Not Who but Poo...

OK, so now we are getting to the bottom of Who parody here, with Doctor Poo from Monster Fun Comic (1976). Haven´t been able to find any more info about this, more´s the relief.


This image is from the Cuttings Archive.

VIZ magazine did a Doctor Poo story in the June 1996 issue of the comic, and there is a flash animated version online, but I don´t have the sense of humour to look at this any further... if you do a quick web search I´m sure you´ll find it...

The Art of Who (Part 2) : Frank Bellamy

During in the early seventies, one of Britain´s most successful comic artists provided Who illustrations to support the program listings in the Radio Times. Frank Bellamy´s work was made famous to a generation through the Eagle and TV21 comics, among others.

His first Radion Times Who contribution appeared in 10 April, 1971, a two and a half page comic strip introduction (two of which were in full colour) based on episode one of the story ´Colony In Space´ (main frame of which below).


From January, 1972, Bellamy started an intermittent run of small illustrations to accompany the episode details in the magazine, the majority of which were only slightly larger than a postage stamp, appearing throughout the rest of Pertwee´s portrayal of the third Doctor.

However the highlight of this period was his full colour cover illustion for ´Doctor Who - Day of the Daleks´ (RT 1st - 7th January 1972) and now a very collectable issue, if you can find one. He is one of only two artists to illustrate Who covers for the RT (the other being Andrew Skilleter for the ´Five Doctors´ anniversary issue)


With the beginning of Tom Baker regin, larger illustrations accompanied the start of some stories, the last being 'The Planet of Evil' in July 1976, the year in which he died.

His work as 'the' Dr. Who artist was reprinted in a book edited by his son David in "Dr. Who Timeview: The Complete Doctor Who Illustrations of Frank Bellamy”, published by Who Dares in 1985.


You can find listings of his complete works here (from which the following list is edited), and a detailed blog here. There´s not much of his work available online, although a gallery of his dalek illustrations can be seen here.


Doctor and Dalek, for episode 2 of Planet of the Daleks

I haven´t found full page scans from any of the Radio Times issues showing Frank Bellamy´s work in context. It would be a nice collection to have, especially for the larger illustrations, so if anyone has them...

Frank Bellamy Radio Times Doctor Who Illustrations Listing

Colony in Space (10 - 16/04/1971) Page 14 one quarter page B&W comic strip, Doctor, Jo (“What is it?”) & shadowy figure. Pages 53-55 Two full colour pages, Dr (“We´ll just have a look around and then I´ll try and get you back to earth”) & Jo and two-thirds B&W illustration

The Daemons (22 - 28/05/1971) Page 15 B&W Doctor and Jo Grant in Bessie screeching to Devil's End with Miss Hawthorne

Spearhead from space (03 - 09/07/1971) p.41 B&W Doctor
Spearhead from space (10 - 16/07/1971) p.43 B&W Doctor [Reprint of 3-9/7/1971]

The Daemons - omnibus edition (18 - 31/12/1971) p.75 B&W The Master and Doctor

Day of the Daleks (01 - 07/01/1972) Colour cover - Doctor and Daleks

The Curse of Peladon (29/01 - 04/02/1972) p.17 B&W Aggedor
The Curse of Peladon (05 - 11/02/1972) p.15 B&W Alpha Centauri
The Curse of Peladon (12 - 18/02/1972) p.17 B&W Izlyr, the Ice Warrior
The Curse of Peladon (19 - 25/02/1972) p.17 B&W Arcturus
The Sea Devils (04 - 10/03/1972) p.19 B&W The Master
The Sea Devils (11 - 17/03/1972) p.15 B&W submarine
The Sea Devils (18 - 24/03/1972) p.20 B&W Sea Devil
The Sea Devils (25 - 31/03/1972) p.5 & p.19 B&W Doctor [repeated image]
The Sea Devils (01 - 07/04/1972) p. 15 B&W Jo
The Mutants (08 - 14/04/1972) p. 15 B&W spaceship
The Mutants (15 - 21/04/1972) p.17 B&W Jo
The Mutants (22 - 28/04/1972) p. 15 B&W Doctor
The Mutanta (29/04 - 05/05/1972) p.17 B&W The Tardis
The Mutants (06 - 12/05/1972) p.15 B&W guard
The Mutants (13 - 19/05/1972) p. 17 B&W Solonian mutant
Time Monster (20 - 26/05/1972) p. 15 B&W Doctor ¨[Reprint of 22-28/4/1972]
Time Monster (17 - 23/06/1972) p. 17 B&W The Master [Reprint of 4-10/3/1972]

The Sea Devils [Omnibus edition] (16 - 29/12/1972) p.82 B&W Doctor (“The whole place will go up in approximately ten minutes, enjoy your revenge”), the Master and Sea Devil

