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| Copyright relevant owner |
Supercar is the earliest Gerry Anderson puppet show I remember seeing back in the early '60s. If I saw any of his previous programmes, time has dimmed the memory of watching them almost to the point of amnesia. (Love the theme tune, along with Fireball XL5 and Stingray.) I never had any of the Supercar Annuals when I was younger, though I think they're contained in a PDF on my boxed set of DVDs. Whether they are or not though, I always prefer to have the actual items themselves, as opposed to mere digital reproductions, and that's why I recently bought the very first Supercar book.
It arrived today, and I was surprised to see that it was smaller and thinner than expected, as I'd thought it would be of the same dimensions as the four Fireball XL5 Annuals by the same publisher (Collins). However, it's in excellent condition, was inexpensive, and having it now, I feel like I've returned to 1961/'62 and 'expanded' my childhood by fitting in something I never owned at the time, but would surely have wanted had I known about it back then. Now, through the power of imagination and suggestion, it feels as though it's part of my memories stretching all the way back to when the show was on TV.
The cover and interior art is by Brian Lewis, and the stories are written by Sylvia Anderson. There were at least three Annuals in all, which are all currently available on eBay, though none of the remaining ones are in a condition which is acceptable to me, so I'll be giving them a miss for now. If they ever turn up in better shape, I'll probably add them to my collection. Anyway, if you're of a certain 'vintage', I thought you might like to see my most recent acquisition. Amazing to think that this book first appeared 60 years ago.
If you had this Annual as a kid, please share your memories of it with the rest of us in the comments section - if you'd be so good.
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The middle page below, with circular 'panels' containing the characters' names and faces is similar to the splash page of The Fantastic Four #1. Sylvia Anderson and Stan Lee knew one another later on in life, so it's an interesting coincidence that the same idea was used in both debut strips, though it's unclear whether Stan or Jack Kirby was responsible for deciding on the 'introductory' spheres in the FF's first issue. It's also interesting to note the similarity (in concept) between Captain Scarlet's Cloudbase and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Heli-carrier - was one a rip-off of the other (and if so, which one), or just a coincidence?
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| Seller's photo. (Not as in Peter) |
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| Seller's photo |
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| Buyer's photo. (That's me, folks!) |
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| Ditto. Doesn't the spine look nice? |
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| And again |
Click on below to hear both versions of the Supercar theme.
