10 of the Best TV21 Comic Strips

7. “Secret Mission” – Captain Scarlet

This dark, brutal strip has a spry skip that conflicts wildly with the Gothic nature of Captain Scarlet, but it’s a compelling story with some cracking world-building. “Secret Mission” sees Scarlet unwittingly become a pawn in the Mysterons’ plan to assassinate the president of Bereznik, the warring nation that often clashed with the otherwise utopian World Government of TV21.

At a mere three chapters, it’s a highly brief affair, but still make for riveting reading as each chapter sees victory within arms reach for the Mysterons. All-out action, superb artwork courtesy of Mike Noble, and a grim-faced political backdrop makes “Secret Mission” a far more potent example of how things got far darker in the Anderson land of pulp sci-fi puppetry once Thunderbirds had come and gone.

It’s a crying shame things never got this political in the TV show itself, but then again, that makes this strip all the more vital a read.

6. “Solar Danger” – Thunderbirds

This story is so epic, I mean, so humongous epic, it makes Marvel’s plans for the remainder of their cinematic universe look like boyscouts making a Deadpool fan film with nothing more than a second-hand DSLR and a bit of string.. It ran for nearly half a year, and remains a high point for Thunderbirds as a comic strip. The 16-part adventure sees International Rescue attempting to save the Earth from a runaway meteorite created by the sun’s volatile nature, only to end up in need of rescuing themselves when their efforts send them crashing onto the planet Venus, where horrifying creatures become disturbed at their presence.

The dizzying ambition of this story dwarfs its TV counterpart, often content with seeing its heroes safely ensconced in their ever-winning Thunderbird craft, saving the day as always, and home in time for tea. “Solar Danger” pits the Tracy boys against two antagonists rarely seen in the show itself – nature and aliens, and they don’t exactly come out of it smelling entirely of roses.

Artist Frank Bellamy uses “Solar Danger” to execute some truly spell-binding artwork. His depictions of space, solar flares, and alien monsters are a testament to his artistic skills, and shows how much fun he had when TV21 editor/mastermind Alan Fenell took Thunderbirds in unique, exciting directions. A regular addition to many TV21 reprint collections over the years, “Solar Danger” remains the greatest Thunderbirds story we never saw on TV.

5. “Electrode 909” – Fireball XL5

Although a strong evolution away from the primitive nature of Supercar, Fireball XL5 can’t quite get in on the action of the golden trilogy of Stingray, Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet. Its black-and-white production values confine the show to its own era, and its free-wheeling take on science fiction hasn’t aged as well as later Anderson shows. Thank the heavens then for TV21.

In comic book form, Fireball XL5 went from being a light-hearted, child-friendly, action-adventure show with some Cold War overtones into a something with almost a Punk rock snarl to it. When leaping from the screen to the illustrated page, Fireball XL5 gained a real bite, with the Cold War overtones brought to the forefront, and the action-adventure element being turned up to 11. “Electrode 909” embodies that evolution.

The strip sees a young World Space Patrol trainee hatch a villainous plot to ruin Steve Zodiac’s reputation as the W.S.P.’s finest pilot, but as his plan unfolds, murder blinds his ambitions, and soon he stops at nothing to get what he wants. Compared to your average episode of Fireball XL5, “Electrode 909” crackles with tension and danger that’s well-paced and drawn out to full effect. If you think Fireball XL5 hasn’t aged well, stick to the comics, specifically, this one.

4. “Unity City” – Captain Scarlet

Debuting just in time for Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons‘ TV launch, “Unity City” is giddy with its own excitement, but never forgets to tell an epic story featuring crossovers from Fireball XL5‘s World Space Patrol and Stingray‘s World Aquanaut Security Patrol. Supposedly set in the early days of the war between Spectrum and the Mysterons, the omnipotent aliens set their sights on The World Government Headquarters nestled in Unity City.

What follows is an action-packed showcase for Captain Scarlet going up against former ally turned Mysteron agent Captain Black, but also finds room to showcase characters and vehicles of the show that would go on to make it so popular with viewers. The story itself isn’t necessarily complex, but still twists and turns with every page. Spectrum are pushed to the limits as the Mysterons attempt to use Cloudbase itself as the weapon with which to destroy Unity City. The strip climaxes with the Mysterons keen to reclaim Scarlet as one of their own, and ends in a nail-biting finish for both sides.

“Unity City”‘s all-encompassing scope was perhaps there to tease readers into watching Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons on TV, but it still stands as an adrenaline-charged entry in TV21, one that also highlights how close the Mysterons often were to achieving their victory.