UFO strip guide - part one

Issue 1, week ending 20 February 1971
Writer: Dennis Hooper (?).
Artist: Jon Davis. 5 pages, b/w & photo inserts.
The year is 1980. It has been established that hostile visitors from deep space are reaching the Earth in machines code-named UFOs.
A UFO manages to evade interception by Moonbase and lands on Earth. However, waiting SHADO Mobiles are confused when the UFO only touches down for a matter of seconds before taking off again. But the following morning two scientists are reported as not turning up for work in the same area. Colonel Alec Freeman investigates, only to be ambushed by an Alien in the ruins of Mersham Abbey. Colonel Paul Foster, still in the area in a Mobile, searches for Freeman when he doesn't report in and is also wounded by the Alien. Realising that the disappearances are all connected, Straker lays an ambush for the UFO which will have to arrive to collect the abducted men. Unknown to the commander, a Moonferry has sighted the UFO and intercepted it, causing a delay in its arrival. On Earth, the helmetless Alien is weakening, which gives Freeman a chance to escape, just as the UFO arrives. With no chance of capturing it, Skydiver is alerted and Sky 1 is able to destroy it. WIth a dead Alien and a destroyed UFO, the only positive aspect is that Freeman and the two scientists were not taken.

Notes:
• The introductory story is somewhat cumbersome, seemingly needing the feel to introduce most of the characters and all of the main hardware in one go. The end result paints SHADO as somewhat incompetent, with no communication between the different bases and staff!
• Jon Davis' art is straightforward, and the photo-inserts hark back to the same idea used in the early Stingray strips in TV Century 21. A similar format would be used for The Secret Service, with art also by Jon Davis, in issue 2 of Countdown.
• The carrier UFO at the end of the story is cylindrical in design, and unlike anything seen in the series.


Story Two
Writer: Alan Fennell (?). Artist: Gerry Haylock. 2 pages, colour.
Part 1, Issue 2, week ending 27 February 1971
SHADO Control Clerk Warren Spencer has leaked information about the organisation to a reporter called Mason for The Clarion newspaper. While Alec Freeman runs a security check, Straker tries to persuade the paper not to pursue the story. A UFO manages to evade interception by Moonbase to be shot down by Sky 1 over the sea. Fisherman Robin Johns, out in his one-man launch in the mist, sees the crash and tying it to the reported story in The Clarion, is startled to see a red space-suited body floating nearby...

Part 2, Issue 3, week ending 06 March 1971
Johns brings the Alien aboard, and believes Mason will pay a fortune for the information. Sky 1 sees the launch in the mist, and orders Johns to report to the harbour for questioning. En route though, Johns detours past Robbicombe Cave and leaves the unconscious Alien there. Back at the harbour, Johns is questioned by Paul Foster, and states he only saw the distant crash, but once alone the fisherman contacts Mason. Together, the two men return to the cave - but the Alien has gone...

Part 3, Issue 4, week ending 13 March 1971

Mason and Johns search but to little avail. Meanwhile, Skydiver has found the UFO on the sea-bed and a salvage vessel finds it to be empty. But the UFO starts to glow and the vessel barely manages to dump it back in the sea before the craft self-destructs. Mason has tracked Spencer home, and blackmails the operative into getting him into SHADO Headquarters through automatic checkpoints. But unknown to both, the Alien has followed them both and also got into the base...

Part 4, Issue 5, week ending 20 March 1971
Disguised as a SHADO operative, Mason explores the base. Meanwhile, Alec Freeman suspects Johns knew more than he was telling and questions him further. The fisherman cracks and explains about the Alien and Mason's contact within SHADO. Freeman returns to Headquarters and warns Straker that Spencer is the traitor. But Spencer has reasoned that Mason can keep blackmailing him and goes to confront him. What he finds instead is an armed Alien...

Part 5, Issue 6, week ending 27 March 1971
The Alien kills Spencer, and Straker and Foster find his body and the tell-tale burns of a ray weapon. The commander issues an alert and all personnel respond to an assembly point for checking - except Mason who does not recognise the call-sign. Cornered by Straker, Mason responds he has a duty to the public. The Alien is nearby, and sights Straker with his weapon, but Mason sees it and impulsively leaps forward in warning. Mason is shot and the Alien killed. Later, both Johns and a recovering Mason are administered the amnesia drug - which means Straker can't even thank him for saving his life.

Reprinted:
• Qui Giovani No. 51, 1971 (Italy) as Un Extraterrestre Tra Noi (An Alien Among Us)

Notes:
• An action-packed start to the strip's regular run, and the debut of Gerry Haylock's colourful and well crafted artwork.
• Carlin, as with the annual, is spelt Karlin.
• If there is a failing, it is perhaps too much is packed into the story, and there are jumps in the action that are not fully explored - such as Mason being with Johns searching for the Alien one moment, then turning up at Spencer's place to blackmail him the next. That aside, the transition from TV series to strip is seamless, and one is left with the feeling this could have made a cracking episode!


