Epic Illustrated June 1981

Epic Illustrated: June 1981

The June, 1981 issue of 'Epic Illustrated' features a front cover by Neal Adams and an advertisement for the movie 'Outland' on the back cover.

I've scanned the story 'Flash Sport' written by Roy Kinnard and illustrated by Mike Saenz (who also illustrated the seminal 1985 Cyberpunk comic book series 'Shatter'). Back in 1981 virtual reality and its intersection with video games were among the hotter topics in SF culture. 

Although William Gibson's 'The Gernsback Continuum' and 'Johnny Mnemonic' were published this year (in Universe 11 and Omni magazine, respectively)  the Cyberpunk movement was still in its infancy (the term didn't debut until November 1983). 

Whether or not readers knew they were looking at a Cyberpunk piece, 'Flash Sport' features one of the more gruesome last panels ever provided in an SF strip....in this comic, when a  geek gets wasted, he gets wasted.