Captain Whoosh

Filled with thrilling hyper-drama and derring-do! Marvel at the outragous hi-tech crimes carried out by the incredible Jetpack-man, and his dapper but devious passenger!...these were the winning ingredients that contributed to this 1967 Dandy success, which ran in issues 1342-1359 [numbers dated Aug 12-9 Dec, '67]. CAPTAIN WHOOSH is very much in the energetic vein of the similar-era the Purple Cloud, and is indeed impeccably drawn by the same artist, 60s stalwart DANDY artist Charlie Grigg. Though somewhat scaled-back in comparison to the cloud yarn, it does however share the same sense of wonder as to how everyday mundane life can be turned upside-down by the arrival of determined deviants with unique technology.

The pilot to the arhaic- looking-but-effective jetpack aparatus is sometimes referred in the text strip as the 'Rocket Man', and his sole role in the saga is simply to steer the advanced rocket-pack in and out of the scene of brazen crimes [often in broad daylight, much to the bewilderment of many on-lookers]. The actual brains behind the outlandish crimes is the pilot's passenger: the well-heeled but deviant Alec Smart. Reader identification is embodied in the shape of young Terry Ball, who witnesses and somehow thwarts the outrageous exploits of the airborne villains.

A fine example of this type of 1960s serial mayhem, with the look and ambience of another 1960s DANDY gem along vaguely similar lines [or at least, it also shares MR GRIGG as resident artist]: the Umbrella Men.