SUPERCAR & FIREBALL XL5 - PART TWO OF TV COMIC ANNUAL 1963...

As promised to all you Crivvies last time, here's the second part of the GERRY ANDERSON content from the 1963 TV COMIC ANNUAL (released in '62), including the game on the back cover and the accompanying spinner and counters. Now, printer permitting, you have everything you need to have a go at reliving a game from your long ago childhood.

When the FIREBALL XL5 story was being prepared for the annual, the show had not yet aired on TV, and it's clear from the art that some drawings of the actual craft were based on concept pictures of Fireball at an early stage in its development, when it had a slightly sleeker design and was called CENTURY 21. That's right - Fireball XL5 was originally named Century 21 and was a silvery-blue-ish colour. (See pic.)

It seems that the artist, NEVILLE MAIN, only had reference to black and white photos, as the colours of the crew's uniforms don't match up to their TV counterparts. However, this was the first time that Fireball had appeared anywhere, so it's a genuine collectors' item. Not quite up there with mighty MIKE NOBLE's supeb strips in the later TV CENTURY 21 comic, perhaps, but a nice enough little tale for the slightly younger readership that TV Comic attracted.

And once again, BILL MEVIN turned out a nicely drawn story of SUPERCAR, with an effective application of colour that would've had a greater impact on readers of the '60s than it does us, as the programme was made and broadcast in monochrome. That was one of the attractions of TV21 when it made its 1965 debut - viewers could see the characters and craft of their favourite puppet programmes in colour, many for the very first time if they'd missed the TV Comic publications.

Anyway, that's enough prattling preamble from me - we now unleash you upon all the pretty piccies. Enjoy.

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Not from the annual, here's a concept drawing by DEREK MEDDINGS of Fireball XL5 when it was originally called Century 21. As you can see, the first drawing (as well as one or two others) of XL5 in the story below seems to have been based directly on the visualisation above. (In regard to shape - especially the nose-cone - not colour, obviously.)