2000 AD and Tornado #177

Prog 177 of 2000 AD and Tornado (September 1980) brings a wonderfully chaotic cover by Carlos Ezquerra, showing a hulking robot droid grappling with a pair of red-suited figures while a sinister figure looks on from the right — a speech bubble demanding the droid be disintegrated leaves little doubt that the situation is escalating fast. The cover teaser "Has Aaln-1 Shot His Bolts?" hints at plenty of mechanised mayhem inside as The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World reaches its thirteenth installment, with Harry Harrison and Kelvin Gosnell steering the story. At just 14p of Earth money, this bright yellow-covered prog is a vivid snapshot of British comics firing on all cylinders in 1980.