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

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

cont: A corker of an episode, with chaos and mayhem easily on par with the cream of contemporary MARVEL or DC imports: that extended gag sequence involving the rocket-assisted pillar box is one of the all-time great I SPY gag set-pieces, and gives old WILE E. COYOTE a run for his money......it takes up all of page one, such is the scope and elaboration of the execution.

Page two is devoted to the politics of sheer force: Hitler may have failed to drive his Panzer Divisions up the Mall in the 40s, but here in 1971, MASTERMIND simply strolls at a leisurely pace towards his new 'address', a concept that must surely have granted him immense satisfaction. That frame of the villain relaxing in the Rolls as he amusingly surveys the Army being pulverized to a pulp by his Robots sums him up like no other.

The MATIC-MEN pose a lethal threat unseen elsewhere in the series; as Alan points out, even SUPERSPY in the debut serial seemed at least open to destruction: not so, these babies! The final image of MM rejoicing as he invades the inner sanctum of the Palace is a real memorable image: I only wish that the Royal Family themselves had enjoyed a brief cameo in this one! [unlikely, given DCT's conservative outlook].

Great depictions of the ROLLS-ROYCE and Buckingham Palace by Brian here; more like engineering/architect blueprints than cartoon imagery.


our hero's devices: steel cable with grapnel-hook, specialized rocket-propelled pillar-box [with hand-held remote-control].

NEXT WEEK----I SPY TURNS TRAITOR.

[alanultron5]

Yes! Another great episode! Notice how the Matic's midriffs have a sort of spring-like suspension as they catch the Roller! Mastermind obviously created them with many functions & improvements the Mark I's were devoid of!

Yet again the episode features far more of the villian than our hero -not that i'm complaining! I would say that this story gives the most detail and insight into any I. Spy villian's personna in the strips history. We really get to see many aspects of Mastermind's personality-including a most affable shade to him when; seemingly-he has won! (ep five).

[alanultron5]

Isn't it something that Mastermind has a standby strategy for every situation! In the event that one day when he and his Matic men are hoisted high in the sky - in their plush car- by a rocket fired `post box` that Mastermind has contingency `Plan E` ready on hand to extricate himself and his `men` from this perilous situation. Great planning ahead!

No doubt about it- the Matic men are the toughest cookies yet to confront I. Spy. Even the formidible `Superspy` and the `Fantasmagorian` were vulnerable to I. Spy `ploys` as even they were only (very) toughened steel. The Matics take punishment that even six-metre thick casings of Steel would buckle under! They are certainly composed of something...Far! tougher!

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Could be some sort of atomically-fused metal alloy, perhaps [?]

SPARKY issue 353: October 21, 1971.

I SPY and the Return of the MATIC-MEN.....part 4 of 6.

I Spy changes sides!

synopsis:Mastermind relaxes amidst the opulent splendour of Buckingham Palace, as his 'minder' miniarmy of MATIC-MEN ensure that the Palace staff are rendered as mere slaves, to cater to MM's every whim. At SPY HQ, our hero studies x-ray data of the inner-workings of the robots, which reveals they are designed to obey Mastermind's voice only, as well as being totally indestructible. Mastermind craves entertainment, meanwhile, and his favourite football team are sheduled to play a new match......a quick 'phone call to the club chairman reveals the villain's intention to have all players relocated to the Palace lawn..........by sheer brute force, courtesy of the MATICS! As the bewlildered players are manhandled in front of the leering Mastermind, crisis talks at 10 Downing Street are under way......


The PM is clearly downhearted as the Military top-brass advocate removing Mastermind from the Palace by military force, [a pretty pointless notion, as tanks and air-strikes have proved useless] and as I SPY and BOSS arrive, the Whitehall buffers are aghast as our hero reveals hs intention to JOIN the demented Mastermind, in an apparant turncoat manouvere........The PM issues immediate orders for guardsmen to arrest the pair, which is easily dealt with as I SPY'S rotor-powered magnet simply attracts the soldier's weaponry at will, and in no time, our heroes are flying round to instigate a meeting with Mastermind, much to BOSS' chagrin.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Mastermind enjoys a lavish spread far in advance of his recent prison slop:

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

cont: MASTERMIND'S ambitions are curtailed somewhat in this story, it's almost as if his aims of occupying the PALACE are the limit of his personal twisted amusement, a real coup for him against the autorities, who are clearly unable to act and remove him from the highest seat in the land......the sheer satisfaction he enoys in frame one suggests he is contented and fulfilled. Nice 'quickie' shot at SPY HQ, with close-up of the mind-bogglingly complex inner-workings of the Robot's casings, courtesy of a hi-tech X-ray plate.

