The images above show a back, facial close up and front views of a Bugaboo. I hope these views don't revive any childhood nightmares!
See The Victor issues 555 (9th October 1971) to 566 (25th December 1971).
Writer:- The Victor editorial team.
Artist:- Matias Alonso.
Main cast:- Joe Tuck, pilot; Doctor Damory, scientist; Luke Marrakul, aborigine; Police Constable Sammy Casbolt; Captain Geary S.A.S (Australian); Bill Parish, pilot and Tuck's air-freight company partner; Professor Quince.
Time period and location:- Mid 1970's, Daluna, an old mining town in the Gibson Desert, Western Australia.
The term 'bugaboo' is an English/Australian term meaning, a ghost.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we interrupt this radio broadcast to bring you some starling news. This is Oswald Weld reporting live from Perth on the strange spherical objects and bright flashes of light seen in recent weeks in the night skies in the Gibson Desert."
"We have not received any confirmed reports about aliens having landed in the Gibson Desert, but they have already been nicknamed ‘The Bugaboo’. But what if these reports are true and that these aliens do exist? Do they present a potential threat to this country and mankind as a whole? Why have they landed here? The answer could be that these Bugaboo want to make planet Earth their home. Is there room on this planet for two species to live side by side? What happens if this isn't possible?"
"As I am talking to you, I’ve just been handed a further piece of startling news, we have had confirmed reports that the creatures do exist! Two survivors that have faced the Bugaboo have escaped from them and brought back the news, that this is indeed an alien invasion! These creatures are impervious to bullets and other weapons. The Bugaboo far from killing people, are turning human beings into slaves through use of mind control means. These unfortunate people are controlled by the fitting of a metal dome onto the top of their heads."
A projection (holographic picture), of a Bugaboo without its pressure suit. Doctor Damory with a mind cap on the top of his skull.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, as I look out of my broadcasting studio onto the streets of Perth, I can see the streets full of the city's population in cars, trucks, coaches and other manner of transport leaving to travel east. There is no cause for alarm, the police have issued instructions for all citizens not to leave their homes. This will only clog up the main roads, thus preventing the military from reaching the scene and containing the situation."
"I’m now being told that the two men who escaped from the aliens, air-freight pilot Joe Tuck and an Aborigine Luke Marruke have volunteered to go back with a small force of Australian Army Special Air Service (S.A.S.) troops on a secret mission, which it is hoped will stop the Bugaboo. Our thoughts go with them, if they fail, the whole of mankind could be doomed…”
Sadly, as far as I am aware this is the only appearance of the frightening aliens the Bugaboo in The Victor. They would have made great re-occurring villains, a bit like the Daleks. The aliens are fearsome foes, difficult to damage or destroy, armed with a lazer arm and the ability to fly in a hover manner. They control humans by use of a 'think cap' which is attached to the subject's head. The Bugaboo want to live on Earth, but in order to do that they need to change the environment of the planet to suit their needs. The Human Race would die out as a result of the Bugaboo's plans. Luckily, thanks to Joe and his friends they thwart the Bugaboo's invasion plans, but not without the sacrifices of Doctor Damory and Police Constable Sammy Casbolt. These nightmarish creatures are ones I wouldn't want to bump into on a dark and stormy night!
The artist Matias does a good job in the designing of the creatures and they do look frightening with their large rubbery lips and 'Michelin Man' style external pressure suits. Matias drew a number of sci-fi strips for The Victor over the years.The following episodes include the first part of this tense sci-fi drama from issue 555 and from issues 562, 565.
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