2000 AD #1303

Prog 1303 of 2000 AD arrives with a cover by Mark Harrison that practically crackles with sci-fi combat energy — a V.C.s soldier marked "Smith" squares off in heavy battle armor against an alien enemy consumed in a burst of fire and green light, set against a star-filled void. The bold "VAPE 'EM!" headline and the recruitment-poster-style tagline "Join the V.C.s — Your Planet Needs You" give the whole thing a darkly humorous wartime propaganda feel that's pure 2000 AD. Inside, John Wagner scripts and Ben Willsher illustrates "Case for the Defense," with colors by Chris Blythe and lettering by Tom Frame rounding out a genuinely solid creative lineup for this August 2002 weekly.