In 2000, Critchlow withdrew from mainstream comics; he wrote and drew the "Thrud the Barbarian" strip for its own comic. The series proved popular with the comic reading public and won the Diamond 2004 Award for Best Small Press title. During this time he also worked as a lecturer and numerous new comics artists, such as Barry Renshaw, credited him for helping and inspiring them. In October 2002, four months after the first issue of "Thrud" was published, Critchlow started drawing for 2000AD again. His first work was the Judge Dredd story "Out of the Undercity" written by John Wagner, followed by the introduction of new comic "Lobster Random" in 2003 with "No Gain, No Pain", written by Simon Spurrier. This was followed by "Tooth & Claw" in 2004 and "The Agony & the Ecstasy" in 2006. His current work includes ongoing artwork for Lobster Random and artwork for Judge Dredd scripts by Gordon Rennie.