Too Old At 32
Writer: Alan Fennell (?). Artist: Gerry Haylock. 2 pages, colour.
Part 1, Issue 7, week ending 03 April 1971
Captain Frank Harris is going through Interceptor simulation tests but at 32 he is the most experienced and oldest of the pilots and only just passes. Alec Freeman thinks Straker maybe on the verge of dismissing him but the commander simply wants him watched. Returning to Moonbase, a real UFO is sighted and the Interceptors launched, but Harris is concerned he may slip up - ending his career...

Part 2, Issue 8, week ending 10 April 1971
Interceptors 1 and 2 fire but the missile mechanism of Harris' craft jams, for which he is sure he will be blamed. Trying again, Harris manages to fire and cripple the UFO, but it still carries out its mission - to cripple SID. Contact with Moonbase is lost briefly until emergency links are established. Meanwhile, Harris has spotted a second UFO landing on the Moon and followed it down in the hope of making amends, but in the shadows, an Alien sees him and opens fire...

Part 3, Issue 9, week ending 17 April 1971
While repair crews tend to SID, Straker and Foster have taken a Ferry to Moonbase to investigate, and find Harris is missing presumed dead. Foster leads a search in two Moon Mobiles to the area, where a dazed Harris recovers consciousness. Seeing the abandoned UFO, Harris lifts off again but has to make a forced landing when his fuel runs out. Alone and injured, he struggles over the lunar landscape to try and warn Moonbase. But elsewhere on the surface, the Alien has placed homing beacons that will signal the position of Moonbase for an attack...



Part 4, Issue 10, week ending 24 April 1971
Harris collapses but is found by Foster who returns him to Moonbase. The pilot struggles to warn them of the Alien and taking no chances, Straker launches the Interceptors which destroy the departing UFO. But too late, an Alien missile is already in flight and strikes at Moonbase. With SID still out of action, the base is now a sitting duck...

Part 5, Issue 11, week ending 01 May 1971
Straker launches the Interceptors using manual radar in the hope of preventing further missiles getting through, but they fight a losing battle. At the last moment, SID is repaired and able to trace the Alien location devices, allowing Foster to destroy them. The last missiles veer off course and the danger is over. Recovering, Harris is told he will be returning to Earth. His reflexes may be slower but he kept his head. SHADO would be better served with his experience at Headquarters, where he will be promoted to Colonel.

Reprinted:
• Qui Giovani No.s 8-9, 1972 (Italy) as Base Luna Non Risponde (Moonbase Does Not Respond)

Notes:
• Another great story, with the crippling of SID perhaps inspired by 'The Man Who Came Back'.
• The concept of a crippled ex-pilot was also seen in 'Mindbender', which suggests the writer possibly had access to the later epsiodes which had not been aired yet.
• Interestingly, none of the female Moonbase operatives are named, and the Moon Mobiles are referred to as 'Moonbugs'.
• Haylock's use of following photographic reference causes him to show one of the Dalotek space modules outside of Moonbase in the final part.
• The original artwork for part 1 of this story is still known to exist.


The New Boss
Writer: Alan Fennell (?).
Artist: Gerry Haylock. 2 pages, colour.
Part 1, Issue 12, week ending 08 May 1971
A UFO reaches Earth and manages to strike General Henderson's car as he is returning from vacation in America, causing a crash and injuring him. His replacement at an International Astrophysical Commission meeting is General Calper, who accompanies Straker in a ShadAir jet. Calper is unsympathetic towards SHADO, but in flight the UFO is sighted homing in on them...

Part 2, Issue 13, week ending 15 May 1971
Straker calls on Skydiver for assistance and Sky 1 homes in but not before the UFO is able to fire on the ShadAir jet. Calper is slightly injured but the jet and crew still make it to New York for the conference. A recovered Calper addresses the delegates, and tells them he believes SHADO is no longer competent in defending Earth, and calls for an investigation of Straker and the organisation...


Part 3, Issue 14, week ending 22 May 1971
The Commission agrees that a detailed investigation will help asssit budget reviews and Straker is ordered to co-operate fully. The commander takes Calper back to SHADO Headquarters and gives him a full tour including a captured Alien space suit, but the General is undeterred in his opinions even when overcome by a dizzy spell. Stating it is better the public know, Calper intends to broadcast to the nation and pulls a gun on Straker. With little choice, Straker overcomes him, but in a military organisation this is a court martial offence...

Part 4, Issue 15, week ending 29 May 1971
Straker escapes in a racing car that is being used for one of the studio films, and Calper calls on both SHADO and civil police to catch him. Out in the country, Straker is able to lose the police and doubles back to Paul Foster's apartment to get help, but Foster is waiting - in a SHADO Mobile...

Part 5, Issue 16, week ending 05 June 1971

Foster disobeys orders from Calper to open fire and confronts Straker, who tells him of the General's plans. Realising something is wrong, Foster joins Straker, who believes Calper may have come under an Alien influence. Meanwhile, Alec Freeman has been replaced by Calper's aide Crawford. Freeman is also suspicious, and contacts Straker and Foster in their Mobile. They arrange to meet in the ruins of a house destroyed by a UFO months earlier but en route they encounter another Mobile driven by Crawford...

