I SPY--------- THE SECOND EPIC SERIES

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

cont: I SPY looks a real cropper in the opening frame, followed by the indignity of his kaput inner rocket and the ultimate humiliation of being forced to travel via the docs' ancient boneshaker of a vehicle...he still manages to outspeed MR X, however...perhaps they knew a shortcut.

MR X appears suitably satanic in the final frame on page one: almost PAN-like in appearance, in the odd scene where I SPY and BOSS are once more in a state of suspended animation. On the first frame of page two [see above], MR X seems to have sprouted a hairy wolfman-like right hand! The remaining shots set in SPY HQ offer up some nicely-realized scenes of 'domestic bliss' of the pair at home: this being I SPY of course, events take a turn for the unexpected, with that dream-like final sequence, in which our hero mistakenly thinks his 'superior' is playing a gag on him, and the chilling realization---which comes too late, apparantly------that BOSS is aiming the mortar-launcher in deadly earnest.

A stunning closing image, in this setpiece which has set up the crux of the forthcoming usual MR X motive; that of ruling the nation.



I SPY'S DEVICES: shell-blaster [kaput]/ internal rocket-engine [kaput]/ extendable, heavy-duty tin-opener of safe-cracking ability/ and standard earplugs.


BANG GOES I SPY! Don't miss next week's story!

[alanultron5]

Mr X' hand does look strange! maybe Brian `rushed` that bit! It does seem to me that Brian might have been feeling the strain of the treadmill way that he had to work on the strip! Les Barton obviously never wanted to return to it, so it must have been the most exhausting strip on the Sparky Roster!

Stydying how Brian was drawing Mr X with how he portrayed him in "Ghost of..." there is a definate loss of defination in the character; the same would apply to Mastermind two stories on!

I looked at some of Brians work on the "Mr Bubbles" strip and only in the one ep (where a young lad wishes to be a Policeman) did he cope at all! The other few eps are quite poorly drawn in my eyes and its clear that Brian had trouble with that type of art!

The story! Oh dear! Mr X now gives away the secret of his power to I. Spy by trying to have him killed in an over-convoluted way which was likely to fail! Its as though Mr X is `subconsciously` willing I. Spy to best him!

[alanultron5]

Oh dear! I am coming across all grouchy re this story! Just found the `over-complications` of Mr X dealing with I. Spy a bit too far to take! Old X should really have dealt with the Shhh guy on the spot himself instead of leaving it to that bungler...Boss Spy!

It is a pity this story was scaled down to just two pages per ep now as it makes it-using the `page-count` method-the shortest of the final four stories! Maybe one extra ep might help-not sure! I have quite enjoyed it though-even if I am `grouching` a bit here- compared with what was to come in the colour season, this one is admirable!

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I just realized-----I SPY may well have had an ipod connected to his headphones in that last episode...pretty cool going for 1971!


SPARKY issue 341: July 31, 1971.

I SPY and the AMAZING MR. X, part 4 of 6.

MR X GOES INTO ORBIT!

synopsis; The armchair occupied by the unwitting I SPY is blasted to Kingdom come, by the stupor-induced BOSS, who is under the spell of MR X's hypnotic music......who is next ordered to flip the disc, and return to normal. I SPY emerges unscathed from an emergency trapdoor escape hatch built-into the chair, just as BOSS realizes that he almost wiped out his gadget-laden lackey. The secret rocket plans are also discovered missing, and our shhh!-guy summizes that the depraved Victorian is likely planning a space broadcast of his demonic tunes; capable of hypnotizing the entire nation, for his own twisted ends!

I SPY and BOSS roar round to the SPACE BASE, radioing on emergency measures for all space personnell at the centre to instal earplugs: MR X and his crooked 'musicians' have stormed the vicinity and witness their enemies arrive, and a deceptive plan is hatched: MR X'S vintage motor is seen fleeing the premises, and in the rush, an 'astronaut' reassures our hero that the spacelaunch will still go ahead.


I SPY'S rocket-powered circular saw comes into play, making short work of a long row of ornamental trees, which are felled instantly, thwarting MR X'S escaping motor. The biffed baddies are inspected, but the mainman known as X has puled a fast one: a hypnotized astronaut has been dressed up in the notorious Victorian garb, which means that a leering MR X has donned the astronaut clobber, and is issuing instructions for lift-off!

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

a rather spiffing, incident-packed outing, with cooly classy layout and great demonic close-ups of the despicable rogue: MR X.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

cont: Most I SPY followers would have twigged that there would be an escape hatch situated in SPY HQ 'furniture' [in the event of an emergency, like we have here], but like the equally well-crafted gags used in the 'ROAD RUNNER' animated series, watching the expected outcome doesn't diminish the entertainment factor in elaborate setups such as this one. BRIAN WALKER uses the visual device of I SPY hitting his palm with his fist, HOLMES-like, as inspiration strikes: a habit that characterized the 197o-71 second b/w series only.

