A recent Phantasmagoria Special Edition focuses on Doctor Who‘s only big screen outings to date – the 1960s Dalek films.
Back in 1965 and 1966, the British studio AARU Productions, a subsidiary of Amicus, fronted by Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg, produced two films – Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. – both starring horror movie icon Peter Cushing as crackpot inventor “Dr. Who” and directed by Gordon Flemyng, based on Daleks’ creator Terry Nation’s scripts for the popular BBC television series, Doctor Who.
“Dalekmania” was sweeping the nation: the Skaro-based monsters had become a cultural phenomenon.
The tenth Phantasmagoria Special Edition, available from the official web site and AmazonUK (Affiliate Link) celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of the Daleks in the movies – alongside their multiple appearances across all other media throughout the resulting decades, featuring contributions from some of the cast and writers of the famous TV show and other very well-known genre names.
Phantasmagoria first appeared in 2017, the debut issue landing on Hallowe’en of that year. Inspired by the British genre publications of the 1970s, ’80s and early-’90s, its ethos has always been to celebrate horror, fantasy and science fiction in its many varying forms, paying tribute to the masters of the past whilst looking ahead to the future.
The magazine has recently been nominated for two Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards, including Best Magazine 2025 and Best Cover of 2025.
In 2019, the spin-off Special Edition Series was launched, each volume focused on a specific genre writer or theme. Special Editions so far have been dedicated to R. Chetwynd-Hayes, The Lovecraft Squad series of books edited by Stephen Jones, M.R. James, Ramsey Campbell, Karl Edward Wagner, Brian Lumley and Fantasy Tales.
Contributors to Phantasmagoria have included such highly respected names in the field as (in alphabetical order) Clive Barker, Ramsey Campbell, Neil Gaiman, Stephen Jones, Stephen King, Joe R. Lansdale, Samantha Lee, Thomas Ligotti, Alison Littlewood, Brian Lumley, Graham Masterton, Michael Moorcock, Kim Newman, David J. Schow, David A. Sutton and Steve Rasnic Tem, along with many others, alongside artwork by the likes of Randy Broecker, Dave Carson, Les Edwards, Stephen E. Fabian, Allen Koszowski, David Lloyd, Jim Pitts, Roberto Segate, Andrew Smith, and more.
“Trevor Kennedy is an incredible publisher and deserves enormous respect for everything he has done with Phantasmagoria,” enthuses author and c ontributor Chris McAuley. “His dedication, enthusiasm, and belief in the material shine through in every issue.”
• Phantasmagoria Special Edition Series #10: The Daleks in the Movies! 60th Anniversary is available from the official web site | AmazonUK (Affiliate Link) | Amazon.com
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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: Doctor Who, downthetubes News, Film, Other Worlds, Science Fiction
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