics)|Tornado]]'' with Big E.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.watchthestars.sevenpennynightmare.co.uk/history/history2.htm |title=A Brief History of Starlord |website=Starlord Blueprint |access-date=4 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818113854/http://www.watchthestars.sevenpennynightmare.co.uk/history/history2.htm |archive-date=18 August 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Best|first1=Daniel|title=How To Beat People Up The Dave Gibbons Way|url=http://ohdannyboy.blogspot.ie/2010/08/how-to-beat-people-up-dave-gibbons-way.html|website=20th Century Danny Boy|access-date=11 May 2016|date=12 August 2010}}</ref>

[[Pat Mills]] created Tharg but since regrets it, in 2015 describing him as an anachronism.<ref name="Future"/> In 1996 David Bishop  was determined to get rid of Tharg and challenge the status quo, so replaced him as host in #1014 with the ''[[Vector 13]]'' [[Men in black|Men in Black]]. Reader reaction was "strong and vitriolic" and Tharg was reinstated in #1032.<ref name="Bish">{{cite web|last1=Bishop|first1=David|author-link=David Bishop (writer)|title=28 Days of 2000 AD #15.1: Dark Bish-OP Pt. 2|url=http://viciousimagery.blogspot.ie/2007/02/28-days-of-2000-ad-151-dark-bish-op-pt.html|website=Vicious Imagery|date=15 February 2007 |access-date=3 May 2016}}</ref> Bishop came to realise that Tharg is an intrinsic part of ''2000 AD'' and that the Men in Black were "a tiresome encumbrance".<ref name="Future" /><ref name="Bish"/> Tharg's return and the ousting of the Men in Black was covered in the ''Vector 13'' story "Case Ten: Case Closed?"

==''2000 AD'' editors==

{{#section:2000 AD (comics)|tharg}}

==Comic strips==
''2000 AD'' regularly features self-contained, science-fiction short stories called ''[[Tharg's Future Shocks]]''. Tharg is generally characterised as the host or presenter of these one-shots.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Worley|first1=Alec|title=Tharg's Future Shocks|url=http://alecworley.weebly.com/thargs-future-shocks.html|website=Alec Worley: Comics, fiction, films an' that|access-date=5 May 2016}}</ref> The format also sub-divides into genre-specific variants including: ''[[Tharg's 3rillers]]'', ''[[Tharg's Alien Invasions]]'', ''[[Tharg's Dragon Tales]]'', and ''[[Tharg's Terror Tales]]''.

On occasion ''2000 AD'' includes short humorous strips that feature Tharg as a character. The plots often concern Tharg's conflict with Thrillsuckers, a plague of psychic pests that attempt to steal ''2000 AD'''s Thrillpower, his abuse of his droid staff, and his battles against The Dictators of Zrag, rulers of the dull cube-shaped planet Zrag.<ref name="Kardwell" /> This trio of incompetent alien warlords hope to usurp Tharg's position and use the comic's powers to revitalise their planet.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sims |first1=Chris |title=Bizarro Back Issues: How Tharg Saved Christmas! (1981) |url=http://comicsalliance.com/bizarro-back-issues-how-tharg-saved-christmas-1981/ |website=Comics Alliance |access-date=10 May 2016 |date=16 December 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806085648/http://comicsalliance.com/bizarro-back-issues-how-tharg-saved-christmas-1981/ |archive-date=6 August 2016 }}</ref> Tharg uses the Dictators as convenient scapegoats whom he can blame for printing errors and plot holes.

