Redan Thunderbirds Magazine

In November 2000, The Redan Company Ltd. launched a Thunderbirds magazine aimed at young children.

A typical issue had original comic strips, photographic adaptations of original episodes (later turned into first-person "mission reports" when all the episodes had been adapted), competitions, puzzles, and quizzes.

The main feature of the comic was the center page spread of a cutaway drawing by Graham Bleathman. Another illustrator called Lee Sullivan produced many of the covers for the series, as well as all but one of the magazine's comic stories. Andrew Skilleter would also contribute cover art towards the end of the magazine's run.

The comic had 32 pages and the original copies retailed for £1.45. This went up to £1.50 by issue No. 8, and kept on rising steadily with inflation until reaching £1.95 by issue 89. For the first 10 issues the comic was published monthly moving to 3 weekly from issue 11. Throughout the comic the young reader was encouraged to remove pull-out sections or colour in pages, making it very hard for collectors to find copies in a pristine condition. To make matters worse, every issue contained a free gift cello-taped to the front cover. If the gift was removed, the magazine would get tarnished in the process.

By issue number 59, Thunderbirds had not been seen on British television for some time, and interest in the comic faded below acceptable sales figures. In an effort to regenerate interest, it was renamed "Thunderbirds Extra" and the first issue was numbered 64. Numbers 60, 61, 62 and 63, very few were sold.

Another reason for the re-launch was that it was the 40th year since the first television screening of Thunderbirds. The publication was again cancelled after only 26 further issues, and thus finally brought to a close at issue number 89.

The Original Issues[]

Issue Number 1[]

Date published: November 2000
Free gift: Shiny sticker sheet
Prose story: Crash Course
Episode photo-story: Trapped in the Sky
Cutaway drawing: Thunderbird 1

Note: Issue 1 would contain a prose short story. From issue 2 onwards, this would be replaced by a five-page comic.

Issue Number 2[]

Date published: December 2000
Free gift: Thunderbirds notebook and pencil
Comic story: Catastrophe on Peace Island
Episode photo-story: Day of Disaster
Cutaway drawing: Thunderbird 2

Issue Number 3[]

Date published: January 2001
Free gift: Thunderbirds craft stickers
Comic story: Some Like It Hot!
Episode photo-story: Attack of the Alligators!
Cutaway drawing: Thunderbird 3

Issue Number 4[]

Date published: February 2001
Free gift: Thunderbird 1 badge
Comic story: Up, Up and Away!
Episode photo-story: Terror in New York City
Cutaway drawing: Thunderbird 4

Issue Number 5[]

Date published: March 2001
Free gift: "Brains' specks" (blue plastic glasses)
Comic story: Fun & Games!
Episode photo-story: Move - And You're Dead
Cutaway drawing: Thunderbird 5

Issue Number 6[]

Date published: April 2001
Free gift: Mini-basketball (non-Thunderbirds related)
Comic story: No Smoke Without Fire!
Episode photo-story: End of the Road
Cutaway drawing: "Gray and Houseman Highway Pathfinder" (seen in End of the Road)

Issue Number 7[]

Date published: May 2001
Free gift: Jeff Tracy, plastic toy watch
Comic story: Avalanche!
Episode photo-story: Perils of Penelope
Cutaway drawing: FAB 1

Issue Number 8[]

Date published: June 2001
Free gift: Thunderbird 2 flyer
Comic story: Birthday Honours
Episode photo-story: Brink of Disaster
Cutaway drawing: Pacific-Atlantic monorail (seen in Brink of Disaster)

Issue Number 9[]

Date published: July 2001
Free gift: Thunderbird stickers (Thunderbirds 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, the Tracy brothers, and I.R. logos)
Comic story: Danger from Above
Episode photo-story: Danger at Ocean Deep
Cutaway drawing: Ocean Pioneer (seen in Danger At Ocean Deep)

Issue Number 10[]

Date published: 7th August 2001
Free gift: Micro-mission case (plastic with FAB logo)
Comic story: Shipwrecked
Episode photo-story: Cry Wolf!
Cutaway drawing: International Rescue's hoverjet

Issue Number 11[]

Date published: 28th August 2001
Free gift: Thunderbird 3, pinball game
Comic story: Pleasure Cruise
Episode photo-story: Pit of Peril
Cutaway drawing: Recovery Vehicle (seen in Pit of Peril)

Issue Number 12[]

Date published: 18th September 2001
Free gift: FAB 1 notepad.
Comic story: Fire and Ice
Episode photo-story: The Duchess Assignment
Cutaway drawing: DOMO (seen in The Duchess Assignment)

Issue Number 13[]

Date published: 9th October 2001
Free gift: Thunderbird 4 flyer
Comic story: Bird Brain
Episode photo-story: The Uninvited
Cutaway drawing: Pyramid of Khamandides (seen in The Uninvited)

Issue Number 14[]

Date published: 30th October 2001
Free gift: Thunderbird 5, bag tag
Comic story: Deep Trouble!
Episode photo-story: The Mighty Atom
Cutaway drawing: The Hood's Temple

Issue Number 15[]

Date published: 20th November 2001
Free gift: Thunderbirds pencils
Comic story: Costume Ball!
Episode photo-story: Rescue Under Ground (City of Fire)
Cutaway drawing: Firefly

