Tuesday, 27 March 2012

FIREBALL XL5 AND THE MOON MASTERS...


Copyright relevant owner

Published nearly 50 years ago in January 1964, GOLD KEY's STEVE ZODIAC & The FIREBALL XL5 comic is an interesting little one-shot.  Of all the GERRY ANDERSON puppet programmes, Fireball XL5 was the only one to be broadcast on network TV in the States, making it perhaps the most successful of all Anderson's shows across the pond.


The comic contains two stories, believed to have been written by PAUL S. NEW-MAN and drawn by MEL CRAWFORD, though PAUL NORRIS and FRANK SPRINGER have also been suggested.  The stunning cover painting is by GEORGE WILSON, who some think may have been the cover artist of at least three of the four issues of the SUPERCAR comic by the same publisher.


As I said, this was a one-shot.  It's just a shame the comic didn't continue as a series. At least we can content ourselves with the stunning MIKE NOBLE Fireball XL5 artwork from TV CENTURY 21, which has recently been reprinted in a series of hard and softcover albums by REYNOLDS & HEARN and SIGNUM BOOKS.


Anyway, enjoy the first story in the comic, The MOON MASTERS, and click here to follow Steve Zodiac as he goes on the TRAIL Of The TRAITOR.













You didn't think I'd forget the cover?  Shame on you.

at

7 comments:

  1. Martin28 March 2012 at 07:45

    And now, you've planted the theme tune firmly in my head. Happy days, eh?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kid28 March 2012 at 08:44

    Indeed, Martin. I'm lucky enough to have the original Don Spencer single of the theme tune from the '60s - great stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous9 August 2012 at 19:22

    I remember Fireball XL5 and several other Gerry Anderson shows (Supercar, Stingray, Captain Scarlet) from the 1960's. I didn't see Thunderbirds until it was rerun on the WB or Fox network in the mid 1990's. As you said, in the US, Fireball XL5 was the only one of those shows to be broadcast on a nation wide network. The others were syndicated, so their distribution in America was erratic. When the Bronze Age Babies blog had a post about Thunderbirds in April, several (American) commenters said, "It wasn't aired in our city," "Our local TV station didn't carry it," and so on. So one would expect that Fireball XL5 would be the most widely remembered Anderson/marionation series in the US. And yet, despite its limited exposure, more Americans seem to remember Thunderbirds than XL5 or any of the other Anderson shows. I've heard that Thunderbirds is an institution in the UK. In the US, all of those shows have more of a cult following.

    ReplyDelete
  4. John Pitt11 November 2015 at 22:56

    http://www.comics.org/issue/224502/cover/4/
    Kid, did you know that these 4 came before this?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kid11 November 2015 at 23:55

    I did, JP. There's a pic of a poster which is a re-creation of #2 on the blog somewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  6. John Pitt6 May 2017 at 16:43

    So you did tell me on here, Kid, but I forgot until TC told me again!
    I have a very old brain, you know?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kid6 May 2017 at 17:13

    Everything about me is very old, JP, not just my brain.

    ReplyDelete

ALL ANONYMOUS COMMENTS WILL BE DELETED UNREAD unless accompanied by a regularly-used and recognized
name. For those without a Google account, use the 'Name/URL' option. All comments are subject to moderation and will
appear only if approved. Remember - no guts, no glory.

I reserve the right to edit comments to remove swearing or blasphemy, and in instances where I consider certain words or
phraseology may cause offence or upset to other commenters.