Thunderbirds in The Funday Times strip guide - part one

The Facts
Writer: Alan Fennell. Artist: Keith Page. 1 page, colour.
No 110, dated 13 October 1991
An introduction to International Rescue - the machines and the people.


Thunderbirds and the Volcano of Doom (Story One)
Writer: Alan Fennell.
Artist: Keith Page. 1 page, colour.

Part 1, No 111, dated 20 October 1991
For over 200 years, Hualalai has been asleep. Then, early one morning, the volcano awakes... in an angry mood...
The lava from the eruption threatens the village of Kalaoka. Helicopters evcuate as many people as possible but worsing visibility stops the flights. International Rescue are called, and Scott, Virgil and Brains launch Thunderbirds 1 and 2, with the Mole and Firefly, in response. But the Hood is also alerted...

Part 2, No 112, dated 27 October 1991
Thunderbirds Reach The Danger Zone
Thunderbirds 1 and 2 reach Hawaii, and Virgil takes the Firefly out. But the Hood uses his hypnotic power over Kyrano, and the manservant falls ill...

Part 3, No 113, dated 03 November 1991
Into The Volcano's Crater!
A distressed Kyrano calls for his brother but Jeff cannot allow any visitors while the rescue is on. Under guidance from Brains in Thunderbird 2's laboratory, Virgil in the Firefly, and Scott in the Mole, attempt to penetrate the volcano and divert the lava flow. But the molten rock gushes to the surface under Firefly...

Part 4, No 114, dated 10 November 1991
Firefly Fights The Flow!
Virgil uses ram-jet boost, and Firefly responds to control. While the retro rockets of the Thunderbirds can clear the ash and steam, evacuations must continue as the volcano could erupt again. With the last villagers safe, Thunderbirds 1 and 2 head for home, and with the emergency over, Jeff allows Kyrano's step brother to visit, not knowing it is the Hood...

Part 5, No 115, dated 17 November 1991
The Hood On Tracy Island!

Rejoining the family on Tracy Island, Scott and Virgil are told of the visitor. But as Operation Cover-Up is put in place, 'Mr. Hood' uses his powers on Kyrano to get plans of the house. Scott is suspicious, believing he has met him before, and the Hood overhears Jeff make a call to Penelope, and recalls Lady Penelope in England, making a connection with International Rescue...

Part 6, No 116, dated 24 November 1991
The Hood Attacks!
Jeff and Scott notice 'Mr. Hood's' snooping, and he is asked to leave. But the Hood had the opportunity to mimic Jeff's voice, and tricks Lady Penelope into going to the Channel Tunnel. En route in FAB One with Parker, a truck pulls alongside, and the driver stuns the chauffeur...

Part 7, No 117, dated 01 December 1991
Lady Penelope Is Kidnapped!

The truck driver is the Hood in disguise, and when Parker recovers from the crashed FAB One, Penelope is nowhere to be found. But as parker informs Jeff Tracy, news has also come through that the AirForce's latest fighter has been stolen - fully armed! The Hood is also behind this, having kidnapped Penelope and flown her to the abandoned village of Loaka on Hawaii. Leaving Penelope tied up in an empty church, he uses the fighter's armaments to make the volcano erupt...

Part 8, No 118, dated 08 December 1991
Thunderbirds To The Rescue!
Seeing the name of the church inscribed in a prayer book, Penelope realises she is not far from Tracy Island, and stamps her bound feet to activate a location transmitter in her shoe heel. Receiving the signal, Jeff thinks it too much of a coincidence Penelope is near the site of a recent mission, and even though it seems a trap, Scott launches in Thunderbird 1. Sure enough, the fighter - piloted by the Hood - intercepts Scott and orders him to land...

Part 9, No 119, dated 15 December 1991

Realising he is outgunned, Scott takes a chance on Brains' boast of the stength of Thunderbird 1 - and rams the underside of the fighter! The Hood fights for control but ditches in the sea. With the lava threatening the village, Scott lands nearby and runs out to free Penelope. But now the door is swamped by molten rock...