=== Publication history ===
* Tharg and the Intruder (art by [[Kevin O'Neill (comics)|Kevin O’Neill]], in #24, 1977)
* ''Captain Klep'' (written by Dave Angus, art by [[Robin Smith (comics)|Robin Smith]] and unknown artists, in #127, #139, 1979)
* A Day in the Life of the Mighty Tharg (art by [[Carlos Ezquerra]], in #129, 1979)
* Tharg's XMas Tale (art by Carlos Ezquerra, in #145, 1979)
* Judge Dredd - Christmas Party (art by Keith Page, in Dan Dare Annual, 1980)
* The Final Secret (art [[Robin Smith (comics)|Robin Smith]], in Sci-Fi Special, 1980)
* What Tharg Did on Sunday (art by Carlos Ezquerra, in #146, 1980)
* This is Your Life (art by Carlos Ezquerra, in #155, 1980)
* Tharg and the Cheat (written by [[Alan Grant (writer)|Alan Grant]], art by Carlos Ezquerra, in #162, 1980)
* The Great Human Rip-Off (written by Alan Grant, art by Carlos Ezquerra, in #176-77, 1980)
* Tharg and the Thrill Suckers (art by Carlos Ezquerra, in #180, 1980)
* Tharg Strikes Back! (art by Carlos Ezquerra, in #181, 1980)
* Tharg Saves the Day! (written by [[John Wagner]], art by Carlos Ezquerra, in #182, 1980)
* Alien (Photostory, in Sci-Fi Special, 1981)
* Revenge of the Thrill Suckers (art by [[Ian Gibson (comics)|Ian Gibson]], in #198-99, 1981)
* Tharg at the Party (art by Carlos Ezquerra, in #200, 1981)
* Tharg and the Creep Who Stole Croydon (art by Mike Dorey, in #207, 1981)
* The Day They Banned 2000 AD! (art by Ian Gibson, in #208-209, 1981)
* The Nightmare (art by Ian Gibson, in #222-23, 1981)
* Tharg's Christmas Tale (art by [[Eric Bradbury]], in #243-44, 1981)
* Tharg's Birthday Party (art by Eric Bradbury, in #260, 1982)
* The Shedding (written by [[Alan Moore]] as ''T.M.O. (Tharg),'' art by Eric Bradbury, in #283-5, 1982)
* The Day the World Died (Nearly) (art P Knight, in Sci-Fi Special, 1983)
* Tharg and the Mice (art by Carlos Ezquerra, in #304, 1983)
* Invasion of the Thrill-Snatchers (art by Massimo Belardinelli, in #308-12, 1983)
* A Tharg Special Thriller: Mr Macabre (written by Alan Grant, art by [[Massimo Belardinelli]], in #314, 1983)
* The Lethal Laziness of Lobelia Loam (written by [[Alan Moore]], art by Boluda, in #323, 1983)
* The Challenge (art by Eric Bradbury, in #361, 1984)
* Zrag Law (art by Eric Bradbury, in #386, 1984)
* Judge Grexnix (art by Anthony Jozwiak, in #427, 1985)
* Exit the Wally (art by Carlos Ezquerra, in #435, 1985)
* Enter the Beast (art by Carlos Ezquerra, in #436, 1985)
* Psmith's Farewell (art by Carlos Ezquerra, in #443, 1985)
* Supersub! (art by Eric Bradbury, in #467, 1986)
* 2000BC (written by [[Grant Morrison]], art by Eric Bradbury, in #473, 1986)
* Tharg's Head Revisited (art by [[Cam Kennedy]], [[Dave Gibbons]], Ian Gibson & [[Mike McMahon (comics)|Mike McMahon]], in #500, 1986)
* Night of the Living Thrill Sucker (art by Eric Bradbury, in Sci-Fi Special, 1991)
* Galactic Greetings (art by Eric Bradbury, in #719, 1991)
* The Question (art by Eric Bradbury, in #749, 1991)
* Tharg's Masterclass (art by Eric Bradbury, in #823, 1993)
* The Perilous Perm of the Purple Nurples (art by [[Anthony Williams (comics)|Anthony Williams]], in #841, 1993)
* ''[[Vector 13]]'' "Case Ten: Case Closed?" (art by S.B. Davis, in #1032, 1997)
* A Night 2 Remember (written by Alan Grant, [[Andy Diggle]], [[Dan Abnett]], [[Gordon Rennie]], Grant Morrison, [[John Tomlinson (comics)|John Tomlinson]], [[Mike Carey (writer)|Mike Carey]], Pat Mills & [[Robbie Morrison]], art by Anthony Williams, [[Frazer Irving]], Ian Gibson, [[Jock (cartoonist)|Jock]], [[John Higgins (comics)|John Higgins]], Kevin O’Neill, [[Kev Walker|Kevin Walker]], [[Simon Davis (artist)|Simon Davis]] & [[Steve Yeowell]], in #1280, 2002)
* A History Of 2000 AD In 5 Pages (in #1526, 2007)
* Whatever happened to?: Alec Trench (written by Alan Grant, art by Robin Smith, in ''[[Judge Dredd Megazine]]'' #242, 2006)
* Building a Better Comic (art by Anthony Williams, in #2014, 2013)
* The Secret of Prog 1977 (art by Mike Collins, in #1977, 2016)
* Untitled one page story (art by [[Henry Flint]], in 2000AD Free Comic Book Day, 2017)

