Ron Embleton - Captain Scarlet art

Up for sale TOMORROW (2nd July 2025) is the most expensive piece of original art I think I've ever featured on the blog.

You can bid on it here. The opening bid is £11,000 and the auctioneer's estimate is £22,000 - £44,000 - at the time of typing there haven't been any bids but there are plenty of people watching this item.

I'll hopefully be able to report back with the hammer price later on

The lot is described thus...

Artwork by Ron Embleton -

A piece of original production artwork created by acclaimed artist Ron Embleton used in the final end title sequence for each episode of Gerry Anderson's Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.

Ron Embleton (1930-1988) was one of Britain's foremost comic artists. Having illustrated Stingray and Captain Scarlet for TV Century 21, Embleton was chosen to create the definitive credit sequence art for Captain Scarlet, executed at the peak of his commercial work. Each end credit image was hand-painted and shot under a rostrum camera, with pinholes still visible at the corners.

Examples of Embleton's Captain Scarlet credit artwork are rarely offered for public sale. This piece is both a standalone artwork of striking visual drama and a documented artefact of Anderson's legacy, linking live-action puppetry, design, and high-end illustration at a unique cultural moment.

Only ten original paintings were created for the end credits sequence. Each board served as the background for two sets of scrolling credits. This painting is marked as number "10" in the bottom right corner and shows Captain Scarlet mid-stumble, evading a flaming joist as he dodges between barrels marked "HIGHLY INFLAMMABLE".

It is rendered in gouache and watercolour on a Daler board and comes with a separate acetate overlay sheet marked in chinagraph pencil. The overlay shows the camera crop and layout as the now-famous "Filmed in Supermarionation" title appears over this exact image. A paper guard marked "J19" and "J20" in red-coloured pencil is attached to the back of the board. The board's edge exhibits some light wear, and several small pin holes are present in the acetate. Provenance: Ex-Lot 161, TV Generation, Christie's, London, 11 July 2002. Dimensions: 39.5 cm x 54.5 cm x 0.25 cm (15.5" x 21.5" x 0.25")

Mike Noble - prints

I've started (thanks to friend of the blog Bill Storie) showcasing just some of the art of Mike Noble. I've grouped together the images into a number of 'themes'...

Captain Scarlet was here

Look and Learn was here

Look-in was here

Explorer 12 was here

Explorer 12 - Polar mission was here

and now we have a selection of prints... 

Mike Noble - Captain Scarlet

I'm indebted to friend of the blog Bill Storie for sharing his collection of Mike Noble images with me. There's quite a few to go through and I've tried to group them together under a few thematic headings. First up, here's Captain Scarlet...

Century 21 @ the Cartoon Museum, part 2

Now that it's finished I'll share my photos from the recent 'Century 21' exhibition at the Cartoon Museum. 

Part 1 was here

This is part 2, there's more to come!

I looked at Mike Noble prints here

Mike Noble sketch

Double page spread of Ron Embleton's Thunderbirds artwork

art by Bill Mevin (used for a Comics International cover)

UPDATED: Mike Noble prints

This is another of those "I wonder how many of this sort of thing there really are out there?" posts...in this case it's limited edition prints by Mike Noble. 

I saw these images on eBay a while back and snagged them for posterity. So, the question is are there more prints out there that I should be aware of...

Thanks to the good folks on the TV CENTURY 21 and COUNTDOWN - Adventure in the 21st Century... Facebook page we can now add the following images to Mike's output

Mike Noble prints

This is another of those "I wonder how many of this sort of thing there really are out there?" posts...in this case it's limited edition prints by Mike Noble. 

I saw these images on eBay a while back and snagged them for posterity. So, the question is are there more prints out there that I should be aware of...

Captain Scarlet - collector's edition

A cover gallery to celebrate completing my collection of 'Captain Scarlet - collector's edition', published by Redan.

Going for gold and Snow Shock are the 2 stories

Cover by Andrew Skilleter; 2 strips Labyrinth and The spider's web

Cover by Andrew Skilleter; 2 strips Grandmaster [illustrated by John Cooper] and Satellite 4

Andersonic issue 23 is now out!

Here's the cover of ace Century 21 fanzine, Andersonic...

Contents include...

Ayshea Brough interview - Ayshea talks about her time working on UFO. 

Archive - In 1993 Chris Drake interviewed Gerry Anderson for his book 'UFO & Space: 1999'. In the third part of this interview Gerry talked candidly about the making of Captain Scarlet. 

Alan Shubrook -  Alan writes about the recent demolition of the Century 21 studios in Slough and also shares his thoughts on working on Captain Scarlet. 

Captain Scarlet Comics of the 90s  - Graeme Bassett writes about his work on Alan Fennell's comic revival of the early 1990s .

The A-Z of Stingray - Essential marine facts for the aquanaut of tomorrow - today!

Space: 1999 - a critique of End of Eternity with the emphasis on Ray Austin's direction.

The Protectors - Mike Coldwell casts an eye over Shadbolt  

Watching the Watchers - A look at Granada's Supermarionation transmission history of the 60s and 70s.

Captain Scarlet -  'Point 783' - two writers slug it out over this popular episode.

Merchandise Reviews - we review recent CDs and books. Plus 'Things You Do (when you're a fan)', news of an upcoming UFO convention and some other stuff. 

The issue comprises 44 pages with colour inner & outer covers.

It's now available via the website www.andersonic.co.uk (and eBay for a short period in the Collectibles > SF > Thunderbirds section); if you'd prefer to pay by cheque, please get in touch for the new postal address. Back issues are also (mostly) in print. Cost (including UK postage) is an incredibly low £2.90.

So what exactly is Andersonic?
It's an A5 paper fanzine which covers the films and television series of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Each issue contains features and articles which explore and discuss their many series, from the black and white Supercar and Fireball XL5, 60s series Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 and The Secret Service; the live-action series UFO and Space:1999 and later stuff such as Terrahawks and right up to date with New Captain Scarlet. In previous issues we have also covered the films Doppelganger and Into Infinity. We have featured interviews with, amongst others, Mike Trim, Dominic Lavery, Shaun Whittacker-Cook, Jan King, Robert Easton, Tony Harding and Mike Noble.