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Steed and Ms. King in TV Comic: Story Two

Detail...

Story Two
Issues: 884 to 889, November 23rd to December 28th 1968.  Each part is one page.

Part One - Issue 884 - November 23rd 1968:
EARLY one evening, Steed and Tara King edge through the jostling crowds doing their Christmas shopping in London's West End.  They are heading for Durrbridge's, the large department store.

Written by ?, drawn by Tom Kerr.

Steed admires the work of the deranged toymaker in TV Comic #884Steed and Ms. King are visiting Durridge’s, the large department store at Christmas Time. Tara thinks Steed is going to buy her a present, but he points out that the visit is strictly official. Three high-ranking officers at the Ministry of Defence have vanished into thin air from their offices in Whitehall. Each of them received a visit from a Mr. Spooner from Durridge’s just before they disappeared. Steed wants to investigate the coincidence.

The store is just closing. The duo are pointed towards the model section to find Mr. Spooner, the manager of the toy department. They discover a treasure trove of miniatures. Ms. King exclaims that they are beautiful toys, but an assistant tells her that Mr. Spooner would be upset to hear them called toys, as he builds them himself.

Unseen by the Avengers, they are being watched by an old-fashioned looking old man, who has a camera trained on them. He has an unpleasant surprise planned for any busybodies who want to spy on him.

Part Two - Issue 885 - November 30th 1968:
INVESTIGATING the mysterious disappearance of three senior officers of the armed forces, Steed and Tara King visit a Mr. Spooner, the clever but very strange toy department manager of a big London store...

Written by ?, drawn by Tom Kerr.

The assistant introduces Steed and Tara to the old-fashioned looking old man, who turns out to be Mr. Spooner. He sends the assistant away, saying that he will close the department for the night. Steed congratulates Spooner on the quality of his models. He then asks Spooner why he had visited the three high-ranking officers just before they vanished. Spooner explains that it was to show them an invention of his – but they had laughed at it. It seems to be a toy robot. Spooner asks Steed and Tara to stand to one side while he demonstrates it to them. He flicks a switch on its side and strange rays emanate from it. Inexplicably, the Avengers have been shrunk to a tenth of their original size.

Part Three - Issue 886 - December 7th 1968:
INVESTIGATING the mysterious disappearance of three senior officers of the armed forces, Steed and Tara King interview a Mr. Spooner, manager of the toy department of a big London store.  As he demonstrates a toy robot to them, they are suddenly caught in a strange, pulsating beam of light...

Written by ?, drawn by Tom Kerr.

Steed and Tara realise that they have been greatly reduced in size and make a run for it. Spooner grabs them and drops them into a mouse cage. Inside, they meet the three officers who had gone missing, Brigadier Trudshaw, Admiral Hornbeam and Air Marshall Golightly. They tell Steed that Spooner plans to sell his shrinking ray to a foreign power, and that he has just headed off for their embassy. They need to escape, and Steed has a plan. He gets into the wheel, intended for the mice who would normally inhabit the cage, and asks the military men to pull away the supporting wires on his say so. Blast off!!

Part Four - Issue 887 - December 14th 1968:
WHILE investigating the disappearance of three officers of the armed forces, Steed and Tara King are reduced in size by a fantastic robot, the invention of a Mr. Spooner, manager of the toy department of a large European store.  Imprisoned in a mouse-cage, they find the missing officers, and Steed makes a desperate bid to break out...

Written by unknown, drawn by Tom Kerr and ?.

NOTE – FOR THIS INSTALMENT AND THE NEXT ONE THERE ARE NO CLOSE UP SHOTS OF STEED AND TARA’S FACES.

The wheel goes spinning off and crashes into the glass of the mice cage, smashing it. The miniaturised people see the robot up high on the table, and know that they must reach it if they are to be returned to normal size. Steed suggests that their may be something in the toy department to help them to get up there.

However, as they make their way across the floor, the shop’s cat makes a dramatic appearance, forcing them into a doll’s house. The cat has them cornered, so they escape through the back window and into a model powerboat on an artificial river. Above them, a familiar figure moves into view. Spooner has returned.

Part Five - Issue 888 - December 21st 1968:
STEED, Tara King, and three officer have been reduced in size by a robot, the invention of a Mr. Spooner, manager of a toy department.  While Spooner is away, arranging to sell his terrible invention to a foreign power, they attempt to escape in a model town - but the manager returns...

Written by unknown, drawn by unknown.

Steed, Tara and the three officers jump out of the boat and head for the miniature airfield. Spooner looks on, amused. Air Marshal Golightly jumps into a model fighter plane. Steed hands him a rope and anchor and wishes him good hunting. The Air Marshal takes off and buzzes around Spooner, who, loading a toy gun, says he’ll soon shoot him down. However, the Air Marshal zips round and uses the rope and anchor to snatch Spooner’s glasses off his face, effectively blinding him. Steed and the Brigadier cast marbles off the table and they disorient Spooner enough to send him crashing to the floor, knocking him out.

TV Comic #889, artwork by Tom KerrPart Six - Issue 889 - December 28th 1968:
STEED, Tara King, and three senior officers of the armed forces have been reduced in size by an incredible robot, the invention of a Mr. Spooner, manager of the toy department of a big London store.  They succeed in knocking out the mad manager, but, until they have regained their normal size, danger still threatens...

Written by ?, drawn by Tom Kerr.

Steed and Tara use a model fire engine to help them reach the model robot which contains the shrinking ray. Ms. King uses all her strength to throw the switch on the machine and the weird, pulsating beam of light restores the three men to normal size. Steed restores Ms. King to her former glory. As Spooner comes round, a crash is heard in the background. The cat has knocked over the robot with the shrinking machine inside it, destroying all of Spooner’s work. The next day, Tara marvels with Steed that nobody would be able to believe they had fought a battle in the toy shop, and then insists that he owes her a Christmas present!!


Back to Tara King era TV Comic Index (1-10) on to story number three