Supercar #2
Supercar #2 (Gold Key, February 1963) is a piece of transatlantic pop-culture history: it belongs to the first American comic book series ever based on a Gerry Anderson production, arriving while the British Supermarionation phenomenon was still new to U.S. audiences who were discovering the show in syndication. As the second chapter of only a four-issue run, it demonstrates how Western Publishing's Gold Key imprint moved quickly to capitalize on the show's stateside momentum, helping to establish the template for vehicle-centered adventure tie-ins that Gold Key would refine throughout the 1960s. The series as a whole represents a significant bridging moment between British television science fiction and the American newsstand comic, predating the far better-remembered Gold Key Star Trek run by several years.
In "People of New Zealand, Number 1: The Maoris," Supercar races to rescue a stranded submarine and its crew trapped on an ice floe, using ClearVu to locate them and its rockets to free a second ship locked in ice—only to uncover a sabotage by the ever-lurking Masterspy. With the team knocked unconscious and a time bomb left on the sub, the crew must rely on Popkiss’s remote commands and Beeker’s quick thinking to disable the threat and bring Masterspy to justice. Written by Paul Newman and illustrated by Ray Osrin, this 1963 adventure blends icy suspense with classic sci-fi heroics, all under a cover by Ray Osrin.
In "The Rebel's Hide-Out," Mike Mercury and his crew—Jimmy, Mitch the chimp, and Professor Popkiss—race to help the King of Shigun after receiving a mysterious jade statue. When their mission to track down elusive rebels leads them through treacherous jungle terrain and into a hidden temple beneath the earth, they uncover a secret that changes everything. The fate of Shigun rests on their wits and Supercar’s might.
Robert tricks his parents into thinking his robot is him so he can skip school and attend the missile launch—only to be caught in the act. With the launch delayed and a stubborn fuel valve blocking the way, Robert's Robot squeezes through a narrow tunnel to fix the problem, just in time for liftoff.
When a submarine becomes trapped in ice and its crew stranded on a drifting floe, Supercar springs into action—its ClearVu system spotting the distress, but unable to lift the crew from the frozen surface. With a rescue ship also immobilized, Supercar’s rockets free the vessel, only to uncover a sabotage plot orchestrated by Masterspy, who’s been lurking nearby. As the two ships break free, the team is knocked unconscious—only for Professor Popkiss to remotely guide Mitch the chimp in stealing Masterspy’s camera, leading to a frantic chase and a hidden time bomb on the sub.
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Gold Key launched the Supercar comic series in November 1962, just as Gerry Anderson's puppet-based adventure series was proving itself a breakout hit in American syndication — it had debuted in New York in January 1962 and within weeks ranked as the top children's program in its time slot. Western Publishing assigned the prolific scripter Paul S. Newman (also known for Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom) to write the stories and hired artist Ray Osrin, a veteran of Dell and Gold Key TV tie-ins, to handle the interior pencils; editors Chase Craig and Del Connell oversaw the series for the imprint. The licensing deal for the Gold Key comics was brokered through AP Films (Merchandising) Ltd., the separate company Gerry Anderson had set up specifically to handle rights for his properties — a deal that, according to collector accounts, was partly exchanged for access to publishing rights on several American TV series.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published February 10, 1963 by Gold Key (a Western Publishing imprint), the second of four issues in the series (November 1962 – August 1963).
- Written by Paul S. Newman — one of the most prolific comic book writers of the Silver Age, also credited on Gold Key's Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom — with interior art by Ray Osrin and editing by Chase Craig and Del Connell.
- Interior stories include 'The Rebels' Hide-Out,' a Cold War-flavored adventure in which Supercar is dispatched to the fictional kingdom of Shigun after receiving an ancient jade statue as payment to help a besieged king root out rebel forces hiding in a jungle temple; a polar icecap / nuclear submarine story also appears in the issue.
- Features the full cast of the TV series in comic form: pilot Mike Mercury, boy adventurer Jimmy Gibson, Mitch the chimp, Professor Rudolph Popkiss, and Dr. Horatio Beaker.
- Supercar was the first Gerry Anderson TV series to be adapted as a comic book in America; Gold Key's four-issue run preceded the adaptation of any subsequent Anderson Supermarionation franchise in the U.S. market.
- Each issue in the run carries a painted cover with the same image reproduced on the back cover (minus trade dress), so readers could use it as a poster pin-up — a distinctive Gold Key production choice across multiple TV tie-in titles.
- Like all Gold Key comics, the issue carries no Comics Code Authority seal; Western Publishing/Gold Key operated under its own stricter internal editorial guidelines, positioning itself as a family-safe alternative publisher.
- The 1962–63 Gold Key Supercar issues were later reprinted in Mexico in 1966, demonstrating the reach of the Gold Key licensing program beyond North American newsstands.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Tarzan Classics #1226 (1967), Tarzan [Jungelserien] #26 (1967)
Key issues in Supercar
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