==Catchphrases and jargon==
Tharg occasionally uses words and phrases from a [[fictional language]]. This slang has become part of the vocabulary of ''2000 AD'' [[Fandom|fan culture]], particularly in fan interactions with Tharg.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Lorcan McGrane|editor1-last=Booker|editor1-first=M. Keith|title=Comics Through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas|publisher=Greenwood|isbn=9780313397516|pages=835|chapter=2000 AD|date=28 October 2014 }}</ref> The following is a short list, with approximate translations:<ref>{{ Cite comic | story=Talk Like An Alien [column] | title=[[2000 AD (comics)|2000 AD]] | issue=1033 | date=March 1997 | publisher=Originally [[IPC Media]] ([[Fleetway]]) until 1999, thereafter [[Rebellion Developments]] | location=[[London]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Carter|first1=Wakefield|title=A Betelgeusian Phrasebook|url=http://2000ad.org/?zone=thrill&page=phrasebook|website=BARNEY|access-date=3 May 2016}}</ref>

* "Blurk" - bon appetit or enjoy your meal (with friends)<ref>200AD ThrilCast (-4:00, 27 January 2016 Thrill-Cast) Roger Blake.</ref>
* "Borag Thungg" - Galactic Greetings
* "Deca Thargo" - A person who has read ''2000 AD'' for ten years<ref group="nb">''"Deca Thargo"'' was originally introduced in the 10 year anniversary issue (1987's Prog 520) and described as a ''"[n]ew award.  Automatically given to any Earthlet who has read 2000 AD since prog 1"'', however this gradually changed into a generic 10 year award. {{As of|2025}}, long-term readers can have multiple Deca Thargo awards.{{fact|date=September 2025}}</ref>
* "Earthlings"/"Earthlet"/"Earthlette"/"Terran" - A human<ref group="nb">"Earthlet" and "Earthlette" were briefly combined into the gender-neutral "Earthlet" after a letter of complaint, but the term "Earthlette" was reintroduced in prog 531.</ref>
* "Florix Grabundae" - Many thanks
* "Ghafflebette" - Out of this world
* "Grexnix" - Idiot or un-zarjaz person
* "Klfixam" - A keeper of the law
* "Krill Tro Thargo" - Honoured by Tharg, a special award to Earthlets who have helped advance the cause of Thrill-Power
* "Nazotimer" - A teacher
* "Nonscrot" - A person who does not read ''2000 AD'' or prefers other comics
* "Quaequam Blag!" - an expression of surprise or outrage
* "Scrotnig" - packed with Thrill-Power (or very good in general)
* "Seto Thargo" - An Earthlet with a complete collection of ''2000 AD'' progs
* "Splundig vur Thrigg" - Farewell
* "Splurix Klondie" - bon appetit or enjoy your meal (in polite company)
* "Squaxx dek Thargo" - A friend of Tharg / every regular reader of ''2000 AD''
* "Stanglic Crott" - A creator of a species / parent
* "Thrashoruns" - Best wishes
* "Thrill-Power"  - excitement generated by reading ''2000 AD''
* "Throgloopnarg quae quam quallust stralk" - an expression of annoyance
* "Vinglop Hudsock" - Great enjoyment
* "Zarjaz" - Fantastic
{{Reflist|group=nb}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<!-- reference added to handle missing ref in transclusion from [[2000 AD (comics)]] -->
<ref name="WPCleanerAuto1">"A brief history of Starlord" from "Watch the stars!" website {{cite web|url=http://www.watchthestars.sevenpennynightmare.co.uk/history/history.htm |title=A Brief History of Starlord |access-date=2016-05-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128232417/http://www.watchthestars.sevenpennynightmare.co.uk/history/history.htm |archive-date=28 November 2011 }}</ref>
}}

==External links==
*[http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=droid&page=profiles&choice=THARG 2000 AD profile as a writer] and as a [http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=thrill&page=profiles&choice=THARG character]
*{{comicbookdb|type=character|id=10074|title=Tharg (character)}}
*{{comicbookdb|type=creator|id=3648|title=Tharg (creator)}}
*[http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/t/tharg.htm Tharg] at the International Catalogue of Superheroes
*Fan page of  [https://myspace.com/thargthemighty Tharg the Mighty] on [[Myspace]]

{{Buster}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tharg The Mighty}}
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1977]]
[[Category:Extraterrestrial characters in comics]]
[[Category:2000 AD characters]]
[[Category:2000 AD comic strips]]
[[Category:Fictional magazine editors]]