NOT BACKWARDS IN COMING FORWARDS...
LIFT -OFF TO ADVENTURE!
Countdown was a phoenix from the ashes of TV21, but this early ’70s Gerry Anderson-based TV comic would soon morph into an exciting showcase for telly ‘tecs and crimebusters, as Alistair McGown reports…
By 1971, TV Comic was an established part of comics publishing, with a weekly juvenile audience of around 150,000. Since the mid-60s the publication had upped its intended readership age range, expanding from strips based on TV puppets and animated characters to small screen action adventure favourites such as Doctor Who, The Avengers, Orlando, Adam Adamant Lives!, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo and Catweazle. Could publisher Polystyle extend sales with a TV Comic spin-off aimed at the slightly older boys who enjoyed these strips?
A division of newspaper publisher Argus Press, Polystyle had bought up TV Comic and toddler titles Pippin and Playland in April 1968. When previous owners Associated-Rediffusion lost their London ITV franchise and the lucrative contract to publish ITV’s weekly listings magazine TV Times, their publishing arm TV Publications divested themselves of the three comics.
The pathway to Countdown was Polystyle’s annual for Gerry Anderson’s live action spectacular UFO, licensed by Century 21 Merchandising for the 1970 Christmas market, a collection of text stories, features and photos – though lacking picture strips or artwork – tied into the series’ screen début.
Polystyle’s editorial director Mike ‘Arthur’ Thorn considered adding a UFO strip to TV Comic or even producing a whole new comic around it, and struck a rights deal with Century 21 covering earlier Anderson series. This would comprise about half a comic, probably a wise move; while many of the puppet shows were currently rerunning across the ITV regions, even biggest hit Thunderbirds had ended five years before. Century’s 21’s own smash hit weekly TV Century 21 had slowly declined from its 1965 launch to become Anderson-free in June 1970, suggesting the trade felt Supermarionation was old news. Countdown was never meant as just a TV21 clone however, and was to feature real world space coverage of the ongoing Apollo moonshots.
After a successful dummy created by former TV Century 21 art editor Dennis Hooper in summer 1970, a first issue came together from early September. Hooper recruited young Anglo- Canadian journalist Robin Hilborn as assistant editor, to write space, science and technology features, and Roger Perry, formerly of Century 21 Publishing’s book division, as art editor, with comics veteran Bill Kidd as art assistant. The Countdown team shared office space with TV Comic, Pippin and Playland in Polly Perkins House near Paddington Green, west London, off Edgware Road.
Countdown looked to a slightly different generation of artists from TV21’s heyday.
Frank Bellamy was now in demand at magazines including Radio Times, and Mike Noble busy at newly launched Junior TV Times rival Look-in, so three talents from the latter days of TV21 and TV21 & Joe 90 – Gerry Haylock, Harry Lindfield and John Burns – were elevated to the top rank.