First Light: The Science Fiction Art of Alex Storer

By John Freeman on December 10, 2025 • ( 0 )

Alex Storer has been creating striking visions of distant worlds, future civilisations, and imagined frontiers for over fifteen years and has just published First Light, a splendid collection of his personal pieces and professional commissions, all neatly wrapped up with supporting text by science fiction aficionado and member of the British Interplanetary Society, Richard Hayes.

First Light: The Science Fiction Art of Alex Storer - Cover

Alex’s work blends the spirit of classic science fiction art with a modern digital aesthetic, capturing both the wonder and the mystery of what lies beyond.

First Light brings together, for the first time, the very best of Storer’s personal creations alongside a selection of his professional book cover illustrations. Each image reflects a fascination with exploration, possibility, and stories that connect humanity to the stars.

This collection is both a visual odyssey and an invitation to step into the light of new worlds.

Alex Storer is a Sheffield-born graphic designer, illustrator, musician, and occasional writer with a lifelong passion for music, Doctor Who, and science fiction.

In 2016, he published Sound, Vision, Inspiration, a tribute to David Bowie, followed by Growing Up with the Music of Peter Gabriel – later revised as Input/Output (2024).

His love of Doctor Who led to Evolution of the Toy Dalek, published by Telos Publishing earlier this year, the first book to explore the history of Dalek toys and models from the 1960s to present day.

His latest title, Blackpool Remembered, co-authored with John Collier, celebrates the iconic Doctor Who exhibition that ran from 1974 to 1985. Blending nostalgia with detailed research and vibrant designs, Alex’s writing reflects his creative background and passion for fan culture.

In 2012, Alex was invited to be first honorary interstellar musician and artist for the Initiative for Interstellar Studies, and has since released three albums in support of the Initiative.

“With a life-long passion for immersing himself in science fiction, Alex Storer became captivated by the visionary space art of the 1970s and 80s with its powerful images of travel to other planets and times,” Richard Hayes notes in his introduction to this new book. “He uses his talent to develop those themes into ever more fascinating and evocative pictures of the cosmos.

“As a professional graphic designer with a background in fine art and traditional hand-rendered illustration, Alex’s style and technique are immediately identifiable. Dramatic scenes of other worlds, views of interplanetary and interstellar spaceflight which may yet come to fruition, and haunting visions that seem to come from the deeper recesses of the mind, all have a strong emotive impact and remain in the memory.”

• First Light: The Science Fiction Art of Alex Storer is available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

• Alex Storer is online at thelightdreams | Facebook | Instagram

• Evolution of the Toy Dalek: Collecting Through The Ages by Alex Storer (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)

Evolution of the Toy Dalek: Collecting Through The Ages by Alex Storer (Telos Publishing, 2025)

One of the most iconic creations to come out of the BBC’s cult television show Doctor Who is the Dalek. Its deceptively simple shape, movement and voice have beguiled fans since the very start, and it wasn’t long before the merchandisers came on board and started to produce Dalek toys in a variety of shapes and sizes, and with variable features and functions from push and go, to voice activated.

Dalek enthusiast Alex Storer takes us on a fan and collector’s journey through the multitude of Dalek toys which have been produced over the years. From the early days of Louis Marx and Selcol in the 1960s, to the modern Character Options variants, every type of toy Dalek is pictured and discussed. This is not an exhaustive catalogue or a guidebook, but an enthusiastic and appreciative love letter to the toy Dalek, explaining the challenges and elements of their construction, and how these changed as technology grew more sophisticated.

With interviews and input from many of those who were involved in the creation, design, manufacture and marketing of the toys, this book is a gloriously designed and illustrated celebration of the Dalek in miniature form.

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.