Century 21: Classic Comic Strips From The Worlds of Gerry Anderson Volume 1 compiled by Chris Bentley (graphic novel review).

These ‘Century 21: Classic Comic Strips’ volumes collect reprints from the famous ‘TV Century 21’ British comic (later just ‘TV21’) that first came out in 1965. They are produced on high-quality paper, mostly from scans of the original artwork, not the comics, and you won’t see those pictures more elegantly displayed. Here’s what you get in volume 1. I include details about the writers, artists, and original publications for aficionados. The issue dates are a century ahead of the actual release, as the comic was pretending to be a newspaper from the future.

‘Fireball XL5: The Astran Assassination’. Script: Alan Fennell and art by Mike Noble, Eric Eden and Ron Embleton. Originally published in TV Century 21 # 15-26 May-July 2065. This is a rare crossover story, mainly Fireball XL5 but Lady Penelope and Stingray also get involved. When the Solar System’s Tenth Fleet meets the Astran Fleet at the border of their empire, neither side will back down. ‘A nerve cracks…A tired finger rests too heavily on a button… and a single shot opens the floodgates of action.’ It reminded me of the later Earth-Minbari war in ‘Babylon 5’. But here, there’s hope! Steve Zodiac is sent on a dangerous mission to deliver a letter to the Kaplan of the Astrans and make peace. The Astrans look like jelly beans. Evil Astrans complicate the mission and it goes on for many pages. The art is clear and beautiful and the script is solid adventure fare.

Thunderbirds: ‘Chain Reaction’. Script Scott Goodall and art by Frank Bellamy. Originally published in TV21 and TV Tornado # 227-234 May-July 2069. A fuel leak on Pan-Space Haulage Incorporated’s G.T. 765 rocket means it won’t be able to break for re-entry to Earth so the crew abandon it to burn out. However, she hits the atmosphere at too shallow an angle so she won’t. ‘Fifty thousand tons of deadweight plunging unchecked towards the Earth! Fifty thousand tons of death and destruction!’ and it’s headed straight for San Francisco! An early warning on space debris here. The art is great, as usual from Bellamy, but a bit dark in places.

‘Stingray: The Haunting Of Station 17’. Script Alan Fennell and art by Ron Embleton. Originally published in TV Century 21 # 23-30 June-August 2065. Scientists abandon a World Aquanaut Security Patrol tracking station, talking crazily of ghosts and bogeymen. Commander Shore goes to investigate personally, taking Troy Tempest and Phones in Stingray. One of those where the two-page layout means some art is lost in the crease. The story is a bit ‘Scooby-Doo’, but the art is clear and colourful.

‘Captain Scarlet: ‘The Football King’. Script Howard Elson and art by Mike Noble. Originally published in TV21 and TV Tornado # 194-195 October 2068. The Mysterons threaten the life of King Abdul El Krim Ahmed, a royal who loves football and plays for Assam Wanderers. The final of the Arab Nations Cup is due and the King insists he must play, so Captain Scarlet joins the team to keep him safe. The first page is in colour and the rest is black and white with tones. Excellent art with clear storytelling.

‘Lady Penelope: The Luveniam Affair’. Script Alan Fennell and art by Frank Langford. Originally published in Lady Penelope # 36-42 September-November 1966. Lady Penelope buys a new woollen dress that makes Fab 1 suddenly accelerate just by its very presence in the car. The wool has traces of Luvenium, a rare mineral used to make rocket fuel. So it’s off to Australia where construction machinery has started to speed up by itself because the local sheep’s wool is contaminated with Luvenium. The art by Frank Langford is dynamic and colourful and he makes Lady P as pretty as a picture of a puppet. The plot and action are reminiscent of a Bond movie, a nefarious villain with a mountain base hideout. The Berezniks are East European bad guys. The science is dodgy here as the mere presence of rocket fuel in a car or machinery speeds it up. If it does, get go-faster stripes with Luvenium paint and your car really will go faster!

‘Thunderbirds: The Devil’s Crag’. Script Scott Goodall and art by Frank Bellamy. Originally published in TV21 # 184-187 July-August 2068. Mocked by German bully Franz Muller, shy, sensitive Roger Webb vows to climb Devil’s Crag in the Swiss Alps to prove himself. International Rescue are sent to save him when he gets in trouble. Frank Bellamy’s page layouts are dynamic with jagged borders and non-rectangular shapes. This was a trend at the time, with Gene Colan and Neal Adams doing it in American comicbooks but it never caught on. It’s sometimes hard to see which panel comes next and readers prefer clear storytelling.

‘Zero X: Planet Of Bones’. Script Angus P Allan and art by Mike Noble. Originally published in TV21 and TV Tornado # 218-224 March-May 2069. Zero X escorts a Starspeed space freighter and Professor Leon Vatski of the World Archaeological Society to Planet Verspona where a vast, uninhabited plain is covered in the bones of huge creatures. But there are no skulls and not everything on Verspona is dead. Living skeletons are fantasy not SF, but make for great visuals in a kids action comic. Mike Noble also uses zig-zag panel borders to add dynamism.

‘Stingray: Superjunk. Script Dennis Hooper and art by Gerry Embleton. Originally published in TV Century 21 # 72-81 June-August 2066. Stingray gets involved when what appears to be an old Chinese Junk hijacks the Atomic Liner Mercury of the Philippine Passenger Fleet, gassing and robbing everyone on board. Phones faces ‘vegetable torturers’! The art is bright and beautiful.

‘Thunderbirds: Starburst’. Script Alan Fennell art Brian Lewis. Originally published in ‘Thunderbirds Extra’ March 1966. Man has begun exploring beyond the solar system. Rocket Starburst touches down on Planet 275 and astronauts Lewis and Bender get in trouble. The timescale here didn’t add up at all but I guess the kids didn’t mind. It’s a five-page story with decent black-and-white art.

‘Captain Scarlet: Leviathan’. Script Angus P Allan & Scott Goodall, art Mike Noble, Don Harley & Frank Bellamy. Originally published in TV21 # 185-189 August 2068. These episodes have a colour splash page and the rest of the art is in black and white. Captain Black hijacks a cargo plane full of rocket fuel and crashes it into Cloudbase, Spectrum’s hovering headquarters. Nerdily, I wondered if Cloudbase preceded SHIELD’s Helicarrier in Marvel Comics and it didn’t. The Helicarrier first appeared in 1965 and Gerry Anderson came up with Cloudbae in 1966, completely independently, I’m sure. He was concerned about how long it took aircraft in World War II to climb high enough to reach attacking bombers. Much easier if they start at the right height. Wikipedia is free but donations are gratefully accepted. This story got rather silly at the end and the art is a bit static but it’s okay.

As well as the stories, there is information on the artists and writers who created them. This volume also has a foreword by Gerry Anderson himself which tells how he developed the idea of a comic to exploit his successful TV shows. He came up with the idea of a tabloid newspaper front page. The comic consistently sold a million issues a week, a record never broken. An introduction by compiler Chris Bentley gives more information about the original art archive from which about 60% of the pages herein were reproduced and some details about the stories. It’s a great contribution to the history of British comics.

All in all, the book is a classy package.

Eamonn Murphy

March 2025

(pub: Reynolds & Hearn Ltd., 2009. 160 page graphic novel softcover. Price: varies. ISBN: 978-1-90528-793-2)