 In 1979 he was promoted to editor of "2000 AD", a job he held until 1986.This period is widely regarded as the title's "golden age", during which John Wagner, Alan Grant, Pat Mills and Alan Moore produced some of their best work, and new talents like Peter Milligan and Grant Morrison joined the line-up.MacManus had a hand in the creation of one of the comic's most enduring characters, "Rogue Trooper", alongside writer Gerry Finley-Day and artist Dave Gibbons, and he co-wrote the character with Simon Geller in 1986.