It's been said before, but this adaptation emphasises the point that the late Michael Clarke Duncan would have been a superb Mr Big if he had been the right age at the right time.
By 1971, TV Comic had been going for 20 years with sales to a juvenile audience of around 150,000. Since the mid-60s the comic had upped its intended readership age range to include adventure favourites such as Doctor Who, The Avengers, Adam Adamant Lives! and Catweazle, to great success, so publisher Polystyle decided to launch a spin-off aimed at the slightly older boys who enjoyed these strips.
The pathway to Countdown was Polystyle’s annual for Gerry Anderson’s live action spectacular UFO for the 1970 Christmas market. Comic TV Century 21 had slowly declined from its 1965 launch to become Anderson-free in June 1970, suggesting the trade felt Supermarionation was past it’s sell by date. But Countdown was never meant as just a TV21 clone, and was to feature real world space coverage of the ongoing Apollo moonshots.
Advertised in TV Comic’s landmark issue 1000, Countdown’s first issue appeared week ending 20 February 1971, its title reflecting the gimmick of pages that counted backwards from 24 (the front cover) down to 1. A free gift wall chart was in the first issue and stamps to attach would be given away in the next few issues.
Leading the initial strip roster was Doctor Who, which had transferred from TV Comic, to drive sales. Secondly, taking the comic’s title was an original strip Countdown, an epic space opera about a starship returning from a 50-year mission only to find Earth under totalitarian rule. The artwork used spaceship designs from Stanley Kubrick’s movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. UFO was the strip roster’s central plank and after opening with a five-page monochrome introduction in the first issue, it switched to dynamic colour centre-spreads with good likenesses of UFO’s large ensemble cast. UFO would remain until the end but other Anderson series had mixed fortunes. Thunderbirds enjoyed new material over two pages but Captain Scarlet was less well served by a single page of over a dozen cramped frames.
Issue two launched the Stanley Unwin ecclesiastical spy flop The Secret Service but after four weeks of unpopular feedback it was pulled altogether. Joe 90 fared little better, with strips running from issues 2 to 8 before one final outing in number 16.
Ten Anderson series featured in Countdown, some very sparingly indeed. Scarlet’s fortunes improved, with six-page complete stories published every six weeks or so by artists including the talented Brian Lewis who would go in to draw Hammer film strips as seen in this thread previously. Stingray enjoyed a decent profile in the first six months, with double-page serials from the third issue. Contrastingly, Thunderbirds’ elegant superspy Lady Penelope made just a handful of appearances, with a strip in issue four followed by just two more in issues 10 and 18. Issue five saw a six-page complete tale for Fireball XL5 but Steve Zodiac adventures stopped at issue 20.
Budget cuts saw TV Century 21 Anderson reprints brought in from summer 1971. Monochrome Fireball XL5 reruns began in issue 21, shrunk to fit two tabloid pages into a tight space. Stingray reprints followed from issue 23, at a decent size and sometimes in colour, and there were six weeks of archive Thunderbirds from number 24.
Issue 35 saw the first major reshuffle; the final original Captain Scarlet strip appeared this issue and, more significantly, the début strip for The Persuaders! graced the cover and two interior colour pages. ITC’s jokey crimebuster had begun on ITV weeks before, starring Roger Moore and Tony Curtis as sparring crime-solving playboys. With minor exceptions, the strip was a cover fixture to number 58. Countdown’s first significant slant away from sci-fi, The Persuaders! was a sign of things to come. Issues 46 to 56 of Countdown bore the sub-line “for TV Action”, then for 57 and 58 it was prefixed by “TV Action in” Countdown.
This trailed issue 59’s major relaunch, where the comic was retitled TV Action, with “+ Countdown” now a smaller suffix. The editorial explained this emphasis shift only reflected television trends: “When Countdown began over a year ago, I’d hoped for a continuing stream of spaceorientated TV programmes. Unfortunately for all, the film producers seemed to have cooled on the subject, and no new series are on the distant horizon. Even… Gerry Anderson has deserted this scene in favour of more Earthbound adventures. He is at present engaged in making his new allaction series The Protectors…to keep up to date with these trends, we at Countdown have followed suit.”
Two new strips joined TV Action, Hawaii Five-0 and the second new strip was children’s serial Tightrope. Dr Who claimed the cover. The Countdown strip concluded in issue 70. Anderson material was being edged out, with a final new Thunderbirds adventure in which the Tracys battled a space octopus concluding in issue 61 ahead of further TV21 reprints. Archive Captain Scarlet reprints ran from issue 63 to 82, with Stingray reruns ending in number 71. The exodus meant another Stateside action adventure series debuted in issue 88, Mission: Impossible.
Fireball XL5 reprints concluded in issue 99 and marked the end of the comic’s association with Supermarionation, although UFO carried on. Issue 100’s colour photo introduction to Anderson’s new Earthbound hit The Protectors trailed its arrival in the following week’s third year revamp.
