Vector 13
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{{italic title ''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 indicat ...
strip published in the British magazine '' 2000 AD''. It featured the
eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
ous agency set up to investigate anomalous phenomena and
conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...
. 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 original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...
'' (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 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. The format was created by former ''2000 AD'' editor and long-time contributor Alan McKenzie.


Synopsis

Each story was presented by the
Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are government agents dressed in dark suits, who question, interrogate, harass, and threaten unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses to keep them silent about what they have ...
, as being a true file from their cases touching on a whole range of Forteana from Mothman to the
Chupacabras The chupacabra or ''chupacabras'' (, literally 'goat-sucker', from , 'sucks', and , 'goats') is a legendary creature, or cryptid, in the folklore of parts of the Americas. The name comes from the animal's purported vampirism the chupacabra is ...
and broader
conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...
such as those surrounding Project MKULTRA. In the middle of the series run (and as the interest in such subjects peaked) the MiB broke out of their own strip and took over the running of the magazine from #1014 (appearing as part of the logo from #1015), as editor Tharg was allegedly away dealing with a crisis. This first issue coinciding with a promotion of the X-Files series 2 trading cards.


Continuity

Cases were not always consistent: *Series 1 ''"Case Nine: Spear of Destiny"'', series 3, ''"Case Three: The Dream Factory"'' and ''"Divine Fury"''. **''Case Nine'' revealed that the Spear Of Destiny was used as the flagpole in 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. ''Divine Fury'' intimated that the space programme was accurate, but had been based on alien technology first discovered and
reverse-engineered Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompl ...
by the Nazis in the latter stages of World War II. *Series 2 ''"Case Four: Operation Mordred"'', ''"Case Seven: Psi-Wars"'', series 3 ''"Case Zero: Oath of Office"'' and series 5 ''"Case Nine: JFKed!"'' **''Case Four'' stated that
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
was killed by a time-traveller to avert a dystopian future where Kennedy had instigated a
nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear annihilation, nuclear armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a Futures studies, theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes widespread destruction and radi ...
after the American defeat in
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. ''Case Seven'' showed that he was assassinated by a Soviet agent assisted by psychic operatives, and ''Case Zero'' showed Kennedy as being assassinated by the Illuminati for not following their leadership. Finally, ''Case Nine'' had Kennedy assassinated by time travelling hitmen hired by a future-cabal from "a post-nuclear shambles" where Kennedy's death was deemed more profound than his life. In the last panel the hitmen were revealed to be Sinister and Dexter.


Bibliography

All cases were single episode stories with the exception of the "Black Light" crossovers which occasionally featured the MiB. *Series 1: ** "Case One: Who Was the Mothman?" (by Shaky Kane 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 an English 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 Alan McKenzie and Dave D'Antiquis, in ''2000 AD'' #955, 1995) ** "Case Six: Marion" (by
Dan Abnett Daniel P. 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 has worked on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, since ...
and Sean Phillips, in ''2000 AD'' #956, 1995) ** "Case Seven: Are They Cats?" (by Peter Hogan and John Ridgway, in ''2000 AD'' #957, 1995) ** "Case Eight: Echo Location" (by Dan Abnett and Nigel Dobbyn, in ''2000 AD'' #958, 1995) ** "Case Nine: Spear of Destiny" (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 David Hine has been working in comics since the early 1980s. For ''Crisis'', he drew the series ''St ...
, 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 Dave D'Antiquis, 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, 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 Michael Perkins (born 20 November 1969) is a British comic book artist known for his inking work and full art duties on comic books such as Ed Brubaker's List of Captain America titles#Captain America (Brubaker era), run on ''Captain America ( ...
, 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 ...
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, ov ...
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 Comics's initial comic book to promote the toyline worl ...
and
John Higgins John Higgins (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player from Wishaw in North Lanarkshire. Since turning professional in 1992, he has won 33 ranking titles, placing him in third position on the List of snooker players by num ...
, in ''2000 AD'' #989, 1996) ** "Case Three: The Dream Factory" (by Kek-W and Steve Yeowell, 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 Alan McKenzie and Dave D'Antiquis, in ''2000 AD'' #992, 1996) ** "Case Six: Screaming Friar" (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'' #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 godfath ...
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 Flint is a British comic book artist who has worked mainly for British science fiction comic '' 2000 AD''. Biography Flint has established a following for his work on series such as '' Judge Dredd'', '' Zombo'', ''ABC Warriors'', '' ...
, in ''2000 AD'' #1024, 1997) ** "Case Two: It's Good to Talk" (by Nick Abadzis and Sean Phillips, in ''2000 AD'' #1025, 1997) ** "Case Three: The Blackwater Incident" (by Shaky Kane and David Bircham, 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
Mike Perkins Michael Perkins (born 20 November 1969) is a British comic book artist known for his inking work and full art duties on comic books such as Ed Brubaker's List of Captain America titles#Captain America (Brubaker era), run on ''Captain America ( ...
, in ''2000 AD'' #1028, 1997) ** "Case Six: Bodysnatchers" (by Gordon Rennie and Alex Ronald, in ''2000 AD'' #1029, 1997) ** "Case Seven: The Immortality Question" (with Paul Neal 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, in ''2000 AD'' #1060, 1997) ** "Case One: Side Step" (by Dan Abnett and Chris Weston, 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" (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 ...
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:
Chupacabras The chupacabra or ''chupacabras'' (, literally 'goat-sucker', from , 'sucks', and , 'goats') is a legendary creature, or cryptid, in the folklore of parts of the Americas. The name comes from the animal's purported vampirism the chupacabra is ...
" (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 Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...
" (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
Lee Sullivan Lee Terrence Sullivan (born 6 March 1971) is an English 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 Winter Special 1995'') ** "Case 667: Suburban Hell" (by Igor Goldkind, Dix and Nick Abadzis, in ''2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 1996'') *Crossover: **The Vector 13 Men in Black appeared on several occasions in
Black Light A blacklight, also called a UV-A light, Wood's lamp, or ultraviolet light, is a lamp (fixture), lamp that emits long-wave (UV-A) ultraviolet light and very little visible light. One type of lamp has a violet light filter, filter material, eith ...
, usually as
plot device A plot device or plot mechanism is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelief ...
s to offer hints or explanations as to Black Light's activities - particularly in the ''"Pandora's Box"'' storyline.


See also

* Bureau 13 *
Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (the B.P.R.D. or BPRD) is a fictional organization in the comic book work of Mike Mignola. The B.P.R.D. originally appeared in the ''Hellboy'' comics and has since become a major part of its Hellbo ...


External links


2000 AD page
2000 AD characters 2000 AD comic strips British comics Fictional paranormal investigation agencies Paranormal fiction