2000 AD #309

The cover of this March 1983 prog is a spectacular piece of chaos courtesy of Massimo Belardinelli, depicting the catastrophic destruction of the gambling ship Miziz-Ippi IV as it tears apart in a storm of fire, explosions, and billowing smoke against a deep-space backdrop. The massive vessel — a wonderfully eccentric hybrid of riverboat paddle-wheeler and sci-fi spacecraft — is coming apart at the seams, with debris and tiny figures scattered across the scene. Inside, Alan Moore and Jim Baikie continue their Skizz serial, making this a genuinely exciting slice of early-'80s British comics at their most imaginatively unhinged.