2000 AD is proud to announce that digital editions of its comics are now available within 48 hours of them hitting newsstands in theUK.

In a major digital leap forward for the seminal British comic book, digital editions of 2000 AD and its sister publication, the Judge Dredd Megazine, are now available worldwide in CBZ and PDF formats in the 2000 AD store on the Friday after the print editions go on sale in the UK each Wednesday.

This means that for the first time, readers will be able to read both titles digitally in the week they’re published. This is a substantial shift from the current format, which only sees them go online once they are superseded on the newsstands.

2000 AD Prog 1776 and Judge Dredd Megazine 322 – featuring the talents of Andy Diggle, Leah Moore, John Reppion, Jock, Chris Weston, D’Israeli, John Wagner, Al Ewing, Henry Flint and many more – are the first editions to be available.

Readers inNorth Americaalso currently have to wait two weeks to get physical copies of both UK-printed titles, while those further afield have to wait longer.

Editions will be available to buy from the 2000 AD store  with digital subscriptions available at Clickwheel.

Computer games developer Rebellion, which owns 2000 AD, is also proud to announce that it is currently working on its own digital comics platform, due for release later this year. More details will follow in the coming weeks.

“This is a big leap for us,” said Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley. “We were one of the first publishers to produce digital copies of all our titles, though print editions were given priority. We felt this year, with 2000 AD’s 35th birthday and the Dredd film coming out in September, was the time to take our digital strategy forward. We’ve also got some exciting digital news coming in the next few months, so 2012 really is shaping up to be the year of 2000 AD.”