FABULOUS FLASHBACKS - COUNTDOWN TO TV ACTION ANNUAL...

Copyright relevant owner

Launched in 1971, COUNTDOWN was, to all intents and purposes, an attempt to duplicate the former success of the now declining TV21.  With the inclusion of GERRY ANDERSON related content and (instead of The DALEKS) DOCTOR WHO, the fact it was edited by TV21's former art editor DENNIS HOOPER made comparison between the two periodicals inevitable.

Initially, I ignored the comic - until it started reprinting (usually in black and white) strips from TV CENTURY 21.  Even as a boy, I had an overdeveloped sense of nostalgia, so the comic suddenly became a 'must-have' for me.  Truth to tell though, my strongest memories of the paper are from when it metamorphosed into TV ACTION with #59.

Something else I ignored was the hardback Annual incarnation of the weekly.  In fact, I'm not even sure if I was even aware of them at the time they were published. However, a year or two back, someone gifted me the first two, and I recently acquired the third and final one via eBay, thereby completing my collection of them.  The first is simply titled COUNTDOWN, the second, COUNTDOWN For TV ACTION, and the third, TV ACTION.

Being a rather generous chappie (somewhat against the Scottish stereotype of tight-fisted meanie), I thought I'd share the covers and some of the contents with you in this post.  So, if you had these Annuals when you were a youngster, you can relive precious moments from your childhood or teenage years.  Or if you're clapping eyes on them for the very first time, it lets you see just what sort of books that boring old farts like your dad may've been reading over 40 years ago.  Either way, you're a winner!