Sam Slade Robo-Hunter #19

Sam Slade Robo-Hunter debuted in the pages of 2000 AD in 1978, emerging from the burgeoning British comics scene as a satirical take on the hard-boiled detective genre. Created by writer John Wagner and artist Ian Gibson, the series followed the titular bounty hunter in a futuristic setting where robots, initially designed to serve humanity, had become a complex social class. The character's popularity was driven by the juxtaposition of gritty, noir-inspired dialogue with Gibson’s clean, meticulous, and often humorous artistic style.

Issue 19 is part of the long-running narrative arc that cemented Robo-Hunter as a staple of the 2000 AD mythos. By this stage in the publication, the series had moved beyond simple genre parody, exploring deeper themes of technological dependence and labor politics within a sprawling space-opera environment. The issue remains a notable example of the collaboration between Wagner and Gibson, who together balanced the bleak outlook of the series with the irreverent, quintessentially British humor that defined the era of the publication.