Gold Key Original series The original series, titled Magnus, Robot Fighter, 4000 AD, premiered in 1963. It was written and drawn by Russ Manning, and as a nod to its influences, included Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics as a quote in the beginning of the first issue. For the duration of the title's original run, Magnus battled rogue robots, aliens, space pirates and other threats. He fell in love with Leeja Clane, the daughter of one of North Am's senators. Leeja developed limited telepathic abilities after training by M'Ree and other humans who had acquired them as a result of their minds being linked together while imprisoned in suspended animation by H8. The series was popular in the 1960s. As the '70s approached, sales began to decline. The last issue (#46) was published in January 1977. However, Manning only completed 21 issues; the rest were reprints of previous issues or new stories by others (#23–28). The original concept is a deliberate inversion or update of the Tarzan mythos, the syndicated comic strip which Russ Manning had previously illustrated. Where Tarzan was a human raised as a noble savage feral child by African great apes who saw the world through his naturalistic upbringing and opposition to the rules and limits of civilization, Magnus was a human raised by a benevolent robot named 1A, who saw mankind becoming an ever more decadent and complacent human civilization doomed by its ever-increasing dependence on robots. In one case, the hero is a throwback to a hardier and more naturalistic time. In the other, he is a creation of science sent to carry the message to the rest of humanity that Man must control his own destiny and carve out his own path, rather than become little more than an overfed herd of cattle tended by robots. In both incarnations of Magnus, Robot Fighter, he lives and operates according to his own set of rules and because of this, is considered an outsider and something of a threat to the established order of things. During the first 28 issues, another series called The Aliens ran in the back of the comic. This series ended on a cliffhanger in Issue 28. Backup series In the early '80s, a new Magnus backup series ran in the new Doctor Solar title in issues #29–31. This was supposed to lead to a new Magnus title, but Gold Key