Vector 13

Vector 13 was a series of unconnected short stories rather reminiscent of TV's then phenomenally popular series 'The X-Files', which ran in the pages of 2000AD in the 1990s, beginning with 2000AD #951 in 1995. The stories were introduced by the mysterious 'Men in Black' of the Vector 13 agency, who also frequently appeared in the stories themselves. Very much a product of the times, the series (which was created by Alan McKenzie) eventually achieved something no other 2000AD series had been able to accomplish when, with 2000AD #1014, the Men in Black actually supplanted Tharg as 2000AD's ficticious 'editors'/hosts, a role they occupied for some time while Tharg was supposedly away in space (they were even added to the comic's masthead). When the popularity of the X-Files format waned and Vector 13 series was cancelled in 1998, Tharg returned to Earth to discover that his position had been usurped by fake Men in Black who were actually his rebellious droids in disguise, and the experiment came to a swift end.