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LadyPenelope-Card1

Original title card in Lady Penelope magazine

Lady Penelope (subtitled Elegance, Charm and Deadly Danger) was a Thunderbirds spin-off comic series published in various publications continuously from 1965 to 1968, and briefly revived in 1971.

Premise[]

The series revolved around the adventures of Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward and Parker, both before and after their involvement with International Rescue. In particular it focused on her life as a secret agent, working for and with various security agencies, as well as for herself. Frequently coming up against agents from Bereznik (a rogue country in Eastern Europe), or master criminal Mr. Steelman, Penelope would require her quick-thinking, cool composure, vast array of gadgets, and a network of allies including butler and chauffeur Parker, fellow agent Roger Lyon, and, of course, International Rescue.

History[]

Lady Penelope would first appear in the first issue of comic magazine TV Century 21, dated January 23rd 1965. The comic strips published would primarily be set in a shared universe of the AP Films Supermarionation productions, and in the third story would crossover with previous production Fireball XL5. As Thunderbirds had yet to premiere on television, Lady Penelope's presence in the strip acted as marketing towards the upcoming series, with various "letters to the editor" teasing Penelope's involvement with the show.

Once Thunderbirds had premiered on television, the Lady Penelope series would show Penelope being recruited into International Rescue, before being replaced by a main Thunderbirds strip. The Lady Penelope comic would be spun off into its own publication - also called Lady Penelope - which would contain other series such as Perils of Parker, The Creighton-Ward Gallery and Creighton Ward, as well as strips from non-AP Films productions. The format of the strip itself did not change much - Mr. Steelman would still be a recurring threat - but the primary difference would be the occasional inclusion of International Rescue and the Tracy family.

The format of the magazine would change several times over the years, and interest in the Lady Penelope strip would fade, particularly after the introduction of The Monkees. In issue 127, dated June 22nd 1968, the strip was replaced with a "prequel" series of sorts chronicling the adventures of a young "Penny Ward" - simply called Penny: Stories of Lady Penelope When She Was a Girl.

With the launch of Countdown in 1971, the Lady Penelope series was briefly relaunched for a handful of outings. Unlike earlier publications, where multiple parts of the same story were split across issues, the strips in Countdown were five or six pages released entirely in one issue.

Stories[]

All stories were originally published without titles, where possible titles have been sourced from individual parts or reprints. Many Lady Penelope stories have not been reprinted, and as such remain untitled in any 'official' capacity.

TV Century 21[]

#No Title Issues Publication dates
1 Mr. Steelman 1 - 11 January 23rd - April 3rd, 1965
2 Behind Enemy Lines 12 - 18 April 10th - May 22nd, 1965
3 Assassination! 19 May 29th, 1965
4 The Return of Mr Steelman 20 - 34 June 5th - September 11th, 1965
5 The Isle of Arran Riddle 35 - 43 September 18th - November 13th, 1965
6 The Vanishing Ray 44 - 51 November 20th, 1965 - January 8th, 1966

Lady Penelope Magazine[]

#No Title Issues Publication dates
7 Dangerous Fashion! 1 - 7 January 22nd - March 5th, 1966
8 "Story 8" (untitled) 8 - 16 March 12th - May 7th, 1966
9 The Great Silver Robbery! 17 - 28 May 14th - July 30th, 1966
10 The Assassination Threat/Kill Lady Penelope! 29 - 35 August 6th - September 17th, 1966
11 Down Under! 36 - 42 September 24th - November 5th, 1966
12 "Desert Drama" (officially untitled) 43 - 52 November 12th, 1966 - January 14th, 1967
13 "Story 13" (untitled) 53 - 59 January 21st - March 4th, 1966
14 "Story 14" (untitled) 60 - 65 March 11th - April 15th, 1967
15 "Story 15" (untitled) 66 - 72 April 22nd - June 3rd, 1967
16 "Story 16" (untitled) 73 - 81 June 10th - August 5th, 1967
17 "Story 17" (untitled) 82 - 88 August 12th - September 23rd, 1967
18 "Story 18" (untitled) 89 - 93 September 30th - October 28th, 1967
19 "Story 19" (untitled) 94 - 97 November 4th - November 25th, 1967
20 "Story 20" (untitled) 98 - 102 December 2nd - December 30th, 1967
21 "Story 21" (untitled) 103 - 107 January 6th - February 3rd, 1968
22 "Story 22" (untitled) 108 - 112 February 10th - March 9th, 1968
23 "Story 23" (untitled) 113 - 117 March 16th - April 13th, 1968
24 "Story 24" (untitled) 118 - 121 April 20th - May 11th, 1968
25 "Story 25" (untitled) 122 - 126 May 18th - June 15th, 1968

Extras and Annuals[]

As these are outside the "main" series, they have no specific ordering and are shorter, standalone stories.

Title Published in Year
Ice Bound TV Century 21 International Extra 1965
The Enemy Spy TV Century 21 Summer Extra 1965
Bullion Raid 1965 TV Century 21 annual 1965
A Champion Meets Her Match Lady Penelope Summer Extra 1966 1966
Odds Against Parker Lady Penelope Summer Extra 1966 1966
Bullets for the Bride Lady Penelope Summer Extra 1966 1966
Undercover Secretary 1967 Lady Penelope annual 1966
The Everglades Affair 1967 Lady Penelope annual 1966
Stay Healthy and Die 1967 Lady Penelope annual 1966
Adventure in Bereznik 1968 Lady Penelope annual 1967
The Million Pound Lipstick 1968 Lady Penelope annual 1967
Lady Penelope Versus the Fox 1968 Lady Penelope annual 1967
Symphony of Death 1969 Lady Penelope annual 1968
Duel in the Jungle 1969 Lady Penelope annual 1968
Sabotage Session 1969 Lady Penelope annual 1968
Lady Penelope (untitled) TV21 Issue 243 2014

Countdown[]

#No Title Issue Publication date
1 Double Deal 4 March 13th, 1971
2 Trouble for Tomorrow 10 April 24th, 1971
3 The Golden Fleece 18 June 19th, 1971

Crew[]

While it was published in TV Century 21, Lady Penelope would have a regular artist in Eric Eden, and stories would fall between magazine editor Alan Fennell and Tod Sullivan. When the series moved to the Lady Penelope magazine, artistic duties would primarily fall to Frank Langford, but other artists would fill in on an irregular basis. Langford would continue on to the Penny strip, and would also return for the Countdown strips in 1971. Fennell is known to have continued to contribute material to Lady Penelope, but as no one was credited it is hard to determine to what extent he was involved. Several freelancers would also contribute, but exactly what their names were and what stories they wrote are likely lost to time. Michael Strand, who had previously illustrated the Stingray strip in TV Century 21, would take over from Langford for the later Countdown stories.

Title Cards[]

Trivia[]

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