Supercar strip guide - part 3

Story Ten/C
Writer: Alan Fennell. Artist: Bill Mevin. Colour centrespread.

Part 1: Issue 565, dated 13 October 1962
"Hi folks. Mike Mercury here. I haven't seen my old enemies Masterspy and Zarin lately. As usual they are up to no good... "

Mastersy and Zarin have stolen a new top secret bomber for Ben Guilib, but instead of immediately flying it to the Middle East, they make a detour to Black Rock. Mike has just left the laboratory for groceries, and doesn't see the plane as it approaches low, and drops a bomb. There is a shattering explosion...

Part 2: Issue 566, dated 20 October 1962
The blast knocks out the aerial and devestates the lab building. Zarin spoots Supercar returning from its grocery trip, but Mike evades the rockets they fire. Masterspy sets the bomber back on course for the Middle East but Mike must land and see if the others are okay. But amidst the devestation, he can't find anyone...

Part 3: Issue 567, dated 27 October 1962
Cries from Mitch bring Mike to the hatch of a shelter, which the team had hidden in when the first bomb missed. Mike is concerned how Masterspy got a USAF bomber but Popkiss raises the question, 'what else is he going to do with it?" Over the Middle East, Masterspy lands the bomber, only to nearly collide with Ben Guilib in his bi-plane and cause him to crash-land...

Part 4: Issue 568, dated 03 November 1962
Zarin had apparently confused Ben Guilib's landing instructions with the bomber's but the mad arab now plans to build a fleet of planes like it to attack the capitol. Ben Guilib is stealing oil from the pipeline of an American company, and Mike is asked to investigate as Masterspy could be involved. Mike is also keen to settle the score with Masterspy but when Supercar overflies Ben Guilib's desert airstrip, he is fired upon with gun batteries...

Part 5: Issue 569, dated 10 November 1962
Supercar seems to spin out of control but it is a ploy by Mike, and by the time Ben Guilib and Masterspy find out he is miles away. Mike meets with Joe Sands of the oil company, and plans to fly patrol over the pipes at night. Unknown to him, Ben Guilib, Masterspy and Zarin are also flying overhead in the bomber, and plan to destroy Supercar...

Part 6: Issue 570, dated 17 November 1962
Spotting Ben Guilib's oil thieves below, Supercar narrowly avoids the rockets launched from the bomber. Mike brings Supercar close and above the plane, and Ben Guilib and Masterspy believe it to be destroyed. Low on fuel, the bomber is forced to return to base, but as dawn breaks Ben Guilib's men on the ground spot Supercar as the two craft approach...



Part 7: Issue 571, dated 24 November 1962
Ben Guilib is warned and he puts the bomber into a dive, leaving Supercar exposed for the gun batteries. But Mike is prepared, and has a bomb of his own to deliver. Ben Guilib's camp is destroyed, and Mike later hears the rebels have disbanded. In the desert, Mastersy and Zarin ponder on their payment of 'real estate' - stretchs of nothing but sand!

Notes:
• Four of the first six parts are introduced by Mike Mercury, with Masterspy doing part 4, and Zarin part 6.
• Ben Guilib would appear to be the part-inspiration for Arabic twins El Hudat & Ali Khali from the Stingray episodes 'Star of the East' and 'Eastern Eclipse'. Ben Guilib sports a very similar line for insults, and flies a bi-plane.
• It would be difficult to imagine this story ever being reprinted in the current political climate, as it involves Arabic renegades stealing an American bomber.
• In issue 565, promoting the first part of this strip, a free gift of a cardboard model of Supercar included (right).
• Coinciding with the start of this story was the first strip appearance of Fireball XL5, replacing Four Feather Falls after a two and a half year run.


Story Eleven/C
Writer: Alan Fennell. Artist: Bill Mevin. Colour centrespread.

Part 1: Issue 572, dated 01 December 1962
Supercar's motors burst into life as Mike Mercury prepared to take Dr. Beaker and Professor Popkiss to London, England, where they were to give a lecture on the wonder machine of the age...
But other events are happening in Scotland, where Angus McNab owns a guest house at Loch Invar. Things are not looking good with only one guest in two years - and they made a loss on him as the thieving sassenach stole the best towels! Angus' wife tells him to take their collie dog Wee Bonnie for a walk but as he does so, out of the waters of the loch appears a monster...

