2000AD's COVER GALLERY OF SHAME

As the Galaxy's Greatest Comic prepares to celebrate its 35th anniversary (35 years... bloody brilliant!), Slow Robot unearths a few covers from the Nerve Centre archives that are unlikely to grace Tharg's Nerve Centre Gallery.

But... still... 35 years... wow!

PROG 140

24 November 1979

STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE was released in British cinemas that Christmas.

Note STARLORD'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY despite the fact that STARLORD itself had been dropped from the masthead in favour of new merger victim TORNADO.

PROG 166

21 JUNE 1980

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK was released that summer (although none of the figures are from the Palitoy Empire range).

Chad Valley was a Palitoy-owned company until it was purchased by retailer Woolworths in 1988.

20 action figures!?!  Is that it?  Double-shame on Tharg.

PROG 329

13 AUGUST 1983

Proof-positive that the ROBO MACHINES (aka GOBOTS) were the first giant transforming-robot invaders to reach British comics (Marvel's THE TRANSFORMERS arrived more than a year later), albeit only in a competition-promoting cover.  There actually was a regular Robo Machines comic strip, but that ran in fellow IPC weekly EAGLE (10 November 1984 - 29 July 1985).