2000 AD #290

Prog 290 of 2000 AD, dated 13 November 1982, features a cover by Robin Smith dominated by a glowering green-skinned alien officer, his uniform decorated with a chain of Pac-Man figures that spill across his chest in a wonderfully surreal detail. That bold Pac-Man imagery ties into a genuine promotional offer inside for a Pac-Man watch — a perfect snapshot of early-'80s pop culture colliding with the Galaxy's Greatest Comic. Featuring Judge Dredd and the M. Belardinelli-illustrated "Stoop Coop Soup, Part 3," this is a typically lively slice of what made 2000 AD such a singular weekly treat.