Part 2: Issue 573, dated 08 December 1962
Angus is overjoyed at the fact they have their own monster, and soon the whole media knows. Watching a report on television from their hotel in London, Jimmy asks if they can go and see it. Mike doesn't believe in monsters but soon the whole team arrive at the guest house of Angus. Two other 'Americans' have arrived and Mike is correctly suspicious of them, as a careless slip reveals them to be Russian. Because of this, as Supercar investigates the Loch the next day, the Russians believe they will have to destroy them...

Part 3: Issue 574, dated 15 December 1962
Zarkoff and his comrade used disguised depth charges to try and put Supercar out of action while it is underwater. The craft is blown to the Loch bottom and its occupants knocked unconscious. But as Jimmy and Mike recover, they see the fearsome face of the monster nearby...

Part 4: Issue 575, dated 22 December 1962
The 'monster' turns out to be the eyes and grinning mouth painted on the front of a sub, which asks if they need help. Supercar is towed to a secret US underground submarine base - which means the Russians must be spies! But the spies already know about the base, and have orders to destroy it...



Part 5: Issue 576, dated 29 December 1962
In frogman gear, Zarkoff and his comrade surface in the base and plan to use the Americans own explosives store to destroy it. Meanwhile, Mike and the others are guests while Supercar undergoes repairs. The explosives guard staggers in, revealing the two Russians have already arrived, and Mike captures one as they try to escape. But the other dives underwater and, getting out into the Loch, sets the charges off...

Part 6: Issue 577, dated 05 January 1963
The base commander sends frogmen to investigate the explosion and finds the only undersea entrance blocked by rocks. Mike suggests using Supercar, and a bulldozer-like shield is fixed to its nose. Meanwhile Angus sees what he thinks is the 'monster' surfacing close to the shore, and clubs it - in reality the escaping spy - with his stick. Supercar proves succesful in moving the rubble from the cave entrance, but a large rock above them shifts and falls towards it...



Part 7: Issue 578, dated 12 January 1963
Mike uses full boost to escape the falling rock, leaving the exit to the underwater base. The commander thanks them and asks Mike to take care of the other spy. Surfacing at night, the team return to the guest house of, which they will operate from, but find Angus himself has already taken care of him. Maybe there was no monster, but the fame of Supercar will undoubtedly bring tourists to the Loch for a while yet.

Notes:
• It seems a little curious, supposedly being quite a secret project, that a lecture would be given on Supercar. However, as the strip has progressed (in line with some later television episodes) it would appear Supercar has become quite famous.
• As news of the monster breaks in to the news in part 2, a printer can be seen checking an edition of the Daily Clarion which also bears the headline 'Monster in Loch Invar? Tourist Boom in Scotland' but which also carries the in-joke story 'Police Hunt for Fennell'! (right)
• To clear the rocks, Supercar sports a bull-dozing attachment not unlike the one Thunderbird 4 would have in a few years time.
• And similar to 'Ma's Beans' from the Thunderbirds episode 'The Imposters', the Russians use explosive depth charges disguised as tins of food.
• Issue 578 would feature the first of a monthly feature called Open Mike, seemingly sponsored in association with Super National petrol stations, and hosted by Mike Mercury - giving news to Supercar Club members about competitions and other items of interest.


Story Twelve/C
Writer: Alan Fennell. Artist: Bill Mevin. Colour centrespread.

Part 1: Issue 579, dated 19 January 1963
Masterspy and Zarin have returned to the United States and are planning more treachery.
Masterspy has employed the services of the Hood, the most evil man in the world, to get rid of Mile Mercury and Supercar for once and for all. Despte a terrified Zarin nearly upsetting the meeting, the Hood takes on the job. Later, Mike receives a call that a man is lost in the Florida swamps, and the team take off on a rescue mission. But this is just the first phase of the Hood's plan...

Part 2: Issue 580, dated 26 January 1963
Arriving at the Florida swamplands, Supercar finds no trace of the lost man but after two hours of searching come across a large isolated house. Mike is amazed to find he is expected, and the team are taken to the library. Shutters seal the door and windows, and on a TV screen the Hood addresses them - the 'man in trouble' is Mike himself. They hear a sound, which is a bulldozer dragging Supercar away...

Part 3: Issue 581, dated 02 February 1963
The Hood introduces himself, and tells the team that Supercar is being taken to the deepest part of the swamp, where it will never be seen again. A similar fate awaits the team, as the floor of the library starts to slide away to reveal a quagmire. Furniture disappears into the murky depths, and the team only have minutes to live...

