2000 AD #251

Prog 251 of 2000 AD, dated 13 February 1982, kicks off "The Great Mush Rush" with a cover by Massimo Belardinelli that immediately signals something wonderfully strange is underway. A motley crew of alien and human characters — including a hulking, spiky-maned figure front and center — assembles beneath a glowing moon-like body, flanked by two competing spacecraft labeled "The Definite Tayer" and "Speeder Ghost," suggesting a wild race or rivalry is about to ignite. It's a densely populated, inventively detailed piece of science-fiction world-building that sets an irresistible tone for this Zarjaz Ace Trucking story from writer Gerry Finley-Day and artist Colin Wilson.