2000 AD #222

The cover of 2000 AD Prog 222, dated 25 July 1981, makes a striking first impression — Kevin O'Neill's artwork dominates with the snarling, reptilian face of Nemesis the Warlock looming large against a moonlit space backdrop, while a monstrous creature rears up gripping what appears to be a green-helmeted figure, and skeletal humanoid forms frame the borders in unsettling symmetry. The bold challenge "ARE YOU PURE?" hangs in the air, setting an ominous tone perfectly suited to the sword-and-sorcery universe being introduced here. With Pat Mills writing and O'Neill's wonderfully grotesque linework launching "Nemesis the Warlock, Book I: The World of Termight," this prog promises something genuinely strange and inventive from British comics at its most imaginative.