Stingray Comic Anthology Volume 2: Battle Lines (graphic novel review).
The focus in this ‘Stingray Volume 2’ is the material that appeared in ‘Countdown’ and for Marina in the ‘Lady Penelope’ comic with a more recent extended story, ‘Desperate Measures,’ spread across the book.
The introductions, while probably necessary to fill space, give far too much information about the stories themselves. How much to say is always a grey area, but this would have worked as an afterword and focused on the creators at the beginning. The opening story, ‘Marineville Traitor,’ is one of the longest at 34 weeks and had Troy Tempest tried for treason and escaping. It’s rather annoying that his boss, Commander Shore, believes the accusations, especially considering how many times Tempest has saved the day. It was hooray for Phones coming to rescue his captain and staying with him.
Seeing all the ‘Stingray’ stories together allows a comparison of artists and writers and doesn’t take a genius to note that Ron Embleton stands out from the rest in design and art. As appealing as Stingray looks on TV, for the artist, there are only a limited number of choices of images that can be used in a static panel. Some of the artists elongate the stingray and squeeze it in the panels. My favourite is seeing the opening credits scene of Stingray jumping out of the water from the terror fish’s point of view. The modern version, put in with a continued story ‘Deadly Uprising,’ shows similar problems.
I read the entire ‘Marina, Girl From The Sea’ in one sitting, but give yourselves an hour to do that. Her dad, Aphony, head of Pacifica, wants to get his peace plan for all the underwater races carried out, but he is thwarted by Titan, who has his terror fish destroy their home. Throughout these stories, Titan frequently appears and is a real nasty piece of work, even compared to the TV series. Eventually, he finds a way to mute Aphony and Marina. Should they speak, then a citizen of the new Pacifica would die, as witnessed when their first minister, Barinth, drops dead in front of them. Instead, they develop telepathy, although they can’t talk to everyone. Titan is immune, and there’s a fair bet the air-breathers at WASP can’t as well. When Marina is captured by Titan, he treats her as a serf, ordering her to clean a floor and then dirtying it again so she has to do it again.
There are some odd flaws occasionally; Pacifica does have its own military, although quite what their purpose is, other than to protect Aphony and Marina, beats me. Oh, one of the malevolent species that does appear also appeared in the TV21 ‘Stingray’ story about the ghost ship and appears here as well. Although Marina’s stories end with her rescuing the Stingray crew, it looks like she’s more a refugee, and it’s a shame that she didn’t do more in the TV series.
There’s a lot of reading here. Occasionally, I have to remind myself that I’m probably not the target audience for the comic book material anymore, and yet, as with volume one, it worked better with TV21. Certainly, the ‘Marina’ material still works. The basic flaw is still the emphasis on the Stingray crew, and there is a limit to how many ways you can show the inside of the super-sub or the vessel itself.
If you want a nostalgia kick, then getting this volume is a lot cheaper than trying to locate the original issues. Stand by for action, as a certain commander frequently said.
GF Willmetts
February 2025
(pub: Anderson Entertainment, 2024. 376 page graphic novel large hardback. Price: £37.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-914522-71-0)
check out website: www.gerryanderson.com and https://gerryanderson.com/products/stingray-comic-anthology-volume-two-battle-lines-hardcover
