PART THREE OF MIKE NOBLE'S FIREBALL XL5...

Images copyright relevant owner

As far as I'm aware, ZOONY The LAZOON never appeared in TV CENTURY 21's FIREBALL XL5 strip in the 1960s.  (Unless he discreetly popped his furry head up in the background somewhere without any readers noticing.)  Perhaps writer and editor ALAN FENNELL considered the character far too preposterous for an action-adventure story if it was to be 'believable' - or maybe artist MIKE NOBLE didn't like drawing him (or both), but whatever the reason, the zany lazoon seemed to be permanently absent from the WORLD SPACE PATROL's interplanetary exploits. 

Which was probably a good thing, because - let's be honest - whenever Zoony appeared on the TV show, his constant whining of "Welcome home" became rather grating after a while.  The lazoon was obviously meant to provide a touch of comedy, but such shenanigans would only have slowed down the pace in the comic's two-pages of adventure.  Besides, Zoony had a starring role his own cartoon strip in TV21 and that was probably more than enough for him.

Anyway, if you're not a fan of VENUS's little pet, you won't find him lurking anywhere in the above adventure (from TV Century 21 #36, cover-dated September 25th, 2065), so thrill to the crew of XL5's perilous predicament and ponder just how they're going to extricate themselves from it.  And feel free to leave a comment saying just how much you enjoyed it.

For Part Four, click here.