Lizbeth Myles Reveals the Secrets of Writing Project SWORD!

Project SWORD is blasting off back to action from Time Bomb Comics! This post-apocalyptic sci-fi epic filled the pages of TV Century 21 in the comic's later years in the late 1960s, along with a fondly remembered annual, but has since fallen into obscurity. Now, writer Lizbeth Myles (Big Finish's Doctor Who, Survivors, Blake's 7) and artist James Gray (Space Precinct, Star Trek) have joined forces to revitalise the Space World Organisation for Research and Development to produce a brand new crowdfunding graphic novel, published by Time Bomb Comics and currently funding on Kickstarter.

We caught up with Lizbeth Myles to discover more about the epic task of reimagining Project SWORD for a modern age!

Fred McNamara: You're perhaps best known for your contributions to the worlds of Doctor Who. How did you blast off into the worlds of Gerry Anderson?

Lizbeth Myles: I knew Time Bomb were looking for a writer for the project, and I had a lovely chat to them at the ThoughtBubble convention, and got the job.

Fred McNamara: Project SWORD: List of Life is a renewed take on the SWORD concept. Can you tell us a bit about this new story?

Lizbeth Myles: Earth has been devastated by a meteor impact that has set off constant volcanic explosions and earthquakes, making it mostly uninhabitable. And the only way to get off the planet is to be considered sufficiently useful, but something’s gone very wrong with the computer that decides who is worth saving.

Fred McNamara: Why might this new Project SWORD be set away from the classic SWORD canon and how might the two differ from each other?

Lizbeth Myles: I‘m not sure if it does. I worked from the Project SWORD annual, and took a lot from it. I’m not aware of anything being outright contradicted.

Fred McNamara: Project SWORD features a heavy emphasis on futuristic space vehicle action. How have you and artist James Gray collaborated on bringing Project SWORD back to life?

Lizbeth Myles: I feel like that’s down partly to the emphasis the Project SWORD annual put on the various vehicles, and mostly down to James’s artistic skill.

Fred McNamara: The Kickstarter describes Project SWORD: List of Life as like an episode plucked from a modern space-age adventure TV series. How would you say you and James have balanced that classic Gerry Anderson retrofuture edge with Time Bomb’s Project SWORD's contemporary aesthetic?

Lizbeth Myles: Project SWORD wasn’t retrofutristic when it was written, just futuristic. It was at that brief time when Britain had its own space program and it wasn’t utterly absurd to think we could have our own crewed missions to space or the Moon or Mars, and beyond. It’s only now it’s retrofuturistic, and I love that. The vibe, the aesthetic, the sense of what feels like old-fashioned space adventures with daring heroics, and a rather loose grasp of scientific reality. 

Fred McNamara: Project SWORD has fallen into obscurity since its debut, but this Kickstarter campaign has blitzed through its campaign target in a matter of days. What might you attribute its success to be?

Lizbeth Myles: I think because it’s a very niche Gerry Anderson property coming back to life, and that’s pretty exciting in and off itself. And the art looks amazing!

Be sure to back this spectacular reboot on Kickstarter now and journey into this lesser-known Gerry Anderson world. Stand by on this frequency for our upcoming interview with the comic's artist, James Gray!

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