Page one outlines the shenanigans and plot development throughout interior shots at SPY HQ, which means this tale is nicely-split with the race round to the UK SPACE BASE [this was meant to be the UK'S first-ever independent spacelaunch, and 39 years on, no such undertaking is on the cards as we speak, which gives some indication of how our technology and economy are developing!]

Good chase shots in the final act, and that rocket-propelled circular saw [reprised from the COPYCAT] creates great visual havoc, topped with the distant sight of the fired-up rocket...which contains the deviant known as X. Cracking final pair of frames, essentially made up of facial-close-ups, and that last-image portrait of a triumphant, beside-himself-with-ambitious -malice MR X [as he leers cacklingly from behind his space-helmet] ranks amongst the finest-ever closing images within the series.



I SPY'S DEVICES: internal rocket-engine, radio transmitter, motorized wheels [x 4] and front-launched rocket-powered circular saw.



NEXT WEEK------I SPY GOES INTO ORBIT!

[alanultron5]

Fully agree Rab! That final shot of Mr X in his space-suit is Brians best work in this story! A very clever ruse by old X using hypnotised base staff to drive his car and lure I. Spy away! That ploy and where he instructs the Army (in following ep) to destroy I. Spy reveals the `hypnotic code` doesn't just paralyise folks, it makes them obey any orders of Mr X! A nice development indeed!

Les Barton would have drawn Mr X holding a `How to Pilot your Space Shuttle` manual! Mr X is so talented though, he can figure the controls in an instant! Brian had obviously seen drawings of the yet-to be- US Shuttle! I know that PG Tips had a "Race Into Space" set in 1971 with a drawing very similar to Brians take on the shuttle!

A bit of Mr X lore now! In his very first (Mud Mansion) appearance (ep 7) he has a slight East European accent! That quicly changed! Neither I. Spy or Spy HQ knew of Mr X before that encounter-yet Hoots McBagpipe, Slinky Snitchovitch, Karate Chip and Mahairee Yogi were already known! Mr X a bit of a `latecomer` in comparison to those fellows!

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

yes, MR X 's first-ever lines were untypically mid-European, and he uttered 'ze' instead of standard-English 'the'.



SPARKY issue 342, 7 Aug, 1971.

I SPY and the AMAZING MR X: part 5 of 6.


Face to face------IN OUTER SPACE!


synopsis: High above planet Earth, the space-based MR X unleashes a demonic recording that will be picked up by everyone in Britain listening to the radio: in next to no time, everyone from housewives, workmen,----and even Whitehall military top-brass----are under the hypnotic spell of the hypnotic music, which sees MR X'S first objective----that of the enforced 'removal' of I SPY--------as top priority. Back at the rocket-base, those savvy enough to have donned earplugs [which include our heroes] are immune to the deadly airwaves which are bombarding the nation.


I SPY decides to fill up with hyper-rocket-fuel, [in an attempt to track down his Victorian nemesis] however the duped army march into the frame, with armoured tanks primed and at the ready to eliminate I SPY. The old smokescreen standby comes into effective play, with the added bonus of a full-scale 'inflatable clockwork duplicate' which is fired skywards, and blown up to the satisfaction of the duped armed forces.

Up in space , MR X is delighted to recieve the news of his opponent's destruction, and just as the deviant prepares to re-enter Earth's atmosphere, there is a knock at the door [!] : I SPY enters the airlock, guns-a-primed, and orders MR X to return home under captive arrest......the vagabond pulls another fast one at the eleventh hour, however, as the ejector-seat containing I SPY is catapulted into deep space......

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Fantastic sense of smokin' atmosphere and tense drama in this episode; SMOKIN'......in more ways than one!

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

cont; a highly-accomplished, no-holds-barred offering, which contains absolutely no fat or padding; beautifully-constructed, with not a wasted frame in sight. The opening montage sequence of MR X in space [he is donned in the height of 1971 Astro-garb, which oddly doesn't look all that odd!] depicts an effective 4 frames of life in Britain as it is contaminated by the deviant music. The first frame in the bottom row of panels was used to illustrate the I SPY entry in DENIS GIFFORD'S rather spiffing 1987 book the A-Z of British comic characters.

Another fine vignette as I SPY is once again under attack from manipulated Armed forces; the use of the full-scale dummy singles this one out as a variant, however. This is the first 'proper' I SPY sequence set in outer space [there was a brief space-scene in GHOST OF MR X but really it was an added extra, sort of like a similar scene in LIFE OF BRIAN...].......the '71/'72 SPARKY annuals would contain two rather superb stories containing spacerocket elements, and these will be covered at some stage over on the LES BARTON thread.


