2000 AD #1857

Prog 1857 of Britain's beloved weekly anthology pits Judge Dredd — gun raised, jaw set, utterly unintimidated — against a towering alien carnivore with glowing green eyes and a maw full of jagged teeth that dominates the cover in genuinely unsettling fashion. Karl Richardson's painted cover work gives the confrontation a dark, cinematic weight, and the cover's own tagline says it all: "Alien Carnivore vs Mega-City Cop — One of Them's Bitten Off More Than They Can Chew." With "Prey Part Three" unfolding inside, this 2013 prog is a fine example of 2000 AD delivering exactly the kind of grim, high-stakes drama it does so well.