Sapphire and Steel Art For Sale

A page of Sapphire and Steel art by Arthur Ranson from Look-In, the "Junior TV Times" of its day, is up for sale on eBay.

Inspired by the mysterious ITV drama created by P.J. Hammond, Sapphire and Steel appeared in 76 issues of Look-In and it looks as though the page on sale may be the final one published featuring strong likenesses of actors David McCallum and Joanna Lumley who were the series stars.

The strip itself was written by the late Angus P. Allan and, like many Look-In strips, beautifully illustrated by Arthur Ranson.

The art (pictured above, final published version below) measures 16 x 22 inch (41 x 56 cm) and sees Sapphire and Steel defeat another strange entity trying to distort time.

Appropriately for this 'scare story', the auction closes on 31st October.

The art is the latest piece from the IPC Archive to be auctioned on eBay by Blase Books, part of a huge collection the company sold off some years ago. (There is of course, some controversy about this, as some artists have argues the physical art is their property, not that of the company).

Other art on offer at present include a page of Janus Stark, drawn by Solano Lopez; a 1965 Steel Claw page by Jesus Blasco; a Spider page by Reg Bunn; and several pages of art from various girls comics.

• View the Sapphire and Steel item on eBay

• More British comic art on sale on eBay from Blase Books

• More about the Sapphire and Steel Look-In Strip

Tube Surfing: 10 September 2008

• Catching up with comics news after a (very wet) short break, Bryan Talbot's re-released The Tale of One Bad Rat has just had a rightfully glowing review in The Times, describing it as "an incontrovertible and blazing masterpiece." There's also high praise for the new edition of Raymond Briggs' Gentleman Jim and Debbie Drechsler's Daddy's Girl.

• To celebrate 40 years of The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, the most popular underground comics in the world,
Gilbert Shelton will be signing copies of the new 624 page Freak Brothers Omnibus at Gosh, 39 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3NZ this Saturday September 13th from 2pm. For more information call Gosh on 0207 636 1011.

• The Forbidden Planet International blog reports on the launch of a new anthology I’m sorry I can’t take your call right now but I’m off saving the world which will be getting its big release in Ireland this coming weekend, with contributors including Sarah McIntyre, Bridgeen Gillespie, Lee Thacker and many more.

The release party for the anthology will take place on Saturday 13th of September at 9pm, Skeahan’s pub, Liberty Sq, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. The book will be available to purchase from several locations in Ireland and via the website from the 20th September. It will also be sold at the Birmingham International Comics Show in October and in November at the Thought Bubble comics show in Leeds. (Check the anthology website in the coming weeks for a full list of sale locations).

The book contains over 90 pages of art - 30 artists contributing to 25 stories. Each artist was given the phrase “I’m sorry I can’t take your call right now but I’m off saving the world” to interpret however they wished. The result is a mixture of stories that range from the serious to the silly, the factual to the abstract but all sharing a common thread.

The book is dedicated to Conor Lyons who past away in September 2007 while working for the United Nations in Sri Lanka and all money raised from the sale of the book will be donated to GOAL in his memory.

• During a dig around looking for information on the newspaper strips he's been running recently, ove on Bear Alley Steve Holland recently came across a couple of examples of a science fiction strip, Captain Universe, that appeared in the Daily Herald back in 1952. "Judging by the numbering (it ran in issues Monday through Saturday), it began on 28 January 1952. I've no idea how long it ran for," he says. The artist was Terry Maloney who, sadly, died earlier this year. The anonymous author was Herbert James Campbell, who was at that time editing the science fiction magazine Authentic Science Fiction.

• Over on Comics Village Andrew Luke has posted up an unabridged version of his ‘State of the Union’ talk at the recent Caption small press event, discussing ways in which our small press creators can get out there and sell comics cheaply but directly, holding up the London Underground Comics model as one way of doing this.

• Artist Eddie Campbell reports that illustrator Pete Mullins has started a blog. "He's using it to showcase his work both old and new and make passing comments as he goes along," Eddie notes on his own blog. "It was great to see some of the stuff he's been up to of late. Long time readers here will recall that Pete and I worked closely together for a few years in the 1990s. You can see his work in Bacchus volumes 7-10 and From Hell. You'll probably have trouble separating his from mine back then, as we often do ourselves, and as Lambiek does, surprising given that he does work as flash as these character designs for an animated series where the characters are all constructed from old socks and stuff."

• And finally... it looks like both Rentaghost and Worzel Gummidge will follow Doctor Who to TV revival after the rights holders new owners announced plans for a comeback. Come on, will no-one pick up Sapphire and Steel or UFO?

Who's the Best Who?

... the answer, I've always believed, is that the best Doctor Who is almost always the one you grew up with. It's no surprise then that, given the modern show's target audience (a recent Broadcast feature indicated this is anyone from 8 - 12), David Tennant recently won the "Best Doctor" award in Dcotor Who Magazine.

But it's a testament of the times, and the sheer ratings success of the new Doctor Who that the Daily Telegraph this week took up the gauntlet and challeneged writers Dominic Cavendish and Sarah Crompton to argue the case for their favourite Time Lord - Tom Baker or David Tennant?

Cavendish plumped firmly for 1970s Fourth Doctor Tom Baker, arguing that special effects-wise, "I concede that there's no contest" between the original Doctor Who's then cutting edge effects (no, really) and "Today's CGI technology" which "leaves the attempts of yesteryear, however noble and occasionally successful, looking decidedly kindergarten by comparison.

"But they just don't make Doctors like Baker any more," feels Cavendish. "In fact, they only ever made one, and I doubt very much whether, if he hadn't filled Jon Pertwee's shoes, we'd be watching Doctor Who today."

Crompton much prefers Tennant, arguing "Baker's performance itself, though vivid, is so mannered and eccentric that it is hard to care about him or his companions. And that voice! So rich it sounds false, heightening the essential unreality of the entire concept."

"Tennant brings real intelligence to his portrayal. As the plot lines extend all over the place, he is capable of expressing everything from love (when he becomes a man in The Family of Blood) to awe (faced with the sight of other planets) to the chill of fear at planetary extinction."

While the ensuing debate among the newspaper's readers proved polarised - with many casting thier vote for Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell, evidence no doubt of the paper's target audience fro all its many revamps - it's fascinating to see a daily quality newspaper like the Telegraph even publishing an article like this about an SF TV show. While debate rages among some new and old fans about the overall quality of the show, that the series has pushed SF centre stage is a testament to the success of the production team and cast.

One has to wonder just why ITV hasn't countered with its own revival in addition to the new Primeval. The Tomorrow People, anyone? UFO? Sapphire and Steel?