There weren't puppets. They were marionettes. Except on UFO, and they were humans.

If that doesn't make sense to you, that might be because you're not a fan (or not yet a fan) of the cult-hit TV shows created by British producer Gerry Anderson in the 1960s and 70s.

Thunderbirds, UFO, Supercar, Fireball XL5, Space: 1999, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, and others were smash hits, popular the world over except in the United States, where they remained cult hits for years, favorites of a devoted few. Most of Anderson's shows (and feature films) used highly detailed marionettes and a process called "Supermarionation" to tell the stories and create the sometimes detailed special effects. The advent of cable television and more recently DVDs, though, has served to launch several of these shows before whole new generations of fans.

Among other new life for the Anderson shows, Tech TV has been showing Thunderbirds, and A&E has released UFO, Captain Scarlet and Space: 1999 on DVD. There's even a big budget live-action Thunderbirds film due out next year.

And this, in turn, has rekindled the love of the shows for some of their original fans. One of those fans is Keith Wilson, known to his friends as KEZ, an illustrator and former comic book artist who recently re-entered the field as publisher of his own imprint, Misc. Mayhem Productions. And no, this isn't a coincidence. They'll be publishing comics based on several of the shows, beginning with Supermarionation Adventures #1 (featuring both Supercar and Fireball XL5) and UFO. Scoop talked with KEZ about the comics and they shows they're based on.

What's your background in comics?
Back in the early '80s I partnered up with a number of fans in the Houston, Texas area to put on comic conventions and put out a fanzine called The Comic Informer, which lasted a brief 7 issues. Even briefer was our attempt at comics publishing with the Texas Comics published Justice Machine Annual #1, which featured the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents. Bill Willingham's Elementals made it's debut as a back-up story. It was the only book Texas Comics would publish.

Later I began freelancing as a comic book inker on such titles as The Badger for first and Robotech Masters for the original Comico. Then I moved on to Willingham's Elementals, which I inked from issue 12 to the end of it's original run. At that point I moved to New York City where I was hired as an art director for the company, and then cover editor for a couple of years. I went freelance again and published Hammerlock and Scarlett (both co-created with Tom Joyner) with DC, moved back to Texas where I knocked around as a freelancer inking for Marvel, DC, Harris, and Defiant. Around 1993 or so I became an animator and left comics behind for a while.

Were you formally trained or did you just pick it up on your own?
Formally trained as a graphic designer and commercial artist, but not as a cartoonist or illustrator. I think the Kubert school opened a little while after I'd started my education. I probably would have jumped at the chance to go there right after high school it had been available.

Did you watch the shows your comics were based on when you were a kid?
Absolutely. I was 7 years old in San Antonio, Texas, when I used to watch Supercar in the afternoons on Channel 5. Later I was watching Fireball XL5 on Saturday mornings. The rest of the "Supermarionation" shows eluded me until just a couple of years ago. Now I see them in my sleep.

Could you briefly describe the set-ups for each series for someone who might not be familiar with them?
Supercar - Hidden away in the Black Rock area of Nevada lies the secret lab of Dr. Horatio Beaker and Professor Rudolph Popkiss. These two eccentric genius' combined their massive intellect and created Supercar, a true triphibian vehicle capable of traveling over land, under the sea, and through the air. At the wheel is test pilot Mike Mercury, square jawed adventurer. Rounding out the cast is young Jimmy Gibson and his pet monkey, Mitch. Our stories take place a decade after the TV series ended. Mike Mercury has met an uncertain fate in a doomed experimental flight, Jimmy has grown up to be lead engineer on the Supercar project, Popkiss is mired in administrational red tape, and there is no sign of Dr. Beaker and Mitch the monkey. Then big surprises fall from the night skies over the Black Rock lab...

Fireball XL5 - Colonel Steve Zodiac is commander of the Fireball XL5, one of the flagship vessels of the World Space Patrol. With Dr. Venus, the eclectic Professor Matt Mattic and robotic co-pilot Robert, Zodiac patrols space facing a myriad of alien enemies with dark designs on the planet Earth. Now they face a major new threat from an old enemy, and discover some disturbing secrets about the origins of the World Space Patrol.

UFO - A secret war has been waged between Earth and invading aliens since before the 1980s. Beneath the sound stages of the Harlington-Straker film studios in England is concealed the command center for S.H.A.D.O. (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation) Lead by Commander Ed Straker, they've fought off countless attacks from aliens intent on dominating the Earth. When UFO: Cataclysm begins, it's now 2003, Straker is in retirement, and S.H.A.D.O. is suffering from budget cuts. Fortunately, the alien attacks have been nonexistent for the past few years. But can a cash and weapon strapped S.H.A.D.O. rise to meet the new threat of an invading armada of aliens?

Out of all the Gerry Anderson shows, what was your favorite and why?
My favorite is still Supercar. The vehicle itself stuck with me over the years rather than the show, but after having the opportunity to study it in-depth I've come to appreciate the quality of the writing and characterization for what was targeted as a "kids" program. Also, the creative ingenuity of Gerry Anderson and company was amazing considering they were constantly breaking new ground with every episode. A lot of what they learned was the basis for every show they did after Supercar.

Which one do you think stands up the best, and why?
I'd have to go with Thunderbirds, which was probably the apex of the Supermarionation arc. While the show sacrificed characterization for the tech (I think Stingray had the best characters), it successfully combined dazzling effects work with great puppetry to make a show that has held up well over the years.
The earlier shows don't wear they're age as well, and I think the later programs like Captain Scarlet and Joe 90 were a bit too dark. Thunderbirds still had a sense of humor that got lost in the later productions.

