Thunderbirds Extra 1966
Published March 1966 by City Magazines Ltd. in co-operation with A.P. Films Merchandising Ltd.

Strip One
Writer: Alan Fennell (?). Artist: Brian Lewis. 5 pages, b/w.
Man has broken through the solar system space barrier... new planets beckon him... almost monthly, sophisticated spaceships make fresh conquests. Rocket Starburst touches down on Planet 275...

But as the two astronauts explore in the low gravity, the exhilarated Bender misjudges a jump and tears his suit on an outcrop. Lewis tries to help but Bender is suffering from 'the bends' caused by a damaged air valve, and lifts off alone, marooning his colleague. Thunderbird 5 picks up the transmissions from Ground Control regarding the loss of contact with the returning ship, and Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are launched to the splashdown area. In Thunderbird 4, Gordon finds the ship on the sea-bed, and rescues Bender. But after decompression in Thunderbird 2, the astronaut comes to his senses and realises Lewis is still on Planet 275. Alan and Brains lift off in Thunderbird 3, and rescue the astronaut just as his air runs out.

Reprinted:
TV2000 Thunderbirds Extra (Holland) - 1966

Notes:
• The naming of one astronaut as 'Lewis' (after artist Brian Lewis) can't be a coincidence...
• Some of Brain Lewis' reference would appear to be the regular weekly artwork in TV Century 21, notably the Thunderbird 3 launch bay, and he shows Thunderbird 2 lowering Pod 4 into the sea via cables as Frank Bellamy had done in the first strip.
• The astronauts use 'neutroni radio', which is more usually associated with Fireball XL5, to contact Earth.
• Interestingly, the splashdown area is 'Area 6, Section 19' of the Pacific Ocean - a similar locale given for Tracy Island in the later story Double Rescue, in the Thunderbirds Spring Extra.
• Oops - Brian Lewis bizarrely depicts Virgil twice in the final frame (right): sitting to the left of Scott, and standing in the background holding a book!
• At least two pages of the original artwork from this strip - the third and fifth - are still known to exist.


Story One: Emergency - Thunderbirds
Writer: Unknown. Illustrated with photos. 1 page, b/w.
After crashing on Tracy Island, Brains needs parts to do a complete rebuild of the craft. But one part: MEGO 501 - is missing, and Brains orders it from Allied Components Incorporated in Ankara, Turkey. The package travels a twisted route around the world before being dumped in the sea for Thunderbird 4 to retrieve - and it was still quicker than the post!

Reprinted:
TV2000 Thunderbirds Extra (Holland) 1966 as 'N Onderdeeltje Voor De Thunderbirds (A Small Part For Thunderbirds)

Notes:
• An intriguing dramatisation, showing how Brains gets parts for International Rescue without arousing suspicion.
• Oops - the introduction suggests Scott Tracy is the pilot of Thunderbird 2.

• The Dutch version of this story used colour photos (above).


Strip Two (aka Sands Of Terror)
Writer: Alan Fennell (?). Artist: Don Harley. 8 pages, colour & b/w.
Tapping heat and energy from the Earth's molten centre is a practical and profitable industry. In the middle of the Australian desert, a centre core installation is at full capacity...

Suddenly, the earth's surface cracks and underground pressure blows one section apart. With nitrosynatic gas polluting the air, the project controllers ignite pre-set detonators, and a man-made mountain seals the area. In Bermuda, the World Government disaster enquiry committee decide that some sites, built on areas containing cavities left by oil deposits, are unsafe and projects on these are to be discontinued immediately. Within three months, all countries have carried out the advice, except one... Zarabia, whose Regent Zenith has taken control since its young king disappeared a year ago. The World President sends a scientific delegation to convince Zenith, but while drilling a test site, the ground crumbles and three men in a transporter become trapped underground. It is believed they are dead but Zenith continues operations against advice. Thunderbird 5 picks up the men's radio signals, and the World Government send their own rescue mission. Zenith believes it a hoax, and has the craft escorted out of his airspace. The escape of nitrosynatic gas is increasing, and the World President is forced to use negative fall-out nuclear missiles to try and seal the area, but Zarabia intercepts these too. Jeff Tracy sends Lady Penelope to get information on Zarabia's defences, which after breaking through military checkpoints she does. But Penelope also finds a secret passage and, investigating it, finds the King held in a cell - before she and Parker are also captured by Zenith. With Penelope's information, Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are launched, and Scott takes care of the missile defences. Using a high tension cable to protect the danger zone, Scott allows Thunderbird 2 to land, and Virgil uses the Mole to rescue the three men and lay sealing charges. Penelope uses her explosive shoe to blast the cell door down, freeing, the King, Parker and herself. Zenith attacks the site as the Mole surfaces, but the King has found loyal army leaders, and the troops turn on Zenith. The area is cleared, and the charges stop the escape of gas.

