2000 AD #404

Prog 404 of 2000 AD (9 February 1985) delivers a collision of medieval menace and science-fiction ferocity, with cover art by Bryan Talbot showing an armored, skeletal figure — bearing the insignia of Torquemada — taking the full blast of a fireball from a snarling draconic creature, a burst of white-hot energy erupting between them as the speech bubble defiantly declares "Your fireballs cannot harm me now, Nemesis… repent and die!" The headline "Torquemada Dresses to Kill!" sets a suitably ominous tone for whatever confrontation awaits inside. With Cam Kennedy on art and Gerry Finley-Day writing, this mid-winter 1985 prog is a vivid reminder of why 2000 AD consistently pushed British comics into thrillingly imaginative territory.