What has been the reaction to the announcements of the titles?
From fans for the shows we've had nothing but raves. From the mass public we've gotten a puzzled look. Every now and then a face will light up with recognition for the vehicles. I get email all the time from people who have just discovered that other do remember the shows as well and are very excited to see new material being produced.

Now that a lot of these shows are available on DVD, do you find people are looking forward to the comics?
Absolutely. And we've teamed up with A&E video to give purchasers of the DVDs an opportunity to get a FREE copy of one of the comic titles we're producing (with a small postage and handling fee). A special order form will be included in the DVD sets, starting with this month's release of the complete Supercar series.

The DVD promotion sounds great. What else are you doing to get the word out to other potential readers?
We're tied into the Gerry Anderson fan base and will be distributing a nice media kit in the near future to inspire news coverage. John Petty, who is handling marketing and promotion for Misc! Mayhem will probably have a lot more to say on the subject in coming days.

What are you plans for each of the titles?
We're not re-imagining the series. We're taking more of a "where are they now?" approach. The 0 issues are designed to bring the reader up to speed with the original concept, then we take off in new, yet logical, directions with the following mini-series.

There have been a lot of new versions of older shows or movies, and in the newer versions they often trash the originals (like in Mission:
Impossible when Jim Phelps turns out to be bad guy). What's your approach to updating the originals?
As I mentioned, our approach is to find what these characters have been doing since we last saw them. Hollywood is interested in drawing in fans of the originals, but they also want ownership, so they make the new version to further a new franchise. In the case of a Space:1999, we'd look to reconcile the disorganization of the various (and conflicting) story lines into a one cohesive unit, and then move ahead with new adventures from there. A program like UFO, which was reasonably consistent in its story telling, gives us and opportunity to flesh out themes presented briefly in various episodes, and to solidify elements in the science and technology of the series. Supercar becomes more technologically advanced, and has more adventures on a global scale. Fireball XL5 travels more into space opera territory while firming up the shakier sci-fi elements (what was in those oxygen pills, anyway?). UFO shows the ravages of the political budget on a defense system that hasn't had too much to do over the years and has to jump start itself when the threat is renewed. They're re-imagining Thunderbirds for the big screen now [editor's note: see our Mondo Media section in this issue of Scoop for more!]. I only see this working if there is a real fan of the original at the helm, like Spider-Man or X-Men). Otherwise you get stuff like Phelps being a villain, which is counter-intuitive to the long-time fan. The jury will be out for Thunderbirds until it premieres, but I'm not holding my breath. Now if they'd only let US do the comic...

Who are some of the creators working with you on each of the series?
Supercar: The book is being written by Michael Wolff and me. Michael and I worked together back in the early 80s on a fanzine called The Comic Informer, then published the Justice Machine Annual and then we went out separate ways for a couple of decades. I tracked Wolff down on whim a couple of years ago, and discovered he was as big a fan of the Gerry Anderson material as I was, and he came on board as we were developing the Supercar project. He's been writing various reviews and articles for magazines like Starlog, and doing some independent comics work.

On the first chapter of the Supercar story that will start in Supermarionation Adventures #1, comics veteran Ernie Colon provided some wonderful thumbnail layouts. Unfortunately Ernie's busy schedule won't let him contribute beyond the first issue.

Fireball XL5: Robin and Pauline Day are newcomers to comics, but are old friends with the XL5 series. They've been working with Michael Wolff on the scripts for the series. They're also providing some wonderful computer generated images of the XL5 that will be integrated into the art.

Steve Erwin is no stranger to comics, having pencilled Deathstroke The Terminator and other titles from DC. He's been on a self-imposed hiatus staying at home to raise his son, Danny. We're very pleased that he's decided to end his break from comics by penciling the XL5 series. Inks will be handled by Jeff Brennan.

UFO: The 0 issue of UFO is written by Diane Annunziata, a long time fan of the show. Her primary writing experience previous to issue 0 was in the television field. Anthony Taylor, writer of UFO: Cataclysm, is a new talent we discovered in the ranks of UFO fandom. He's written for model building publications and books, but this is his first comics work.

Christopher Jones is penciling. His work has been seen recently in titles as diverse as Kolchak: The Night Stalker and Justice League Adventures. His ability to capture likenesses of the actors that originally played the characters is exceptional. He has the additional challenge of aging them twenty years. Comics great Joe Rubinstein is inking (try to name a major character he hasn't touched with his pen). Rounding out the art team is Mat Webb, who I had the pleasure of working with on our Hammerlocke series published originally by DC Comics (did I mention we're going to publish a special edition of the Hammerlocke series?) We couldn't be more pleased with the art team on this book.

UFO, which evolved into Space: 1999, was only one season. As a result, it's frequently overlooked. What do you think made it so cool?
What made UFO cool was the cool tech and wild costumes. The vision they presented of the 1980s was unique. When Space:1999 came
along they were following in Star Trek's footsteps, so they went for the more "contemporary" sci-fi look. The purple wigs and silver cat-
suits were far more fun and memorable. Also, the conflict with the aliens in UFO was far more interesting that wandering aimlessly through
space, and the Alphans did on Space:1999.

Which series have you had people express the most interest in to date?
Fans of the individual series have been very keen on the new stories. They're all a bit cautious of the new directions we'll be taking the characters, but hopefully they'll be pleased by the care we've taken to keep all the titles true to they're sources.

What kind of frequency are you aiming for with the books?
The revamped Supermarionation Adventures that will feature the Supercar and Fireball XL5 stories will be bi-monthly. We're soliciting the new package in the July PREVIEWS, with the book shipping in September. UFO: Cataclysm #1 (of 3), now at 48 pages for $5.95, will be solicited in the August Previews catalog, and will also be bi-monthly.

If the series are successful, we you be aiming to get them into the bookstore market as trade paperbacks?
A trade paperback edition has been on the table since I began negotiating the licenses.

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