ARTIST CHARLIE STARKEY: THUNDERBIRDS MEMORIES

Alan Fennell: we communicated by phone and by 20th century pre-email mail. When I first heard Alan was reviving the Anderson strips (beginning with Thunderbirds) in the 1990s, I painted a few sample frames – featuring Thunderbird 2 and Virgil Tracy, I think – and mailed them to him on spec, hoping he'd like them and reply. Fortunately, he did, and he gave me carte blanche to come up with whatever I liked for the covers. I'd include a few paragraphs of storyline describing the scenes and he'd usually print them on the inside contents page. I worked on Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, and Stingray comics for him.

Steve Kyte: I was one of Steve's best friends at Kingston-upon-Thames Art School! He was the most talented illustrator there and we quickly bonded over our Gerry Anderson memories, sci-fi and horror films, and a shared love of 1960s pop culture. Steve would always be doodling Stingray and I'd be sketching Fireball XL5. We got involved in the early days of Fanderson (the Anderson appreciation society) and Steve actually did some pre-production artwork for Gerry... his Terrahawks show, I think. His illustrations were always spectacular. I always make a point of meeting up with him and his partner (a celebrated Manga author) every time I visit London.

Charlie Starkey

USA