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| Images copyright Egmont Publishing Group |
It's always exciting to receive a book in the post and when my review copy of the new THUNDERBIRDS volume arrived today, courtesy of those extremely nice people at EGMONT, it was no exception. I already have all the stories in one form or another, either in their original TV CENTURY 21 printings, or their various reprintings in THUNDERBIRDS The COMIC, RAVETTE, REYNOLDS & HEARN or SIGNUM editions, but a sturdy hardback book is always very welcome to this particular bibliophile.
Nothing, of course, can compare to the actual artwork or original printings, but this is a very handsome edition which is sure to inspire memories of many a childhood, not only in the 1960s and 1970s, but also 1991, when GERRY ANDERSON's premier puppet programme enjoyed a resurgence of interest all across the U.K. after being networked by the BBC for the first time in the series' history. Featuring strips by FRANK BELLAMY, FRANK HAMPSON, ERIC EDEN and JOHN COOPER, the book is an absolute delight for all lovers of action and adventure.
One of the disappointing aspects of previous collections is that the centrespreads never fared too well, often having word balloons or captions split in two (and the parts not quite matching up) on account of being printed on two separate pages instead of just one double-pager. This book sensibly avoids that problem by presenting stories consisting mainly of individual pages rather than double-page panoramic spreads. Fortunately, GRAHAM BLEATHMAN's cutaway centrespreads aren't too affected by being divided by the binding method.
Talking of Graham Bleathman, his work is right up there with the very best artists who ever illustrated Gerry Anderson-themed comic strips, and it's a shame that no such high-quality periodical like TV21 is around today to give artists of Graham's calibre the opportunity to dazzle the current crop of youngsters, who would surely lap up such fantastically detailed 'video-grams'.
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| Now that's what I call an endpaper |
Thunderbirds: The Comic Collection is a heavy, extremely lavish book, which would make an ideal present for anyone who enjoyed the programme or experienced these strips the first time around. With Christmas fast approaching, it could save you the headache of trying to decide what yuletide present to buy for the big kid in your life. In fact, it'd make an ideal gift at any time of the year. With an informative introduction (and, alas, art credit errors in the list of contents - but, hey - no-one's perfect) it deserves pride of place on any true Thunderbirds fan's bookshelf. Yours for only £25. F.A.B.
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Coming next: The THUNDERBIRDS POSTCARDS review.