Part 10, No 120, dated 22 December 1991
Too Hot For Comfort!
With lava entering the church, Scott is forced to smash a window for them both to escape. As molten rock sets the village alight, the two lift off in Thunderbird 1 just in time. Scott returns to penelope back to England, where she ponders the fate of 'that horrid man', and off the coast of Hawaii, the Hood paddles his survival dinghy and swears, 'A thousand curses on International Rescue. Someday I will have my revenge...'

Reprinted:
Thunderbirds Annual ©1993 - as Fire Mountain

Notes:
• Although parts 1 and 4 refer to helicopters, the village is clearly evacuated by helijets of a design popular in the Thunderbirds series.
• Oops - in parts 4, Brains is magically transported from Thunderbird 2 to Tracy Island.
• While the Hood is unnamed in the series itself, it seems a little odd Tin-Tin would refer to him as such.
• The jet fighter the Hood steals is based on the Grumman X-29A, which itself featured in issue 84 of The New Thunderbirds.
• Oops again - in several parts 1 the threatened/abandoned village is called Kalaoka, but in parts 7, 8 and 10 it becomes Loaka.
• The cutaway specification of the Thunderbird 2, from issue 2 of Thunderbirds The Comic, is reprinted in no.114.


The Iceberg Menace (Story Two, aka Iceberg)
Writer: Alan Fennell.
Artist: Keith Page. 1 page, colour.

Part 1, No 121, dated 05 January 1992
Location: Southern Atlantic - close to South Georgia. Time: One hour before dawn.
Weather conditions: Cold, heavy mist, strong sea swell
The nuclear-powered tanker Benjamin runs into pack ice, and is holed on the waterline. It sends out an SOS, which is received by Thunderbird 5, and Scott in Thunderbird 1 is launched to give an on-the-spot report...

Part 2, No 122, dated 12 January 1992
Gordon To The Rescue!

Virgil and Gordon lift off in Thunderbird 2, with Thunderbird 4 loaded. By the time Thunderbird 2 arrives, Scott has assessed the situation, and Gordon is launched to examine the waterline. But as Scott prepares to exacuate the crew, the ship lurches violently...

Part 3, No 123, dated 19 January 1992
Over The Doomed Tanker!
Engineer O'Hara is thrown against a bulkhead, and Scott tells the crew to evacuate, and Gordon will rescue him. Donning a protective aqua-suit, Gordon gets O'Hara topside for Scott to winch away, but then the tanker suddenly capsizes...

Part 4, No 124, dated 26 January 1992
The Runaway Iceberg!

Gordon dives into the ocean as the Benjamin sinks into the depths. Having delivered all the crew to Thunderbird 2, Scott receives a signal from Gordon that he is safe and ready to be picked up. With the crew taken to hospital on the Falkland Islands, International Rescue are asked by the Antarctic authorities to maintain satellite surveillance on the area. Two years ago, a massive iceberg broke from the ice shelf, and has been drifting north towards South Georgia, but it is breaking up and gathering speed - almost a runaway island...

Part 5, No 125, dated 02 February 1992
Signs Of Life!
Scott overflies the iceberg in Thunderbird 1, estimating the size as approximately seventy miles long by sixty miles wide. Great chunks of ice, known as 'bergy bits', are breaking off all the time, and becoming a hazard to shipping as it did with the Benjamin. As Thunderbird 2 flies to join him, where Gordon in Thunderbird 4 will examine the submerged part of the iceberg, Scott spots a colony of penguins on the iceberg. But then he receives a mayday from Copter Polar Twelve, in trouble...

Part 6, No 126, dated 09 February 1992
Illegal Visitor!
The Copter crashes on the iceberg, throwing its pilot clear. Scott rescues him, and finds he was hired by Conrad Ruskin to take him to an unofficial survey camp at the Antarctic. Minerals are being illegally exploited in breach of an international treaty on the region. But as Scott lands at the camp to land, an armed Ruskin appears and warns them off...

