TV21 No.2 Highlights (Today in 1965)

UPDATE: In an earlier version of this post last night I said that every week from now on I'd be showing a few highlights from the issue of TV Century 21 that went on sale exactly 50 years ago that day. However, after sleeping on it for a few hours I realised what a crazy notion that was. Not only would the idea get old very fast, not only would it take until September 2019 to complete, but many TV21 strips are available in reprint collections anyway, so most fans who want them already have them. 

Still, now that I've done the work for this one I may as well re-post it. As I said on the original post, I don't actually have a copy of TV21 No.2 so what I've done is find a few pages from various sources. The cover shown above is actually from an eBay shop selling fridge magnets of all things! 

The Stingray strip by Ron Embleton ran across the centre pages of TV21 No.2. In its absence of the actual comic I've scanned the reprint of it from Stingray the Comic No.1 (1992), which ran across two pages, hence the gutter. Nevertheless it still conveys the impact of Embleton's dynamic and colourful artwork. 

On the back page of that issue, the origin of The Daleks continues with art by Richard Jennings. With no comic to scan from I've used the appropriate page from Marvel's The Dalek Chronicles instead, but the result is the same. This is the strip that first appeared exactly 50 years ago today on Wednesday 27th January 1965...

I'll still be revisiting TV21 from time to time, but the plan of doing it every week like clockwork was just one of those mad middle-of-the-night ideas that seemed good at the time but not so appealing in the cold light of day. I'm sorry if anyone is disappointed by my change of mind. I'd rather keep this blog operating like a rackety old TARDIS so that readers never know what to expect from week to week. What year will we visit next? Wait and see!

This week in 1965: TV Century 21 No.31

This is the issue of TV21 that was published exactly 49 years ago today, on Wednesday 25th August 1965. I can tell you with certainty that the weather was absolutely throwing it down with rain that day. How? I remember that this issue got soaked on the way back from the shops and we had to dry it out in the bathroom for a few hours. (This isn't the copy I had back then by the way. That's long gone. This is one I bought in the 1980s.)

Perhaps due to that soggy escapade I can remember a lot of scenes from this issue even after all those years. Anyway, let's have a look inside...

As was the case with that first year of TV21, the comic kicked off with two pages of Burke's Law, drawn by Paul Trevillion, based on the US TV series...

Turn the page and the impact of Mike Noble's superb artwork on Fireball XL5 was a joy to behold. TV21 really knew their audience. When we as young children were watching Gerry Anderson's puppet shows we weren't really noticing that they were wooden marionettes moving awkwardly on strings. In our imaginations this is the sort of impression those shows presented to us, and the strips in TV21 captured that dynamic excitement perfectly. 

Special Agent 21 on page 7 was an excellent originated strip that not only tapped into the spy fad of the sixties but also tied into the Anderson universe. Art by Rab Hamilton...

Also reflecting the spy fad was this competition. I had that James Bond cap gun but I don't recall a holster with it. My version came with a plastic 'silencer' to fit onto the end of the metal gun barrel. (As seen in the case set shown.) 

My Favorite Martian was a full page humour strip on page 9, based on the American TV comedy show. I never saw this show at all when I was a kid, so perhaps it was only shown in selected regions or it clashed with something on the other channel. Art by Bill Titcombe.

TV21's big selling point in that first year was Stingray, superbly illustrated by Ron Embleton across the centre-spread of the comic. 

Page 13 and a couple of ads. At the top is one of the many anti-smoking strips that appeared in comics at the time. (You can see more of them at this link.) 

Pages 14 and 15; Supercar, drawn by Bruno Marraffa I believe...

Pages 16 and 17 gave us more superb full colour (a rarity in British comics of the time) with Eric Eden's excellent Lady Penelope serial.

Page 18 featured a variety of snippets including Zoony the Lazoon...

...and this cartoon playing on the Police Box aspect of Doctor Who. I presume 'Ronald' is a reference to Ronald and Reginald, the notorious Kray Twins. (Update: No, of course it's a reference to Ronnie Biggs, of the Great Train Robbery, who was on the run. Thanks for the reminder, Marko!)

On the back page in its usual position, The Daleks, illustrated by Richard Jennings. Fantastic stuff! 

Was it any wonder that TV21 became such a big hit with kids in 1965? This was the must-have comic for children across the UK. Even today, it remains my favourite adventure comic. I hope you enjoy these strips on this soggy Bank Holiday Monday, just as I enjoyed them 49 years ago on an even wetter day!

Happy birthday, Daleks!

Fifty years ago today, the Daleks made their debut on television in the fifth Doctor Who episode The Dead Planet. Well, at least part of them did, as we only saw the 'sink-plunger' sucker arm at the end of the episode, raising the question of just what was advancing towards Barbara in the cliffhanger. The following week revealed the Daleks in full, instantly becoming a hit with children forevermore.

Dalekmania soon sprung forth and I covered that a few years ago (see here for that post) so today I thought I'd have a quick look at The Dalek World annual that I had for Christmas 1965.

The cover (above) used a pose for the main Dalek image that had also been used in a similar fashion on the Sweet Cigarette cards packet and other merchandise. Ever wonder why there's that red circular grid at the front that never actually appeared on any Dalek? Legend has it that the reference photo sent to the artist was a shot of a Dalek in the BBC studio and one of the crew had placed a roll of gaffer tape behind the horizontal band for a second, and had forgotten to remove it before the photo was taken. With no explanation as to why it was there, the artist assumed it was part of the Dalek's design. (Hey, if they're using a sink plunger, a roll of tape didn't seem unusual.) That'd also explain why the Dalek's eye stalk is at a wonky angle, as there'd be no operator inside the Dalek when the photo was taken. 

Opening the book, the inside front cover spread was mind-boggling. Daleks flying through space! It'd take the TV show decades to catch up with this idea! Excellent artwork by Richard Jennings. These days, the BBC use that 'Skaro Saucer' design in the TV show but it originated in the comic strips that appeared in the Dalek annuals and the Dalek weekly strip in TV21.

The 96 page book was a mixture of strips, text stories, and features which expanded the Dalek universe far beyond anything the TV show had done at the time. There was even a short photo-strip adaptation of the Peter Cushing Doctor Who and The Daleks movie. Here's a selection of pages...

The book concluded with great endpapers by Richard Jennings. No one drew Dalek destruction quite as well as he did it!

The Daleks are back on Christmas Day in the 800th episode of Doctor Who 'The Time of The Doctor'.