Part 6, Issue 17, week ending 12 June 1971
The battle is short, with Foster forcing Crawford off the road and driving through a police cordon. At the ruin rendezvous with Alec Freeman, they discover Calper had hypnosis during recent dental treatment and think this may have made him open to outside influence. Recalling Calper's dizzy spell when seeing the Alien suit, Straker hatches a plan and Freeman returns to SHADO. Later, Calper is en route to the television studio to make his broadcast when a Mobile blocks their way. As his guards pull their weapons, an Alien approaches...

Part 7, Issue 18, week ending 19 June 1971

The Alien commands Calper stop the guards, and the General barks an order. Watching from the Mobile, Foster and Freeman realise Straker - dressed in the Alien spacesuit - was correct. But a UFO is homing in and eliminates Calper before being destroyed by Sky 1. Returning to SHADO Headquarters, Straker believes the Aliens knew the plan had failed and destroyed Calper to prevent how they controlled him being discovered. Back at the Astrophysical Commission, Straker's budget increase is granted.

Reprinted:
• Qui Giovani No.s 10-13, 1972 (Italy) as Il Raggio Che Uccide (The Beam That Kills)

Notes:
• The drawn masthead is slightly redesigned, incorporating an Alien (left).
• Once again, the influence of later episodes appear, with Alien mind control.
• General Henderson is referred to but never seen, probably due to the rights for actor Grant Taylor's likeness not being negotiated.
• Sky 1 is shown firing a missile from its nose, rather than from the wing-mounted pods.
• It is implied several times that SHADO, while essentially secret, seem to operate more openly and are at least known to the police, who show no surprise at having to deal with SHADO Mobiles, and a very large IAC Conference.
• The reference to a UFO crashing into a house, forming the ruin rendezvous, may come from the episode 'E.S.P.', and the frames of Straker driving a racing car are reminiscent of similar scenes from the episode 'Timelash'.


The Force Field / Invasion From Mars
Writer: Alan Fennell (?).
Artist: Gerry Haylock. 2 pages, colour.
Part 1, Issue 19, week ending 26 June 1971
SHADO technician Dennis Skipton has developed an invisible force-field, and demonstrates it to Straker and Freeman by setting up in the control room where they walk into it! Before Straker can take any further action, six UFOs enter the solar system, change course and disappear! While trying to determine their position, six more UFOs are tracked, and their course is taking them to Mars...

Part 2, Issue 20, week ending 02 July 1971
The second flight of UFOs also disappear from tracking beams near Mars, as though something is blocking all laser and microwave signals. Their target, though, must be the Martian Survey Team and lone astronaut Jack Lewis - out on the surface in a survey vehicle - can only watch in horror as the UFOs destroy the complex. Straker despatches Paul Foster in a Lunar Module to Mars to find out what is going on, but on approaching the red planet, electrical activity peaks and the craft is deflected by an invisible barrier...

Part 3, Issue 21, week ending 09 July 1971
Foster transmits data back to SHADO, and Straker calls on Skipton who finds the force-field is similar to his own. Meanwhile on Mars, Lewis is fighting for survival as his vehicle is attacked by a UFO. Left for dead, he manages to salvage a transmitter and tries to signal Moonbase. There, Paul Foster has returned as more UFOs are seen approaching the planet, giving SHADO a chance to determine the position of the Alien base...

Part 4, Issue 22, week ending 16 July 1971

As the Aliens lower the force field to allow the UFOs to land, Lewis' signal gets through briefly, and SHADO pinpoint their location. The problem now is to penetrate the barrier, which Skipton believes he can do. On Mars, Lewis observes the Aliens setting up an underground base but he is spotted and pursued over the terrain...

Part 5, Issue 23, week ending 23 July 1971
Suddenly, the ground gives way and Lewis falls into an old survey mine shaft, which the Aliens assume has killed him. On Earth, Skipton has finally found a way of penetrating the barrier so Paul Foster is sent to Moonbase to prepare a ship. Moonbase's interplanetary missile arsenal is prepared should anything go wrong. Lewis recovers consciousness to find the shaft leads to the Aliens' base, where they seem to be preparing missiles of their own for an attack on Earth...

Part 6, Issue 24, week ending 30 July 1971

Foster's solo mission is already underway and after several days he arrives at Mars. A laser transmitted from SID allows his ship to penetrate the barrier and land. Meanwhile, the Aliens have started to launch their missiles, which Lewis tries to warn Earth about again but his signals cannot get through. Foster in a modified SHADO Mobile does pick them up though, and closes in. With the barrier down briefly to allow the missiles through, Foster warns Moonbase but with their defences stretched to the limit, Straker is concerned the Aliens may launch the UFOs as a second wave...