The cover of issue 101, published week ending 20 January 1973, proudly announced itself as The New TV Action, with bullet holes now riddling the masthead atop a movie poster style montage painting for new acquisition The Protectors. Issue 102 brought another US series, Cannon, and 103 then introduced buddy Western Alias Smith and Jones,
TV Action’s last days were darkened by the death of assistant art editor Bill Kidd from stomach cancer, with Danny Fox – barely out of his teens – replacing him as Perry’s art assistant for latter issues.
TV Action bowed out at issue 132, dated 28 August 1973 merging back into TV Comic with issue 1133, strangely with barely any acknowledgment in the final issue. Only Dr Who, Dad’s Army and cartoon Droopy made the crossover journey. The comic that had taken Doctor Who to launch itself had now gone full circle and gone back to its roots.
The usual Christmas annuals and holiday specials were published but no special themed Christmas issues in the regular series.
Another British comic history next Wednesday.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Lapping this up here. There have undoubtedly been others, but above is the first time I noticed a significant edit from Fleming in that Felix's account of his talk with Blabbermouth is much shorter. Not a crit, since unless things went into flashback mode it wouldn't have been very visual.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,746Chief of Staff
As with Barbel, I’m really enjoying this…I hope your weekend Bond comic strip continues 🤞🏻
There was an earlier edit I noticed, when Felix and James eavesdrop on a young couple in Harlem, but that was obviously a bit of censorship (and a necessary one, too).
Comments
Looking forward to it 👏🏻
LIVE AND LET DIE (2019) Chapter Eight:
More of this splendid adaptation next weekend…
Brilliantly done.
Very enjoyable, and quite brutal.
It's been said before, but this adaptation emphasises the point that the late Michael Clarke Duncan would have been a superb Mr Big if he had been the right age at the right time.
Yes, absolutely without doubt he would have been a marvellous option.
HOOK JAW - Part 5
Next week Hook Jaw and a helicopter- maybe the writers of Jaws 4 read this story?
Creepshow - Segment 4 (Part 2 of 2) - From a short story by Stephen King published in Gallery magazine July 1979.
The final segment will be posted next Tuesday.
I'd forgotten that one, thanks for reminding me.
COUNTDOWN/TV ACTION (1971-1973) 132 Issues.
By 1971, TV Comic had been going for 20 years with sales to a juvenile audience of around 150,000. Since the mid-60s the comic had upped its intended readership age range to include adventure favourites such as Doctor Who, The Avengers, Adam Adamant Lives! and Catweazle, to great success, so publisher Polystyle decided to launch a spin-off aimed at the slightly older boys who enjoyed these strips.
The pathway to Countdown was Polystyle’s annual for Gerry Anderson’s live action spectacular UFO for the 1970 Christmas market. Comic TV Century 21 had slowly declined from its 1965 launch to become Anderson-free in June 1970, suggesting the trade felt Supermarionation was past it’s sell by date. But Countdown was never meant as just a TV21 clone, and was to feature real world space coverage of the ongoing Apollo moonshots.
Advertised in TV Comic’s landmark issue 1000, Countdown’s first issue appeared week ending 20 February 1971, its title reflecting the gimmick of pages that counted backwards from 24 (the front cover) down to 1. A free gift wall chart was in the first issue and stamps to attach would be given away in the next few issues.
Leading the initial strip roster was Doctor Who, which had transferred from TV Comic, to drive sales. Secondly, taking the comic’s title was an original strip Countdown, an epic space opera about a starship returning from a 50-year mission only to find Earth under totalitarian rule. The artwork used spaceship designs from Stanley Kubrick’s movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. UFO was the strip roster’s central plank and after opening with a five-page monochrome introduction in the first issue, it switched to dynamic colour centre-spreads with good likenesses of UFO’s large ensemble cast. UFO would remain until the end but other Anderson series had mixed fortunes. Thunderbirds enjoyed new material over two pages but Captain Scarlet was less well served by a single page of over a dozen cramped frames.
Issue two launched the Stanley Unwin ecclesiastical spy flop The Secret Service but after four weeks of unpopular feedback it was pulled altogether. Joe 90 fared little better, with strips running from issues 2 to 8 before one final outing in number 16.
Ten Anderson series featured in Countdown, some very sparingly indeed. Scarlet’s fortunes improved, with six-page complete stories published every six weeks or so by artists including the talented Brian Lewis who would go in to draw Hammer film strips as seen in this thread previously. Stingray enjoyed a decent profile in the first six months, with double-page serials from the third issue. Contrastingly, Thunderbirds’ elegant superspy Lady Penelope made just a handful of appearances, with a strip in issue four followed by just two more in issues 10 and 18. Issue five saw a six-page complete tale for Fireball XL5 but Steve Zodiac adventures stopped at issue 20.
