2000 AD #449

Prog 449 of 2000 AD, dated 21 December 1985, greets readers with one of the most unsettling covers of the year: a glowering demonic face with blazing red eyes erupts from the center of a shattered, clock-like vortex of spinning debris, while the urgent header demands — "YOU have 6 hours to save the Earth." The countdown motif is reinforced by numbered segments scattered across the explosion of fragments, and the corner blurb promises "The Countdown Begins!" — making this a genuinely tense holiday-season package featuring Judge Dredd. Cover art by Robin Smith and Mike McMahon brings a raw, kinetic energy to the composition, and inside, Alan Grant and Carlos Ezquerra continue "Max Bubba" at Part 5.