Part 7, Issue 25, week ending 06 August 1971
The commander is right, and an armada of UFOs launch for an all-out attack. Foster is able to warn SHADO before the force-field closes again and all Earth forces are put on alert. A handful of Aliens remain at the base, and it is up to Foster in the Mobile and Lewis armed with a weapon to destroy it while undefended. With their centre of operations gone, the UFOs veer off their attack course and leave. Later, back on Earth, Straker and Foster surmise they must have been using a homing beam for the attack.

Reprinted:
• Qui Giovani No.s 15-17, 1972 (Italy) as La Barriera Invisibile (The Invisible Barrier)

Notes:
• This story marked the first departure from the UFO strips pride and place as a 2 page colour spread, with the second and final parts being on the front and back cover. This would continue during the next two strips.
• The story, while still gripping, is the first to depart somewhat from the series format.
• The story is referred to as starting in August 1981.
• Gay Ellis is named in the strip for the first time.
• The Mars Mining Survey is described as being 'SHADO-sponsored', though we never learn why.
• Larger UFOs are seen as part of their arrivals, and supposedly transport their excavating equipment.
• Smaller, one-man armed craft are used by the Aliens when pursuing Lewis.
• Moonbase has an arsenal of interplanetary missiles, housed in craters, and apparently also 'reserve interceptors'.
• The code-word 'Sidewinder' is used to defend SHADO Headquarters, with all available Mobiles forming a defensive ring.
• The final part, strangely, is called 'Invasion From Mars' instead of 'The Force Field'.
• A SpaceX inspired design appears as Lewis' vehicle - this one based on the T5 Tractor.


Arctic Affair
Writer: Alan Fennell (?). Artist: Gerry Haylock. 2 pages, colour.

Part 1, Issue 26, week ending 13 August 1971
Over the Arctic Sky 1, with Peter Carlin aboard, is crippled by a UFO. He is forced to warn another craft, a U.S. Army plane piloted by Lieutenant Braydon and Sergeant Lucas, out of the area before hitting the UFO and causing it to crash. The Army plane, which observes the attack, has also encountered difficulties in the worsening blizzard and crashed nearby, observed by the Alien survivor...

Part 2, Issue 27, week ending 20 August 1971

The Alien pulls Lucas and Braydon out of the wreck just before it explodes. As the two recover and the storm subsides, they are amazed to be confronted with the green-skinned Alien, who they realise was the pilot of the UFO they saw shot down. The Alien explains the colour is protection from the cold, and that his mission is secret but he was due to meet General Craddock - the commander of the U.S. Army Arctic base. This is where Peter Carlin has been forced to land because of the damage caused by the UFO, and as they nothing of SHADO, he is ordered by Straker to remove all insignia and reveal nothing. However, Carlin does not realise the base is actually an advanced communications outpost and has intercepted signals from deep space, and Craddock believes him to be involved with an Alien threat...

Part 3, Issue 28, week ending 27 August 1971
Locking Carlin up until his identity can be verified, Craddock sends a rescue plane out to search for Lucas and Braydon. Meanwhile, Straker is on his way to the Arctic with a SHADO team in the hope of capturing the crashed UFO and its occupant. The rescue plane finds the two Army men and the Alien, and returns to the base with them. But Craddock is suspicious and once in the cell with Carlin, the Alien collapses...

Part 4, Issue 29, week ending 03 September 1971

Carlin immediately recognises the start of the aging process already seen in Aliens, and realises the freezing temperature must have delayed it from happening. He tries to convice Craddock that the Alien needs the cols=d to stay alive but the General won't listen. Using a hidden radio, Carlin talks to Straker, still two hours away, and realises he will have to break out and save the Alien himself. With a gas pellet hidden in his boot, Carlin escapes just as Lucas and Braydon come to visit. But out in the cold, Carlin realises he won't survive long in the Arctic conditions...

Part 5, Issue 30, week ending 10 September 1971
Craddock, alerted by Lucas and Brayson, sends out a search team with orders to shoot on sight. Meanwhile, Carlin has taken the Alien to nearby shelter where he is surprised to find he speaks English! The Alien tells him the cold will only slow the aging, not stop it, and as it has already begun he will not last long. Carlin is spotted and winged by Craddock's men, and he can only watch as the Alien strides away into the blizzard. Radioing Straker, the commander calls on General Henderson to order co-operation from Craddock, but Carlin has already passed out...

Part 6, Issue 31, week ending 17 September 1971
By the time Straker arrives, Carlin has been taken to a medical unit to recover. There, he tells Straker of the Alien and Foster, in a SHADO Mobile, finds him too late. Likewise, the transporter plane finds the UFO just as it self-destructs. Craddock has now been given orders to co-operate, and argues he did everything by the book. But the base will now come under SHADO control, and Straker can only hope Craddock's diligence will not cost them so dearly in the future.

Reprinted:
• Qui Giovani No.s 5-7, 1972 (Italy) as S.O.S. Dall'Artico (SOS From The Arctic)

Notes:
• The differences between the series and the strip continue, with the Alien given the power of speech and command of English.
• One can imagine, had UFO continued to a second series, this possibly would have been the way of future episodes. As it is, this story does not contradict the series by that much, and we never learn what the Alien's mission is, nor how he knew of General Craddock. But the main dramatic thrust is that of the conflict between SHADO secrecy and the U.S. Army, and this works well, echoing events in the episode 'Destruction'.


