The three "books" span more than ten years of her life, and also serve as a tour of the well-realised futuristic universe which Moore and Gibson created.

In Book One, 18-year-old Halo Jones lives in a floating ring-shaped conurbation or housing estate called "The Hoop" that is moored in the Atlantic Ocean off the East coast of America.

In this book the creators introduce the reader to 50th-century politics, social problems, diet, cults, music, futuristic slang, fashion and also an ongoing off-world war that is clearly taking place in the background.

"[2] A report from a 2004 BBC radio interview taping recalls that when asked to tell the audience about Halo Jones, "Moore smiled fondly as if someone had just reminded him of an ex-girlfriend who he'd never meant to split up with."

I have my own ideas of what could happen in the next couple of books that I'd have liked the chance to run past Alan, but I think he's discarded the story from his futureIn another interview on the Ximoc site Gibson reiterated his desire to keep the series going.

In the strip "Thargshead Revisited" the editor of the comic (the alien Tharg) takes a journey through his own head and encounters many characters from 2000 AD's past.

The page drawn by Ian Gibson features Halo, Rodice and Toy involved in a game of strip poker with Sam Slade (with the head of Luiz Cannibal on a plate on the table).

Prog 2000 featured Halo beating Hap Hazzard and Finn before getting blown away by the Missionary Man in that issue's character Deathmatch.

Jones has since appeared on one page of the 20th anniversary strip 'A Night 2 Remember' (Prog 1280), written by Robbie Morrison and illustrated by Gibson.

2000AD hyped up the release on its site: "Alan Moore's hugely acclaimed saga of one woman's quest for reason in a galaxy gone mad.

Escaping the Hoop, Manhattan Island's land of mindless leisure, is just the first step in a cosmic adventure that will take Halo to the far ends of the galaxy, through war and peace, trial, despair and triumph.

"Possibly the first feminist heroine in comics", wrote The Observer of Alan Moore's epic tale of one woman's search for her place in a galaxy out of control.

"Originally published in 2000 AD and then collected by Titan Books, this classic tale of future alienation and an individual's struggle remains a timeless testament to the genius of Moore.

Halo Jones is one of the finest graphic novels ever created – if you've never given them a go, shame on you – but this is the perfect place to start if men in tights superhero stuff puts you off.

A year after the end of the publication on the pages of 2000 AD, The Ballad of Halo Jones was reprinted in the United States by Quality Comics.

Publisher's Bob Keenan and Sal Quartuccio had secured the rights to reissue colourised versions of 2000 AD characters Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Strontium Dog, Sam Slade and Halo Jones.

To fit the square 2000 AD pages to American comic book format, Quality attached a distorting lens to a photocopy machine, elongating and "effectively destroying the art in the process" according to one reviewer.

As well as the main story these reprints also include some Gibson work from 2000 ADs vaults such as "The Amazing Maze Dumoir", and "You Win Some You Lose Some" (both scripted by Alan Hebden).

Also featured during this run were episodes of Anderson Psi Division, Ro-busters, Sooner or Later, Dash Decent and Alan Moore's Abelard Snazz and his Future Shocks story "Sunburn".

The debut album Pop Art by 1980s group Transvision Vamp features a track entitled "Hanging out with Halo Jones".