Released late last year by BBC Audio, Doctor Who: The Vampire Plants & Other Stories offers a quartet of fabulous stories based on vintage comic strips from the Doctor Who annuals published by World Distributors, featuring the Second, Third and Fourth Doctors.
Jon Culshaw, Katy Manning and Matthew Waterhouse read this quartet of tales, adapted by Paul Magrs from comic strips first published in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mike Collins provided the cover art, providing the characters featured as spearate layers, and, quite unconsciously (until I mentioned it to him), the art pays homage the wonderful Weetabix Doctor Who promotion of the same era, drawn by Gordon Archer.
(It’s not the first time that promotion has been inspiration for more recent Doctor Who releases. Back in 2020, Big Finish came up with an absolutely inspired promotion for their Doctor Who audio dramas Out of Time, in a similar vein).
Paul Magrs tells us he was delighted with the final release, so, you have to wonder if more adaptations in the same vein are in the works – stories from the TV Comic “Doctor Who” archives, perhaps?
The release has also been well received, despite the source material. “These Audio Annuals are oddities,” notes David Mullen over at Doctor Who Companion, but adds “If you like an accessible and easy-to-follow set of short stories on audio, please do give these a go! Despite what the source material and first appearances suggest, these are actually a lot of fun to listen to, and have been well crafted: these are not lazily thrown-together releases.”
The Original Stories
In “The Vampire Plants“, a story adapted from the Doctor Who Annual 1970 (published in late 1969), read by Jon Culshaw, the Second Doctor and Jamie discover strange goings-on in a Venusian colony, where Dr Vane’s space seedlings appear to be at the heart of the matter.
The artist on the original strip is uncredited, the artwork copying much from an earlier SF strip, “Rockingham’s Tree” drawn by Ron Embleton, published in the short-lived 1950s Spaceman: Comic of the Future, starring Bill Merrill of the Scientific Investigation Bureau. With assistance from Andrew Darlington, Lee Moone and Shaqui le Vesconte, Paul Scoones provides more background here on his blog, and has identified the artist as Marvelman creator Mick Anglo.
Featured in Spaceman No. 11, dated 20th January 1954, published by the Gould-Light Company, offering “Thrilling Science Stories, “Rockingham’s Tree: A Bill Merrill Story”, by Ron Embleton, centres on a perambulating tree from Mercury that escapes from the Botanical Gardens to hide in Epping Forest. The issue also features “Captain Future: A Ship From The Void Of Space” (story and art by Norman Light), in which a dying telepathic alien, Vlazi, requests Future’s help to stop planet Icarus falling into its Sun; and “Space Route: Saturn” (Terry Patrick) featuring Jim Black, enemy Martians and a plurainium cargo from Jupiter.
As we’ve previously noted, this wasn’t the first time Bill Merrill was given a strange new lease of life, either. As Steve Holland notes here on Bear Alley, Mick Anglo redrew a number of the stories while packaging titles for little known publisher John Spencer & Co.
In “Menace of the Molags” (from the Doctor Who Annual 1974, published in September 1973), read by Katy Manning, a huge spaceship fills the sky above London. Inside it the Third Doctor and Jo meet some familiar looking aliens.
“Menace of the Molags” was drawn by Steve Livesey, who also drew “Time Thief” for the same annual. Other contributors to the same annual included Edgar Hodges and Paul Crompton.
“After the Revolution” (from the Doctor Who Annual 1975, published in September 1974), read by Katy Manning, takes Jo and the Third Doctor to Freedonia, known for its beautiful utopian city. But things have changed for the worse since the Doctor was last there…
“After the Revolution” was drawn by Edgar Hodges, born in Bolton in 1928, who displayed such talent that aged 13 he won a scholarship to art school, having to leave at 16 to support his widowed mother and sisters.
A feature for the Lancashire Evening Post by Henry Widdas, published in 2020, notes many of his paintings became ‘Whitman’ train jigsaws, huge sellers in the 1970s, and cards for companies, including Hallmark. (There are some examples here).
