Terry and the Gunrunners
Terry and the Gunrunners is a book by New Zealand authors Bob Kerr and Stephen Ballantyne.
The authors created the comic book Terry and the Gunrunners in 1982 as part of a series that also included Terry and the Yodelling Bull (1986) and Terry and the Last Moa (1991).
The comic was a considerable local success, selling over 20,000 copies and eventually the character achieved a cult status as a retro-icon with imagery being used by graphic T-shirt companies.
Plot
The story is about Terry Teo the skateboarding schoolboy who is the hero of the story. Along with his martial arts expert sister Polly, he takes on the notorious gunrunner Ray Vegas and his henchmen, Bluey and Curly. The bright colours and crazy sets help to recreate the story's comic book origins.
Adaptations
In 1985 it was made into a popular children's television series starring Adrian Bell as Terry Teo and including many stars such as; Michael Bentine (from the Goons), ex-NZ Prime Minister Rob Muldoon, and comedian Billy T. James amongst others. The theme song was composed by Don McGlashan. The series is hosted online at NZ On Screen.
In the 1980s, the story was also adapted into a stage show accompanied by the Auckland philharmonic orchestra.
On 11 October 2013 it was announced that NZ On Air had funded a new series to be made by Semi-Professional Pictures for TV2.[1]
References
- Bob Kerr's bio on the NZ Book Council website
- Note in "Comics in Australia and New Zealand", viewable on Google Books
- TV series entry on BFI