PERIL FROM BELOW (PART 3)

PART 3 of "Peril From Below", from Knockout # 1221

V FOR VENDETTA PART 2

From The Hornet #100, here is the second installment of the wartime drama "V For Vengeance" with art by Philpott.

BRAINS IS DEAD PART 2

We continue with part 2 of the bizarre Thunderbirds story "Brains Is Dead" from TV Century 21 #163 written by Scott Goodall and illustrated by Frank Bellamy.

SLAVE OF THE SCREAMER (PART 2)

Part two of the bizarre strip "Slave of the Screamer", from Valiant #400...

THE EYE OF ZOLTEC (PART 2)

Continuing Tim Kelly's inaugural adventure from the pages of Knockout # 1222...

PERIL FROM BELOW (PART 2)

We continue today, with part 2 of "Peril From Below", originally published in Knockout #1220

V FOR VENGEANCE (PART ONE)

Although most of the stories I post here are very much of the sci-fi/fantasy bent (or just plain weird), there will be exception. Such as "V For Vengeance" from the Hornet. This World War 2 drama featured The Deathless Men, a secret group determined to thwart Nazi plans. Here is there first comic strip appearance from The Hornet #99...

BRAINS IS DEAD PART 1

Thunderbirds was one of the quintessential childrens' TV shows in the UK in the mid 1960s. It wasn't surprising that it soon got a lavishly illustrated comic strip in the pages of TV Century 21.
Early stories, written by Angus Allen were true to the series, but later writers just didn't seem to quite get the series. One such writer was Scott Goodall, who turned in probably the most bizarre Thunderbirds  story possible. Full of plot holes big enough to pilot Thunderbird 2 through, this story has become infamous for apparently killing off one of the Tracy brothers.
Goodall is not a bad writer, as anyone who has read his superb "Marney the Fox" strip in the pages of "Buster" can attest, but this... one wonders how the editor of TV21 let this story through.
The art is by Frank Bellamy, and that is what saves this story.
Here then from TV21 #162 is part one of "Brains Is Dead".

SLAVE OF THE SCREAMER (PART 1)

This bizarre, but fondly remembered by some, strip ran in Valiant, starting in May 1970. Written by Tom Tully and illustrated by the wonderful Jesus Blasco. 
Skydiver Tony Steel is the unwitting guinea pig in an experiment by creepy lab assistant Mervin Small who has living cells in dust from the planet Monthro. Believing the Monthro inhabitants to be far superior beings he implants some cells into Steel, but the results are not, unsurprisingly, what he expected...

From Valiant #399, here's the first chapter...

KELLY'S EYE - THE EYE OF ZOLTEC PART 1

Another strip from the later, adventure based, issues of Knockout was the long running "Kelly's Eye" written by Tom Tully and illustrated by Francisco Solano López.

Kelly's Eye was one of the few Knockout strips to survive beyond the comic's merger into Valiant in 1963, and would eventually run in the pages of that comic until 1974 and also be revived, albeit briefly, in the pages of 2000 AD.


Here we have the first part of the first story from Knockout #1221.

PERIL FROM BELOW (PT. 1)

Welcome to a new blog representing stories from the British comics of yesteryear.

Some of these tales, usually of the bizarre and fantastic, have never been reprinted.

I hope you will enjoy them.

We start with "Peril From Below", a 18 part serial from the pages of the original "Knockout" comic.

Knockout has primarily been a humour title, but towards the end of it's run devoted more of its space to adventure strips, including this story obviously influenced by the sci-fi movies of the 1950s.

I'm not sure who the writer is, possibly Tom Tully, but the artist is Eric Bradbury, one the the UK comics industry's great unsung talents.

Part 2 will follow next week.