The legendary space-age adventure comic Countdown turns 55 years old this month! The much-beloved comic is often regarded as a spiritual successor to TV Century 21 from the 1960s. Edited by TV21's former art editor, Dennis Hooper, who also brought in former Century 21 Publishing's book department art editor Roger Perry, Countdown brought a renewed energy to the space-age comic scene left by TV21, which had folded in 1969.

Like all TV tie-in adventure papers of the era, Countdown featured an eclectic and varying line-up of television characters, but is most heavily defined by its closeness to the worlds of Gerry Anderson and Doctor Who. Published when UFO was on television and Jon Pertwee's Doctor was battling Daleks, Sea Devils, the Master, and beyond, Countdown also featured more adventures of Gerry and Sylvia's classic heroes in comic strip form - but just how much?

Countdown's premier UFO and Doctor Who strips were mostly presented as ongoing serials, as was the format for British comics. But the remaining Gerry Anderson strips were a wildly unpredictable affair, veering between serials and standalone stories, often in out-of-sequence issues. This was apparently driven by Hooper's belief that young readers would struggle to follow lengthily ongoing storylines. In the editorial for #1, Hooper acknowledges that he couldn't fit all the characters in each issue, and the comic was run on a far more skeletal editorial staff set-up compared to TV21.

Just how often did the 21st century puppet heroes appear in Countdown, then? Let's examine each Anderson strip in order of their appearances, from most to least!

9. UFO

Countdown's UFO strip is the obvious winner for longevity. The strip, illustrated by a revolving line-up of artists that included Jon Davis, Gerry Haylock, Brian Lewis, and John Burns, ran for an impressively unbroken two-year stretch from February 1971 to August 1973. By the time the strip came to a close, Countdown had undergone several reinventions - Countdown, Countdown for TV Action!, TV Action in Countdown, TV Action + Countdown, and finally, just TV Action.

Between issues #1 to #129, forty two storylines expanded the cosmic Cold War between SHADO and the elusive, unnamed aliens, tapping into story territory rarely explored in the TV series, including finally visiting the aliens' homeworld! Storylines ran for varying page lengths, but UFO's total run in Countdown/TV Action spans two hefty 300+ page hardback anthologies, both of which have since sold out, but Volume 1 and Volume 2 are currently available as digital downloads.

8. Thunderbirds

Thunderbirds occupied a respectable run in Countdown. 8 storylines were published between issues #1 and #60, in a haphazard order. The second and fourth storylines were standalone adventures, while the remaining six were serials. No Thunderbirds material appears in issue #7, and the strip experienced a lengthily break between sixth and seventh storylines.

Storylines gave an abundance of thrilling rescue disasters for all five Thunderbird machines and Tracy brothers to experience, including the efforts of the United Nations to make International Rescue irrelevant and the monstrous Crexus creature. During its run in the comic, Countdown would ultimately carry 83 pages' worth of adventures for International Rescue, all illustrated by Don Harley.

7. Captain Scarlet

Similar to Thunderbirds, eight Captain Scarlet storylines were published between issues #1 and #35. Intriguingly, only the opening storyline was an ongoing adventure, lasting five issues across ten pages. Standalone storylines clocked in a six pages each, taking Captain Scarlet's grand total to 52 pages' worth of adventures. Countdown's Captain Scarlet strip had a far less stable artistic line-up than Thunderbirds; John Cooper, Malcolm Stokes, Brian Lewis, Keith Watson, and Martin Asbury all illustrated various stories.

Captain Scarlet and the other members of Spectrum enjoyed an unpredictable line-up of Mysteron threats, from political assassinations to more surreally tinged scenarios. These storylines culminated on a thrilling crossover with the world of Thunderbirds when the Mysterons hijack several of the Martian Rock Snakes from Thunderbirds Are Go to trigger a bacterial war on Earth!

6. Stingray

Less of a popular concern than the adventures of International Rescue or Spectrum, a modest five Stingray storylines were featured between issues #3 and #22 across 44 pages. Michael Strand returned from Stingray's TV Century 21 strip to illustrate the first two storylines, while Colin Page, Rab Hamilton, and Brian Lewis each illustrated their own successive adventures for the strip, which enjoyed varied subject matter. These ranged from polar perils, cyber saboteurs, and the notoriously deranged The Waters of Hyde adventure, in which a mission to Mars proves disastrous for Troy and Phones! All of Stingray's early 1970s adventures in Countdown are available to enjoy in the Stingray Comic Anthology Vol. 2: Battle Lines.

5. Fireball XL5

Four Fireball XL5 storylines were published between issues #5 and #20, consisting of one serial and three standalones, occupying a mere 24 pages within the comic overall. This brief clutch of storylines are a handsome if unambitious extension of the narrative territories Fireball XL5 embraced in its long-running TV Century 21 strip, with premises particularly reliant on XL5 becoming entangled between warring alien races. Page, Hamilton, Stokes, and Lewis each illustrated the four storylines separately. All of these storylines form part of the Fireball XL5 Comic Anthology.

4. Joe 90

Three Joe 90 storylines were published in issues #2-#7, #8 and #16, respectively, totalling 18 pages. While serials for Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Stingray enjoyed two pages per instalment, Joe 90's single serial in Countdown clocks in at only one page per instalment. Jon Davis illustrated the first two storylines, while Michael Strand drew the third story.

3. Lady Penelope

Three standalone Lady Penelope storylines were published in issues #4, #10, and #18 - two stories at 6 pages each, and the final at five, making that 15 pages' worth of adventures. Frank Langford returned from her ladyship's former 1960s comic of the same same to illustrate the first two stories, while Michael Strand stepped in to draw the third adventure.

2. Zero X

At just two standalone storylines of 6 pages each, Zero X's 12-page run between issues #12 and #27, illustrated by Keith Watson and Malcolm Stokes respectively, is a remarkably comedown from its dominance in the 1960s. What was once a star draw for TV21 was evidently not the same for Countdown. By the time the second storyline appeared in #27, original storylines were rapidly vanishing and the comic was starting to plunder older storylines from TV Century 21.

1. The Secret Service

Hooper performed the unthinkable and gifted Father Stanley Unwin a very short-lived spell of comic strip adventures in Countdown. The Secret Service's underexposure on television in 1969 cemented its lack of appeal in spin-off media. In the pages of Countdown, The Secret Service consisted of one serial and one 5-page standalone, totalling a modest 9 pages of exposure in Countdown. Like Joe 90, the serial was told at just one page per issue.

Both of these stories eventual new homes in Chris Dale's The Secrets of The Secret Service. The first story was drawn by Jon Davis, the second by Peter Ford, with the opening story serving as the official prequel of the series, detailing how Father Stanley Unwin comes to join BISHOP.

Over half a century since its debut, Countdown gave Gerry and Sylvia's puppet heroes a welcome string of underrated and stunningly illustrated comic strip adventures at a time when Century 21 Productions were leaving puppets behind. Be sure to discover our ongoing range of definitive Comic Anthologies which collect many of these classic adventures in painstakingly produced hardbacks!

Additionally - stay tuned to this frequency for further updates regarding future editions of the Thunderbirds Comic Anthologies!

Sign up to the Anderson Entertainment newsletter to receive all the latest Gerry Anderson news, exclusive releases and more transmitted direct to your inbox!