Reprinted:
TV2000 Thunderbirds Extra (Holland) - 1966
Thunderbirds Classic Comic Strips (2002)

Notes:

• Unless our eyes deceive us, isn't that Bob Develin among the disaster committee (above - second from left)? Considering this strip pre-dates The Investigator by a good few months, one has to wonder if the appearance of the committee sowed the seeds for the stand-alone adventures of a scientific trouble-shooter...
• Don Harley's depiction of the World Government rescue craft makes it seem a variant of the TX 204 plane seen in the episode 'Trapped In The Sky' (left).
• Oops - when Jeff takes the video call from John, Scott appears to be wearing his uniform and forage cap but when he is later briefed, he is in his civilian clothes.
• As with some early strips (notably in the ©1966 Thunderbirds annual), Thunderbird 1 is shown taking off with its wings out, and lands on its tail at a rescue, and Thunderbird 2 seems to lose its wings in the final frame.
• At least three pages of the original artwork from this strip - the second and sixth (black and white), and the final colour one - are still known to exist.


Story Two: Flight To Destruction
Writer: Dennis Hooper (?). Artist: Frank Bellamy. 3 pages, b/w.
Alan Tracy has relieved John for duty on Thunderbird 5, but as John returns in Thunderbird 3, the super-coolant Pentammonia Thional leaks, and while not fatal it knocks the astronaut out. Realising John has missed a routine course-change check in, Brains finds Thunderbird 3 will come down on New York City! Realising he may not stand any chance of intercepting the craft, Scott takes Thunderbird 1 up, as General Matheson of the World Government's Central Attack Early Warning Control detects Thunderbird 3 on collision course. He gives International a boundary of four miles - if Thunderbird 3 comes any closer than that, he will have to destroy it to save millions of lives. Scott makes a desperate gamble and shoots out the motors of Thunderbird 3, and locks Thunderbird 1 into the craft, using it to change course before both craft pancake in the Pacific.

Reprinted:
TV2000 Thunderbirds Extra (Holland) 1966 as Vlucht Naar De Vernietiging (Escape To Destruction)
The Official Thunderbirds Annual ©1992 (see Notes)

Notes:
• In direct contradiction to later strips such as Solar Danger, Brains maintains that Thunderbird 1 is only capable of atmospheric flight, and Scott takes it up to an approximate ceiling of one hundred and fifty-two thousand feet (about 29 miles).
• Mention is made of Jodrell 6 - the TV21 name for the Transmitter Truck seen in the episode 'Sun Probe' - being out of action, as it could have been used to control Thunderbird 3 and bring it down safely.
• Mention is also made of Thunderbird 3 having retractable flight vanes. Now in aviation terms, these are fins or flat surfaces, usually on the tail, of missiles or rockets to aid stable flight. Does this refer to the mid-section of the main body?
• The illustrations for this story were reproduced from the regular Thunderbirds strip in TV Century 21: Thunderbirds 3 and 5, and Jeff Tracy are taken from part 1 of the first story Blazing Danger. Thunderbird 1 is from part 2 of Mission To Africa, as are the heads of Jeff Tracy and Brains, while the portrait of Scott is from part 5 of Blazing Danger.
• Oops - the Dutch reprint of the story replaces the artwork of Jeff Tracy with a publicity photo, but it is of someone holding the head of the puppet, with the fingers clearly visible (see above right).
• The concept of one of the Tracy brothers (this time Alan) unconscious about Thunderbird 3 later forms the start of the strip The New System in Countdown. This could imply Dennis Hooper as the possible writer.

• This story was reprinted as a two-part story in the ©1992 Official Thunderbirds Annual, with new colour illustrations (above).


