3. “How the Mysterious and Beautiful Marina May Never Speak Again” – Marina, Girl of the Sea
It speaks volumes that one of the best comic stories from TV21 didn’t exactly come from TV21 itself, but rather its sister spin-off, Lady Penelope. Designed to capitalize on the popularity of the Thunderbirds character, the comic focused on appealing to the female market, and did so by featuring comic strips based on the female characters in the Anderson world, including Stingray‘s Marina.
Her first appearance in the comic turned out to be a spell-binding, 23-part epic that explained her backstory about how she came to be the mute slave girl of the treacherous undersea ruler Titan. This story, armed with a mouthful of a title, is the polar opposite to what one might expect from a Century 21 story. There’s no retro-futuristic vehicles that tale the star role, and no square-jawed, all-American hero to save the day.
Instead, what we have is a strong, resourceful character leading her people through thick and thin to try and escape the clutches of Titan. As we already know what becomes of Marina, there’s a tragic undercutting to this story that give it an emotional drive, something not often found in a TV21 story. Artist Rab Hamilton illustrates Marina’s story gorgeously, creating swirling, underwater landscapes and civilisations.
The end result is a stirring tale of lost innocence and grand adventure, TV21 never quite got this tear-jerking again!
2. “Return to the Red Planet”/”Prisoners of the Star” – Zero-X
You know you’ve made a crummy film when the best thing about 1966’s Thunderbirds Are Go isn’t the Thunderbirds, but rather the guest star, the space exploration ship Zero-X. Unwilling to let the film’s failure define their efforts, the Andersons found a new home for Zero-X in TV21, and this two-part adventure makes far better use of the craft than the film ever did.
This two-part saga sees the Zero-X crew jetting off on another ill-fated mission to Mars before being tasked with becoming guinea pigs for a new, experimental engine. However, when a prisoner convicted of murder stows away on-board the craft (who’s intentions may or may not be hostile), the whole affair transforms into a multi-layered space opera, full of treachery, deceit, and aliens plotting to destroy the entire planet. All in a day’s work for TV21!
Although its opening act is somewhat inconsequential, the real meat of the story grabs the reader by the neck and ever lets go until the final page, and cemented Zero-X‘s future as one of the better latter-day TV21 strips.
1. “The Revolution” – Thunderbirds
As mentioned previously, politics became a favourite tool of Fennell in crafting intriguing stories for our Century 21 heroes, and he wastes no time in setting one of International Rescue’s most daring missions against a politically tense backdrop. “The Revolution” sees Thunderbirds 1 and 2 rescuing an atomic cruiseliner after a group of Nicaraguan rebels cause an uproar that goes horridly wrong.
“The Revolution” is a fine enough adventure, with Frank Bellamy‘s stunning artwork and Fennell’s complex script as he gets the most out of the Thunderbird craft and characters as they attempt a particularly volatile rescue. However, “The Revolution” is also an intriguing comment on the technological utopia that the Andersons created with their shows. “The Revolution” highlights how the world of 2065, with its emphasis on technology benefiting all mankind, was actually a rather sour ideology. As this strip demonstrates, there are still those who 2065 have forgotten, and that this utopia really only benefits those with the power, status and influence.
It’s made all the more resonant when the Nicaraguan rebels, although unwittingly cause the disaster that traps the atomic liner, lend a vital hand in solving the situation, more so than the Nicaraguan army, who view International Rescue as the enemy, and attempt to scupper their efforts in saving the liner.
It’s easy enough to find solid Thunderbirds adventures in TV21, but “The Revolution”‘s unique political flavour resonates even today, making it one of the best adventures International Rescue ever had with their strings cut.
Did you agree with this list? Are there any classic TV21 adventures we missed out? Let us know in the comments section below, or send us a Tweet! You can read in-depth review of nearly all these comic strips, and more, via Fred’s TV21 blog, Operation Megaventures!
TV21’s “The Daleks” strip was a beautifully illustrated saga of Doctor Who’s best-known villains. After an origin story which pre-dated the television series’ version by some 11 years, each instalment of the strip would see the Daleks advance their knowledge to venture into space, conquering other worlds, and being wonderfully devious.