Part 7, No 127, dated 16 February 1992
Shoot Out On The Ice!

Ruskin fires a warning shot, so Scott uses his stun gun and renders him unconscious. With proof of the illegal survey, Scott hands Ruskin and his pilot over to the authorities. Brains has been working on the iceberg problem, and believes Thunderbird 3 can be used to tow it to warmer waters where it will melt...

Part 8, No 128, dated 23 February 1992
Calling All Thunderbirds!
Thunderbird 3, with Alan and Brains on board, flies to join the others, as Thunderbirds 1 and 2 land on the iceberg. Scott and Virgil take the piledriver units onto the iceberg as Gordon uses Thunderbird 4's laser to streamline it. But then a huge chunks falls against the sub...

Part 9, No 129, dated 01 March 1992
Operation Ice-Blast!
The sub is okay, but Gordon pulls back and continues to work. The piledriver units sink poles deep into the ice, then Scott and Virgil use nets to move the colony of penguins into the sea, where they will swim back to Antarctica. Using missiles, Scott reduces the size of the iceberg further, as Thunderbird 3 approaches...



Part 10, No 130, dated 08 March 1992
On The Move!
Thunderbird 3 lands, and a harness is attached to the nose to pull on the poles and move the iceberg towards warmer waters. The mission is successful, and it starts to melt quickly, as the iceberg watch is handed back to the Antarctic survey authorities.

Reprinted:
The New Thunderbirds - issues 83 to 85

Notes:
• The cutaway specification of Lady Penelope's Mansion, from issue 7 of Thunderbirds The Comic, is reprinted in no.122.
• The cutaway specification of FAB 1, also from issue 7 of Thunderbirds The Comic, is reprinted in no.129.


Train of Disaster (Story Three, aka Tunnel)
Writer: Alan Fennell.
Artist: Keith Page. 1 page, colour.

Part 1, No 131, dated 15 March 1992
Thunderbird 1, with Brains at the controls, is being tested...
Thunderbird 1 screams in a hairpin turn away from the island, much to the amazement of a watching Scott. But as Jeff reminds him, Brains designed and built the craft, and can fly them as well as any of the Tracys. Landing, brains considers Thunderbird 1's braking system could be greatly improved by RCMS - retro coil management system - which Tracy Construction developed twenty-five years ago for the 21st Century Special, a supertrain built for the European Railways Federation. Jeff is due to take an anniversary trip on the train but unknown to him, in a marshalling yard in London, England, four men - Jock, Charlie, Borg and Lefarge - plan to rob the rich celebrities due on the trip...



Part 2, No 132, dated 22 March 1992
All Aboard For Excitement!
Virgil and Alan fly Jeff to the mansion of Lady Penelope, who will be his travelling companion on the trip. The two Tracy boys stay in the mansion for the duration of the trip, to await delivery of components Brains has requested for the RCMS. Parker drives them to Victoria, where FAB 1 is loaded aboard. But Parker recognises Jock and Charlie as 'tea leaves' (thieves) among those waiting to board. Then he spots the other two, who are 'real bad news', but is relieved when they walk away from the train...

Part 3, No 133, dated 29 March 1992
Robbery!
Waiting to embark on the train, Jeff notices the RCMS has been changed from the original design and contacts Scott and Brains on Tracy Island. The 21st Century starts its journey to Paris, and Parker sees Jock and Charlie heading for the compartment where Jeff and Penelope are. The thieves hold up the passengers at gunpoint, wanting cash and jewellery, but Parker is too slow following and is locked out...

Part 4, No 134, dated 05 April 1992
Explosives Aboard!
Jeff realises they have to deal with this, and Penelope gets her lipstick from her handbag, just before it is snatched away by Jock. Jeff calls out, and is distracted long enough for Penelope to stun him with the lipstick gas. Charlie returns menacingly, only to be punched out by Jeff. Having picked the lock, Parker bursts in, only to find the situation under control. But unknown to them, Borg and Lefarge are driving alongside the train as it heads for the Channel Tunnel. They have placed explosives aboard, and are now about to put the train's brakes out of action...