In 1971, the SPACE-RACE in real-life was very much in the news, and this episode is significant in that it reflects this theme for the first time properly within the series. The 'knock-at-the-door' in deep space gag shows that the strip certainly hasn't lost it's sense of absurdist comedy, and there is yet another thrilling cliffhanger to top this outing.

I SPY'S DEVICES: four-wheel motor-drive/ microphone with megaphone/ rocket-fuel intake capability / smoke-screen jet-blaster/ full-sized inflatable clockwork decoy/ space-bound internal rocket capabilities, and shell-blaster....phew!!!! a record ?


SO MR X CONTINUES ON HIS NOT-SO MERRY WAY.....LEAVING I SPY ADRIFT IN SPACE WITHOUT FUEL! DON'T MISS NEXT WEEK'S STORY!

[alanultron5]

That "Come in...What `Am` I Saying!?" gag was aired on Cilla Blacks show in 1969 by Comedian Johnny Hackett (where is he now?) re- the Moon Landing! Peter Clark must have caught it and stored it away!

Isen't it nice how Mr X perched his `topper` atop his helmet! Even Space jinks don't get in the way of his sartorial streak! Mastermind would have probably had a `gold la`me` suit ready-made!

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

SPARKY issue 343: Aug 14, 1971.

I SPY and the AMAZING MR.X; sixth.concluding, chapter......

Apaper bag bursts---and BANG! go Mr X's dreams!


synopsis; our heroic secret agent is adrift in Outer-space without fuel to return to Earth; but not for long, as his special sucker-pad rocket with extendable cord enables the shhh! guy to hitch a lift back through Earth's atmosphere, with a handy 'portable heat shield' coming into useful play. As both parties touch down on the re-entry runway, MR X prepares to initiate 'celebrations' that will see him crowned as King of Britain: his long-cherished dream is quashed, courtesy of I SPY'S insta-set cement, which sees the Vile Victorian rooted to the spot...


.....MR X breaks out the emergency 'super-strength-pills' [as was usual in the closing frames]: but this time I SPY is prepared, and a mini-hoover sucks the hyper-vitamin pills out of harmful reach. Retribution finally comes into play as I SPY despatches a much-deserved, full-on sock on the jaw to his eternal irritant [the blow is of POPEYE proportions; has I SPY gulped down one of MR X's pills here?] that leaves the villian crushed and dispirited.


We still have that little problem of the entire UK under the spell of MR X's hypnotic music: this is remedied by a quick national broadcast over at the BBC: I SPY simply inflates a paper bag and bursts it over the live radio airwaves: there follows a 'recap' montage sequence, detailing all sorts of assorted UK punters abruptly returning to normality, and this tale ends with a tranquil shot of I SPY and BOSS strolling nonchantily down a country lane.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

below: great dynamic comic imagery in the tales' finale: and with one of the most effective-ever ISPY/MR X encounters: PRICELESS!

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

cont: the closing chapter is a masterclass of tyding-up-the-loose-ends, while still retaining entertaining plot dynamics, from the impressive opening frames detailing intensive space-flight [including that searing shot of the scorching rear-entry through Earth's atmosphere] as well as the impressive shot of MR X and I SPY both touching down on the tarmac, in tandem. As Alan said, the 'GB Space Shuttle' accurately reflects the NASA version in real-life that debuted the folwing decade.

Great personality elements here, as MR X elabrates on his grandoise plans for UK domination: this includes a parade in his 'honour' at Buckingham Palace, followed by a crowning celebration at Westminster! The sort of details that lifted this strip out of the ordinary, if only mentioned in passing. Following this, we have the extremely effective final scene between the larger-than-life pair, which witnesses some good old slapstick violence, as I SPY punches the Victorian rascal into a senseless stupor.

The closing gag regarding I SPY'S radio broadcast to the masses echoes the final chapter of debut serial I SPY versus the INCREDIBLE MR X which also utilized a simplistic, comic-cuts visual gag over the BBC airwaves to sort out MR X, and that's what convinces me that the scripting was by the same author; Peter Clark.



The end of this tale was perhaps the final appearance of MR X in the 'glory' years stories: ----although a fine tale from him would later surface in the 1972 SPARKY annual-----his next appearance, the following summer of 1972, would see his role diminished more to that of cameo villain, as the stories in later series took on a more simplistic, comedy-bound approach: the intricate, plot-dominated serials would be shoehorned out before long, in favour of more instantly-gratifiying, forgettable-fluff thrills, which loomed on the horizon.