2000 AD #18

From the earliest weeks of 2000 AD's run comes Prog 18, dated 25 June 1977, featuring a genuinely unsettling cover by Don Lawrence: Judge Dredd stands tall in his full uniform — eagle-shouldered, helmeted, hands on hips — surveying a field where dozens of human heads are literally sprouting from the earth like some grim harvest. The speech bubble declares, "By Stomm! Now they're even growing law-breakers in Mega-City 1!" — a delightfully bizarre premise that captures the strip's darkly comic sci-fi sensibility perfectly. Inside, the Judge Dredd story "Breakout" is brought to life by writer John Wagner and artist/inker Mike McMahon, with lettering by Jack Potter, making this a fine early showcase for the creative talent shaping Mega-City 1.