An early comic appearance of characters from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s Captain Scarlet, drawn by John M. Burns, is up for sale.
On offer is a John M Burns original art board from the TV21 series “Front Page”, published in Issue 140 in 1967, up for auction on eBay. This particular board is of interest to Captain Scarlet fans as it acts as a prelude to that series own strip, which started in the next issue.
Colonel White, Lieutenant Green and Captain Black feature on the page, at Glenn Field, the spaceport seen in the film Thunderbirds Are Go, just as the Zero X mission to Mars, as seen in the first episode of Captain Scarlet, has just returned.
“Front Page” featured in TV Century 21 during the latter half of 1967, replacing another non TV strip, “Catch or Kill”, centring on reporters from the future newspaper, reporter Pete Tracker and photographer Lens Sharpe (geddit?), investigating stories for the TV21 news organisation. Of the stories published, the “SPECTRUM” storyline is perhaps the most memorable, just part of major pre marketing for the new TV series, which began with “The Mark of the Mysterons” in Solo (set in 1967), and “The Angels” in Lady Penelope, and “The Mysterons”, launched late in SOLO’s short run, continued post merger in Tornado – all weekly titles published by City Magazines.
“SPECTRUM” marked the comic debut of Captain Black who had been introduced to readers of TV21 some months previously in a cover story. His mysterious return to Earth and subsequent disappearance was explained in the first episode of “Captain Scarlet” in Issue 141.
Now sixty years old, the “Front Page” art board on offer is well used with some yellowing and foxing of corners and edges, but is still a rare piece of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson Supermarionation memorabilia.
Artist John M. Burns’ name and then address are written by him on the reverse, so technically a ‘signed’ piece.
Head downthetubes for…
• BLIMEY! The Blog of British Comics: SOLO
• BLIMEY! The Blog of British Comics: TV Tornado
Comic archivist Shaqui le Vesconte’s excellent guides to three Captain Scarlet tie-in strips are archived on Wayback
• Wayback Machine: Technodelic | The Mark Of The Mysterons: Solo – 1967
• Wayback Machine: Technodelic | The Mysterons:
TV Tornado, 1967-68
• Wayback Machine: Technodelic | The Angels:
Lady Penelope, 1967
- 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.
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