Ed, I remember seeing the Puck panel in a magazine, too. According to Time's archives, they ran an article about the Mall in October of 1986. That has to have been it.

(My West Edmonton Mall story: About 10 years after this issue, I finally made my trip to Western Canada and spent the better part of a weekend in the mall. It was, in fact, my first experience with the internet, as there was a cyber cafe down near the Hooters and the Hard Rock Cafe. There was also a comic shop at the time. Part of me was really hoping to see a guy in a Guardian costume when I walked out. No dice. There were, however, several people roaming the mall dressed as Klingons, which I thought was a bit odd.)

As for the issue, I can still remember realizing what was happening from the foreshadowing, and the sense of dread as I turned those last pages, hoping I wasn't right. Still loved the series, though. At least for a couple more issues.

I wrote reports for audits I conduct, records I inspect, etc -- I hate it when my boss edits my reports.  He hasn't seen the records or talked to the business owner, etc -- why edit me?  I can only imagine it is a similar frustrated feeling for the writer/artist to be editited after-the-fact (i.e. removal of cover copy).