Part 4: Issue 582, dated 09 February 1963
Beaker finds electrical circuits behind the floor skirting and, with inches to spare, reverses the current, bringing the floor sliding back and releasing the shutters. As Beaker's tampering has started a fire, Mike tells the others to get out while he goes after the Hood. But the criminal has seen the fire and fled, leaving Mike trapped upstairs in the blazing house...

Part 5: Issue 583, dated 16 February 1963
With the stairs ablaze, Mike's only chance is the chandalier. With a mighty leap he jumps for it and swings to the top of a cabinet, and is able to escape the house just as it explodes. The hunt is on for the Hood and Supercar, but the criminal has dragged the vehicle to a quagmire, and it is sinking into it...

Part 6: Issue 584, dated 23 February 1963

Finding Supercar, Mike jumps aboard and tries to start the motors but his weight makes it sink deeper. Technology battles nature until the power of the motors finally pulls the craft free of the mud. Landing, Mike gets the others on board to give chase to the Hood and bring him to justice. But ironic justice has already been meted out, and the Hood's bulldozer has run out of fuel - leaving him trapped for the police to catch.

Notes:
• The Hood introduced in this story is a wholly different character to the one seen in Thunderbirds, but one has to wonder if the name sparked the idea for him.
• Issue 579 saw a full page advert competition for Supercar Club members to win 100 Supercar Scultorcraft kits (right). To enter, members had to colour a line drawing of Supercar landing at a National Benzole (previously Super National) garage, and add in the National Benzole sign. Runners up could win 100 Supercar Jollyfilms filmstrips and viewers.
• Issue 582 featured the second Open Mike, which explained about the first cars, and the first petrol benzole mix.


Story Thirteen/C
Writer: Alan Fennell. Artist: Bill Mevin. Colour centrespread.

Part 1: Issue 585, dated 02 March 1963
After narrowly escaping death in the Everglades, the Supercar team hurry back to Nevada conviced Masterspy was behind the trap.
As Mike plans to pay Masterspy a visit, the criminal's new plan is well advanced. Scientist Kinkle has built a Mechanical Mole, and in a secret base in Nevada, he shows it to Masterspy and Zarin. Meanwhile, Mike has found Masterspy's office deserted but comes across a blueprint of Fort Knox - the biggest gold depository in the world...

Part 2: Issue 586, dated 09 March 1963
Kinkle takes Masterspy and Zarin for a demonstration of the Mole's power, with its tungsten and diamond tipped screw blades cut a path through solid rock. But then the stabiliser fails and the Mole veers off course. Back at Black Rock, Mike tells Beaker and Popkiss of the plan, but while robbing Fort Knox is clearly something Masterspy would try, the question is how? The answer suddenly bursts up through the floor of the workshop...



Part 3: Issue 587, dated 16 March 1963
Kinkle regains control of the Mole and it descends again but not before Mike hears Masterspy's voice from within. Trying to warn the US Treasury proves futile so it is up to Mike to try and stop the robbery. Beaker and Popkiss build a drilling nose for Supercar in the hope of following Masterspy but he, along with Zarin and Kinkle, have already taken the Mole to just outside Fort Knox and started drilling...

Part 4: Issue 588, dated 23 March 1963
Supercar lifts off for Fort Knox but Masterspy's Mole is already nearing the main vault. Explosive charges undermine the vault, setting off alarms but buckling the metal door shut, leaving Masterspy, Zarin and Kinkle to freely plunder the gold. But Supercar has arrived at the entry tunnel of the mole, and is about start burrowing itself...

Part 5: Issue 589, dated 30 March 1963
Supercar heads along the tunnel made by the Mole but having loaded $2 million worth of gold aboard, Masterspy hears their approach and digs a new tunnel to escape. Supercar arrives at the empty vault just as guards get through the door and, despite pleas that they tied to warn the Treasury Department, the team are arrested...

Part 6: Issue 590, dated 06 April 1963
Now behind bars, Mike tells the officer to contact Frank Goldtax of the Treasury, and he vouches for the team but warns it is up to them to get the gold back or face 20 years in jail. Back at Black Rock, Popkiss removes the drill and fits powerful magnets to the underside of Supercar. Now laden down with the gold, the truck used to transport the Mole must still be in the area. But when Supercar finds it, Masterspy tries to escape in the Mole by burrowing away. Mike is quicker, and the magnets pick up the Mole to transport gold and criminals back to Fort Knox.