The enforced football match within the Palace grounds is a typically skewed, eccentric touch, that throws a real spoke into any 'formulaic' scripting, ensuring that this story matches this era's 'every-story-a-one-off' criteria.

A very unusual scene at 10 Downing Street, as the outraged Military Brass witness I SPY'S decision to turn tail and join forces with the enemy within.........the shhh! guy had been branded a wrong-un a few times in the past, but this is the first example of him appearing to 'go over to the other side' simply on his own whim, ......ah, well it is the spying game, and all that.......this story serves up a most unusual story ploy of I SPY supposedly siding with the central villian, and his motives will be revealed shortly.

I SPY'S DEVICES: rotor-elevated power-magnet/ internal rocket.



WHAT IS I SPY UP TO? FIND OUT NEXT WEEK!

[alanultron5]

He's most certainly a Chelsea fan I would venture! (MM)

When in college (1976-77) I mixed with some lads doing Metallurgy a course! They surmised a possible alloy of Tungsten and Titannium could be possible if you could devise the correct catalyst! It is all down to the catalyst I was told. The casings of the Matic's is only a few centimtres thick at best - according to those X rays - so it `ain't steel! Old `Superspy` was close on eight inches thick plating of steel....and look how he ended up!

The one section of ep four I didn't like was the chiefs of HM forces `hamming it up` when discussing modes of tackling Mastermind/Matics. For me; the careful balance of Drama to humour spilled over too much towards the latter! It was the (sad) path the colour series would head down from Dec 1971.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

SPARKY, issue 354, October 30, 1971.


I SPY and the RETURN of the MATIC-MEN, part 5 of 6.

I Spy's plan to beat Mastermind----with a tiny tape-recorder!

synopsis: Mastermind enjoys the macho atmosphere of a football-match between his Robots and English league footballers, just as I SPY and BOSS fly onto the Palace lawn......an alarmed MM orders his robots to obliterate the shhh! guy on sight, but he is saved in the nick of time by a live news TV bulletin deriding our hero as a traitor.......I SPY volunteers to lay down his arms, and offers up his sevices to MASTERMIND'S side of the fence.

Mastermind is amused by this about-turn, after some misgivings, and explains he has no real plan to dominate the World at this stage...he simply wants to live out the idyll of living out his rich man's anarchist fantasies, and illustrates this by ordering 2 MATICS to go to the docks, and comandeer a powerful Super-dredger, which carves a mighty channel straight through the heart of London, simply so Mastermind can enjoy his own private swimming-pool in the grounds!

As another MATIC prepares a cut-out , ready-made pool via a mechanical digger, the villan prepares for a refreshing swim, in his quest for a life of leisure. Turning down the fiend's request to join him for a quick dip, I SPY prepares to rearrange the wording by MM from a micro-sound recording caught during their conversation earlier......a scissors and paste job swiftly alters Mastermind's dialogue to a more desired effect. However, as Mastermind climbs from the pool, I SPY and BOSS are missing, and he angrily orders his Robots to locate them.....

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

more absurd mayhem, as Mastermind orders the construction of his own private reservoir, direct to the Palace:

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

cont: the opening image of the anarchic football mismatch between top English players [score: 17-nil to the Matics, trivia-lovers] is surely one of the most openly comic introductions to the chapters, followed up the hithero-unseen 'surrender' of I SPY to Mastermind, in which our hero's lethal arsenal of weaponry [pivoted machine-gun/shell-blaster] are forfeited, as he apparantly turns to the 'dark side'. This idea harks back, of course, to the idea behind MM's debut appearance of Jan 1970, when he visited SPY HQ, in an attempt to win I SPY over to his own side.....how the tables have turned here!

The extended dialogue between Mastermind and I SPY at the opening of page two is neccessary, of course, to prepare the crux of the plot that will ultimately topple the villain through tape-recording his voice, even if oddly the plot outcome is all but revealed a bit too early on here....


Another elaborate sequence of madcap cartoonery as the mighty Matics dredge out a private channel simply so Mastermind can enjoy a cooling dip is great stuff, and the notion of the villain planning to simply do as he pleases---with absolutely no-one to stop him, thanks to his indestructable Robots-----is an interesting departure, in this swansong offering of this second series.

The story reverts to the 3-page format system for this episode, and though as ambitious as ever, the odd sketchy renditions pop up here and there, possibly due to time constraints foisted upon Brian.


I SPY'S DEVICES: internal rocket-engine/ machine-gun, shell-blaster [surrendered]/ micro pocket-tape-recorder.
scissors and glue [!]


