2000 AD and Tornado #137

This November 1979 prog of 2000 AD and Tornado delivers a striking cover by Massimo Belardinelli, depicting Black Hawk — a Roman centurion turned gladiator — standing sword in hand at the center of a menacing crowd of alien creatures: a tusked beast, a winged green horror, and a snarling red demon among them. The tagline says it all: "Once a Roman Centurion — Now Gladiator in a Savage Alien Arena!" Inside, Ron Smith brings the art to John Howard's story "Death of a Judge," promising the kind of brutal future-shock drama that made 2000 AD essential weekly reading in 1979.