The Snatch
Part 1, Issue 32, week ending 24 September 1971
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Gerry Haylock. Front cover & 2 pages, colour.
Moonbase detects a UFO approaching on an erratic course. Paul Foster leads the interceptor flight to investigate and a bizarre cat-and-mouse chase ensues with the UFO seemingly trying to get them to follow. Too late, the astronauts realise it is a trap and a second massive UFO is closing on them. Two interceptors are destroyed, and Foster's missile explodes harmlessly off a defensive screen as he is drawn towards the Alien craft...



Part 2, Issue 33, week ending 01 October 1971
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Gerry Haylock. 2 pages, colour.
The interceptor is drawn into the craft, and SHADO and Moonbase are helpless as it heads back out into space with Foster aboard. The rapid accelration of the UFO causes Foster to black out, and when he regains consciousness he finds himself inside an Alien spacesuit breathing liquid. Exploring, in the control area he encounters two Aliens. When he threatens them with a weapon, one causes the ship to lurch and Foster is thrown against a bulkhead, cracking his helmet...

Part 3, Issue 34, week ending 08 October 1971
Writer: Unknown.
Artist: Gerry Haylock. 2 pages, colour.
The Aliens act quickly to replace his helmet, and a recovering Foster is told he will find out why they have taken him back on their own planet. All three enter suspended animation for the journey, to reawaken in orbit around the Alien planet. At the nerve centre of Alien operations, a spacesuited Foster is taken to a vast hospital where, upon arriving, an Alien raises a gun and fires at him...

Part 4, Issue 35, week ending 15 October 1971
Writer: Unknown.
Artist: Jon Davis. 2 pages, colour.
He recovers without a spacesuit to be told by the Alien Robart the gun was the quickest way to administer a drug which will allow him to breathe their atmosphere unaided. Foster will reveal all of SHADO's secrets to them, and he is strapped to a device which interrogates him. But the colonel's training is good and he stands up to the bombardment for six hours before the Aliens decide he needs to rest. Reeling and left alone in the room, Foster uses the equipment to open the door, but outside he is attacked by two assailants...

Part 5, Issue 36, week ending 22 October 1971
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Jon Davis. 2 pages, colour.
The men turn out to be human - Professor Dinkler, a physicist and Conrad Shaffer, a surgeon. They were abducted by the Aliens, and the device used on all of them is slowly transplanting their thoughts into a computer. Together the three men use the device to escape the complex and try and gain access to a UFO but their movements are being tracked by Robart, and guards close in on them...

Part 6, Issue 37, week ending 29 October 1971
Writer: Unknown.
Artist: Jon Davis. 2 pages, colour.
Foster will not submit and fights the guards in hand-to-hand combat before getting a weapon. The Aliens back off long enough for him, Dinkler and Shaffer to kit up in Alien space suits and take a UFO each. Robart lets them leave, believing the SHADO Interceptors will destroy them rather than risking more UFOs and Alien lives. Approaching Earth, Foster and the other revive from suspended animation and eject from the UFOs, just as they are destroyed by Moonbase Interceptors. All the information Foster had was destroyed in the UFO but the Colonel believes the Aliens are desperate and that will cause them to make mistakes...

Reprinted:
• Qui Giovani No.s 52, 1971 - 1, 1972 (Italy) as Catturato Nello Spazio (Captured In Space)

Notes:
• What starts out as a relatively realistic story soons turns into an SF flight of fantasy far removed from the series.
• This is not helped by a change of artist to Jon Davis' more stylised work, especially when compared to Gerry Haylock's final colour work for UFO, which ranks among his best for the strip.
• Even though Foster's alien helmet appears to leak liquid when cracked at the end of part 2, it is not green like the Aliens.
• The Alien homeworld is apparently on the edge of the galaxy, and we are led to believe the Alien atmosphere is poisonous to humans, whereas televised episodes imply they do at least breathe oxygen and the liquid (which was also thought to be oxygenated) is simply protection against acceleration and pressure.
• Also, that all (adult?) Aliens are either space scientists or physicians - as these aid their survival.
• Relatively easy transitions are seen between atmosphere and liquid breathing, and it is difficult to imagine Foster would have allowed one, let alone three, UFOs to be destroyed having successfully captured and flown them to Earth.
• Gerry Haylock's designs for the Alien city would be reused by other artists on the UFO strip in some later stories.
• This involvement of the strip in Alien affairs would continue in the next story.


