18th January 1974 saw the premiere of science fiction adventure TV series The Six Million Dollar Man on ABC-TV in the US, starring Lee Majors. Centred on Steve Austin, an astronaut rebuilt with cybernetic limbs, it was based on the novel Cyborg by Martin Caidin, much darker fare than the TV series.
The series launch followed the broadcast of three television films intended as pilots, that all aired in 1973, featuring an infamous theme song with lyrics by Dusty Springfield. (Who can’t now get the lyrics out of their head? “Catch him if you can…beat him if you can… love him if you can! Now he’s the man… Six Million Dollar Man!”)
In the show, as in the pilots, after being seriously injured in a NASA test flight crash, Steve Austin is rebuilt, at considerable expense, hence the title of the series, with bionic implants that give him superhuman strength, speed and vision. Austin is then employed as a secret agent by a fictional US government office, the OSI, under the command of Oscar Goldman (Richard Anderson).
The show became a huge hit, spinning out a companion series, The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner, which premiered on ABC-TV on 14th January 1976.
In the United States, Neal Adams provided the cover for The Six Million Dollar Man #1 (July, 1976), published by Charlton Comics. The covers and interior art on the series were usually the work of Adams’ studio Continuity Associates, and far superior to what you would find in a typical Charlton comic.
In the UK, the hugely popular series featured heavily in the weekly anthology comic Look-In, becoming one of the longest-running strips in the title. Replacing “Kung Fu”, written by Angus P. Allan with art by Martin Asbury, it ran from the issue cover dated 21st June 1975 to the issue cover dated 24th March 1979, giving way to “Dick Turpin”.
“The Bionic Woman” also featured in Look-In, running for almost three years, first appearing in the issue cover dated 7th August 1976, actually ahead of the TV show’s debut on ITV, to help promote the series. It was also written by Angus P. Allan, and featured art by John M. Burns and John Bolton.
The week after “The Bionic Woman” ended in May 1979, Steve Austin returned to Look-In alongside Jaime Sommers, for a six-month stint in a crossover strip titled “Bionic Action”.
For those of us who grew up watching the show, time to break out those Kenner toys, grab a copy of your favourite Six Million Dollar Man comic (there have been more since) and raise a glass in celebration. But remember, don’t try any of Steve’s stunts at home. It might take the NHS longer to rebuild you!
Head downthetubes for…
Back in 2003, Alistair McGown, today a designer/writer for Panini’s Doctor Who specials and bookazines, and part of design team at Fanderson, conducted interviews with stalwarts of the much-loved, much-missed weekly comic, Look-in, “The Junior TV Times“. With his kind permission, two so far are represented here:
• downthetubes Archive Interview: Look-In Writer Angus P. Allan
• downthetubes Archive Interview: Comic Artist Martin Asbury
• Bionic Wiki: The Six Million Dollar Man (Look-in strips)
• Bionic Wiki: The Bionic Woman (Look-in strips)
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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.
Categories: British Comics, Classic British Comics, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds, Science Fiction, Television
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