Notes:
• Another possible Thunderbirds inspiration here, with a burrowing machine called the Mole.
• This strip introduces scientist Kinkle, who reappears a few stories later.
• This is the first and only indication we have that Supercar has a conventional wheeled undercarriage.
• Supercar is fitted with powerful magnets, which appeared in the episodes 'The Runaway Train' and 'Space For Mitch', and would also be seen in the TV Comic Holiday Special for 1964.
• Issue 586 featured the third Open Mike, on the subject of the countryside and not littering it


Story Fourteen/C
Writer: Alan Fennell. Artist: Bill Mevin. Colour centrespread.

Part 1: Issue 591, dated 13 April 1963

At the Aircraft Corporation of John Henry, assistant Miles shows his boss a now complete 'Project 72' - a craft very like Supercar - but on its test flight the engine explodes. Henry is furious, even though the engine is his design, and decides someone else must do the work - and he knows just the person. Mike reads of the JH72 having trouble, and Popkiss think another Supercar could be an bad idea, especially in Henry's hands. Mike and Popkiss retire for the night but Beaker, working late, sees a bedraggled man outside. This is actually Miles and, investigating, Beaker is knocked unconscious by Henry...

Part 2: Issue 592, dated 20 April 1963
Miles is forced by Henry to carry Beaker to a waiting jet plane, but an experiment left by the dictor explodes, waking Mike and Popkiss. Amidst the devestation, they see signs Beaker has been abducted and follow footprints to where the plane took off. Mike has his suspicions and drops Popkiss back at the workshop. Meanwhile, Beaker has recovered and is threatened into helping John Henry at gunpoint...

Part 3: Issue 593, dated 27 April 1963
Mike flies to see his old friend Bill at the US Technical Aircraft Recogntion base, and he is able to identify the plane as a John Henry 'hundred and eighty'. Mike suspicions are confirmed and he heads for Henry's aircraft company. Meanwhile, Beaker has finished his modifications to the JH72 engine. An impatient Henry jumps aboard, fires the engines, and it lifts into the air...

Part 4: Issue 594, dated 04 May 1963
The forward flight of the JH72 goes into reverse, with the craft smashing backwards into a hangar wall. Henry is displeased, and threatens Beaker to do the job properly but his attempt at further technological sabotage is discovered - a valve which would shut the engines off at high temperatures. Beaker is knocked out by a violent Henry, and tied up by Miles but as the two prepare to take JH72 for a spin, Supercar approaches. Landing, Mike finds the hangar seemingly deserted, and is suddenly endangered when a pile of tyres topples towards him...

Part 5: Issue 595, dated 11 May 1963
They have been pushed by Miles, and he and Henry escape in the JH72 before Mike recovers and frees Beaker. They give chase in Supercar but the engine of the JH72 is more powerful. Henry pushes the craft to the limit when suddenly, the casing starts to fall apart. The structure of the JH72 wasn't strong enough, and it crashes into the sea - giving Henry time to cool off before being arrested.

Notes:
• The first part of this story marks a change in the strip masthead from a block near the centre of the spread, to a strip at the top just reading Supercar.
• The relationship between Henry and his assistant Miles isn't too dissimilar from that of Masterspy and Zarin but Henry comes over as more thoroughly unlikeable, spoilt, and violent.
• Issue 591 featured the fourth Open Mike, on the subject of wearing glasses.
• Issue 595 featured the fifth Open Mike. Here, Mike Mercury responds to the many requests he has received from readers who would like a ride in Supercar itself.


Story Fifteen/C
Writer: Alan Fennell. Artist: Bill Mevin. Colour centrespread.

Part 1: Issue 596, dated 18 May 1963
"I name this ship U.S.A.S. Titan - Good luck to all who sail in her!"
Supercar brings Popkiss to the newly launched atomic submarine aircraft carrier to fit a new underwater radar system - but evil plans are afoot for the craft. Meanwhile, Mike helps Beaker fit and test a new cocoon spray, used to mothball battleships, but the acid balance is wrong and an old car disintegrates. Off the coast, a gang of men are rowing out to the Titan as part of a takeover bid...