The Renegade
Part 1, Issue 38, week ending 05 November 1971
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Gerry Haylock. 6 pages, b/w.
Alien scientists Bromat and Sagum have developed a life support belt which will allow them to survive on Earth without the aid of a spacesuit. But Sagum is against the Aliens plans and destroys the laboratory, killing Bromat and stealing the belt and a UFO. Weeks later, his UFO is tracked by Moonbase being pursued and attacked by three more. The interceptors destroy the pursuers but not before Sagum's UFO is crippled to land in France. However, Sky 1 is forced to break off tracking the landing when it encounters three French Air Force jets. Donning the belt and using face paint to disguise himself as Indian, Sagum destroys the UFO and heads off to find help. At the University of Valleine, he starts to feel faint and is aided by Alphonse Lemarq - a name on the Alien 'most wanted' list - before succumbing to an alcoholic drink. Meanwhile, a fleet of UFOs have arrived and all bar one are destroyed by Moonbase and Sky 1. But the surviving Alien is on a mission to find and kill Sagum...

Part 2, Issue 39, week ending 12 November 1971
Foster and Straker investigate the sight of the destroyed first UFO, observed by the nearby Alien. But his own mission is more important and he shoots an passing motorcyclist to steal his bike. Meanwhile, Sagum has recovered to find Lemarq puzzled by his green body and icy temperature. The fugitive explains he is trying to help Earth, and Lemarq keeps him under wraps owing to his own mistrust of human military authority. Foster and Straker find a driver who gave Sagum a lift, tracing him to the Universtity, but Lemarq is expecting them. The two SHADO men are also suspicious and Straker poses as a telephone engineer to gain entry. He finds the Alien has already got to Sagum and taken the belt, causing him to age rapidly to death. Foster chases the Alien to his UFO but it departs before reinforcements can arrive, forcing the Moonbase Interceptors to destroy it. Straker can only ponder what they may have learnt from Sagum, and whether the Aliens will ever develop another belt...

Reprinted:
• Qui Giovani No.s 21-22, 1972 (Italy) as La Cintura Maledetta (The Cursed Belt)

Notes:
• A slight improvement in story, possibly inspired by the defector seen in the episode 'A Question Of Priorities', though the sight of the Alien riding a motor bike is somewhat fantastic!
• Presumably the Aliens are also well conversed in French as well as English, as Sagum appears to have no problem communicating.
• It is somewhat puzzling that Lemarq is on the Alien 'most wanted' list, as his reputation lies in 'philosophy and political history'!
• This story would mark Gerry Haylock's last work for UFO, having taken over as regular artist on Doctor Who, a position he would fill until the first Tom Baker strip in early 1975.
• It also marked the first strip to be in black and white since issue 1, and would remain so until issue 71.


Trojan Horse
Issue 40, week ending 19 November 1971
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Jon Davis. 6 pages, b/w.
Alec Freeman is enjoying a rest in the countryside when he receives an alert to get to the nearby ETT of A UFO nearby. Finding the UFO, Freeman is taken off guard by an Alien - who reveals himself to be Paul Foster! The commander has had a dummy UFO built, and decided to test it on Freeman - if it will fool him, it might just fool the Aliens in a 'Trojan Horse' style strategy. It is not long before a UFO is sighted, and following Straker's plan it is allowed to reach Earth. Freeman drives Foster in a large truck to the ETT and deploys the dummy UFO, with Foster in a spacesuit pretending to be injured. As SHADO forces close in, the real UFO lands and an Alien goes to help. The trick works and Foster fights the Alien, but he is armed with a pistol and a SHADO marksman has to shoot first. The UFO self-destructs, and SHADO are once again left empty-handed.
Notes:
• A return to form, and a worthy story for the series.
• Freeman's break is about ten miles west of Keighley, presumably in Yorkshire, and he drives a car similar to Paul Foster's, serial number JC-104.
• Foster's rank is referred to as Major, which was actually his rank before joining SHADO, where he is a Colonel.
• The format of complete 6 page stories would continue to be the established one for the series for several months.


The Alien-Heart Attack
Issue 41, week ending 26 November 1971
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Rab Hamilton. 6 pages, b/w.
Three UFOs are destroyed by Moonbase Interceptors as a diversionary tactic by the Aliens to allow a faster, larger version to get through to Earth. It lands in Sussex at the mansion of leading heart specialist Sir Richard Conroy, where Aliens tell him he is to perform an operation on one of their Leaders - or be killed! As SHADO closes in, the Aliens fight back and Foster is wounded. The Aliens are taken by Conroy in his private helicopter to a hospital, where the surgeon admits defeat as the Alien is rejecting the human heart he has - a similar replacement would simply cause the same problem. Straker and Carlin arrive just in time to prevent Conroy being killed for his failure, and capture the Aliens. But as they transport them in a Mobile back to Headquarters, the Leader starts to glow and Straker and Carlin jump out as he self-destructs, destroying the other Aliens. Their UFO also glows, but takes off and disappears...

Notes:
• It seems a little odd that the Aliens would have to turn to human skills for their surgery, when it had been established their transplant technology (and presumably the differences that might cause organ rejection) was vastly superior.
• We are also to believe that an Alien with a handgun can also shoot Sky 1 down!
• The fact some Aliens also carry a self-destruct mechanism is nice, and you wonder why it was never used in the series to avoid capture.
• The ending, where the UFO takes off and disappears instead of self-destrusting, is also a nice twist in the vein of the original series.


