Kingdom

"Earth, the far future. Mankind has been all but destroyed, those still surviving forced into hiding by Them — insectile creatures that have taken over the world. Charged with protecting humanity are genetically-engineered dog-soldiers like Gene the Hackman — savage warriors that patrol the wilderness, directed by Urgings from their Masters."

Kingdom is a pun-rich comic strip by Dan Abnett and Richard Elson (occasionally coloured by Abigail Ryder or Steve Roberts). It relates the adventures of Gene the Hackman, a dog/human hybrid named after American author and actor Gene Hackman. (Other dog-soldiers or 'aux' have names like Evelyn War, Ezra Pound or Dorothy Barker.) The first series was published in 2000 AD progs 1518 to 1525; the second in progs 1567 to 1576; the third in progs 1650 to 1661; and the fourth in progs 1715 to 1725. There were also episodes in progs 2007, 2008 and 2011, and a novel by Dan Abnett and Nik Vincent called Fiefdom (available on Congo Amazon). The fifth series, which started in prog 1900, features Gene and the mongrel aux called the Wild Bunch searching for the Masters in Auxtralia. Many bugs are splatted.

Abnett says: "Alongside Sinister Dexter, I think Kingdom is my best work for 2000 AD... I feel very engaged with the world we've created there. It's action-packed yet poignant and Richard Elson has done some amazing work."