2000 AD #1296

2000 AD Prog 1296 from June 2002 puts a brutally powerful, spiked-gauntlet-wearing fighter front and centre, his masked, long-haired opponent caught mid-strike against a dramatic burst of light — the cover tagline "Dial 'M' for Muerte: Champion of the Killer Bowl!" promising gladiatorial mayhem of the highest order. Jim Murray's cover art crackles with kinetic energy, the two combatants locked in a collision that feels genuinely dangerous. Inside, John Wagner writes and Kev Walker handles the full art duties on "Sin City Part 8," making this a strong weekly package from one of British comics' most enduring anthologies.