TV Century 21 Summer Extra
Published July 1965

Lady Penelope
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Frank Hampson. 4 pages, colour & b/w.

In her mansion, Lady Penelope is watching the televised arrival at London Airport of a film star. However it is not Greta Grant that Penelope is interested in, but Bereznik chief executioner Igor Slanovitch who is standing behind her. Parker thinks they should inform the police but Penelope cannot break her cover, and she thinks they would not be believed anyway. It is up to them to stop the assassin. By the time Slanovitch clears customs, FAB One is waiting to follow his taxi. Using a transmitter-microphone fired at Slanovitch's third floor window, Penelope hears the assassin plan to kill the World President - who is giving a speech to the World Government at Unity City in the Bahamas at four o'clock. Slanovitch leaves the hotel, and drives to a lonely airfield in Kent where he has a plane waiting. parker thinks they will not catch him but Penelope has 'a friend in the north' whose plane they can borrow. FAB One screams north, and soon Penelope and Parker are flying in pursuit at three thousand miles an hour. As the World President makes his appearance at the congress hall, Slanovitch's plane hovers two miles away. Using the latest long range detector and strike force equipment, the assassin lines up his target. Spotting the plane, Penelope does not want to cause a scene, and needs to draw it away from Unity City. Parker brushes wings to thrown the other plane into a spin, and a hypersonic chase ensues, but a rear firing missile makes short work of the assassin pursuer. They have saved the World President's life, and taken care of one of the free world's enemies. Now, home for tea!

Reprinted:
Thunderbirds The Comic issues 57 and 58 as The Enemy Spy
Thunderbirds Classic Comic Strips as Danger In Unity City

Notes:
• As adept a futurist as he is an artist, Frank Hampson has Penelope watching a widescreen stereo sound television.
• The World President, while unnamed, is depicted as Nikita Bandranik.
• One has to ponder who Penelope's 'friend' is - the plane is marked G-CFAB (which implies Penelope part-owns it?), and it is armed with rear-firing missiles.
• Frank Hampson also depicts the motorway has having six lanes in each direction.

TV Century 21 International Extra
Published October 1965

Lady Penelope
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Frank Langford. 6 pages, b/w.
Penelope receives a cryptic message on her tea-pot radio: The Lion Is Icebound In Sunlight. Fishtin Located. She recognises the voice as her agent Roger Lyon, and deduces he is at the North Pole. Taking FAB One to the coast, Penelope explains to Parker that two Universal Secret Service men disappeared last week, and she asked Roger to investigate - he is at the Sunlight Hotel at the pole. Using Penelope's new yacht Seabird II, they journey to the Arctic Circle. Ultra frequency electrode cables melt a channel through the frozen sea, to a point where FAB one can take to a special road built there. This leads to the Sunlight Hotel, forty miles from the North Pole, and where Penelope finds Roger Lyon's deserted room. But he has left his homing signal device, which means they can find his exact position. Crossing the pole, the signal leads them off-road - and beneath them! Taking shelter behind an ice outcrop, they see a submarine burst through the ice. Two Bereznik sailors are dealt with by Penelope's purse clasp hypnosis beam, and a gas lipstick thrown into the conning tower hatch takes care of the crew. protected with gas masks, Penelope and Parker find Roger Lyon and the two USS men prisoners. Freed, Roger explains the Bereznik sub is trying to find the World Government HQ for the polar region to destroy it. The scream of an atom-powered aircraft heralds an attack from another Bereznik craft, and a homing beam jammer from FAB One diverts a missile into the sub. Using machine guns, FAB One also destroys the plane, and their mission is accomplished.

Reprinted:
Penelope Annual ©1969 as Ice Bound

Notes:
• TBC

Thunderbirds Extra
Published March 1966

Lady Penelope Encounters D.C.
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Malcolm Stokes (?). 3 pages, b/w.
Alan and Virgil are attending a runaway reactor at Vencombe Moor in southern England, when the controller warns there has been a security breach and the press are on their way. A car suddenly appears and abducts Brains as he is rejoining them, but with the press about to arrive as well, the Tracy brothers are forced to leave. Lady Penelope takes up pursuit of the car but after it is found abandoned by the road it yields no clues. But on returning to her mansion, she and Parker are surprised when a dishevelled Brains appears at the french windows. The scientist takes off his glasses and explains he does not know who the kidnappers are, but he made a run for it when their car broke down. Realising the time, Brains retires for some sleep but Penelope is suspicious. The next day, she asks Parker to take her to a nearby farm, in her role as Lady of the Manor, leaving Brains alone in the mansion. As she suspects, Brains makes a call - the real one would not have been able to see the clock without glasses - to 'Dominator Control. It is all a ploy to learn the secrets of International Rescue, but the spy's eagerness means Penelope is able to track 'D.C.' when it replies. An apparently derelict house in overgrown gardens conceals an underground control centre, which Penelope penetrates with lipstick gas and explosives to rescue the real Brains.