Budget cuts saw TV Century 21 Anderson reprints brought in from summer 1971. Monochrome Fireball XL5 reruns began in issue 21, shrunk to fit two tabloid pages into a tight space. Stingray reprints followed from issue 23, at a decent size and sometimes in colour, and there were six weeks of archive Thunderbirds from number 24.
Issue 35 saw the first major reshuffle; the final original Captain Scarlet strip appeared this issue and, more significantly, the début strip for The Persuaders! graced the cover and two interior colour pages. ITC’s jokey crimebuster had begun on ITV weeks before, starring Roger Moore and Tony Curtis as sparring crime-solving playboys. With minor exceptions, the strip was a cover fixture to number 58. Countdown’s first significant slant away from sci-fi, The Persuaders! was a sign of things to come. Issues 46 to 56 of Countdown bore the sub-line “for TV Action”, then for 57 and 58 it was prefixed by “TV Action in” Countdown.
This trailed issue 59’s major relaunch, where the comic was retitled TV Action, with “+ Countdown” now a smaller suffix. The editorial explained this emphasis shift only reflected television trends: “When Countdown began over a year ago, I’d hoped for a continuing stream of spaceorientated TV programmes. Unfortunately for all, the film producers seemed to have cooled on the subject, and no new series are on the distant horizon. Even… Gerry Anderson has deserted this scene in favour of more Earthbound adventures. He is at present engaged in making his new allaction series The Protectors…to keep up to date with these trends, we at Countdown have followed suit.”
Two new strips joined TV Action, Hawaii Five-0 and the second new strip was children’s serial Tightrope. Dr Who claimed the cover. The Countdown strip concluded in issue 70. Anderson material was being edged out, with a final new Thunderbirds adventure in which the Tracys battled a space octopus concluding in issue 61 ahead of further TV21 reprints. Archive Captain Scarlet reprints ran from issue 63 to 82, with Stingray reruns ending in number 71. The exodus meant another Stateside action adventure series debuted in issue 88, Mission: Impossible.
Fireball XL5 reprints concluded in issue 99 and marked the end of the comic’s association with Supermarionation, although UFO carried on. Issue 100’s colour photo introduction to Anderson’s new Earthbound hit The Protectors trailed its arrival in the following week’s third year revamp.
The cover of issue 101, published week ending 20 January 1973, proudly announced itself as The New TV Action, with bullet holes now riddling the masthead atop a movie poster style montage painting for new acquisition The Protectors. Issue 102 brought another US series, Cannon, and 103 then introduced buddy Western Alias Smith and Jones,
TV Action’s last days were darkened by the death of assistant art editor Bill Kidd from stomach cancer, with Danny Fox – barely out of his teens – replacing him as Perry’s art assistant for latter issues.
TV Action bowed out at issue 132, dated 28 August 1973 merging back into TV Comic with issue 1133, strangely with barely any acknowledgment in the final issue. Only Dr Who, Dad’s Army and cartoon Droopy made the crossover journey. The comic that had taken Doctor Who to launch itself had now gone full circle and gone back to its roots.
The usual Christmas annuals and holiday specials were published but no special themed Christmas issues in the regular series.
Another British comic history next Wednesday.
Thanks for another burst of educational nostalgia, CHB.
I love all the information that you pack in, CHB 👏🏻 it certainly brings back memories ☺️
Thank you for the appreciation, gents, it’s um…appreciated 😁
Bram Stoker’s Dracula starring Bela Lugosi (2020) - Chapter Four (Part 2 of 4)
To be continued tomorrow…
Thoroughly enjoyed that.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula starring Bela Lugosi (2020) - Chapter Four (Part 3 of 4)
The conclusion of chapter 4 will be posted next Thursday.
Thanks, CHB.
I’m really enjoying this, CHB 👏🏻
I’m glad that you’re enjoying it, gents, it really is a stunning adaptation.
I probably said this earlier, but it's better than most of the films made of this story.
LIVE AND LET DIE (2019) Chapter Nine:
Chapter 10 tomorrow.
Lapping this up here. There have undoubtedly been others, but above is the first time I noticed a significant edit from Fleming in that Felix's account of his talk with Blabbermouth is much shorter. Not a crit, since unless things went into flashback mode it wouldn't have been very visual.
As with Barbel, I’m really enjoying this…I hope your weekend Bond comic strip continues 🤞🏻
@Barbel I’ve just had to re-read that bit from the book - yes you are right it would have been difficult to portray.
@Sir Miles I have plenty more “weekend Bond’s” lined up 👍🏻
I am very glad to hear that!
There was an earlier edit I noticed, when Felix and James eavesdrop on a young couple in Harlem, but that was obviously a bit of censorship (and a necessary one, too).
LIVE AND LET DIE (2019) Chapter Ten:
The next chapter will be posted next Saturday.
Many thanks, CHB.
Looking forward to the next instalment 👏🏻
HOOK JAW - Part 6
Continues next Monday…
CREEPSHOW - Segment 5
That concludes the Creepshow movie adaptation…a new comic strip begins next Tuesday.