He is perhaps best known for his work on the Thomas the Tank Engine novels. Copies today fetch up to £100 in mint condition. He also provided art for the Dalek Annuals.
Interviewed in 2008, he told James Gratton he had a choice in subjects illustrated at World Distributors. “The studio manager and I had been great friends for years – Mr Ron Smethurst – who was a brilliant illustrator in his own right, so his knowledge of myself and of course the other artists told him who would enjoy which subject or character the most and therefore give of their best.”
His work for World included art on other annuals such as Dad’s Army”, Daktari. Tarzan, Mork and Mindy, Metal Mickey, Space:1999. The Man from Uncle”, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible and many more.
Finally, “Plague World” (from the Doctor Who Annual 1982, published in late 1981), read by Matthew Waterhouse, is the destination for the Fourth Doctor, Adric and K9, when they find an Earth colony, abandoned and left to its own devices – with terrible consequences.
“Plague World” was written by Clive Hopwood and drawn by M.K. Powell, also created as Mel Powell in the Doctor Who Annual 1980 (drawing “Terror on Xaboi”), who replaced Glenn Rix as resident artist on the Doctor Who Annual 1985. He also contributed to Doctor Who – Adventures in Time and Space, published in 1981.
He also contributed to the 1967 Marvel Story Book Annual, also published by World Distributors, working in concert with the American company Western Publishing.
While “Plague World” might seem like a very short revisit to the themes of the TV story State of Decay, according to The Completely Useless Encyclopedia by Chris Howarth and Steve Lyons, published in 1996, it’s a thinly disguised attack on World Distributors. They note: “On the planet Publius, the villainous Bemar (a partial anagram of World editor Mae Broadley) sucks the life force from people like Auctor and Stylo (meaning ‘writer’) to feed the Druden (meaning ‘five’, as did Pentos, the name of World’s parent company). Even the title is only just subtle enough for staff writer Clive Hopwood to get away with it.”
Head downthetubes for…
Paul Magrs was born in 1969 in the North East of England. He has written numerous novels and short stories for adults, teens, children and Doctor Who fans. He teaches Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University
Working as a storyboard artist for TV and film, Mike is perhaps most associated with the characters from BBC’s Doctor Who since the TV show’s triumphant return. He has the longest uninterrupted run as artist on the strip in Panini’s Doctor Who Magazine, and pencilled the debut stories of the first three of the new Doctors. He illustrated two successful BBC original Doctor Who graphic novels
• Mass Movement Review by Tim Cundle
• The Doctor Who Companion Review by David Mullen
THE ORIGINAL COMICS: LINKS
Researching and writing, mainly about Doctor Who. Paul is author of The Comic Strip Companion – a series of guide books charting the chronological history of Doctor Who in comics, beginning with their origins in 1964. The Comic Strip Companion: the Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who in Comics: 1964 – 1979 is available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
• Paul Scoones: The Comic Strip Companion – Information Page
• TSV Magazine: The Annuals – A Collector’s Guide – By Paul Scoones
THE STRIPS
• TARDIS Wiki: The Vampire Plants
• Grand Comics Database: Spaceman comic
• Tom Brevoort: Marvel Story Book Annual Posts
• Science Fiction Encyclopedia: Spaceman
• TARDIS Wiki: Menace of the Molags
• There are a couple of the public domain Spaceman comic on Comic Book +
• TARDIS Wiki: After the Revolution
THE ARTISTS: EDGAR HODGES
• Sodor Island: An Interview with Edgar Hodges
• Comic Art Fans: Art by Edgar Hodges
AND FINALLY…
• Doctor Who Merchandise Guide: Weetabix Doctor Who Boxes and Replica Cards
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
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.
Categories: Audio, British Comics, Comics, Creating Comics, Digital Media, Doctor Who, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds, Science Fiction, Television
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