Gerry Anderson is best known for Captain Scarlet and Thunderbirds. Toys for Project SWORD were produced in 1967, along with a comic strip around the same time. Whether the idea was ever intended to lead into a TV series is largely speculation — but you can’t help wondering.
Time Bomb Comics have now published a modern graphic novel, written by Lizbeth Myles and illustrated by James Gray.
Spoilers on the book’s content below
Set in the year 3031, meteorites have devastated the Earth. SWORD (Space World Organisation for Research and Development) is tasked with the evacuation program, sending humanity to new worlds — in the case of this book, Mars.
The story mostly follows Alex Peake, who is called in when the computer responsible for selecting which humans to save — and which to leave behind for now — begins to malfunction. It’s a bleak premise. His search leads him to the computer’s programmer, Helen Bannock.
Helen is uncomfortable with her role in creating the selection system, but reluctantly agrees to help Alex. Together they discover that the computer hasn’t malfunctioned at all: it has learned to value all of humanity. Alex and Helen ultimately set the machine to self‑destruct.
There’s still the matter of how the meteorites came to be, and who — or what — caused them. Helen joins the team at the end of the book as SWORD vows to find a way to fix Earth for everyone.
What did I think?
This felt like a pilot — a book that sets up more adventures for Project SWORD. The sequences with the rocket and vehicles genuinely made me smile. They have that unmistakable late‑60s TV flavour, with at least one eye on the toy market.
It’s an interesting project and a window into what could have been. Definitely worth a read, particularly if you have an interest in Gerry Anderson’s other franchises.