Part 5, No 135, dated 12 April 1992
Sabotage!
The train makes a stop before entering the Channel Tunnel, where Jock and Charlie are handed over to the police. Unseen, Lefarge boards the train and interferes with the power circuitry for the brakes. Jeff checks in with Virgil, who has taken delivery of the components and is now loading them aboard Thunderbird 2 with Alan. Parker spies Borg and Lefarge again at the tunnel, before the train moves on, unaware they are waiting for it to reach top speed...

Part 6, No 136, dated 19 April 1992
You Are Doomed!
Borg and Lefarge drive to a headland overlooking the channel, and call the European Railways Federation to warn of the explosives on the train. John on Thunderbird 5 intercepts the call, and contacts Scott, who in turn tells Jeff via his wrist video. At the same time the authorities have informed the driver, who now finds the brakes don't work...

Part 7, No 137, dated 26 April 1992
Thunderbird 2 Is Go!
The power will also not reduce, meaning the train cannot stop. Jeff senses the train is gaining speed, and heads for the cab while Penelope remains to calm the passengers. Parker tries to warn Jeff of Borg and Lefarge but is cut short. Scott informs Virgil and Alan of the situation and, having completed loading Thunderbird 2, lift off to try and help. But time is running out, and the train is now speeding out of the tunnel...



Part 8, No 138, dated 03 May 1992
Save The Passengers!
In the cab of the train, Jeff reasons the explosives are somewhere in the retro coil management system, underneath them. As the drivers plan to decouple the rest of the train, Thunderbird 2 arrives. The cab continues on at speed while the transporter manages to fly backwards, and uses its afterburners to slow the passenger section to a stop. As the cab approaches a bridge over a deep river, Jeff calls to the driver and engineer that this is their only chance, and they leap into the waters as the runaway vehicle explodes...

Part 9, No 139, dated 10 May 1992
A New Threat!
Thunderbird 2 arrives to find Jeff and the crew are okay, and later in a Paris hotel, Parker reveals he saw the international crooks Borg and Lefarge near the train. Now alerted to the threat, Jeff gets John on Thunderbird 5 to trace the call via the mobile telephone network. As no ransom demands were made, Jeff is not sure they have heard the last of this, and gets Scott to bring Brains in Thunderbird 1. The hunch is right, and a new threat concerning the French port of Cherbourg is made...

Part 10, No 140, dated 17 May 1992
The Threat Is Real!
'Nothing will be able to stop the 'Marienne' from destroying Cherbourg...' the call threatens, and John calls Jeff to inform the ship is a nuclear waste carrier, taking its cargo to an off-shore recycling and cleansing plant. As brains sets to work analysing the explosive used on the train, Scott in Thunderbird 1 is launched . But as he finds the vessel, he is told the guidance system of the Marienne is now under the control of Borg and Lefarge...

Part 11, No 141, dated 24 May 1992
Find The Explosives!
Scott lands on the Marienne as Borg and Lefarge demand one hundred million U.S. dollars as ransom. Thunderbird 2 is despatched to bring Alan, with an explosives detector, to the vessel. But as the search begins the captain and crew find they cannot bring the ship back under their control and it is locked on a ramming course with Cherbourg...

Part 12, No 142, dated 31 May 1992
We Must Save Cherbourg!
Alan locates the explosives pack, and Scott lifts off with it in Thunderbird 1. Using the same technique for stopping the train, Virgil in Thunderbird 2 uses the transporter to try and force the Marienne off its collision course. Clear of the coastal area, Scott jettisons the explosives, to see them detonate on impact with the sea...



Part 13, No 143, dated 07 June 1992
Break-In!
As Thunderbird 2 starts to veer the Marienne away from Cherbourg, Penelope and Parker in FAB 1 have located Borg and Lefarge's hideout. Bursting in, Penelope stuns Lefarge with her handbag gas, and frees the vessel from their control. With the Marienne back on course, Thunderbirds 1 and 2 collect Jeff Tracy to return home.

