''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 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

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. The book was reissued in 2015 to tie in with the new version of the TV series.

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 Michael Bentine, (born Michael James Bentin; 26 January 1922General Register Office for England and Wales – Birth Register for the March Quarter of 1922, Watford Registration District, Reference 3a 1478, listed as "Michael J. Bentin", mother ...

(from the Goons), ex-NZ Prime Minister

Rob Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...

, and comedian Billy T. James amongst others. The theme song was composed by

Don McGlashan Donald McGlashan (born 18 July 1959) is a New Zealand composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist who Is best known for membership in the bands Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, and The Mutton Birds, before going solo. He has also composed for ci ...

. 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. In 2016,

Gerard Johnstone Gerard Johnstone is a New Zealand screenwriter and director. He is known for the comedy sitcom series ''The Jaquie Brown Diaries'' and the horror films '' Housebound'' and ''M3GAN''. Early life and career Johnstone was born in Invercargill, Ne ...

released ''Terry Teo'', a reboot of ''Terry and the Gunrunners''.

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
New Zealand comics titles Comics adapted into television series Television shows based on comics New Zealand children's television series 1980s New Zealand television series 1985 New Zealand television series debuts {{comics-stub