Chapters:
Penny Takes Over
On The Scent
No Clues
Brains Appears
D.C. Slips Up
A Surprise Call
Safely Home

Reprinted:
TV2000 Thunderbirds Extra (Holland) 1966 as Lady Penelope Ontmoet O.O.

Notes:
• In the order of pages in the Thunderbirds Extra, this comes after Emergency - Thunderbirds, and refers to Thunderbird 2 being out of action.
• Having Virgil as co-pilot of Thunderbird 3 predates the only appearance of him flying it in the episode 'Ricochet' - but may also be the writer confusing him with Scott again, as in Emergency - Thunderbirds.
• England now has the more European sounding 'Autoroutes' (with AR67 and AR72 namechecked) instead of motorways, but this contradicts the television series.
• Since the relationship between International Rescue and Lady Penelope is also supposed to be a secret, how did the imposter Brains know to contact her? (Of course, it is feasible the abandoned car was being watched, but this is not made clear)
• In Dutch, 'Dominator Control' (D.C.) translates as Opperbevel Overheersing, or 'Predominance Command'.

Lady Penelope Summer Extra
Published May 1966

Strip One: A Champion Meets Her Match
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Michael Strand. 4 pages, b/w.
In her stately home, Lady Penelope has equipment which can tune in to any radio message made in the British Isles...

Listening in to the secret service wave band, Penelope and Parker hear about atomic power station plans stolen in Paris - the fifth such theft after Califonia, Sydney, Rome and Madrid in a short space of time. Penelope cannot think what link there is, and parker drives her to her appointment at Wimbledon to watch the tennis championships. While there, it occurs to Penelope that champion Ruby Lock has recently played in each country where the thefts took place. Playing her hunch, Penelope has Parker follow Ruby to her hotel as she leaves the courts. Using the ploy of getting an autograph, Penelope places a homing device on Ruby, and four hours later during the night, they see her leave with her racket bag. They follow the champion to Grindleg Atomic Power Station, where Ruby uses gas loaded tennis balls to stun the guards and gain access. Protected with a mask and using a hand laser, Ruby also has safe-cracking skills and steals plans from the vault, hidden in her racket handle. Turning to leave, she is confronted by Penelope, but a gas ball stuns her. Ruby locks Penelope in the vault and escapes, leaving Parker to rescue Penelope. Back in FAB One, he revives her with an antidote, and the two give chase. Ruby is hot off the road, and Penelope uses her own stun gas on the champion. Now she can be handed over to the authorities - game, set and match!

Reprinted:
TV2000 Thunderbirds Extra (Holland) 1966 as Kampioene Lijdt Nederlaag (A Champion Suffers Defeat)

Notes:
• It is never made clear who Ruby is working for, or what happens to the other plans. Is she really a spy who happens to be good at tennis, or a tennis player gone bad?


Strip Two: Odds Against Parker
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Michael Strand. 6 pages, colour & b/w.
It is nine o'clock on a bright spring morning... the postman calls at the stately home of Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward.

Penelope and Parker see the postman seemingly smelling the flowers, and Penelope takes a phone call while as Parker gets the post. The call is for Parker, and it is from a old mate who has gone straight and wants a few pointers on how to keep out of trouble. Penelope thinks this a good idea, and allows Parker the night off to see him. But the following morning when Penelope rings for tea, she finds Parker has not returned. Concerned, she rings the police to check hospitals for her. The whole day passes, and by the time Penelope retires to bed, there is still no sign. In the night, two burglars - armed with knowledge of the alarm system - break in and steal paintings, silver, and a necklace from a concealed panel only Penelope and Parker knew about. Calling Jeff Tracy, she decides to handle the matter herself rather than call the police. An automatic tape monitoring system reveals the call Parker took was from Odds Malone, who Penelope believes must be a gambler. That night, at Chez Monte Casino in London, she finds out Malone is at the trotting track. There, as an owner of trotting horses herself, she gains access to the select area where Malone is celebrating with another man. Following them in FAB One as they leave, she is led to a large house in the best part of London. Using a listening device, she overhears Malone telling Parker the information was correct, and they paln to steal more stuff. Feeling betrayed, Penelope breaks in confronts Malone - to find Parker a prisoner. Held at gunpoint by the gambler, she uses the excuse of wanting to attend to her make-up before being kiled - and uses her purse gas to stun him. Parker reveals the 'postman' had planted a bomb, and it was the threat of it being detonated - killing Penelope - that made him reveal the alarm system. Penelope realises she was not wrong about Parker, and drives him home.

Reprinted:
TV2000 Thunderbirds Extra (Holland) 1966 as Parker Gewantrouwd (Parker Distrusted)

Notes:
• While at home, Penelope uses her powder compact to call Jeff Tracy.
• Penny muses that Parker has been in her service for years, which seems to contradict the very first Lady Penelope strip.


