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Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Countdown lasted only 58 issues before being relaunched as TV Action, given the fact that, despite top-notch artists working on the comic, the extremely tight deadlines meant they couldn't always devote the necessary time or attention to the art, which was sometimes devoid of detail. Shortcuts were taken and some of the strips occasionally looked rushed - mainly because they were.
Take a look at the panel on show below. I find the art curiously uninvolving, and I've never liked these 'half faces' since* - regardless of whether they were as a result of stylistic choice, or because the artist had little or no time to lavish on his artwork. Harry Lindfield (oddly uncredited) was responsible for this particular example, but though the pages were colourful and well-drawn, they lacked a certain something overall. Not the artist's fault really, as he was working under extreme conditions, but such an approach probably didn't help the comic.
(*I say 'since', but I probably first saw this type of thing in 1966 in Frank Bellamy's Thunderbirds, which was never my favourite strip in TV Century 21. He painted pretty skies, but his depictions of the craft weren't always accurate, and his 'half' drawings similar to the one below didn't appeal to me.)
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| Half page from Countdown #39 |
I passed on Countdown when it first came out, but started picking it up when Fireball XL5 and Stingray reprints began. No one could quibble about the quality of Mike Noble's or Ron Embleton's art, but perhaps the fact they were reprints that some readers still remembered meant that they weren't the draw (npi) they should've been. Especially as in 1971 Gerry Anderson-related material didn't seem to be the attraction it had once been.
So - 58 issues of Countdown, 74 of TV Action - 132 issues in all. That's better than Fantastic, Terrific, Thunder, Jet, and other weeklies managed, yet those of us who bought them at the time still fondly recall those titles from our youth. And it's the same with Countdown and TV Action, which despite its flaws, deserved to have been around a lot longer than it actually was.
If you were a fan of the periodical, then you may enjoy Steve Holland's book about it, which tells you everything you ever needed to know (and a few things you didn't). You can order by clicking here.
6 comments:
Is that Robert Vaughn from the Protectors? Funny I never saw the saw the show but now I found it on the internet I’m going to watch it.
Yup, that's wee Rab, PS. Apparently he didn't think much of Gerry Anderson - he hardly refers to the show at all in his autobiography.
That's quite a poor "half face" illo by a great artist so perhaps he was, as you say on a tight deadline. I don't mind that type of art as long as it's not used to often in a strip
Quite a few artists seemed to go for that effect if I recall correctly, McS, and I never really liked it. There's always the chance, of course, that because they jumped out at me, I remember such occasions as happening more often than they did. Having said that, however, I received four issues of Countdown in the post today, and a quick browse through uncovered some more examples.
I have fond memories of Countdown, it being one of the few UK weekly comics to make it out to the colonies. Never set eyes on any issues of TV 21 or any of the many other mags features here. Getting home from school on a Friday afternoon meant finding a new issue of Countdown on the kitchen table, picked up by my Mum, as well as a weekend ahead of me in which to read it (my school years were not that great and less than fondly remembered!). So I only wish that I'd hung onto more than the handful of issues that I still Have. I have the whole run as digital files but as we have agreed on many times - you can't go past having a physical copy of the mag to turn the pages of.
Whatever its flaws they will forever be overshadowed in my eyes by the nostalgia factor for me.
That's usually the case, PC. When I look at some of the early Marvel UK titles nowadays, I'm often amazed at how shoddy some of them were in the way they were put together, but the nostalgia factor means that I wouldn't be without them. It's odd that I initially passed on Countdown, because I usually bought a new comic at least for the first few weeks. I can only assume my pocket-money was being stretched thin and I didn't want to give up another title in order to get Countdown, but I can't recall with any clarity. I suspect it was these 'open faces' that put me off because I still don't like that kind of art now. Yes, as you say, physical copies are best - I view digital files as mere stopgaps or as handy reference photos for the blog.
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