Stand By for Sequential 21!

By John Freeman on April 16, 2020

Author Fred McNamara has announced his follow-up project to the Spectrum is Indestructible book will be Sequential 21: A Gerry Anderson Comic Book Fanzine.

Sequential 21, designed by Robert Hammond, is planned as a fanzine/bookazine that celebrates the worlds of Gerry Anderson comics, from TV Century 21 to Countdown, the Fleetway title’s and beyond.

“The fanzine will consist of retrospectives of entire strip runs from various Gerry Anderson comics,” says Fred, “reviews of key story arcs, analytical features probing into specific elements of the comics and interviews with writers and artists who worked on those classic comics.

“I’m also aiming for the fanzine to have unofficial/fan-produced comic strips of Gerry Anderson shows.

“Spectrum is Indestructible proved to be an exhaustive (and exhausting) joy to write, but I knew I didn’t want things to end there,” he reveals. Sequential 21 combines my joint love of Gerry Anderson productions and comic books into a unique, one-off publication that tips its hat to these videocolor worlds.

“Taking the fanzine route with this concept feels highly suitable too, as we’ll be able to compliment the visual nature of comic books in the best way possible.

“Where I tasked myself with covering as much Captain Scarlet media as possible with Spectrum is Indestructible, Sequential 21 will have a much looser feel to it. I’m cherry-picking my way through my favourite aspects of these comics.

Gerry Anderson Fleetway Comics including Thunderbirds

“Write-ups of Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Zero X, Project SWORD, Secret Agent 21 comics and more will all be featured in Sequential 21. Some of the fanzine’s content will consist of new and improved editions of articles from my former blog of the same name.

“The fanzine is currently being written/produced,” he adds, “so we’re a while away from publication yet.”

Stand by for sequential action!

• If you’re a comic creator interested in contributing to the zine, drop Fred an email via sequential21@gmail.com

• Fred McNamara is online at fredmcnamara.com where he’ll share updates on Sequential 21 as work progresses

• Buy Spectrum is Indestructible here

• Captain Scarlet on AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

Sequential 21: A Gerry Anderson Fanzine is an unofficial, non-profit publication. All illustrative material remains the property of its respective copyright holders

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.