Issue Number 16[]

Date Published: 10th December 2001
Free gift: Thunderbird craft, shiny stickers
Comic story: Cliffhanger
Episode photo-story: Give or Take a Million
Cutaway drawing: Omitted in favour of printing a 2002 calendar

Issue Number 17[]

Date published: 31st December 2001
Free gift: "Thunderbird are Go!" badge
Comic story: Hoodwinked!
Episode photo-story: Sun Probe
Cutaway drawing: Transmitter Truck (seen in Sun Probe)

Issue Number 18[]

Date published: 15th January 2002
Free gift: Thunderbird fridge magnet
Comic story: Come in Thunderbird 5
Episode photo-story: The Cham-Cham
Cutaway drawing: RTL 2 (seen in The Cham-Cham)
Notes: the fridge magnet was available in all five Thunderbird craft, so to get a set you would have to buy five copies

Issue Number 19[]

Date published: 5th February 2002
Free gift: "Thunderbirds are Go!" notebook
Comic story: Ice Ship
Episode photo-story: Desperate Intruder
Cutaway drawing: The Hood's 3E Submarine (seen in Desperate Intruder)

Issue Number 20[]

Date published: 26th February 2002
Free gift: Thunderbird 3 flyer
Comic story: Creepy Crawly!
Episode photo-story: The Impostors
Cutaway drawing: Jeremiah Tuttle's house (from The Impostors)

Issue Number 21[]

Date published: 19th March 2002
Free gift: Sticker sheet (Scott, Virgil, and Thunderbirds 1, 2, and 3)
Comic story: Bridge to Nowhere
Episode photo-story: Lord Parker's 'Oliday
Cutaway drawing: Thunderbird 1 launch bay

Issue Number 22[]

Date published: 9th April 2002
Free gift: Thunderbirds maze puzzle
Comic story: Dig Deep
Episode photo-story: Ricochet
Cutaway drawing: Pirate satellite TV station KLA (from Ricochet)

Issue Number 23[]

Date published: 30th April 2002
Free gift: Thunderbird 1 window sticker
Comic story: Shock Tactic
Episode photo-story: Martian Invasion
Cutaway drawing: the Excavator (from Martian Invasion)

Issue Number 24[]

Date published: 21st May 2002
Free gift: a "Cards Inc" sticker book and sheet of six stickers
Comic story: Sun Spot
Episode photo-story: The Man From MI.5
Cutaway drawing: FAB 2 (seen in The Man From MI.5)

Issue Number 25[]

Date published: 11th June 2002
Free gift: Thunderbird 5 flyer
Comic story: Twister
Episode photo-story: Path of Destruction
Cutaway drawing: Crablogger (from Path of Destruction)

Issue Number 26[]

Date published: 2nd July 2002
Free gift: Thunderbird stickers of Thunderbirds 1 and 2, the Mole, Firefly, the DOMO, and the Transmitter Truck
Comic story: Jail Break Splash
Episode photo-story: The Test Crew (Operation Crash-Dive)
Cutaway drawing: Fireflash

Issue Number 27[]

Date published: 23rd July 2002
Free gift: Mini basketball game
Comic story: Space Chase
Episode photo-story: Vault of Doom (Vault of Death)
Cutaway drawing: Omitted in favour of running a comic competition
Note: Same free gift as issue 6

Issue Number 28[]

Date Published: 13th August 2002
Free Gift: International Rescue cap
Comic story: Ice Cool
Episode photo-story: Atlantic Inferno
Cutaway Drawing: Seascape drilling rig (from Atlantic Inferno)

Issue Number 29[]

Date published: 3rd September 2002
Free gift: Thunderbirds light-up pen
Comic story: Tidal Wave
Episode photo-story: 30 Minutes After Noon
Cutaway drawing: Security Robot (from 30 Minutes After Noon)

Issue Number 30[]

Date Published: 24th September 2002
Free Gift: Brains' plastic toy watch
Comic story: Fire Mountain
Episode photo-story: Alias Mr. Hackenbacker
Cutaway drawing: Skythrust aircraft (seen in Alias Mr. Hackenbacker)
Notes: Brains' watch, had a yellow strap, "Best of Thunderbirds" comic issue no. 1, had a similar one with a blue strap.

Redan Thunderbirds Comics - Part Two[]

Part two can be found here: Redan Thunderbirds Comics - Part Two

Thunderbirds Extra[]

Main article: Redan Thunderbirds Extra

Magazines Specials[]

Main article: Redan Magazine Specials

Free Gift Collectables[]

Every magazine has a "pocket money toy" cello-taped to the cover, this list contains some of the more sought-after by collectors.

Thunderbird Flyers[]

One of the most sought-after collectables from this comic series, was the Thunderbird flyers. Better known as Frisbees, all five Thunderbird craft were released on the covers of the comic, but you had to wait until issue 37 to get the last one (Thunderbird 1) to complete a set.

Thunderbirds Hat[]

A Thunderbird hat was given away free with issue 28, and was similar in design to the much rarer ones released in 1965 by Berwick Toys and TV Century 21.

Trivia[]

Thunderbirds: The Comic by Fleetway was, coincidentally, also cancelled after 89 issues in March 1995.
At least 6 issues were translated into Dutch and released in Belgium and the Netherlands.