Part 2: Issue 597, dated 25 May 1963

Sneaking aboard, the gang quickly overpower the guards and gain control. Mike is awoken from his sleep by an emergency control, and travels with Beaker to meet up with the Navy. Adding some firepower to Supercar, in addition to Beaker's new underwater cocoon spray, Mike and Beaker set off. But the Titan has already made a pirate strike on a pleasure cruiser and, as Supercar arrives, holes the boat before submerging back into the depths...

Part 3: Issue 598, dated 01 June 1963
Mike decides it is better to oversee the floating lifeboats and protect them until rescue boats arrive. But by the time they do, the Titan has got away. A pattern of attacks continues but the craft always outmanoevres Supercar, which is always in the wrong place. So Beaker decides instead of trying to find the Titan, maybe they should make the criminals find them...

Part 4: Issue 599, dated 08 June 1963
Beaker and Mike take Supercar to a ship transporting bullion, and wait for the Titan to come to them. When it suddenly surfaces alongside, Mike is ready and launches Supercar. But the gang are also prepared, and launch fighter planes to attack it while they steal the gold in small boats...

Part 5: Issue 600, dated 15 June 1963
A pitched dogfight breaks out over the sea but Supercar proves the better in battle. As the remaining planes take flight, Mike drops over the sea and cocoons the gang members in their boats. The gang boss is astonished, and while he is distracted, Popkiss is able to jump ship...

Part 6: Issue 601, dated 22 June 1963
Beaker suggests spraying the sides of the Titan, stopping the ballast tanks from filling and the submarine from submerging. Both sub and crooks are held fast in the pink coccon, including an annoyed Professor Popkiss found floating in the sea. Unfortunately the solvent is back and Black Rock so Popkiss has to sit tight as the Navy round up the crooks back to port.



Notes:
• A vaguely similar plot idea to the television episode 'Pirate Plunder', using a valuable cargo as bait to catch 'pirates'.
• With Space Patrol having made it to some UK regions by April 1963, it could be speculated the cocoon spray is inspired by the similarly effective Plastifoam guns from the series.
• Issue 599 featured the sixth Open Mike, which promoted the Supercar Club again, and the benefit of learning the Cockpit Drill and take-off procedure.


Story Sixteen/C
Writer: Alan Fennell. Artist: Bill Mevin. Colour centrespread.

Part 1: Issue 602, dated 29 June 1963
A few miles north of Supercar's base the Nevada Oil Company is sinking oil wells...
At 25,000 feet, the well strikes... but instead of oil gushing up a foul smelling green mud appears. Choking, the men evacuate except for Reg, the head of the team. At Black Rock, the smell of the mud reaches the lab and when Mike takes Jimmy for a flight in Supercar to get some fresher air, they see the green gusher. Then Jimmy spots a man unconscious in the mud by the well...

Part 2: Issue 603, dated 06 July 1963
Jimmy holds Supercar at hover while Mike helps the man aboard and tries to stop the gusher - but the mud shut-off valve handle has rotted. News of the gusher reaches the press, and Masterspy, Zarin and Kinkle think the mud is some new secret weapon they must have. While Beaker and Popkiss analyse the mud, Mike decides to see how the army are doing trying to cap the well...

Part 3: Issue 604, dated 13 July 1963
The attempt to use explosives to cave the walls of the well fails, and causes a tidal wave in the spreading ocean of green mud that floods the army - and the watching Masterspy, Zarin and Kinkle! As Mike recovers Supercar, he encounters the mud-covered criminals. But as they flee, he is more concerned about stopping the mud...



Part 4: Issue 605, dated 20 July 1963
Because the mud corrodes metal, the only way to cap the well may be with glass pipes. Kinkle decides that more information about the mud may be gained from Beaker and Popkiss at Black Rock. It is found that sodium chloride solution causes a powerful reaction, and a trolly is blown through the wall, dragging an unfortunate Zarin with it! It seems Beaker and Popkiss have discovered a new rocket fuel - but that information is also known to Masterspy now...

Part 5: Issue 606, dated 27 July 1963
Mike is collecting the glass pipes to contain the gusher when Popkiss tells him Masterspy knows how to turn the mud into rocket fuel, which the criminal has bottled up supplies of. But Beaker is concerned he will try and take the mud by ship, and the sodium chloride in sea water may cause a reaction. Arriving at the site, Mike gets some of the pipes connected to the underside of Supercar, ready to cap the gusher...

