This week in 1971: COUNTDOWN No.32

It's been a while since I did one of these flashback features so here's a few pages from the issue of a comic that went on sale this weekend 44 years ago. It's Countdown No.32, dated September 25th 1971, which would have been published on Saturday Sept.18th 1971. (Click on images to see them larger.)

Countdown was a glossy 24 page weekly published by Polystyle, which featured strips based on the sci-fi adventure TV shows of the day. The comic tried to be a replacement for the glory days of TV21, to the extent that it had gained the licence to do strips of Gerry Anderson shows after TV21 had dropped them. (By the time this issue of Countdown was published, the ailing TV21 had merged into Valiant.)

The cover of this issue kicks off a new UFO serial illustrated by Gerry Haylock. One of the great things about Countdown was that it credited the artists; something most British comics didn't do back then.

The centrespread of the comic featured Doctor Who. The fantastic artist Harry Lindfield does a fine job of illustrating a very busy script but there's a lot going on to pack into two pages and it does feel like it would have benefited from spreading it over another page or two.

Eight of Countdown's 24 pages were in full colour, and although the content would vary over the comic's run, the Countdown strip itself had its two pages of 
colour every week. This was an originated strip not based on any TV show but it 
did feature spacecraft designs from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. (No spacecraft in this episode though.) Artwork by the always-astounding John Burns. 

Countdown ran a different complete 7 page story every week, and this week it was the turn of Captain Scarlet. Connecting with continuity with the movie Thunderbirds Are Go, the strip saw the return of the Martian Rock Snakes, - this time on Earth as part of a Mysteron plot. A daft story but great art by Keith Watson...

Having the licence for Gerry Anderson strips meant that Polystyle could reprint old strips from TV21, which came in handy when the budget was reduced. Although originally published in full colour, some Stingray and Fireball XL5 strips were reprinted in greyscale. Furthermore, the Fireball strips were reduced and turned at 90 degrees. However, personally speaking this didn't bother me one bit and as a 12 year old I was only too glad to revisit those classic strips I'd read when I was six. 

As you might have guessed from the competition to win a weather station, Countdown liked to mix science alongside science fiction. The back page of this issue featured a cutaway of the Apollo Lunar Module (reprinted from a book called Manned Spacecraft). 

I thought Countdown was an excellent comic, just up my street. No sports or war stories; just science fiction and fact (plus the occasional feature about UFO sightings). Sadly it seems most kids didn't take to it and with issue 59 it changed its title to TV Action, expanding its content to include TV shows such as Hawaii Five-O, and Cannon. Later, it'd incorporate pop pin-ups to compete with Look-In, but it still remained a good TV adventure comic up until its merger with TV Comic in 1973. 

Countdown to TV Action: review

I've been a sucker for books on the history of comics ever since I had The Penguin Book of Comics for Christmas 1971. Any book that provides more insight into the background of comics is usually an essential purchase for me, and Countdown to TV Action by Steve Holland definitely delivers the goods.

As most of you will know, Countdown was a weekly comic published by Polystyle in 1971 which featured licensed TV strips such as Doctor Who and various Gerry Anderson strips, along with features on science, space exploration, and Unidentified Flying Objects. A year after its launch it metamorphosed into TV Action, continuing the numbering and broadening its remit to incorporate strips based on other TV adventure shows of the time. (Here's a blog post I wrote several years ago about Countdown No.1:
http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/40-year-flashback-countdown-no1.html)

It took quite a while for Steve Holland to compile this book because he always diligently researches his projects. At times you may feel there's a bit too much background career information on the staff of the comics Steve writes about, but it's actually good to have such thoroughly researched information. After all, why not give the staff and creators their due, when they've often worked in relative obscurity for years? 

The 202 page book not only covers the history of Countdown / TV Action but also puts it into context by giving us the brief history of the comics that preceded it (such as TV Century 21 and TV Comic) and the background to the publishers. Steve has unearthed many interesting facts about the behind-the-scenes story of the comic, and that, plus brief story synopsis', information on creators, and a substantial strip index at the back makes this book the definitive history of the title. 

That index takes up over 50 pages in itself, providing every story title and the issues they ran in, creator credits, feature titles, etc. Even information on the Holiday Specials and Annuals are included, and related titles such as the Doctor Who Holiday Special of 1973. 

The book is extremely well illustrated too, with many crisp clear reproductions of covers, artwork, and features. Some strips are even reprinted full size, taking up the whole page. I'm sure some would prefer it if they'd been shown in full colour, but this is a self-published venture with a smallish print run so the costs of colour would be prohibitive. The absence of colour is irrelevant anyway, as the focus of this book is on the history of the comic, and it certainly does its job.

Countdown to TV Action is a fine publication, carefully researched and handsomely presented in a very informative and enjoyable volume. If you read the comics as a kid you'll love it. If it's new to you, you'll discover the story behind one of the best British comics of the 1970s and marvel at the quality of its artwork. 

You can buy a copy directly from the publisher at Bear Alley Books by following this link:
http://bearalleybooks.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/countdown-to-tv-action.html

Counting down the days...

Bear Alley Books' new publication Countdown to TV Action is due to be published in just over a week's time on July 4th 2014. The 200 page book covers the history of the fondly remembered 1970s comic Countdown (which became TV Action with its 59th issue), and will also include an index of all the strips. 

Written by Steve Holland, who knows his stuff when it comics to British adventure comics, Countdown to TV Action is now available to pre-order from his website here:
http://bearalleybooks.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/countdown-to-tv-action.html

One I'm definitely looking forward to, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that!

(I've blogged about Countdown comic several times in the past. To find those posts, simply type Countdown or TV Action into the search bar at the top left of this blog.)

Countdown to the publication of this great new book

Cover to the forthcoming book.

Before 2000AD was launched in 1977, the best British comic of the 1970s was, for me, Polystyle's Countdown comic, launched in 1971 and retitled TV Action a year later. You can read more about it in some of my previous posts here:
http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=Countdown

The comic is still fondly remembered to this day for its high production values (in its Countdown incarnation) and quality of artwork (John M. Burns, Brian Lewis, Harry Lindfield, etc). Now comics historian Steve Holland is to publish a book covering the history and background of the comic, including an index to the strips. Keep an eye on Steve's Bear Alley Books website for ordering information coming soon:
http://bearalleybooks.blogspot.co.uk/