Reprinted:
The New Thunderbirds - issues 85 to 87

Notes:
• The cutaway specification of Tracy Island, from issue 6 of Thunderbirds The Comic, is reprinted in no.132.
• It seems a little unusual to think of Brains having the test pilot skills of the Tracy boys, and you almost expect this to be some part of the plot but it is never mentioned again.
• Coming before The Complete Thunderbirds Story, part 1 refers to Jeff's company as Tracy Construction.
• Unusually, considering the usual secrecy concerning the organisation, Jeff Tracy reveals to the train driver and engineer that he is from International Rescue. And in part 10, Jeff, and later Thunderbirds 1 and 2, are given 'facilities at a military establishment on the outskirts of Paris'. This also seems a little at odds with International Rescue's usual cover.
• The phone threats seem a little like those made by the Mysterons from Captain Scarlet.
• To accompany the reprint in The New Thunderbirds, Graham Bleathman painted a superb cover for issue 86 showing Thunderbird 2 above the speeding 21st Century train.


Story Four (aka Jungle Mystery)
Writer: Alan Fennell.
Artist: Keith Page. 1 page, colour.

Part 1, No 145, dated 14 June 1992
Time: 11.47 hours
Location: Malaysia Jungle. Weather: Humid - Sun
Action: Mining company aircraft on survey mission...

Suddenly, the plane spins out of control, sending out an S.O.S. which Thunderbird 5 picks up. The plane belongs to Global Excavations, a company owned by Geoff Rimmer, and old friend of Jeff Tracy's who helped during the setting up of International Rescue. Scott is despatched in Thunderbird 1 to investigate, and finds a prepared runway in the middle of the dense jungle...

Part 2, No 146, dated 21 June 1992
The Boss Disappears!
The plane sits at the end of the runway, and Scott lands beside it to investigate. Inside, he finds the crew and passengers unconscious but there is no sign of Geoff Rimmer. On recovering, they explain the plane levelled out and made a perfect landing, and a gas grenade was thrown inside. And not far away, the Hood drives his truck through the jungle with the unconscious Rimmer aboard - who will help him defeat International Rescue...

Part 3, No 147, dated 28 June 1992
The Hood Escapes!
Scott tells the jet to go on to its base while he does a low-level search of the area. Thinking a whole army could hide that jungle, Scott then spots what appears to be a fire. Landing, he finds a burning truck, and scorch marks which indicate a vertical take-off jet left recently - but he would never be able to trace it. And somewhere else, the Hood lands his jet in a hidden underground hangar beside an ancient temple...

Part 4, No 148, dated 05 July 1992
The Hood's Paymasters!

Inside, the Hood straps Rimmer to a chair, and awaits him to recover so he can receive orders. In the meantime, he has 'important guests', in the form of two buyers who want the secrets of the Thunderbirds. Having already failed them once before, this time the Hood is certain his plan to trap the pilots is fool-proof. Meanwhile, Scott has returned to Tracy Island, and as there has been trouble in that area before, Brains suggests a full-scale search of the jungle...

Part 5, No 149, dated 12 July 1992
Troop Carrier Trouble!
Jeff despatches Scott in Thunderbird 1, and Virgil and Alan in Thunderbird 2, to start a search from the mysterious runway. But as they start, the Hood flies his stolen World Army Air Force jet out, protected by anti-radar systems. In the south China Sea, the World Navy carrier Argonaut is on a training exercise, with three hundred troops on board. Approaching at speed and undetected, the Hood fires two missiles at it...

Part 6, No 150, dated 19 July 1992
The Temple Is Found!
Settling onto the Argonaut using small parachutes, the two missiles cause no visible damage but knock out the crew and communications with an electronic signal. Landing on the deck in his jet, the Hood takes control and heads the carrier to a secret landing point where the hypnotised crew disembark. Meanwhile, not far away over the Malaysian jungle, Virgil spots an ancient temple...

