TV Century 21 material associated with Anderson's work. In 1965, the Supermarionation TV series "Stingray" (1964 – 65), which followed the underwater adventures of Troy Tempest and the World Aquanaut Security Patrol (WASP), was given with its own comic. The first issue of "TV Century 21" was published on 23 January 1965, capitalising on the popularity of the latest Gerry Anderson-produced TV series. In contrast with "TV Comic", which was a traditional strip comic, "TV Century 21" was conceived as a newspaper for children with a front page containing "Stop press"-style news items and photographs. Although production on "Supercar" (1961 – 62) and
Gerry Anderson space adventure "Fireball XL5" (1962). At the time it was the company's biggest success, garnering the honour of being the first Anderson series sold to an American TV network, NBC-TV. Around this time, Anderson also saw his Supermarionation style attract imitators—most notably "Space Patrol", which used similar techniques and was made by several former employees and associates of Anderson, including Arthur Provis and Roberta Leigh. After the completion of "Fireball XL5", Lew Grade offered to buy AP Films. Although Anderson was initially reluctant, the deal eventually went ahead, with Grade becoming the managing director, and the Andersons, Hill, and Read