Saturday, August 13, 2016

A Month of... Board Games! Day 13: Troy Tempest in a Teapot


Stingray! Hey, Stingray, everybody!


Panel from "Family Matters! Chapter Three: Pursuit!" in Marvel Comics Presents #55 (July 1990), script by Len Wein, pencils by Jim Fern, inks by Mike deCarlo, colors by Brad Vancata, letters by Tim Harkins

Oh. Wait, according to my extensive Twitter feedback, I've picked the wrong Stingray.


Yes! This is the right one. The adventures of Troy Tempest, Phones, Marina, "Sam" Shore, Oink, Flipper, Ariel the Mermaid, Dolphin, Mark Harris, Unga Khan, and Dory! All of them teamed together to form the international agency known as WASP!


Panel from the Quicksilver story "The Wasp" in National Comics #67 (Quality, August 1948), pencils and inks by Bill Quackenbush; as reprinted in The Flash (1959 series) #214 (April 1972)

Hah! Betcha thought that was gonna be a panel of Janet van Dyne!

Actually, Toy Trempest, Namor and the rest all worked the World Aquanaut Security Patrol, probably because the acronym FISH had already been taken by the Fiendish Industrial Shellfish Hegemony (see Aquaman and the Untouchables #21 (April 1968) "Aquaman Gets Canned!"). Still, in their off-hours in Stingray HQ at Marineville (not makin' that one up), Troy and his pals John Horatio Fishstick and Lieutenant Atlanta "Attacks" Shore no doubt enjoyed stretching out with some Cherry Shasta, Utz Potato Chips and Helluva Clam Dip and playing a few relaxing games like Marinopoly, Cards Against Humidity, or Go to the Head of the School of Fish. And this one, too!

"Mission: Rescue Marina" in TV [Century] 21 Stingray Special (City Magazine Ltd., 1965)
(Click picture to Moby-size)


Yes, Stingray! Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation show that brought us the thrilling, vaguely fishy adventures of Oink the Sea!


It's a Sealy Posturepedic Morning!

On the other hand, it's the show that brought us the beauteous Marina (long before her ill-fated romance with Namor!)


So let us salute the romantic crush we all have on a puppet! The one who isn't Miss Piggy.


1 comment:

Blam said...

Ah, Stingray. I have a soft spot for second-string (to be generous) '70s Marvel characters like him who were more occasional supporting cast that wormed through books like Two-in-One and Super-Villain Team-Up than headliners.