Stand By for Action! Network have launched Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s Stingray on Blu-ray – and there’s all-new comic strip included by Steve Kyte and Lew Stringer, in the productions, plus art prints by Graham Bleathman, too.
Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s much-loved Supermarionation series Stingray – their first in colour – has been remastered in High Definition from original 35mm film elements for this Blu-ray edition.
Set in 2065, the World Aquanaut Security Patrol submarine Stingray patrols the Earth’s oceans. Captained by the heroic Troy Tempest and his sidekick ‘Phones’, they report to Commander Sam Shore and his daughter Atlanta at their Marineville base. The adventures begin when Troy and “Phones” are captured by the undersea despot King Titan – and their only chance of rescue is Titan’s slave, Marina!
Network’s Blu-ray box set of Stingray comes with a raft of special features, including a brand-new audio adventure, reproductions of original ephemera, and what’s being hailed as the “definitive account” on the making of the series from archive TV historian Andrew Pixley. There’s also a brand-new comic special, weighing in at a whopping 32 pages.
Comic publications have become a regular feature of Network’s blu-ray releases of the Supermarionation series, and the 32-page Stingray Comic Special is no exception.
The comic, the cover homaging the cover of the 1960s tie-in novel Stingray and the Monster, includes contributions from noted Anderson artists Steve Kyte and Graham Bleathman, plus an “Oink the Seal” comic strip from Oink and VIZ comic alumnus Lew Stringer. All this, plus two brand-new photo strips from Network designer Martin Cater, who explained the background to their creation.
‘I’m sure many people look on a photo-strip as a cop-out: just get a bunch of frame grabs, add some speech balloons and Bob’s your uncle,” he notes. “These photo strips are something different. For a start, they’re original stories, which means composing scenes and set-ups that can’t be sourced from any of the 39 episodes.
“Clearly, stock scenes such as Troy and Phones in Stingray are easily obtained, along with the standard establishing shots of Marineville, Titanica, and so on. But what happens when you need a shot of Troy pulling a gun on Phones? Or an Aquaphibian piloting Stingray? That’s where things get interesting.
“With access to frame grabs from every episode, new scenes like these were painstakingly composed in Photoshop, carefully cutting characters out of their backgrounds and combining them in new settings. The result is a ‘new’ episode of Stingray, on paper at any rate, and I hope fans find it entertaining.”
The same technique was employed for the photo-comic included in Network’s Fireball XL5 Blu-ray, and was previously used to create a completely new series of Supermarionation-style adventures, Lightning 5, which appeared in the online comic Aces Weekly. For this earlier endeavour, vintage toys were pressed into service as space hardware, and characters were created from newly-sculpted faces, brought to life in Photoshop.
Network’s new Stingray comic also includes an example of the latter, with a three-page “Admiral Denver” adventure for which the Admiral’s submarine and female co-pilot were newly created using models and photo-montage.
Alongside these digital creations, the comic finds room for some “old school” artwork, courtesy of Steve Kyte – who provides cover paintings and a revisitation of the “History of Titanica” strip, originally illustrated by Ron Turner for the second Stingray Annual; an “Oink” strip by Lew Stringer; and Graham Bleathman offers a brand-new cutaway illustration of Stingray tangling with the Loch Ness Monster.
SOLD OUT SUPER-DELUXE EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES
PLUS EVERYTHING FROM THE DELUXE EDITION SPECIAL, AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER, WHICH FEATURES
• Super Deluxe edition box • Luxury hardcover Memorabilia album • Replica Stingray pressbook • Two bespoke art prints • Stingray aqua blue 7″ vinyl
• Exclusive, limited edition deluxe packaging • Brand-new Stingray comic • Brand-new Stingray book by archive television historian Andrew Pixley • Gerry Anderson commentaries on the pilot and Standby for Action • The Reunion Party – HD remaster of the Japanese Stingray presentation footage • Give-a-Show projector image gallery • Sylvia Anderson interview Part 2 • Walton Home Movies • Image Gallery (5 mins) • Stingray WASP pilot license and badge • Brand-new Mini Adventure CD • Stingray Ephemera Wallet • Lincoln Toy Advert • Lyons Maid Advert • Des O’Connor Sketch • Ad Bumpers • French End Titles • Century 21 Tech Talk: Stingray • Stingray TV21 audio adventures • Remastered and reconstructed two Super Space Theater Stingray films: Incredible Voyage of Stingray and Invaders from the Deep (to be shipped separately, Summer 2022)
• Check out the complete Network collection: https://networkonair.com
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.
Categories: British Comics, Comics, downthetubes News, Television
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