Strip Three
Writer: Alan Fennell (?). Artist: Ron Turner. 6 pages, b/w.
Flight 907, Hamburg to Salt Lake City arrives on schedule...
An armour-plated security transporter loads the precious cargo - the most advanced neutron reactor primed and ready for use - for its journey to the Nevada power plant. But en route, the security escort is ambushed by the Hood, and the transporter loaded aboard his fake petrol tanker. A security man tackles the Hood and makes off in the tanker but the Hood pursues and it is driven off the road. Abandoning his booty, the Hood leaves the overturned tanker to the police, who discover from men trapped inside that the reactor is active. It will blow in sixty-five minutes, and any vibrations may cause it to detonate prematurely.

Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are launched to assist, and a special disposal vehicle unloaded. Wearing protecive suits, Scott and Virgil use probe cutters and a freezer to cut into the tanker, and fill the interior with vibration reducing foam. But a section gives way, and the countdown jumps to one minute! Racing against time, Virgil uses the disposal vehicle to grab the reactor and place it in a special sealed container, where it explodes safely. There is no radiation, and Thunderbirds 1 and 2 - with the wrecked disposal vehicle - return home.

Reprinted:
TV2000 Thunderbirds Extra (Holland) - 1966

Notes:
• This strip seems set very early on, as the police do not recognise Thunderbird 1 and Scott has to explain the function of International Rescue to them - something we only see on television in the first episode 'Trapped In The Sky'.
• It is also interesting in that International Rescue are not seen or mentioned until page 4 - effectively less than half the strip!

• Ron Turner's interpretation of a Fireflash (above), if indeed that is what it is supposed to be, is interesting to say the least.
• Thunderbird 1 is again depicted as lifting off from Tracy Island with its wings out.

TV Century 21 Summer Extra 1966
Published July 1966 by City Magazines in co-operation with AP Films (Merchandising) Ltd.

Thunderbirds: Waves Of Disaster
Writer: Dennis Hooper (?).
Artists: Don Harley and Michael Strand. 6 pages, colour & b/w.
Linking the coastal town of Carrol Bay and Cedar City, a long, straight strip of highway cuts smoothly through yellow cornfields. The scene is peaceful and friendly... the weather warm and sunny...

Then suddenly, an earthquake strikes, and Cedar City crumbles. Severed power lines ignite fuel storage tanks, and the violently shaking sea-bed causes a towering tidal wave. John Tracy on Thunderbird 5 informs Tracy Island, but the disaster is too big for even International Rescue to handle. But they can assist, and Scott launches in Thunderbird 1. Carrol Bay has escaped the shock waves of the quake, up until now, and school teacher Miss Roberts evacuates her class when the first tremors are felt. But a landslip traps her and three children underground. Scott arrives at the Disaster Control centre, and finds out about the trapped people - but the tidal wave wil hit in three hours. Thunderbird 2 launches with the Domo and the Dozer, and drops Thunderbird 4 at sea, where Gordon uses oil to slow the wave. At Carrol Bay, Virgil uses the remote control Dozer while Alan drives the Domo to secure the cliff. But when Thunderbird 2 lifts off to lower Virgil in an airlift cage, the cliff starts to crumble. Scott uses Thunderbird 1 itself to hold the cliff while Virgil rescues the teacher and her pupils. The oil has not slowed the wave down enough, and it will arrive in ten minutes. A rapid rescue and departure later, and the mission is accomplished. Gordon dives under the wave to avoid being smashed on the coastal rocks, and with four lives saved, the Thunderbirds fly back to Disaster Control for another problem to solve.

Reprinted:
TV2000 Thunderbirds Extra 2 (Holland) 1967 as Rampen Komen Niet Alleen (Calamities Don't Come Together)

Notes:
• The concept of using oil to slow a tidal wave is reused in the strip Doom Wave in the Thunderbirds annual 1972. This could again imply Dennis Hooper as the possible writer.
• On page 2 of the strip, Don Harley depicts the Tracy brothers as all in uniform while at home. This becomes a common trait to his work for Thunderbirds, notably in his work for Countdown.
• While only Don Harley is usually credited for this strip, the last two pages appear to have drawn (or at least inked) by Michael Strand. The layout and framing of these pages are suggestive of Harley's style, but Strand uses a dot stipple technique in the third frame, which Harley rarely if ever used.
• Interestingly, these final two pages of artwork are still known to exist, and have replacement frames covering some of the original illustrations.

• The first frame of page 5 (above), a portrait of Scott, has been replaced. An unfinished illustration by Michael Strand is revealed under the version which finally saw print (courtesy of Ronald Kroon).

