On Friday 3rd November 2023, Gosh Comics in London is hosting a talk about Gerry Anderson‘s Candy, Andy and the Bearandas – possibly the creepiest comic concept the team at Century 21 Publishing ever conceived!
This special talk celebrates the launch of the new book, Candy, Andy and the Bearandas, by oral historian and broadcaster Alan Dein, a collection published by Four Corners Books, of restored photographs originally produced for the photo story comics in the 1960s, by television puppet wizard Gerry Anderson, a partnership between Century 21 Publishing and City Editions, who also published TV Century 21 and Lady Penelope.
Alan Dein joins Jamie Anderson (son of Gerry Anderson, who also provided the foreword to the book) to discuss Candy, Andy and The Bearandas, and celebrate its launch.
The book has its roots in a very unusual and mostly forgotten Gerry Anderson project, that centres on two panda bears, Mr and Mrs Bearanda, who live in a picture-perfect English village, bringing up their plastic children, Candy and Andy. Their strange story was told through photographs.
“Mr and Mrs Bearanda are never actually identified as either parents, guardians or foster parents,” Alan himself notes in a 2014 blog post. “They are adult-sized Panda Bears in human form, and well, Candy and Andy are blond-haired life-sized dolls of children who appear to have been inspired by those spooky kids in The Village of the Damned, the 1960 film adaptation of John Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos. Just what could Gerry Anderson have been thinking of, when Candy was given the green light by City Magazines and Century 21 productions, to unleash this craziness upon the minds of pre-schoolers?”
I’m with Alan on this. Frankly, just one look at any picture of this surreal family explains why it never became the TV show Gerry Anderson apparently thought it would. But although for many, Candy, Andy and the Bearandas look positively creepy, the children’s comic (“the comic full of fun and magic!”), which launched in January 1967, ran for 155 issues, merging with Jack and Jill, although the Bearandas, who also featured in annuals and story books, only survived in the comic for 54. (Candy and Andy’s adventures continued, in illustrated story form, however).
The long-running success of the comic is more likely down to its other content. As Lew Stringer notes here on his Blimey! blog, the disturbing “Candy and Andy” photo-strip only took up a few pages in the 20-page comic. Other strips were illustrated, and featured popular TV characters of the day such as “Tingha and Tucker“, with art by Eric Kincaid, “Topo Gigo” and characters from children’s literature such as Winnie the Pooh.
The comic’s early appeal, and, perhaps, its saving grace for the first 20-plus issues in which the strip appeared, must have been its “Thunderbirds” comic strip, although it was aimed at nursery age children, almost implying that the crafts were alive rather than being piloted. Artists who drew the strip, relegated to balck and white during its run, included Gerry Embleton. There was even a photo strip crossover with Candy and Andy, which featured in No. 24.
The weekly stills-based adventures of “Candy and Andy” were photographed by trusted Anderson photographer Doug Luke, who found the whole process very frustrating with toppling pandas and awkward dolls to deal with on a daily basis. Their unusual nature meant they never reached the popularity of other Anderson characters, and the photo story comics were abandoned after a year.
Candy, Andy and the Bearandas includes an introduction detailing the history of the Candy project by historian and broadcaster Alan Dein, presenting the best of the surviving original transparencies from this brilliantly bizarre project: whether driving their striped Mini, which Dinky released as a tie-in toy, preparing for Bonfire Night, or going for a boat ride, Candy, Andy and the Bearandas live in an unforgettable, dreamlike world.
(A Dinky Toys-dedicated site notes the model, based on the 183 Morris Mini Minor (automatic) first produced in 1966, which came with Bearandas and Candy and Andy figures, was issued in 1967, deleted in 1969, and was not a good seller. Because of its rarity, it’s one of the most expensive Dinky cars to purchase today.
In his 2014 post, Alan notes that in 1994, eight massive prints from Candy taken from the original 2” x 2” transparencies were exhibited at “Who’s Looking at the Family”, at the Barbican Art Gallery. The presentation, it appears, turned the Bearandas from creepy to pop art overnight.
“It was an amazing photography show,” Alan notes, “exploring representations of family life since the birth of photography. Gerry Anderson and Doug Luke were now being lauded by the critics and the public for Candy’s bizarre psycho-imagery. During the exhibition’s run, I’d hear comments like ‘obviously a precursor to the work [of the then emerging YBA artists] Jake and Dinos Chapman’, or ‘it’s like a Jeff Koons’ (often dubbed America’s king of kitsch).”
Find out more about the project at Gosh on Friday 3rd November 2023, from 7.30pm to see Alan Dein and Jamie Anderson in conversation. This will not be a ticketed event, but spaces will be limited to how many seats the shop has, and will be assigned on a ‘first come first served’ basis.
Alan will also be appearing at The Photographers Gallery this Thursday, 26th October, to launch the book, another free event, starting at 6.30pm. The Gallery is at 16-18 Ramillies Street, London W1F7LW.
With thanks to Graham Bleathman
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.
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