Catch Of Doom
Issue 42, week ending 03 December 1971
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Jon Davis. 6 pages, b/w.
Sky 1 intercepts a UFO over the north Atlantic and shoots it down over the sea. The Alien survives, and is captured in the net of a new hi-tech fishing ship, where he kills the crew. Ordering the skipper to make a bomb, a signal is sent out to lure Skydiver in to a trap. Skydiver is ensnared by the metal fishing net and the Alien throws an explosive on-board. But the Alien has reckoned without the skipper, who harpoons the Alien, allowing Carlin to get the bomb and throw it into the sea before it explodes.
Notes:
• Artist Jon Davis seems to have used the photo on page 63 of the 1971 UFO annual for his reference of Skydiver - unfortunately he doesn't appear to have realised it was a puzzle picture depicting the sub without a cockpit or tail fin for Sky 1! This had happened in his earlier 'Trojan Horse' story in one frame, but here the result is blinding obvious! It would seem he thought these are only deployed when Sky 1 is about to launch, which does actually make a degree of sense!
• The use of Skydiver's ability to 'sea-skim', as seen in the episode 'Sub Smash', is also used.


The Colour Is Green
Issue 43, week ending 10 December 1971
Writer: Richard O'Neill (?). Artist: Brian Lewis. 6 pages, b/w.
A top secret chemical called 12X, used for in rocket fuel, is being transported to a new international space base in Cornwall. A UFO evades interception and is tracked heading for the area. Destroying the escort, the Aliens hi-jack the tanker and take it to a disused chemical works. It seems a component of the 12X is a condensed green gas which is also what the Aliens use to breath on their journeys, and Straker must prevent them from obtaining it. Using a dummy alien spacesuit, Straker infiltrates the Alien operation and substitutes a green coloured liquid for the fuel. The Aliens depart but realise the deception and return, destroying the tanker before Sky 1 destroys it. The Aliens have been defeated but the space programme has also been put back...

Notes:
• Brian Lewis' debut for the UFO strip is wonderfully detailed, adding a gritty realism to the b/w artwork seemingly absent since the departure of Gerry Haylock.
• In this story, even though the Aliens are shown speaking for the benefit of the reader, it is indicated they use their own language as Straker does not understand them.
• The success of using Alien spacesuits in the past strips has led to the idea 'to equip all Mobiles with a bogus Alien uniform'!


The Hillbilly Affair
Issue 44, week ending 17 December 1971
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Malcolm Stokes. 6 pages, b/w.

In the Kentucky backwoods, hillbillies Jepson and Tully see a UFO crashland and an injured Alien stagger out. Foster is in America already and teams up with operative John Gillman to search in a Mobile. But when they find Jepson and Tully's shack, Gillman is shot. The Alien has told them he is a top secret test pilot, and the SHADO men are foreign spies. Having successfully captured Foster, the Alien kills Tully but is attacked by a deranged Jepson. The hillbilly locks Foster in and sets fire to the shack. Foster smashes through a window and follows Jepson, who has returned to the UFO. But Foster's approach triggers the self-destruct and Jepson is killed in the explosion.
Notes:
• A slight confusion arises here, where it would seem a ShadAir passenger jet is large enough to have a cargo bay for a SHADO Mobile! These would normally require a larger transport, as seen in the previous story.
• Foster is again referred to as a Major.


Alien Espionage
Issue 45, week ending 24 December 1971
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Jon Davis. 6 pages, b/w.
A new SHADO assault plane is destroyed by a UFO - the fourth project to be smashed in a year. Straker thinks it is time to strike back in response, and a major plan is outlined - but only a handful will be given details and only two hours before the operation. Computer operative Owen is the spy, and contacts Aliens at a base hidden under a lake. The Aliens kidnap Alec Freeman in order to get to Straker but the commander has used memory blanking techniques to stop the secrets being learned. Using their own memory blanking device, the Aliens leave Freeman and Straker in the country while Owen uses Straker code card to get to the plans. He is caught by Foster and cornered by a returning Straker and Freeman. Owen has no option but to lead SHADO forces to the Alien base but in the battle, the traitor is killed and the base self-destructs. Straker reveals there was no secret plan - it was all a ruse to bring the traitor out...

Notes:
• In the light of SHADO's secret nature, a full scale motorcade and armed guard to escort Straker back to Headquarters after the conference must have attracted a lot of public attention!
• The SHADO battle force at the end of the story seems to comprise mainly tanks, with a few SHADO Mobiles.


Title becomes Countdown for TV Action


Straker Smells A Rat
Issue 46, week ending 31 December 1971
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Brian Lewis. 6 pages, b/w.
Straker is on an inspection tour of Moonbase when UFOs are sighted. Captain Sayers leads an Interceptor flight but the UFOs are able to plant some sort of limpet device on SID before being destroyed. This jams all communications with an ear-splitting sound, and Moonbase is effectively blinded. Sayers volunteers to take an Interceptor and try and deactivate the device but the pilot is really a traitor in league with the Aliens. A massive UFO fleet is massed near Mars and is ready to attack. Seemingly successful in dealing with the device, Sayers returns to Moonbase and attempts to start up the system but he is overpowered. Straker suspected something, and Sayers is found to be wearing ear plugs which protected him - had he started up the system again, the jamming signal would have blown all communications. A back-up mission deactivates the device, and the Alien fleet is destroyed.
Notes:
• Whilst an interesting story, there seems little to let the reader in on how Straker was able to suspect Sayers, and it seems like a rather convenient denouement on the part of the writer.

