to be recognisable by their pigmentation". Cull, by contrast, considers the series largely progressive on the subject of race, arguing that it rejects negative stereotyping through the use of "positive non-white characters" such as Kyrano and Tin-Tin. However, he deems many of the one-off villains derivative, commenting that these characters are typically presented as "corrupt businessmen, spivs and gangsters familiar from crime films". Various commentators—including Bignell, Cull and O'Brien—have also discussed Thunderbirds as a product of the Cold War era. Bignell comments that the Hood's Oriental appearance and mysterious powers draw parallels with James Bond villains and fears of China operating as "a 'third force' antagonistic to the West". Cull observes that, despite the series' focus on the dangers of nuclear technology, the Thunderbird machines contradict this particular theme: in their case, "an image of technology associated with the threat of Cold War mass destruction—the rocket emerging from the hidden silo—was appropriated and deployed to save life rather than to take it." He argues that the series adheres more closely to cultural norms by drawing on the "Cold War cult of the secret agent whose skills defend the home from enemies unknown", noting Lady Penelope's role as a spy in addition to two episodes ("30 Minutes After Noon" and "The Man from MI.5") that are heavily influenced by the James Bond novels and film adaptations. The series' presentation of smoking was the subject of a study published in the medical journal Tobacco Control in 2002. Despite identifying examples in 26 episodes, Kate Hunt of the University of Glasgow concluded that Thunderbirds does not actively promote smoking—a view opposed by the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation (RCLCF) at the time of the series' relaunch on BBC2. Rejecting the RCLCF's proposal that the remastered episodes be edited to digitally erase all visible cigarettes and cigars, the BBC stated that the series "does not glorify or encourage smoking" and described the activity as "incidental to the plot". During a 2001 exhibition dedicated to the series, Masaaki Hirakata, curator at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, likened Thunderbirds to "a modern sci-fi expression of bunraku, which probably explains why it was accepted so readily [in Japan]". Merchandise A comic strip featuring the characters of Lady Penelope and Parker debuted in the early issues of the children's weekly TV Century 21 in 1965. A full-length Thunderbirds strip appeared a year later, after which the Lady