Gerry Anderson: The Vintage Comic Collection is a book collection featuring comic-book stories originally published in TV Century 21. Released in October 2013, it was published on a weekly basis until the publication of the 5th volume revealed that, due to circumstances, the magazines were no longer going to be published. There were supposed to have been 50 books in total.
The comic collection was going to focus, not just on Thunderbirds, but all of Gerry Anderson's work including Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90, UFO, Space: 1999, and a spin-off to Thunderbirds entitled "Lady Penelope".
In the comic collection, volumes 1, 2, and 5 featured Thunderbirds whilst volume 3 featured Stingray, and volume 4 featured Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. According to the back inside cover of volume 5, volume 6 was to feature Fireball XL5.
Volume 1[]
Published 17th October 2013
1) Blazing Danger - A fishing holiday goes disastrously wrong as Sam Lincoln tries to kill his business partner, Jack Farrel in order to gain control of Canada Engineering Incorporated, by setting off charges which trigger a forest fire.
2) Character Profile: Scott Tracy, plus Classic Scene from Terror in New York City
3) Mission to Africa - Heart specialist, Doctor Adams and his pilot Peters end up stuck in Kenya after their plane crashes, and get taken prisoner by a local tribe. Will General N'Mobo get the treatment he needs from the doctor?
4) Data File: Thunderbird 1 is Go
5) Data File: Under the Skin - Thunderbird 1
6) Talons of the Eagle - A US Air Force plane, the Eagle, breaches International Rescue's security systems and pursues Thunderbird 2.
7) The Gerry Anderson Story Part 1: Adventures in the 21st Century/Supermarionation
8) Behind the Scenes: Frank Bellamy Part 1 - Moving Pictures
Volume 2[]
Published 24th October 2013
1) Atlantic Tunnel - The Hood learns of International Rescue's latest plans which involves the Atlantic Tunnel.
2) Solar Danger - The whole world is suffering from an extreme heatwave, which prompts Brains and Alan to go into space to discover that the Sun is overheating.
3) Under the Skin: Thunderbird 2
4) The Big Freeze - The men of Camp 21st Century, based in the North Pole, find themselves trapped when a wayward missile destroys their nuclear plant.
5) The Gerry Anderson Story Part 2 - A Family Divided/Letters Home
6) Behind the Scenes: Frank Bellamy Part 2 - Picture Perfect
Volume 5[]
Published 14th November 2013
1) Operation Depthprobe - A top secret project in the depths of the Nevada Desert goes disastrously wrong.
2) The Trapped Spy - The World Security Council calls for International Rescue's help, but Jeff Tracy refuses to get involved in political situations.
3) Under the Skin - Thunderbird 4 and Pod 4
4) Operation Earthquake - An earthquake in Moscow isn't what it seems to be, according to Brains.
5) Tracy Island Exposed - The Hood learns of the location of International Rescue's secret base.
6) The Revolution - The new ship, President, becomes the target of a group of revolutionaries.
7) The Gerry Anderson Story: Part 5 - Editor for Hire/Emergency Landing
8) Behind the Scenes: Alan Fennell Part 1 - Script to Screen
The Proposed Collection[]
According to a little leaflet about the comic collection, an illustration showed what volumes were going to feature which part of Gerry Anderson's work:
- Thunderbirds: 1, 2, 5, 8, 17, 25, 29, 36, 46, and 50 (10 in total)
- Stingray: 3, 11, 19, 30, and 35 (5 in total)
- Captain Scarlet: 4, 13, 23, 28, 33, and 43 (6 in total)
- Fireball XL5: 6, 18, 32, 39, and 48 (5 in total)
- Supercar: 14, 22, 41, 45, and 49 (5 in total)
- UFO: 9, 16, 24, 31, 38, 42, and 47 (7 in total)
- Joe 90: 7, 15, 27, and 37 (4 in total)
- Space 1999: 12, 21 and 40 (3 in total)
- Lady Penelope: 10, 20, 26, 34 and 44 (5 in total)
Suspension Until Further Notice[]
This is a letter which was printed as a note in the publication of Volume 5:
"Dear Reader,
Thank you for your support for our recent collection "Gerry Anderson: The Vintage Comic Collection". I do hope you have enjoyed the copies that you have received. Unfortunately, I am writing to let you know that we are suspending publication of the series until further notice. This is in accordance with our terms and conditions.
However, we do hope to resume publication in the near future and if you are interested in continuing your collection, please contact us at the email address below, or you can write to the postal address. Please be assured that we will contact you as soon as we have further news to bring.
Best Regards, the Publisher."
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