InsaneJournal

It only makes sense to have the lead feature be named the same as the comic itself, I suppose. The "goons" chase Mike inside one of the pawns, where he finds a cockpit. The chess game begins, each "capturing" move causing the attacking piece to fire upon and destroy its target. Despite the cockpit, Mike is evidently not able to control his piece's movement. But apparently, he is supposed to pull the trigger...

British comics of the early 1980s were big on "fumetti", or photo-comics. I rather liked the "Doomlord" series myself, but this one is Time Plan 9. Paul, Karen and Duncan have skipped school to investigate an odd, seemingly meaningless program his computer is running. But Paul's mother gets home before them. She hears an odd noise in Paul's room, and when she investigates, faints dead away.

When the kids find her, Paul isn't worried, as his mother is quite sturdy, and they just haul her to bed.



Great Caesar then looks out the window and seeing the automobiles, becomes convinced this is not Rome. He gives a recently minted coin to the children as proof of his identity. The kids quickly fill Julius in on the 20th Century, then turn to the computer in hopes of figuring out what the Time Plan is, and what it has to do with Caesar's appearance.



The kids debate the wisdom of telling Caesar what's going to happen to him, and decide it's best not to tamper with history. But while they were gabbing, the Roman left the room, and they can't send him back if they don't know where he is!

This exciting item was being given away to one lucky reader. You young'uns will no doubt be amused at what was considered a top of the line microcomputer back in the day. For you older folks, did you or anyone you know actually own a Mattel Aquarius?

No British comic would be complete without a sports-related story, this one being "Andy Royd", about a human secretly playing football in a time when only robots compete. After helping Davy's Dominators win a game, Andy flashes back to when he first joined the club...as an assistant groundskeeper. The Dominators were bottom of the league back then, and the grounds were falling apart, allowing Davy to reveal his secret.



In the practice match, Davy spots a flaw in the robots' programming, and ignores the coach's instructions to make an easy goal. This demonstrates his main advantage over the computer-controlled opponents. Back in the present, Davy and Andy toast their success, and prepare for the new season.

Only two pages, so can be posted in full.

Brainy is a bit of a cheapskate; comparable contemporary comics were offering up to five pounds to readers who got their letter printed.

"Trumbull's World" takes place in a dystopian world of the future, overpopulated and run by a fanatical religious government. Programmer Trumbull has invented a stardrive equation, then hidden it inside a virtual reality adventure game disguised as pieces of a clasp. (Presumably knowing the government was going to capture him before he could get the plans to the rebels, but having loads of time alone with his computer.)

Trumbull's children Marc and Jan have entered the game to solve the clues their father left and get the equation. They manage to figure out the Shambling Terror's one weakness--they are blind and track by sound. The kids follow the clues and find the first part of the clasp, followed by figuring out how to cross a river.

The next area is arid, and involves a place called Damnation Canyon. A bird arrives with a note that says "Don't look. Don't listen." But next to the bird are two little men chained to a rock. They call themselves "plugs" and offer to help the kids through the canyon.

Meanwhile in the outer world, the evil dictator demands to be put into the game himself, so he can search for the equation.

Jan agrees to accept the plugs, and--

Aggie (the girl) claims she could have taken both of them solo, but is grateful anyway. The boy smashes the cassette players, and tells Aggie to meet him at the Old Chapel at noon the next day.

Next morning, the boy helps a black girl escape more dazers (oh so scary with their Walkmans and old-type roller skates), and makes the same offer to her. At the chapel, the girls are joined by another boy named Benny. The leader boy arrives and explains that they're all in danger--more danger than he knows, because the Arcadians are bugging the chapel.

A puzzle page with no answer key to follow! Best luck on this one.