PART TWO Of The BATMEN From SPACE - A FIREBALL XL5 ADVENTURE...

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TV CENTURY 21, at its peak, was probably the best-selling comic of the '60s.  I doubt that any weekly comic afterwards ever came close to matching it in terms of sales.  It was the last great boys' paper of its kind and it's extremely unlikely that anything will ever eclipse the impact it made on its youthful readers of the time.

The reason for its success was obvious - mainly full-colour adventures of TV favourites seen only in black and white on relatively small screens in the corners of Britain's living-rooms.  What young lad wouldn't thrill to reading about MIKE MERCURY, STEVE ZODIAC, TROY TEMPEST, and the rest of the GERRY ANDERSON pantheon of puppet heroes in exciting weekly episodes in their very own paper periodical?

  

Add to that mix, just for good measure, the metal-clad mutants from SKARO - The DALEKS - and the deal was sealed!  There was hardly a boy in the country who wouldn't brave hell or high-water in order to get his hands on a copy of the colourful, cataclysmic comic of the future.

STINGRAY was undoubtedly the real star attraction of TV21, as it was then the newest SUPERMARIONATION success on TV.  However, plans were already afoot for the as-yet-unseen THUNDERBIRDS to take over the prized double-page centrespread, with LADY PENELOPE laying the groundwork for the upcoming great event.

My favourite strip though (along with The Daleks), was probably FIREBALL XL5, especially the episodes drawn by MIKE NOBLE, who took over from original artist GRAHAM COTON from issue #6.  However, the first five instalments by the aforementioned Mr Coton had an undeniable charm and atmosphere, which made a great impression on me as a mere youngster.  As mentioned in Part One, these stories have never been reprinted* in any comic, magazine or book since they were first published an astounding 48 years ago.  (I'm hoping SIGNUM BOOKS will remedy that situation in one of their upcoming magnificent CENTURY 21 volumes of reprints.)

*Update: Until they appeared in the Fireball XL5 60th Anniversary Comic Anthology in 2023.

So until then, enjoy reliving your past with these posts.  Or, if you haven't seen the strips before, welcome to the future.  We may now be living in the early stages of the 21st century, but TV21 was dated a hundred years ahead - 2065 - so it'll be another 52 years before these stories can be considered contemporary comics classics.

  

PART EIGHT Of SPIDER-MAN COMICS WEEKLY COVER GALLERY...

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For all those reliving the early '70s through the pages of SPIDER-MAN COMICS WEEKLY, here's another instalment in this sensational series to thrill and amaze you.  Personally, I was a very happy chappie when SMCW #23 went on sale, as it contained a titanic tale I'd first read in the pulsating pages of the FANTASTIC Summer Special 1968 - "SPIDER-MAN Meets DOCTOR STRANGE!"  The mighty STAN LEE and awesome STEVE DITKO at their finest, and no mistake!

Each presentation of the story has it's own distinct set of memories and association for mes.  When I look at the resized b&w Fantastic Summer Special, I'm once again back in the '60s, in the house and neighbourhood where I lived at the time.  However, when I see SMCW #23, it conjures forth images of the '70s and the house and area in which I yet reside today - as well as recollections of the initial act of remembering having read the earlier version of the tale.  Like looking through a window into a room with another window - through which you look into another room,  if you know what I mean.  (And if you do, explain it to me.)

       

At the time, the five year gap between the two comics seemed like an immense gulf in some ways, whereas, nowadays, five years seems like only a heartbeat away.  In fact, sometimes I find it hard to believe I'm actually living in the 21st century.  However, enough of my self-indulgent sentiment - hopefully you too will experience the joy of revisiting yesteryear, when the future was yet an undiscovered country and childhood stretched ahead into the far distant horizons.