2000 AD #980

This 1996 prog from Fleetway's long-running British weekly brings together a striking ensemble on Sean Phillips's cover: a cloaked, cross-emblazoned figure stands at the center bathed in golden light, flanked by a helmeted Judge Dredd armed and ready, a blue-skinned figure in armored gear, and the ghostly suggestion of a woman's face looming large in the background. The cover heralds three new strips launching inside — Canon Fodder, Venus Blue Genes, and Janus: PSI — alongside the ongoing Judge Dredd tale "The Pit, Part 11," written by John Wagner with art and inks by Colin MacNeil and colors by Alan Craddock. There's even a free Awesome Alien Birthday Card tucked in, making Prog 980 a genuinely packed installment of one of British comics' most enduring anthologies.