My
first encounter with Project SWORD, even though I didn't appreciate its
links to TV21, was around one Christmas in the early 70s.
My
father had lots of retail and wholesale contacts, having worked in the
business before a career in airlines, and was always taking us to these
obscure discount places he knew. One was a long, cramped first floor
office in a block behind one end of Crawley High Street - the building
is still there, in Orchard Street, even if the business has long
disappeared.
On
a dark winter afternoon, possibly a Saturday when we always went
shopping, my younger sister and I were taken to this veritable treasure
trove - shelves packed tight with all manner of toys and games. Whether
my dad had taken us to this downmarket Santa's Grotto specifically
because of them I can't recall, but our choice narrowed down to these
three SWORD toy spaceships. Years on, I now know these were the rare and
much sought-after Series 2 ships, and remember that '1' was like a
white boat with blue trim, '2' was a yellow swing-wing plane, and '3' a
red delta-shaped craft. Because we were only allowed one each - my sis
still likes SF though long married and a mum herself now - the boring
boat-like one lost out...
Fast
forward some fifteen years, and my next SWORD memoir relates to
correspondence with writer and 'TV21' script editor, the late Angus
Allan, who sadly passed away in 2007. I was writing a college thesis on
Gerry Anderson fandom, and had written to Angus, courtesy of letters
passed on via the Look-in offices. Amidst his responses, he mentioned
the Project SWORD annual he had pretty much written from scratch, and
the fact he featured in the photos of the 'characters' if I could find a
copy. Somehow, in those pre-internet and eBay days, I did, and now I
had several faces to add to names like Roger Perry, Dennis Hooper,
Howard Elson and Angus himself. I also become a fan of this incredibly
dark and apocalyptic future, where happy 'Thunderbirds'-style endings
were few, if ever, and far between.
It
wasn't until much later, a scant few years ago, that I took the plunge
to try and document all the Gerry Anderson related comics, after an
abortive attempt where initial features formed part of Stephen La
Riviere's 'Supermarionation Is Go' website. A great many visits to the
British Newspaper Library at Colindale ensued, with myself writing the
vast majority of guides, and associate Kim Stevens assisting by
contributing knowledge of the SWORD toys when it came to looking at
rarer, less well-known strips in 'Solo' and 'TV Tornado'. I had obtained
a couple of 'Solo' issues already, and had no idea 'Project SWORD' had
actually started here. And what a start - it was quite appallingly
awful. A world apart from the well-crafted stories in the annual. We
still have no idea who wrote and drew it, which may be just as well.
The
SWORD stories in 'TV21' were catalogued by Kim Stevens, even though I
wrote the accompanying feature, and different yet again in range and
style. Angus was responsible for these too, and it was interesting to
see some of the title's top artists seconded to illustrate them: Ron
Embleton, Don Lawrence (coming as a revelation to his fan club, and
earning me a honorary membership when they confirmed it as his), Jon
Davis and Malcolm Stokes. All, bar Jon whom I had the pleasure of
speaking to last year, sadly now joining Angus in that great Creativity
in the Sky.
So
to someone like myself, Project SWORD - if you're not a die-hard liking
all three versions - is very much a double-edged blade, no pun
intended. From a cringeworthy, curtailed strip, to a superbly dramatic
annual which is a gem in the Century 21 Publications crown, when it was
at the height of its output and creativity.
Looking
ahead, not quite a thousand more years (though it may seem that long to
some!), Project SWORD should feature in the sixth and last article of
the 'Gerry Anderson comics' series for Comics International... whenever.
It may also feature on another special cover which, as with the other
five, I have designed and commissioned, sharing the limelight with
'Agent 21', 'Starcruiser' and - shock horror! - 'Candy & Andy'!
Look out for 'The Space Between The Worlds'.
Hopefully some time before AD3031...
Specially
written for the first bloggiversary by Shaqui Le Vesconte. Shaqui is
the author, along with Kim Stevens, of the superb Gerry Anderson Complete Comics History (GACCH).
The picture is the original coloured illustration Shaqui did of the
Booster Rocket which appeared on the second Upload homepage of GACCH.
N.B - this is a reposting of the article, due to technical issues surrounding its intitial release, which has now been deleted.
N.B - this is a reposting of the article, due to technical issues surrounding its intitial release, which has now been deleted.
As a youngster, I preferred the earlier SWORD strip to the TV21 version; although I did like the later series illustrations. I always appreciated cartoon artwork more than the underlying plot -the plot in comics is often weak anyway. I have never really been impressed by text stories in comics; it has always seemed to me that they are a cheap way of filling pages, when the editor can't/doesn't want to go to the expense of employing somebody to produce a strip cartoon.
ReplyDeleteIf I wanted an SF text story I would read a book.
And as a young reader, I found the doomsday scenario of the TV21 stories rather depressing!
Have to agree with everything Andy said. I think I prefer the Thunderbirds happy ending as opposed to the hopeless end of the world scenario.
ReplyDeleteNever read the Solo strip at the time but give me a comic strip over a text story everytime. Like Andy if I want a text story with depth I'll read a book.
As a kid I loved the toys (including the boring boat one ) and enjoyed the artwork in the annual but I have to admit there was no decent likable characters to identify with, and those with any potential got killed off anyway.
I too echo much of what Andy says. As a child, it was the artwork in picture strips which grabbed my attention, and I felt text stories were a bit of a cheat for just the reason Andy gives. Whether that is the reality of text stories, I couldn't say (although some credence is lent to that by the way such were used to hurriedly end some comic strips, such as the Solo SWORD and the final Penny story when their comics ceased to be). But who knows (shrugs), maybe they were also a way to make adults think comics might help children read more or better.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe I saw the illustrations for the TV21 SWORD at the time. If I had, yes the artwork for those would have thrilled me, but no way would I have sat down and read the stories. In fact, it's sad to say it, but I don't remember as a child ever reading any of the text stories in annuals or comics, either those for girls or boys.
That said, as an adult I can appreciate text stories. Some are truly awful, but there are good ones: and certainly there are scenes dotted here and there which stick in my mind.
Regarding the SWORD text stories, one big problem is the lack of likeable characters with whom to identify, as Mike points out. The darkness bothers me less, and was perhaps a bold move in some ways. But I can't really imagine the stories as having been a favourite part of the comic for most readers (or any readers, really), nor were they likely to have boosted sales of the toys (although those marvellous illustrations might have helped sell a few!)
Now being in my Fifties I have only relatively recently discovered the Solo SWORD strips and the TV21 text stories, largely due to the kindness of Toad and a few other folk who have shared them with me and readers of this blog over the last few years. I honestly don't think I read TV21 when I was a kid in the Sixties, which I still find incredible given how brilliant they are. It may just be my perforated memory of course. So, with it all being new, I am enjoying the strips and the text stories immensely. One by-product of my TV21 reading is discovering just how fabulous an artist Frank Bellamy was. His Thunderbirds strips are truly works of art and are really quite beautiful!
ReplyDelete