• The final frame has also been replaced, and while the elements in both are identical - no doubt described in the script - the angle is different. The unfinished one is from a higher angle, looking down, than the more dynamic printed version, looking up at the departing Thunderbirds flying overhead. It is also possible the caption and amount of dialogue required was responsible for the recomposition of the elements (above - courtesy of Hans Wels and Ronald Kroon).


Thunderbirds: Operation Masterstrike
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Michael Strand (?). 2 pages, b/w.
The old radio-controlled freighter Ocean Trader moves towards a target area in the central Pacific Ocean, carrying a homing device. Missile research Centre Western X launches a Masterstrike rocket that will trace the ship and destroy it. On Tracy Island, far south of the target area, Jeff Tracy and Brains are monitoring the operation. The brakes of a fuel tanker near San Francisco fail, and it smashes into a power pylon, destroying it and cutting all power to Western X as the Masterstrike completes its orbit, meaning the Ocean Trader is out of control and the rocket could come down anywhere! Thunderbird 5 has also been monitoring Western X, and its loss of signal leads Brains to realise what has happened - on its original course, Ocean Trader will pass within four miles of Tracy Island. Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are launched to find the ship. Scott and Brains locate the homing device on the ship but too late... it has already locked onto Masterstrike, and in fifteen minutes the rocket will hit. Realising that the device will draw the rocket to it, Scott takes it in Thunderbird 1 in a desperate race against time - and the falling rocket - back to the original target area. With moments to spare, Scott jettisons the device and gets clear of the explosion.

Chapters:
Fate Intervenes
Target - Tracy Island
Zero Minus - 15
Desperate Search
On Target
Reprieve

Reprinted:
TV2000 Thunderbirds Extra 2 (Holland) 1967 as Raketten Denken Niet (Rockets Do Not Think)
The Official Thunderbirds Annual ©1993

Notes:
• The Dutch chapters for the reprint in the TV2000 Thunderbirds Extra 2 are slightly different: Speling Van Het Lot (Spelling Destiny), Doelwit Tracy-Eiland, 15 Minuten Voor Nul (15 Minutes To Zero), Laatste Seconden (Last Seconds), and Op Het Doel Af (On Target - the literal title is On Finished Aim).

• This story was reprinted, with minor editorial changes and updates, and new colour ilustrations (above), to appear in the ©1993 Official Thunderbirds Annual.

Thunderbirds Spring Extra 1967
Published March 1967 by City Magazines Ltd. in co-operation with Century 21 Publishing Ltd.

Strip One
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Brian Lewis. 5 pages, b/w.

John reports from Thunderbird 5 that the World Navy Carrier Invincible is doing exercises in the area, and Commander Tyrone wishes to pay a courtesy visit. A storm is coming, and all of Brains' work on the Thunderbirds is stopped for the impending visit. Tyrone arrives for a mid-day meal, and the weather deteriorates badly marooning the commander. But the Invincible is in trouble as its auto stabilizers spring a fault, and when it cannot be repaired the skipper orders all hands to seal off water tight doors and retire below decks to ride the storm out. But the ship capsizes, and sinks to the seabed. When the shaken command centre recovers and sends out a frantic radio signal, Tyrone finds there are no recovery vehicles capable of weathering the freak storm. This is a job for International Rescue... but unknown to Tyrone he is stopping them! Brains drugs Tyrone's coffee, so the commander will be out for four hours, but they have to work fast. Gordon takes Thunderbird 4 out to sea, and attaches a limpet radio to the hull of the Invincible to establish contact with the carrier command. With the crew scattered in compartments throughout the ship, the only way to rescue them is to lift the entire ship. But it is so immense, even Thunderbird 2 cannot do the job. Immediate modifications are required for Thunderbird 3, and Alan lifts off to pilot the spaceship in the most difficult manoeuvre of staic hover, as magentic cables from it are attched by Gordon to the carrier. With time, and the crew's oxygen, running out Alan fires the powerful rockets of Thunderbird 3 to lift the carrier to the safety of Tracy Island, using the story it was the nearest island. A thankful Tyrone recovers to take over as recovery teams arrive.

Reprinted:
This strip has not been reprinted.

Notes:
• Brian Lewis' art is slightly more caricatured in this strip than his earlier work.
• As with his earlier Thunderbirds strip, Brain Lewis draws upon Frank Bellamy's regular weekly artwork for reference, notably the Thunderbird 3 launch bay again.
• The Thunderbirds machines themselves hardly appear - a few appearances by Thunderbirds 3 and 4 in the last couple of pages.


