The latest issue of the Gerry Anderson-inspired fanzine Andersonic, featuring a cover image by Martin Bower (the Space: 1999 effects artist whose work used to feature in Starlord comic), is on sale now – and the team have pulled off something of a coup with a new Sylvia Anderson interview.
Sylvia – former partner of Gerry – discusses her work on the APF/Century 21 series and her creation and casting of such well-loved characters as Lady Penelope, Parker, the Angels and Ed Straker.
The magazine also includes an interview with visual effects artist Alan Shubrook, who talks of his time working at Century 21 on series such as Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet up to UFO. He discusses his methods, materials used and his favourite miniatures created for the series, as well as sharing behind the scenes anecdotes. The interview is illustrated with Alan’s behind the scenes photographs taken at the studio.
The issue’s coverage of Space:1999 is a feature on Siren Planet, a look at the original script written by Art Wallace, which was later rewritten by Johnny Byrne to become the series’ second episode Matter of Life and Death. And for UFO fans, there’s a trip with back to that ruined farmhouse in The Long Sleep, one of the show’s stranger episodes.
Alongside many other features, including great internal art by Steve Kyte, the magazine also take a detailed look at Countdown comic’s UFO story ‘The Final Climb’ drawn by Jon Davis, offering a detailed guide.
• Andersonic Issue 17 comprises 44 pages and you can buy it here for £2.65 on the Andersonic web iste
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. Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Star Trek Explorer (previously known as Star Trek 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, Classic British Comics, Featured News, Other Worlds, Television
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