After more than 46 years, the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic — that’s 2000 AD for those not in the know — keeps on going strong, offering up groundbreaking sci-fi comics on a weekly basis from some of the best creators from the UK and beyond. If that sounds a little daunting for a newcomer, don’t worry; the long-running series’ upcoming issue, it’s 2351st (yes, really), is specifically intended to act as a perfect place for new readers to start… and also for some old fans to get an unexpected thrill, as well…!

"2000 AD has always strived to publish at least a couple of jumping-on issues per year for those readers looking for the best place to climb aboard. Prog 2351 on September 27th is our latest chance for people to get into 2000 AD - with a great line-up of new stories in Judge Dredd, Feral & Foe and Helium to grab new and returning readers, with handy recaps to get you up to speed," editor Matt Smith told Popverse. "Plus Garth Ennis and Henry Flint have cooked up an epic face-off between two classic 2000 AD characters – an idea that was all Garth’s – that will certainly please long-term readers as well!"

Those two classic 2000 AD characters Smith is talking about? Well, one is the iconic Judge Dredd, as might be expected — he is, after all, the most well-known 2000 AD character by far. The other, however, might come as much more of a surprise, as Sam Spade Robo-Hunter comes out of retirement to take on the Mega-City One lawman on his own turf. Curious? Take a peek at a couple of preview pages from the story below, as well as an exclusive look at the cover for the issue, by John McCrea.

The official description of the story runs as follows:

“In 22nd-century Brit-Cit, Sam Slade is a Robo-Hunter, a private detective hired to find missing droids or track down malfunctioning meks. Partnered with his idiot robot understudy Hoagy and his excitable robo-cigar Stogie, trouble is never very far away when Sam’s on a case — and when the creds are running dry, he’ll take any case that he can get his hands on, and that includes journeying to Mega-City One…”

Slade’s return to the weekly series is well-timed; although the character (and his robotic sidekicks Hoagy and Stoagie) has been mostly retired for more than two decades by this point — although his granddaughter, Samantha Slade, held her own for a few years starting in 2003 — 2000 AD publishers Rebellion are about to release Robo-Hunter: Planet of the Robots, a collected edition of the colored, re-formatted original stories from the series when it was re-released in the US in the early 1980s. (Fans of artist Ian Gibson or writer John Wagner, you’ll want to check this out.)

2000 AD Prog 2351 will be released September 27 digitally internationally via the 2000 AD Webstore and in print in the UK.

Just last week, 2000 AD also killed off a fan-favorite character.