Strip Two
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Ron Turner. 6 pages, colour & b/w.

International Rescue is contacted by Doctor Baunitz, who runs a research laboratory in the Austran Alps. He claims to have invented a machine which can change the molecular structure of ice into fertile soil, but John thinks he is a nutcase, and Brains agrees. The scientist is thanked but told by Jeff Tracy they are not interested. Annoyed, Baunitz tests his device on a nearby mountain to prove his claim, but it is flawed and simply creates more ice. As a massive man-made glacier swamps the laboratory, Baunitz radios International rescue for help. Scott flies to the Alps, and helps organise the evacuation of a nearby village threatened by the ice. When Thunderbird 2 arrives, Virgil and Brains take the Mole to drill through the ice to the machine in the hope of deactivating it. But the Mole was built to withstand extreme heat, and the cold starts to drain its power. Brains over-runs the reactor in the risk of keeping the Mole warm enough to reach their objective, with success. A missile destroys the device, and they rescue Baunitz. But the over-run reactor has burnt out the reversing mechanism, and more missiles have to be used to blast their way out of the ice. Mission accomplished, International Rescue leave the authorities to remove the glacier.

Reprinted:
This strip has not been reprinted in its entirety (see Notes).

Notes:
• The colour spread for this strip (see above) was reprinted as part of a tribute to the late Ron Turner, in issue 44 of FAB magazine.


Story One: Thunderbirds - Double Rescue!
Writer: Unknown. Illustrated with photos. 2 pages, b/w.
Lady Penelope is watching a newscast wihich mentions Zone 6 in the Pacific Ocean is going to be used by the Word Missile Defence Council for the testing of the new Vanta-7 missile. Penelope realises this is where Tracy Island is located but before she can warn Jeff Tracy, a tanker delivering liquid gas explodes in her drive. Penelope and Parker are forced to seal themselves in a mansion vault to escape the escaping gas, and it is some hours before Thunderbird 2 arrives to rescue them. By now the missiles have been launched, and Brains must think of a way of deflecting them - and keeping Tracy Island a secret - before they hit.

Reprinted:
The Official Thunderbirds Annual ©1992 (see Notes)

Notes:
• Unlike other text stories for the Extras, this has no chapter headings.
• This story was reworked extensively as Missile Alert for the ©1992 Official Thunderbirds Annual, with new colour illustrations (above).
• Read the feature comparing the two versions.


Story Two: Thunderbirds - Decoyed!
Writer: Unknown.
Illustrated with photos. 2 pages, colour & b/w.
Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are launched in response to a faint distress call from the Andes Mountains - a cave-in at the High Sierra mine has trapped several men. Arriving at the danger zone, a small shack on a plateau covers the mine entrance, and Virgil leaves Scott to investigate. But unknown to them the call is a trap by the Hood, and the mine contains one of his secret workshops. Virgil is astonished to find the control room, but fends off the attacking Hood, who smashes his own instruments in error. Virgil returns to Scott, and Thunderbird 1 pursues the Hood's escape vehicle until it plunges off the plateau.

Chapters:
Tunnel
Master Criminal
Desperate Conflict
Getaway!

Reprinted:
This story has not been reprinted.

Notes:
• The photo of the Hood is of him sitting in the plane from the episode 'Martian Invasion'.
• The picture of Thunderbird 1 and the Hood's 'hovertrack' is from a specially staged photo-shoot at the beginning of 1966, using Thunderbird 1 and the Firefly - and a couple of flat boards hastily painted green! One of these (a similar shot to the one below right) was used, cropped to show just Thunderbird 1, on the cover of issue 61 to promote part 3 of the strip Mission To Africa.

• To make the Firefly into the 'hover-track', the front blade and supporting arms have been airbrushed out.
• One of the other photos (above left), taken from the side and showing a painted mountain backdrop, later appeared in the Thunderbirds Holiday Special ©1983.


