Space: 1999 title
With Alan Fennell's previous pedigree in Anderson programs, it was inevitable that when a new one was announced, Fennell would be the first to grab it for a strip. Debuting on the week of the programmes release, or in some areas the week before, Space: 1999 was to become one of Look-in's most popular strips.
The series was about the adventures of a community of people aboard a base on the moon, the base was called Alpha and it looked after the dumping of the Earths nuclear waste amongst other things. When an accident occurs near the waste dumps, it causes a huge explosion, resulting in the moon being blasted out of the Earth's orbit. The inhabitants of Alpha now find themselves trapped on the base, and unable to get back to Earth, and must now embark on a journey to find a new planet on which to settle.
Space: 1999 artwork
Under the guidance of Commander John Koenig (Martin Landau), the Alphans come upon many new life forms and phenomena. The strip in comparison was very good in the main, with some inventive plotlines. It also had the uniqueness of being the only strip to start before the series aired on TV in some regions. With it's pedigree safe in the Anderson stable, this was probably unsurprising.
Partway through the run, the story format changed and a new character was brought in, 'Maya' the shape-changing alien, a few weeks later the second series aired and the reason for this change became apparent, the format of the series had changed, and Maya (Catherine Schell), an alien woman had been brought in to 'Trek' the show up a bit. The second series was disappointing, but the quality remained in Look-in of course!
The strip was written by Angus Allan, and Drawn by John M. Burns, and later by Mike Noble.