2000 AD #1281

Two figures tumble through a roaring wall of flame on Duncan Fegredo's vivid painted cover — a red-bearded man falling headlong and a second figure leaping above him, baton in hand, the whole scene crackling with kinetic danger. The cover tagline promises "Trigger-Happy Hitmen Sinister Dexter Explode into Action," and with John Wagner writing and Ian Gibson handling art, inks, colors, and letters on "Love Story III: The End of the Affair," this March 2002 prog delivers the kind of sharp, stylish storytelling 2000 AD does so well. A confident package from one of British comics' most enduring anthologies.