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Sneak Peek: Definitive “Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Vault” book in the works, out in October

By John Freeman on July 25, 2017 • ( 1 )

Following 2015’s hugely successful in-depth book Thunderbirds: The Vault by Marcus Hearn, author Chris Bentley has written Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Vault, which will be published in October by Signum Books.

Lavishly illustrated, judging from the teaser images released so far featuring rare photographs and more, this guide to Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, looks set to be a fascinating read, following the same format as the brilliant Thunderbirds title, which was published by Virgin Books. (You can read my review of that here).

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons made its television debut in 1967, presenting a dark and sinister science fiction drama to the much-loved Thunderbirds which preceded it. While the show didn’t capture imaginations in the same way as the adventures of International Rescue, it still has a loyal fan base, perhaps more for its iconic vehicles and characters than its concept.

In Captain Scarlet, the world is at the mercy of ruthless attacks from vengeful Martian computers with the power to raise the dead. One “puppet”, Captain Scarlet, rebels against his former masters and takes them on episode after episode, with sometimes less success than you’d expect from an action adventure hero.

The puppetry techniques behind the series were unprecedented, elevating Gerry Anderson’s “Supermarionation” to new heights of sophistication.

Captain Scarlet: The Vault offers the definitive story of a television classic, told by the people who made the series and illustrated with a wealth of previously unpublished images, including new shots of the original puppets, studio models and vintage merchandise.

Author Chris Bentley is a former chairman of Fanderson, the official Gerry Anderson appreciation society, whose past credits include books such as The Complete Book of Thunderbirds, The Complete Book of Captain Scarlet, The Complete Book of Gerry Anderson’s UFO (in addition to the revised and expanded edition), and The Avengers on Location. He was also a valued source of information for Marcus as he was compiling Thunderbirds: The Vault.

Signum Books was established in 2010 as the publishing imprint of Marcus Hearn’s company Flashpoint Media. The company publishes books about popular culture, with an emphasis on entertainment nostalgia. The books – which include The Man with the Golden Eye by Peter Lamont and Peter Cushing: The Complete Memoirs – are distributed in the UK by Littlehampton Book Services, and in the US by Random House, via their sales representatives at the Titan Entertainment Group.

• Pre-order Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Vault from amzon.co,uk (using this link helps support downthetubes, thank you)

• Read our review of Thunderbirds: The Vault

• Read our review of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Vault

• Signum Books is online at www.signumbooks.com | Facebook

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.