Part 6: Issue 607, dated 03 August 1963
At last, the well is capped and Mike leaves the army to clear up. Supercar sets off in pursuit of Masterspy and finally catches up with the truck as it nears the ocean. Masterspy wants to cross the inlet to the sub but Kinkle suspects a problem and jumps. His fears are well founded as the salt water mixes with the mud and propels the truck straight into the sub's conning tower!

Notes:
• This strip would mark scientist Kinkle's second and final appearance in the strip.
• Issue 603 featured the seventh Open Mike, which again promoted the Supercar Club.


Story Seventeen/C
Writer: Alan Fennell. Artist: Bill Mevin. Colour centrespread.

Part 1: Issue 608, dated 10 August 1963
U.S. Air Force camp Gemini, the Pacific island blast-off site for the 'Venus' space programme...
At T-minus 60, astronauts Bull and Allan are in the Venus capsule ready for lift off but on a deserted island some miles away, a thin periscopic aerial appears beaming out deadly ultra high fequency radio waves. Approaching camp Gemini, Supercar crosses the radio beam and is thrown out of control as the electrical circuits are burnt out. Popkiss makes a temporary repair, allowing Supercar to reach the deserted island. But enemy agents are waiting for them and, as Supercar shelters under a cliff, an explosion brings a rockfall down on top of it...

Part 2: Issue 609, dated 17 August 1963
The strength of Supercar's canopy protects the team, and Mike places plastic explosives in the gaps between the craft and the rocks to blast them clear. The explosion alerts the agents and they close all entrances to their base - but the boss asks for 'Natasha'. Mike decides to investigate, while Beaker and Popkiss make more temporary repairs, only to see a young woman in the jungle. When she runs off, Mike follows her into a cave. but it is a trap and he falls into an underwater tunnel where a giant squid awakes...

Part 3: Issue 610, dated 24 August 1963
Mike reaches his knife and digs it into the squid's tentacle, making it release him. Bursting to the surface, he makes good his escape. Back at Supercar, Jimmy cannot find Mitch but guards have found them, and they take Popkiss, Beaker and Jimmy away while Supercar is doused with petrol and set alight! In the tunnels, Mike sees artifical light but even though he is careful, when he grasps the grill he gets an electric shock...

Part 4: Issue 611, dated 31 August 1963
The comrade captain calls for the power to the grill to be cut, and a dazed Mike is taken prisoner. As the team are led away to be disposed of, Mitch comes to the rescue by hurling fruit at the guards. in a brief fight the guards are overpowered, and Mike and Beaker storm the base at gunpoint. Calling the navy, Mike is dismayed to see mess Supercar is now in but Popkiss reassures him a few weeks work and it will belike new again. The navy arrive, taking care of the enemy agents, and the island is destroyed.

Notes:
• Despite its brevity, this is a tight and dramatic story - until Mitch takes a hand for a more humourous ending.
• The plot is also quite James Bond-esque, especially the explosive ending.
• Issue 608 featured the eighth Open Mike, on the subject of holidays and being careful at the beach.


Story Eighteen/C
Writer: Alan Fennell. Artist: Bill Mevin. Colour centrespread.

Part 1: Issue 612, dated 07 September 1963

At a circus, Mike and Jimmy are enjoying a clown act. One of the clowns falls in fromt of Mike, and a seemingly joke syringe dispenses gas in his face. The clown ambulance takes the unconcious Mike away, and Jimmy and the crowd believe it part of the act. But recovering elsewhere, Mike is given orders to fly to Loochow in Supercar that night and, seemingly in a trance, he lands there sometime later to be welcomed as a hero...

Part 2: Issue 613, dated 14 September 1963

The next morning, Mike is awoken by a volcano erupting and, in all the chaos as the villagers evacuate, he struggles to recall the previous events and find Supercar. In a forest set ablaze by the volcano, Mike finds Supercar and takes off. But even though he has been drugged and sent to a strange country he cannot leave the villagers, who are taking cover in a cave next to a river, to perish...

Part 3: Issue 614, dated 21 September 1963
Diving into the river, Mike takes Supercar into the cave, which a guard tells him is the temple of the Golden Idol. The 30 foot statue has been stolen, angering the mountain gods, and Mike has been sent there to find it. Despite his annoyance at being drugged, Mike has seen tracks on the bottom of the river suggesting it was taken that way. Three of the 'clowns' arrive, having flown directly from the circus, and join Mike in pursuit of the thieves...

