PART FOUR Of TV TIE-INS Of The TIMES - The AVENGERS ANNUAL 1970...

The AVENGERS copyright ABC TELEVISION Ltd

The AVENGERS Annual for 1970 is undoubtedly the best of the four books I've shown you so far.  It had fewer pages, but more comic strips (three, and better drawn too) and a higher quality of illustrations for the three text stories.  With three features and two pictorial features, it was a decidedly superior publication to most other TV tie-in books of the period.  Issued by ATLAS PUBLISHING COMPANY Ltd., and not WORLD DISTRIBUTORS, it's one of the gems of my collection.  You might find one on eBay.

When The Avengers TV show started in 1961, Dr. DAVID KREEL (played by IAN HENDRY) was the main character, and JOHN STEED was his assistant.  When Hendry quit the show after the first series, Steed became the main character, with a succession of female assistants.  (First, CATHY GALE, played by HONOR BLACKMAN, then EMMA PEEL, played by DIANA RIGG, and finally TARA KING, played by LINDA THORSON.

The series was revived in 1976 under the title The NEW AVENGERS, with new assistants, but it's the original version I'm focussing on in this present post - so ignore the assistants behind the curtain.  (Don't worry, the meds will kick in shortly.)

Coming soon(ish) - DOCTOR WHO ANNUAL 1966.

(BOND) BABE Of The DAY - JULIE EGE...

Here's lovely JULIE EGE

to remind all rugged he-men (such

as myself) just what we were created

for.  That's right - to pay for every-

thing and carry the shopping. 

TV TIE-INS Of The TIMES: PART THREE - The MAN From U.N.C.L.E. ANNUAL 1967...

The MAN From U.N.C.L.E. copyright METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER

The MAN From U.N.C.L.E. was big - very big.  It was probably the closest thing to JAMES BOND that viewers of a certain age could watch before they were old enough to see 007 in his own big-budget movies.  And NAPOLEON SOLO had been created by Bond author IAN FLEMING himself, thereby lending an air of secret agent authenticity to the show developed by SAM ROLFE for TV.

I had an attache case with U.N.C.L.E. badge and gun, plus the ID card that one sent away to the RADIO TIMES for - and it was free!  I don't remember ever buying any of the Annuals though, of which there were four.  The first one (above) was for 1967, and there were ones for '68, '69 & '70 as well.  There was a comic album issued in 1966, and two Television Picture Story Books for '67 & '68.

The comic strip in the '67 Annual was reprinted from a GOLD KEY Man From U.N.C.L.E. comicbook, but the remainder of the contents were predominantly text stories.  WORLD DISTRIBUTORS was the publisher for all three of the Annuals we've seen in this blog series thus far, and this was the format of most of their output at the time.  No doubt it was down to budgetary restraints, but I can't help think that they missed a trick by not having more comic strips in their many hundreds (at least) of Annuals over the years.

It's strange to think that the first Annual was issued only the year before the TV show was cancelled, and that they continued for a year (the 1970 Annual was issued in 1969) past the show's demise.  However, I guess it continued in repeats for at least a year or two afterwards.

Coming in Part Four - The AVENGERS Annual 1970.  Don't miss it!

And, below, my two U.N.C.L.E. ID cards, followed by my badge.  Lucky me, eh?