Polystyle Publications Ltd The 1972 Countdown Annual

Published	1971
SBN (not ISBN)	85096 018 5

Starring the third Doctor

• A Review by Finn Clark

A Review by Finn Clark 5/8/04

In 1971, Polystyle Publications created Countdown. This new publication borrowed a few licensed properties from its sister magazine, TV Comic, but it was targeted at an older readership. TV Comic was a kiddie mag with a few adventure strips, but Countdown was the exact opposite. Look at this annual's line-up: UFO, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Dangerous Friend, Secret Service, Dr Who and Joe 90 are all straight adventure tales. Dastardly and Muttley provide the only giggle strip. In Countdown Polystyle let their Doctor Who comics grow up.

This first Countdown annual looks superb and has some quality filler articles, but personally I don't think it's that great. The artwork is to die for, but there's not much reason to be interested in the scripts. They're straight adventures rather than unintentional comedy classics. Captain Scarlet is probably the best of what's on offer this year, but even that's nothing you'll remember or particularly want to reread. Countdown took itself more seriously than TV Comic, but that doesn't automatically make it good.

There's plenty of Gerry Anderson but no Avengers. Presumably that show had ended production by 1971, which is a hell of a shame. Some Avengers wackiness would have spiced up Countdown no end. Mind you, The Secret Service is plenty weird, with a spymaster vicar and his incredible shrinking assistant. (Even its art is closer to the TV Comic style than the rest of this book's high-octane adventure visuals, which given the story's offbeat content was a sensible decision.)

There's plenty to reward a Doctor Who fan, though. There's a full-page photo of Jon Pertwee alongside 'A Day with Dr Who', a behind the scenes glimpse of the making of The Daemons. Our man's contact is apparently Peter Grimwade (still only a production assistant in 1971) but there are photos of the cast and crew interacting with each other and the public. There's even a photo of Countdown's editor, Dennis Hopper, complete with amazing sideburns.

The Dr Who story, The Plant Master, is eight pages of painted colour by Jim Baikie (better known as the artist of Alan Moore's Skizz). Apart from occasionally making Pertwee look like an old woman, it's a thing of beauty at which you'll gaze in wonder... and if you have nothing better to do, you might even read it! The story is fast-paced, reminiscent of The Seeds of Doom, but nothing particularly remarkable. It's unobjectionable, yes, but only the art raises it above the level of a random one-parter from a DWM special.

Things I learned from reading this book:

1. Women who work for top secret organisations wear white skintight jumpsuits.
2. The 3rd Doctor drove a car called Betsy.
3. A man who's shrunk to only eight inches tall can smash a window without tools or assistance while climbing up a curtain.
4. Even in 1971, priests liked to talk about small children, five year old boys and big organs.