Part 4: Issue 615, dated 28 September 1963
Learning Supercar is on their trail, the thieves take nets and trap the craft as it arrives. Mike sends Supercar into a steep climbing roll, and the nets are thrown off. Using one net caught on Supercar's wing, Mike is able to trap the leader of their leader and dump him in a rice paddy field. Returning the idol to the cave, Mike and the clowns find the river has dried up - the temple must be flooded, and the people are trapped inside...

Part 5: Issue 616, dated 05 October 1963
The only way to smash the rocks is to use the heavy Golden Idol. Even though it is sacred, the lives of the people are more important, and it is rolled into the rocks, clearing the entrance. The clowns ask how they can ever thank Mike, and he asks to see the end of the act at the circus. But it is a comical Supercar and clown Mike Mercury who now take part in the circus act - a very fitting tribute!

Notes:
• The first part of this story is quite effectively mysterious, with very little dialogue.
• Issue 613 featured the ninth Open Mike, which addressed going back to school after the summer break, and the importance of working hard.

TV Comic Holiday Special 1963

Drilling For Oil
Writer: Unknown.
Pages 6 and 7, b/w photos.
Dr. Beaker has developed the first long-range camera with X-ray lenses, meaning they can see through any obstacle. Meanwhile, Masterspy plans to siphon off crude oil from a pipeline running through the desert, and sell it to other countries. While testing their X-ray camera in Beaker's laboratory, the Supercar team witness the first theft. Mike and Prof. Popkiss fly out at top speed in Supercar to stop Masterspy and Zarin but as they approach, the criminals detonate explosives to set the pipe on fire as a diversion. Mike uses Supercar's jets to extinguish the fire. Ironic justice is served when the tanker Masterspy and Zarin use runs out of petrol, with a full tank of useless crude oil.

Notes:
• Apparently Supercar can 'break the sound barrier' almost as soon as it leaves the workshop.

Supercar
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Bill Mevin. Colour centrespread.
Pages 24 and 25
An airliner is in distress - its starboard outer engine is on fire and it sends out a mayday. All ships and aircraft in the area are called upon to watch out for it, including Supercar. The fire spreads to the inner starboard engine, and the captain cuts off the fuel, warning the passengers that with only the port engines, the plane will be flying at a tilt. Supercar arrives, and advises the captain to change course to a ship 200 miles ahead, but the plane is ailing and a port engine is now on fire. Mike tells the captain to lower its undercarriage and cut engines. Flying underneath and firing vertical engines on half boost, Mike locks Supercar against the wheels, and pulls the plane out of its dive to a safe splashdown near the boat. With the crew and passengers safely transferred, Supercar lifts off to be on its way.

Notes:
• While unidentified, the plane is evidently a Boeing 707.
• The position of the plane is given as 141.20 West, 33.15 North, which places it over the North-east Pacific Ocean.

It is also interesting to see some plot elements appearing in the strip which would also reappear in writer Alan Fennell's scripts for the various Gerry Anderson television series. The first story features an Arabic villain who would appear to be the inspiration for El Hudat and/or Ali Khali from Stingray ('You big left toe of a camel's foot!'), and it cannot be coincidence that a supervillain called 'the Hood', admittedly quite different in appearance and character, and a mechanical Mole also appear - both important features of Thunderbirds which would enter production the following year. In fact, with its globe-trotting action adventures, the Supercar strip is in some respects closer to the Thunderbirds series than the actual strip which would later appear in TV Century 21.

With the strip close to two years old, but showing no signs of running out of steam despite being joined by the newer Fireball XL5, a further semi-regular feature was introduced. Once a month, from issue 578 in mid-January, Mike Mercury himself would address the readers in the quarter-page Open Mike. Initially, this seemed just a way of continuing to promote the Supercar Club, but later instalments would address issues such as not littering the countryside (issue 586), New Year's Resolutions (issue 633), and why it was important to wear glasses (issue 591) - after all, Professor Popkiss did! Occasionally, the odd competition would be thrown in. Popular though the colour strip undoubtedly was, Open Mike would fade out early the following year after fifteen appearances.

The Gerry Anderson Complete Comic History would like to thank:
Bill Mevin
and Alastair Roxburgh
- for their help with this feature.

Version 1.1 - 01.11.05


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