WILL I SPY'S PLAN WORK? Find out next week!

[alanultron5]

What I find most interesting in this episode is-when he believes that I. Spy is `on his side` just how friendly Mastermind is to him! Mr X would `Never` give I. Spy a chance; he would order his death straight off I believe! Mastermind, though quite awful when angry does become a pretty reasonable fellow (by his standards) when things go his way.

Of all the I. Spy stories 1969-71 this one gives you far more coverage of the villians perspective and many fascinating insights into his `psyche`

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

SPARKY no. 355: Nov. 6, 1971.

I SPY and the RETURN of the MATIC-MEN; sixth, concluding, chapter.

THE MATIC-MEN'S LAST FIGHT!


synopsis: MASTERMIND is besides himself with fury, as he orders his powerul Robots to retrieve I SPY and BOSS, who are hiding in the Palace garden undergrowth, where our hero has assembled a doctored tape-recording in which MM's voice is instructing them to obey the voice of I SPY only.......the shhh!-guy instructs the MATICS to manhandle the pair and present them to the villain, who gives the orders to destroy them. Mastermind is clearly perplexed as his orders are met with a stoney silence, topped by I SPY giving the order for the demented one to be booted clean into the swimming-pool!

Fished out of the pool by way of telescopic arm, Mastermind is dressed and manacled by an archaic ball-and-chain, and expecting I SPY to dominate the planet using the Robots under his own control, is crushed and distraught as the order is given for the MATICS to destroy each other: a brief but total fisticuff session sees the proud machines reduced to useless wrecks.

Outside, a WW2-scaled tank-division is sitting, and the military top-brass give the order for MASTERMIND to surrender...this is uneccessary, however, as Mastermind is seen rather sheepishly wheeling out the remains of his prize Robots out of a Palace side-arch. Later, I SPY and BOSS look on, clearly amused as Mastermind [under armed guard this time] is forced to fill in the swimming-pool he created illegally.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

the final episode of the early WALKER-b/w era; and the end of an era within the series in many ways.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

cont: The final episode of the serial----and indeed, this series-----ties all the loose-ends up nicely, with I SPY now in total control of the mighty MATICMEN, thanks to his shrewd voice-recording editing, which completely turns the tail on old M-M [dig that groovy frame where I SPY and BOSS shake hands on this successful wheeze, just in the nick of time!] MASTERMIND is clearly a childish, spoilt brat when things don't go his way......he is totally crushed and devestated as ultimate defeat looms, weeping like a babe in arms, sobbing without shame as his glorious creations destroy each other with abandon. At least MR X had the decency to accept defeat with dignity, simply shrugging off the latest setback, and then licking his wounds, and preparing his next devious enterprize.

Mastermind is also revealed to be extremely intolerable and impatient here, ordering the destruction of I SPY and BOSS simply because they are not present as he returns from his swim.


Typically chaotic I SPY carnage in the shots depicting the demise of the Robots, and though I personally preferred the sleeker MK 1 MATICS of the final BARTON serial, there is no doubt they were a lethal force to be reckoned with, before I SPY got the old scissors and paste out. The final frame depicts a sweating Mastermind filling in the vast hole he has 'vandalized': this actually seems accurate to what would happen if these events happened in real-life, given the lenient 'punishments' doled out by today's slack penal system. Mastermind seems condemned to a lengthy prison sentence again, however.


In many ways, this story sees the last of the truly inventive, OTT 'I SPY' stories: later entries still spun out a bit of the old magic, but in the main, these monochromatic stories served up the pinnacle of invention and imagination that was the phenomenon that was I SPY which, for me at least, evolved and peaked over the period early 1969-late 1971. The series would return before too long in full-colour mode, however most of the stories were considerably shorter [with one or two exceptions] which meant that the sheer scale of epic drama that characterized these early stories became largely a thing of the past. Over time, the concept of the strip would become sadly one-dimensional, but there is no denying that in it's heyday, this strip served up some of the most dynamic imagery and storytelling of it's age.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

cont: The colour stories will be discussed in a new upcoming thread [helmed by Alan, no less, so the subject will be handled by someone who cares about this strip] and I will be chucking my two-bob's worth in, for what it's worth.

[There's also a pretty cool MASTERMIND story coming up in the colour era]: this is not the end of this particular thread, however, as odds-and-ends including the fairly good WALKER SPARKY ANNUAL stories are scheduled for inclusion within this very thread. So it will return again at some stage......


I SPY'S SECRET DEVICES: just the doctored voice-recording and player in this one.