2000 AD #9

Programme 9 of 2000 AD arrives dated 23 April 1977, and Dave Gibbons' cover delivers an immediately unsettling image: a skeletal, skull-faced gunman levels an enormous red futuristic rifle directly at the reader, with a circular targeting crosshair inset showing a blue-suited figure — the unfortunate "Giant" — squarely in its sights. The bold cover copy, "Goodbye, Giant! The Mad Avenger Has You in His Sights!!", sets a tense, threatening tone that perfectly captures the anarchic energy of early 2000 AD. Inside, Massimo Belardinelli illustrates the Harlem Heroes Aeroball action written by Kelvin Gosnell — making this a fine early snapshot of Britain's most exciting weekly sci-fi anthology.