Strip Three
Writer: Alan Fennell (?).
Artist: Don Harley. 5 pages, b/w.
The road and rail tunnel linking Britain with Europe. A two-tier structure curving deep beneath the sea-bed...
Jet-freight express 27X90 is Geneva bound from London, when a rock fall brings the tunnel in. Slowing to stop, the crew realise they have thirty seconds before automatic shutters seal off a half-mile section. But the photo-electric cells have failed, and driver Karl makes the brave decision to use the manual control system, trapping himself in the section with only the pressurised engine cab for protection until help arrives. His co-drivers contact the chief controller, and he reveals 27X90 is carrying twenty million in gold bullion destined for the World Bank in Geneva. Ultra-sonic probes reveal a mountain of mud and silt set to slide into the hole, and there is only enough time to rescue the driver, or the bullion - but not both! The controller deems a man's life comes first every time, and International Rescue are called. Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are launched, and Gordon in Thunderbird 4 is dropped at the Channel coast. But he finds an unmarked sub-aqua jet is already at the area - this was no accident put a deliberate raid on the bullion train! Before he can act, a missile from the craft puts Thunderbird 4 out of action but not before Gordon fires a marker dart at it. As the craft completes its raid and moves off, Gordon makes a daring try to rescue the driver, and uses their flexible steel pipe they left for the raid to reach the cabin and reach Karl. As the mud and slit collapse into the hole, Gordon helps the driver to reach Thunderbird 4. Returning to land, Gordon tells Scott the marker dart will soon release a red and yellow dye, and Thunderbirds spots the trail leading to the French coast. A missile makes short work of the sub-aqua jet as the raiders transfer the bullion to a helicopter. The French police are called to arrest the thieves, and the least International Rescue can do is help clear up the bullion now littering the shoreline.

Reprinted:
This strip has not been reprinted.

Notes:
• Well I'll go to the foot of our stairs! The chief controller looks remarkable like Digby (albeit slimmer) from Dan Dare.

Although published as an additional publicity springboard for Zero X from the Thunderbirds Are Go! feature film (as if it had not received enough as it was), the TV Century 21 Thunderbirds Spring Extra followed an almost identical format to the original Extra. Replacing the Dateline 2066 spreads were two featuring the Zero X launch sequence, and its main crew. The factual International Rescues were superceded by two space features under the heading 5 4 3 2 1 Countdown (sub-titled 20th Century Breakthrough - Gateway To 2067, in case anyone questioned their claim to be there), and a couple more full page 'Special Photo Releases' spotlighted Thunderbirds 2 and 3.

While the TV21 related Extras remain scarcer (or at least more costly to obtain), they provided a wealth of material that would be reprinted or re-used in other editions. The biggest of these was TV2000 in Holland, and both the Thunderbirds and Lady Penelope Summer Extras provided strips and stories for a Dutch Thunderbirds Extra which effectively became a pilot issue when the weekly version launched in the autumn of 1966. A second Dutch Thunderbirds Extra the following year would be more of a TV2000 orientated affair, including Marina, Agent 21 (renamed Speciaal Agent 2000) and The Man from UNCLE into the mix, as well as material from the first Thunderbirds annual. While printed on matt stock, comparable to the annuals, these Extras had the added bonus of better print quality, and the reproduction of the subtler greyscale and colour tones is notably superior than their British counterparts in most cases. Unfortunately, they lose points on the perfect-bound spines, which meant spread artworks often lost their middle in the gutter.


Image: A frame of Don Harley's original artwork for the Sands Of Terror strip - one of a number of pages which survive in Holland, reused for TV2000 and its Extras and never returned - alongside its reproduction in the 1966 Thunderbirds Extra, which partially bleached it out, and the same frame from the Dutch Thunderbirds Extra, which notably darkened the grey washes.

Later, in the 1990s with the success of repeats of the series, editor Alan Fennell would return to three of the text stories, with new artwork, to adapt and update for the two Thunderbirds annuals he produced for Grandreams. Perhaps the most interesting feature is The Secrets Of Tracy Island, written by Jeff Tracy himself, giving the inside story of how International Rescue came to be formed. This was, in all probability, the work of Alan Fennell, as it provides what could almost be considered an advance synopsis for The Complete Thunderbirds Story he would later flesh out in the 1990s. The 'Build Your Own Thunderbird 1' would also resurface in the 1992 Thunderbirds Holiday Special. Sadly not the full, and possibly classified, plans but a card model. Still, one can dream...

Features on the Lady Penelope and Stingray Extra stories and strips will appear in the Annual Special Upload.

The Gerry Anderson Complete Comic History would like to thank:
Ronald Kroon
Paul Johnson
& Hans Wels
- for their help with this feature.

Version 1.1 - 01.10.06


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