Part 7, No 151, dated 26 July 1992
Jungle Touch-down!
Rendezvousing with Virgil, Scott arrives and both craft land nearby. However, the seemingly overgrown and deserted temple has no visible means of entry, and Jeff decides it may be sacred to someone and tells Scott and Virgil not to break in. As Kyrano came from the area, Jeff goes out to see if his manservant knows anything but upon asking, the oriental cries out and collapses...



Part 8, No 152, dated 02 August 1992
Argonaut Discovered!
Jeff asks Kyrano if mention of the temple upsets him, but the servant denies this. But before this can be taken further, John calls from Thunderbird 5 and reports the Argonaut has been found abandoned and three hundred troops are missing. But as Thunderbirds 1 and 2 head for the nearby coast, the Hood is leading a convoy of World Navy vehicles through the jungle...

Part 9, No 153, dated 09 August 1992
Underground!
Operating a control, the Hood opens huge doors in the side of a rock face, revealing a huge underground area which is the troops' 'new barracks', and where they will soon work to make the place ready for the Thunderbirds. At the coast, Thunderbirds 1 and 2 find the authorities have taken control but Scott thinks the vanished troops must have left some kind of trail. And indeed, the tracks lead back into the jungle...

Part 10, No 154, dated 16 August 1992
Earthquake!

Flying over the jungle, Scott reports to base a search would take months, and is ordered to return so some thought can be given to a plan. In his temple headquarters, the Hood hypnotises Geoff Rimmer, and tells him he requires two more scientific brains to help him - whether they like it or not. At that moment, a violent earthquake rocks the Turkish town of Kizil, and International Rescue are called for help. Scott lifts off in Thunderbird 1, and Virgil, Alan and Gordon, with the Mole and the Domo, are launched in Thunderbird 2...

Part 11, No 155, dated 23 August 1992
At Full Stretch!
As Thunderbirds 1 and 2 start rescue operations in Kizil, Japanese scientist Professor Zito is reported kidnapped from his hotel room in Singapore. The foremost expert on soil structures and underground habitation Zito, like Geoff Rimmer, is in the subterranean field, and the closeness to Malaysia is forming a pattern. And not far from Alice Springs in Australia Doctor Jake Sinclair, a deep mine expert, is forced off the road by the Hood's stolen jet, and a jet of gas surrounds his car...

Part 12, No 156, dated 30 August 1992
Deep Trouble!

With his 'team' now complete, the Hood starts the troops to work on extending the underground cavern. As Jeff consults with Brains on the recent abductions, Kyrano staggers and cries out, 'The tomb! My ancestors are angry...!' Seated in a chair, Kyrano explains to a concerned Tin-Tin, Jeff and Brains his family ancestors rest in a tomb in the jungle, and has been disturbed by 'many soldiers - digging...'. This cannot be a coincidence with the missing troops, and getting the location of the Tomb of Kyrano, Jeff and Brains lift of in the Tracy jet to investigate. And in the cavern itself, the ancestral tomb is uncovered...

Part 13, No 157, dated 06 September 1992
The Conclusion!
Jeff and Brains call on Thunderbirds 1 and 2 - their mission at Kizil complete - to join them as they arrive at the tomb entrance and descend the steps. But inside they find the excavation - and a hypnotised Geoff Rimmer. Jeff coaxes him from the trance, and the engineer smashes the control centre seemingly abandoned by the Hood. Climbing to a high place, Jeff calls on the troops to leave the cavern, as transport is arriving soon. Thunderbirds 1 and 2 arrive, and the troops are taken on board. Geoff asks about 'the weirdo who started all this', but Jeff replies he went to a lot of trouble for nothing. Even if they had captured him, International Rescue could not risk the publicity a police arrest would entail. And as the Tracy jet, along with Thunderbirds 1 and 2, lifts off, the Hood watches and curses.

