2000 AD #1669

A striking blue-and-white graveyard scene dominates this 2010 prog, with a grotesque, bird-beaked figure perched among the headstones, raising a champagne flute in a macabre toast while a skull and scattered bottles litter the ground at its feet — all rendered in D'Israeli's sharp, atmospheric linework. The tagline "A Toast to London's Criminal Kingpin" makes clear this is Stickleback's moment in the spotlight, conjuring a mood that's equal parts gothic menace and dark wit. Prog 1669 also promises "Demons, Dragons & War-Droids" inside, with Gordon Rennie and Cliff Robinson continuing "Tour of Duty: Dragon's Den Part Two" — plenty of reasons to pick this one up.