Anderson Entertainment has lined up a fantastic array of British comic talent for their new upcoming Stingray: Deadly Uprising multimedia project, its first instalment, Deadly Concerto, launching in July.
The creators include New York Times best-selling author James Swallow, Gerry Anderson and Doctor Who artist Lee Sullivan, 2000AD‘s John McCrea, and many more.
The team behind the new Stingray story created to mark the show’s sixtieth anniversary have also revealed further details about the brand new comic strips which form part of this thrilling multi-platform adventure.
Ten exciting new comic adventures will be included in two forthcoming Stingray Comic Anthologies, “Tales From The Depths” and “Battle Lines”, both with covers by Battle and Commando artist Keith Burns, alongside comic strips from TV Century 21.
The new strips each featuring a different undersea race – some from the TV series, some new – along with stories and background articles to put the Stingray material in context.
“Tales From The Depths” – Comic Anthology Volume One, combines TV Century 21 classics with five brand-new stories, introducing different undersea races and escalating tensions. From jailbreaks to new alliances, each tale pushes Stingray’s crew closer to Titan’s trap, culminating in a cliffhanger that sets the stage for an all-out conflict.
The saga concludes in “Battle Lines” – Comic Anthology Volume Two, combining additional classic comic strip adventures with five more brand-new stories, where desperate measures lead to alliances both made and broken. As Titan’s forces launch a decisive assault on Marineville turning the terraneans’ might against them, it’s up to Stingray and newfound allies to defend their home.
The writers on the project are Nick Abadzis (“Tempest Fugit”, “Rescue in the Depths”); Ernie Altbacker (writing “Battle for Marineville”); Andrew Clements (“Desperate Measures”); 2000AD‘s Ian Edginton (“Voyage to Danger”); Jack Knoll (“Shadows From The Deep”); Ben Wolf Page (“Warning Beneath The Waves”); best-selling author James Swallow (“The Undefeated”, “Triple Cross”); and Chris Thompson (“Shifting Seas”).
“Comics were probably the first adventure stories I ever read,” Jim Swallow told Broken Frontier in comments about the Stingray: Deadly Uprising recently, “so it’s been great for me to be able to circle back around to this medium in my writing career all these years later!
“I love the unique challenges of scripting comics – the versatility of framing, the thrill of a page-turn reveal and the collaboration with talented artists. And I’ve got fond memories of reading the Anderson TV21 strips, so having the opportunity to pen a couple of Stingray tales was something I couldn’t pass up!”
The artists and colourists involved are 2000AD‘s Matt Brooker (“The Undefeated”); Jack Davies (colourist on “Shifting Seas”); illustrator and film maker Connor Flanagan (artist on “Triple Cross” and colourist on “Voyage to Danger and “Battle for Marineville”); 2000AD‘s Simon Fraser (“Tempest Fugit”, “Rescue in the Depths”); 2000AD’s John McCrea (drawing “Shifting Seas”); Neil Roberts (“Desperate Measures”); Doctor Who and Gerry Anderson stalwart Lee Sullivan (“Voyage to Danger”, “Battle for Marineville”); and Brian Williamson (“Shadows From The Deep”).
“It’s a thrill to work on another of the Anderson favourites,” enthuses Lee Sullivan. “My younger, TV Century 21-reader self would have been both amazed at accomplishing this feat and yet bewildered at how long it took to get here. I can still recall the excitement of reading those early strips and even the special smell of the printed comic. Formative stuff!”
Emily Joyce Stewart provides lettering on multiple stories.
The first Stingray Comic Anthology will be available to preorder in July from the official Gerry Anderson web site, and the second in September, both exclusively available to buy in hardback from the Gerry Anderson Store.
• For more details on Stingray: Deadly Uprising head to the Stingray site here
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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