Reprinted:
The New Thunderbirds - issues 88 and 89 (parts 1-6 and 9-13 only)

Notes:
• The cutaway specification of FAB 2, from issue 16 of Thunderbirds The Comic, is reprinted in no.147.
• The cutaway specification of the Firefly, from issue 15 of Thunderbirds The Comic, is reprinted in no.154.
• As with Train Of Disaster, Graham Bleathman painted a superb cover for issue 89 of The New Thunderbirds to accompany the reprint, showing Thunderbirds 1 and 2 landing outside the Hood's temple (left).
• Ironically, parts 7 and 8, which included these iconic frames, were omitted from the reprint. The events in the missing parts are covered by a brief 'recap' at the start of part 9. This would suggest it was a deliberate move, limited by the need to wrap up other strips within the page count.
• It is an interesting implication of events in this story that Kyrano may fully be aware of the Hood and his intent but has certain post-hypnotic blocks which prevent him from revealing anything about this, only vaguely hinted at in the series itself.
• While there is no actual town, the Kizil is both the name of the longest river to wholly run within Turkey, and a range of mountains in the country.
• In part 12, Jeff refers to Scott having 'lost the trail of the soldiers at that rock face', but this event does not actually appear in the strip itself.
• In the final part, Geoff Rimmer refers to the Hood using 'a low frequency impulse generator' to control the men. Does this mean the Hood's hypnotic control is partly technology based?

Unfortunately what let the strip down was the poor print quality. Page himself thought, 'The colour repro was mostly awful on The Times.' Like his work for Fleetway, Page draw these in full colour, probably at the request of Alan Fennell, who saw their potential use as reprints, even though most other work for the supplement was also done this way. Often the print was high in contrast and saturation, or bleached out any subtle tone badly. And indeed, all four of the stories would see better reproduction in other titles - the first in the ©1993 Thunderbirds annual, and the last three in The New Thunderbirds as the title wound down in early 1995. On these, Page reflects, 'The reprints, for which I was paid a fee, gave a much truer idea of the original art. And as with most of the other artists to work under Alan Fennell, Page was offered everything back, 'All original artwork was returned.', and these occasionally appear at internet auctions, artwork sites and comic events for sale.



The instalments of the new stories in The Funday Times were tightly scripted, being more stand-alone and faithful to the series than those which would later appear in the Fleetway title. The first is a brief, almost Thunderbirds-by-numbers, tale with an against-the-clock rescue, the Hood, and a 'peril of Penelope' finale reminiscent of the episode 'The Man From MI5' (which Fennell had also written). After this, The Iceberg Menace seems almost a let down, wandering from straight rescue to ecological venture with an almost throwaway 'villain' and no set direction. Thankfully, things get back on track for Train Of Disaster, which starts out as a seeming variation of Fennell's own episode 'Brink of Disaster' (runaway train with Jeff aboard), but ends more like '30 Minutes After Noon' (Thunderbird 1 dropping explosives out at sea) though Penelope and Parker's sudden saving of the day in the last part has a rushed feel to it.

The final story, aka Jungle Mystery, is the stand out finale, an original tale which, as ever, is notched up in impact with the return of the Hood. This is Alan Fennell and Thunderbirds in fine form again, and if it has a failing it is again a rushed conclusion, with the Hood strangely absent in any real way from the last parts apart from an obligatory fist-waving in the final frame. You almost feel the finale is building up to some supernatural intervention, a la Raiders Of The Lost Ark, but then Jeff and Brains just walk in and, hey, everything is okay again. It cannot be denied the idea is the strongest and best of this run, and another of Fennell's plots like Atlantic Tunnel which would have made a cracking episode with a bit more redrafting. On this relative high note, the 'next week' flash of the final part announced 'Stand By For Action! We Are About To Launch - STINGRAY!'

But that is another story altogether...

Part Two of this series, covering the second run of Thunderbirds in The Funday Times during 1993-1994, will appear soon.

The Gerry Anderson Complete Comic History would like to thank:
Keith Page
and Steve Bright
- for their help with this feature.
and especially Ralph Titterton & Cathy Ford for the kind loan of the complete run from The Funday Times.

Version 1.1 - 15.09.06


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

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