Before Star Trek, or Star Wars, Isaac Asimov or Robert Heinlein, even before comic books, a frustrated film maker who was forced to work with puppets, introduced me and my generation to the fantastic worlds of science fiction on black and white TV screens and full color lunch boxes.  And it was wonderful.

  SUPERMARIONATION

(And the Man who Pulled the Strings)

When I was a kid I wanted this lunch box more than anything but to no avail.  A few years ago, instead of buying a rusty old one that smelled like baloney for $200, I bought a Gee Whiz reproduction for five.

If it hadn't been for the merchandise, we would never have known the true colors of the ships.

Although THUNDERBIRDS brought Gerry Anderson fame and fortune, and UFO and SPACE:1999 would fulfill his live-action ambitions, FIREBALL XL-5 and STINGRAY remain my favorites.  I especially enjoyed STINGRAY because the charaterization seemed stronger than in the other shows.

FIREBALL ready for action on the Space City launch ramp in glorious classic black and white.

.I never grew tired of the dramatic launch sequence.

Century 21 was a British production company, but their leading men had American sensibilities and helped define heroic character to a generation of impressionable youngsters.  Steve Zod-iac and Troy Tempest were smart, fearless, loyal and slightly mysoginistic because their target audience of pre-teen males didn't tolerate a lot of mushy stuff.                                                                                                                                                                        

MINI-REVIEW:  A & E knows how to do these right; they also price them out of the straosphere.  Close-outs and overstocks can be found on ebay.  The stories hold up well and pre-teen  boys still love this stuff.  Grade on my personal scale of satisfaction:  A++

This collectible can also be affordable if you're not picky abut condition.   In fact, if you're willing to collect reader copies, or what I refer to as "barbershop comics" you can buy vintage comics for what you would pay for a new one.

To appease all of the THUNDER-BIRDS fans who didn't get much here, here is a nice shot of the original Fab 1.

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