2000 AD #331

Aug 1983 · IPC · 0.20 GBP

☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join free

“The Beast in the Broch, Part 1”

About this Issue

Prog 331 lands at one of the most creatively dense moments in 2000 AD history, arriving just one week after the double milestone of Sláine's debut (Prog 330) and the conclusion of Alan Moore's Skizz (Progs 308–330). The issue continues Sláine's second installment — already deep in the Celtic mythology and warp-spasm energy that would define Pat Mills's long-running barbarian fantasy — while a celebratory back-cover pin-up by Jim Baikie marks the close of Skizz, Moore's first genuine ongoing series for the Galaxy's Greatest Comic. Together, these elements make Prog 331 a direct witness to two of 2000 AD's most enduring creative legacies taking root simultaneously. It also showcases the breadth of the anthology at its early-1980s peak: Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, and Robo-Hunter all run in the same issue, each in mid-story arcs of significant narrative weight.

Was this helpful and accurate?

writer Pat Mills · artist, inker M. Belardinelli · letterer Tom Frame · cover Cam Kennedy

Find on ebay

Search eBay for 2000 AD #331 ▸

No confirmed live listings for this exact issue right now — this opens an eBay search.

Sell my copy

Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.

We Buy Collections ▸

Fast, fair offers · we handle grading & shipping

History

Published on 27 August 1983 by IPC Magazines (through its Fleetway subsidiary) under editor Steve MacManus, Prog 331 was priced at 20p. The cover was painted by Cam Kennedy, who was also the artist on the concurrent Rogue Trooper story. Sláine had been in development since 1981 — the Wikipedia 2000 AD article notes the strip was conceived that year but could not run until Angela Kincaid's debut episode was completed to editorial satisfaction, with other Sláine stories written for Belardinelli and McMahon sitting in reserve. By Prog 331, the second episode was in Massimo Belardinelli's hands, establishing the distinctive thick-lined, organic visual language that would shape the strip's early identity.

Trivia · 8 facts

Published 27 August 1983 by IPC/Fleetway; cover art by Cam Kennedy; edited by Steve MacManus.
Carries the second installment of Sláine (the 'Time Monster' story arc), written by Pat Mills with art by Massimo Belardinelli — one week after the character's debut in Prog 330 (art by Angela Kincaid).
Sláine's backstory with Niamh — how he fell in love with her, that she was promised to King Grudnew, and how this exile drove him to the land of the Drune Lords — is presented in this issue's installment, establishing core character motivation.
The back cover features a star pin-up of Skizz characters by Jim Baikie, commemorating the conclusion of Alan Moore and Baikie's Skizz serial (Progs 308–330) — Moore's first regular ongoing strip for 2000 AD.
Rogue Trooper: 'Eye of the Traitor' Part 5 appears, written by Gerry Finley-Day with art by Cam Kennedy (this arc ran Progs 327–332, 1983).
Judge Dredd: 'The Weather Man' Part 3 appears, written by Alan Grant and John Wagner (under the pseudonym T.B. Grover) with art by Carlos Ezquerra.
Robo-Hunter: 'The Slaying of Slade' continues, featuring Sam Slade (and his robot companions Hoagy and Stogie); the strip was created by John Wagner with art by Ian Gibson.
Sláine was in development since 1981 but required Kincaid's opening episode to be drawn and redrawn multiple times before the editors would run it, with episodes by Belardinelli and McMahon already written and waiting in the queue.