Lady Penelope fights the power of voodoo in...
Voodoo Drums
Writer: Unknown.
Artist: Michael Strand. 3 pages, colour & b/w.
Having rescued the crew of a sinking nuclear tanker, Scott Tracy reports to his father that flying back over the Amazon jungle, a peculiar magnet force nearly threw Thunderbird 1 out of the sky, and the photographic alert warning flashed. He has taken pictures of the area, but these reveal nothing. Scott wants to investigate, but Jeff has a better idea...
Lady Penelope is holidaying at her uncle's mansion near Georgetown in British Guiana, and jumps at the chance to take on a mission for Jeff. Loading up two jeeps onto a boat, and taking six bearers with crated provisions, Penelope and Parker journey up river into the jungle interior for two weeks towards the location given. At night, camped by the river, drums sound out, and Penelope and Parker awake to find their bearers gone. The reserve fuel has gone, and their jeeps have had their fuel tanks punched - by a modern knife Parker finds that was made in Bereznik. Determined to go on foot, Penelope leads Parker to the location, and finds a clearing containing a brighly light base for a Bereznik rocket. The drums start again, and a man addesses them - Vladuz, Scientist-in-Chief of Bereznik, who alone has used voodoo to control the natives and build the base undetected. His Conqueror rocket will rain down micro-projectiles that will destroy whole cities. With Penelope and Parker prisoner, he reveals he intercepted the transmission from Jeff Tracy, and knew they were coming. The situation seems hopeless, but Penelope gets Parker to beat on the drum near his feet, breaking the spell holding the natives. In the confusion, Vladuz is knocked out by Penelope when she topples her chair into him, freeing her in the process. Calling Jeff Tracy for assistance to destroy the base, and rescue, their mission is accomplished.

Chapters:
Orders Received
Into The Jungle
A Vital Clue
On The Scent
Countdown
Mission Accomplished

Reprinted:
TV2000 Thunderbirds Extra 2 (Holland) 1967 as Voodoo Trommels

Notes:
• For the Dutch reprint, the illustration of the voodoo items on page two is in its original colour, whereas it is only reproduced in black & white for the English edition.
• The Dutch chapters are: De Rimboe In (The Jungle), Een Aanwijzing (An Indication), Op Het Spoor (On The Track), Aftellen (To Count Off), and Opdracht Volbracht.



Strip Three: Bullets For The Bride
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Michael Strand. 4 pages, b/w.

Penelope is admiring her latest outfit from Wickfens - she is to be bridesmaid at the wedding of Jessica St. Cloud, daughter of Sir Thomas, of the St. Cloud Steel Corporation, in Switzerland tomorrow afternoon. But that afternoon during tea, Penelope is contacted by her agent Roger Lyon. The wedding of Jessica to Anthony Barlard of the Barlard Finance Trust will be a commercial union certain parties would not like to see happen, and three assassins have been hired to kill the bride to be. Penelope pledges to protect Jessica, making Parker curious as to why she requests her pistol! The next morning at Jessica's chalet, Penelope and Roger decide to act as there will be an attempt on the way to the ceremony. When Penelope is shown her room by the excited Jessica, she holds the bride at gunpoint and has Parker tie her up. Taking Jessica's place as bride, Penelope is driven by Parker in FAB One, to find they are being followed. The Rolls' laser beam takes care of the gunmen, and Penelope arrives at the church to be met by Roger. The bridesgroom arrives, and is surprised to find the bride is not Jessica! But Penelope's keen eys have spotted a suspicious-looking monk, and a tranquiliser gun hidden in her bouquet of roses takes care of him. She suggests moving from the spot they are standing... as the huge church bell smashes to the ground! The mock wedding ceremony takes place, and at the reception Roger ponders whether a third attempt will take place. A cameraman asks to take pictures of the happy couple, and Penelope gestures and whispers to Parker. As the camera is lined up, Parker smashes the man over the head with a bottle! Penelope noticed the lens cap was on the camera, which is actually a vapourising ray gun. All attempts failed, Penelope returns to the chalet to release a bemused Jessica, and after explanantions, the real couple are married.

Reprinted:
TV2000 Thunderbirds Extra 2 (Holland) 1967 as Kogels Voor De Bruid

Notes:
• It has to be assumed that like Penelope, Roger Lyon is also well-known in high social circles, as he appears to be a guest of Jessica St. Cloud at her chalet in Switzerland. He may even be Best Man to Anthony Barlard.

With Frank Langford commited to the weekly strip, almost all the art in the Lady Penelope Summer Extra in 1966 was by Michael Strand. Strand would later cover for Langford on the regular issues, and her produces some quite beautiful colour illustrations here.

The Gerry Anderson Complete Comic History would like to thank:
Alastair Crompton
and Ronald Kroon
- for their help with this feature.

Version 1.1 - 01.12.05


Any comments or notes about any of the strips, please contact technodelic@blueyonder.co.uk.

All text © The Gerry Anderson Complete Comic History, and its respective writers, and may not be reproduced without permission.
All images © their respective copyright holders