Countdown Holiday Special

The Alien Totem
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Jon Davis. 6 pages, duotone & b/w.
A UFO gets through Moonbase defences but is crippled by Sky 1 and crashes in the Brazilian jungle. Paul Foster and a specialist on the Brazilian region, Eric Jefferson, are despatched to find it. Spotting the crashed UFO from the air, they land nearby and travel as far as they can by Mobile but the forest is too thick, forcing them to travel on foot.

The UFO self-destructs as they approach, bringing head-hunter natives out of hiding, and Foster and Jefferson only narrowly escape back to the Mobile. Jefferson notes they were dressed for celebration of their gods, and it is possible they have an Alien at their camp. Scaring off native guards with the Mobile, they find an Alien device instead, suggesting the UFO was remote-controlled. But as they make off with the device, it starts to glow - a warning that it is also going to self-destruct...
Notes:
• For the benefit of those who had perhaps still not seen the television series, the special opens with a two page feature called 'The Aliens Are Coming' which nicely explains the format with b/w photos.

Countdown also ran periodic articles on the stars of the two live action series it featured, something not as immediately possible with puppets or in the 'future history' of TV21, with Ed Bishop (issue 4), Michael Billington (issue 6), Peter Gordeno (issue 13) George Sewell and Gabrielle Drake (issue 21) given brief 'SHADO Data' profiles.



But even before the first year was out, it was obvious the popularity in the SF and Anderson strips was being side-lined. The Persuaders!, a lavish ITC film series starring Roger Moore and Tony Curtis, had made its debut in September and a full colour strip drawn by Harry Lindfield appeared within a month (left). This marked the first 'all change' Countdown would experience, as artists were reshuffled. Gerry Haylock moved to take over Doctor Who, and UFO became a black and white strip with a rotation of artists necessary to complete the 6 pages now allocated per week. It would seem, from the variability of storyline and execution, that there was no one fixed writer either, and the continuity established in early strips started to fall apart.

The main departure was the ability of the Aliens to communicate. At first this was not a major problem, and proved highly effective in Arctic Affair, but it was closely followed by two stories that are sometimes considered the nadir of the strip in its first year. The Snatch starts well but degenerates into a somewhat fantastic escapade on the Alien homeworld. The Renegade starts on the Alien homeworld, and combined the two stories paint a pulp SF view of them - technologically advanced but with very human foibles. It could be argued that the readership was generally younger and the strip needed to more straightforward than the series was - non-speaking enemies proved less interesting on the printed page. Occasionally, stories would return to the unspeaking and unfathomable Aliens but these were fewer and farther between.

To accommodate the brevity of storyline required, SHADO also seemed more of an open secret than seen on television, with Mobiles often seen roaring around the countryside in broad daylight. However, more than once the Aliens are able to turn SHADO's secrecy against them by claiming they are actually foreign agents! This lack of consistency also contributed to the strip's uneven quality. If the writers (assuming there was more than one) were divided on the format, then so were the artists. Unrestrained by a television budget, a slightly more futuristic 1980s was occasionally seen, with Brian Lewis and Jon Davis seeming to think that TV21 style technology would already be around.

In the autumn of 1971, the first Countdown annual appeared. Prepared as the first issues were appearing, this was pleasantly Anderson-centric with Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 and The Secret Service joining UFO and Doctor Who. Polystyle also produced a separate 64 page Thunderbirds annual with new colour strips by Ron Turner, which added Lady Penelope (drawn by Frank Langford) and Zero X (by Brian Lewis) to the mix. But a second UFO edition was not in the offering as, according to a special offer in issue 39 of Countdown (above), 'owing to the variation in regional showing of the UFO TV programme, it has not been possible to produce a new annual'. While this was true, as the London region was a whole year behind launching the series, it has to be speculated whether poor sales of the first also contributed to this decision - making it available two years running.

The colour UFO strips, alongside The Persuaders, were reprinted in Italy, inside popular weekly young lifestyle magazine Qui Giovani (left) from the end of 1971. The enthusiasm the Italians had for the series would continue to manifest itself in print with their own photo magazine adaptations of episodes, and a partially related comic library series.

By this time, public interest had started to drift away from space travel and towards more realistic adventure, dictating a change in the direction of the comic. As the calendar turned to 1972, a change had already taken place on the cover too, as it now bore the legend Countdown for TV Action...

On to Part Two of this series.

The Gerry Anderson Complete Comic History would like to thank:
Angus Allan
John Ainsworth
Angelo Finamore
Colin Lane
and Geoff Brown
- for their help with this feature.


Version 1.6 - 16.05.06

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