The Three Doctors (06 - 12/01/1973) p.15 B&W Patrick Troughton
The Three Doctors (13 - 19/01/1973) p.17 B&W William Hartnell
The Three Doctors (20 - 26/01/1973) p.17 B&W Jon Pertwee
The Carnival of Monsters (03 - 09/02/1973) p.13 B&W Pletrac (guard)
The Carnival of Monsters (10 - 16/02/1973) p.15 B&W Drashig
The Carnival of Monsters (17 - 23/02/1973) p.15 B&W Doctor
Frontier in Space (24/02 - 02/03/1973) p.17 B&W Draconian
Frontier in Space (03 - 09/03/1973) p.17 B&W Ogran
Frontier in Space (10 - 16/03/1973) p.15 B&W guard
Frontier in Space (17 - 23/03/1973 p.19 B&W the Master
Frontier in Space (24 - 30/03/1973) p.17 B&W Draconian
Frontier in Space (31/03 - 06/04/1973) p.15 B&W Doctor
Planet of the Daleks (07 - 13/04/1973) p.15 B&W Tardis
Planet of the Daleks (14 - 20/04/1973) p.14 B&W Doctor and Dalek
Planet of the Daleks (21 - 27/04/1973) p.15 B&W Jo and Dalek
Planet of the Daleks (28 - 04/05/1973) p.17 B&W Dalek
Planet of the Daleks (05 - 11/05/1973) p.16 B&W Doctor
Planet of the Daleks (12 - 18/05/1973) p.15 B&W Doctor
The Green Death (19 - 25/05/1973) p.17 B&W Doctor
The Green Death (26/05 - 01/06/1973) p.17 B&W of Jo in miner's helmet
The Green Death (02 - 08/06/1973) p.17 B&W maggots
The Green Death (09 - 15/06/1973) p.15 B&W Doctor and exploding mine mechanism
The Green Death (16 - 22/06/1973) p.17 B&W Jo and maggots
The Green Death (23 - 29/06/1973) p. 19 B&W Doctor and Bessie

Ark in Space [Omnibus edition] (16 - 22/08/1975) p.34 B&W landscape illustration, small snip of Doctor (Tom Baker), the ark, and the Wirrn

Terror of the Zygons (30/08 - 05/09/75) p.6 Two-thirds page colour illustration of the Doctor (“Whe´re dealing with a monstor of no ordinary flesh and blood”) and Loch Ness monster. p.17 B&W Oil Rig illustration to accompany the programme listing

Planet of Evil (27/09 - 03/10/1975) p. 19 Part reprint of Ark in Space 16/08/1975 - 22/8/75

Genesis of the Daleks (20/12 - 02/01/1976) pp 60-61 B&W Landscape comic tryptic - Doctor and Davros and Daleks (below)

The Seeds of Doom (31/01 - 06/02/1976) p. 55 B&W Sarah Jane and The Doctor

The Planet of Evil (03/07 - 09/07/1976) p. 26 B&W landscape illustration

Who in Futurama

Here´s a few more crossover Who ´cartoons´, this time from ´Futurama´ comic and featuring Daleks, cybermen and K9. I´ve collected these from random sources, and can´t remember where, and the only information I have indicates that they are from a Who parody story called ´Doctor What´ which appeared in Futurama comic No 32 (US publication, June 2007) and in No 49 (UK publication, Jan 2008).


There is a short synopsis of the story here. Professor Farnsworth creates the world's greatest porta-potty. When it flushes, it teleports to a random place in space and time. Whilst Farnsworth is being interviewed by ´Straight Poop´, Dr Zoidberg goes into the porta-potty to poke around and ends up breaking the teleports switch...


According to wikipedia, Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons and Fururama, is a Doctor Who fan and one of the main characters in Futurama is named Leela after the Fourth Doctor companion. Not a lot of people know that.

If anyone has scans of the full story please get in touch - I´m not convinced the above panels are all from the same story, or that its the story I´ve identified!

See here for reference to Doctor What from the 1960s.

First Doctor Cartoon - Captain Pugwash?!

Following my last post, I´m wading my way through the Radio Times clippings in the Cuttings Archive (link), and I found something which I´d not seen before, an appearance by the first Doctor, together with a Dalek an Zarbi, in the Captain Pugwash cartoon from the Radio Times (Cover date 27 March to 02 April 1965). This accompanied the screening of episode one of The Crusade.


The frist Who comic strip had appeared in TV Comic in November 1964, so it´s not the first comic appearance of the Doctor, but it maybe the first cross-over appearance, or first ´official´ cartoon appearance if we classify it as such (and seperate from comic strips).

The first ´unofficial´ appearance goes to Boys World magazine, which from May 1964 included a cartoon called ´Doctor What´, a spoof strip in which inventor and William Hartnell impersonator Doctor What gets up to all sorts of trouble.

Does anyone out there has any more first Doctor comic/cartoon information to add to this? I´ll put up more information on Who in comics soon...

The End of Time

Hiya, sorry, I've been a bit busy moving half way across the world and stuff... now back in the UK, re-united with my Who collection (although I have no idea where my TARDIS cookie jar has dematerialised too!) and generally grumbling about the snow and ice.

So for the first time in several years I was able to watch Who live on tellie! No waiting for international download versions or frustrations with broken internet connections... and my how nice it was too.

Generally speaking I was ready for The End of Tennant... as well as Davies. I love them both, and what they have done for Who, but for me it was definately time for a change, and I'm really looking forward to the New Series.

But an excellent two part story with some great moments... Simms must have revelled in the opportunity to create such an unstable and manic Master, if not in stuffing his face with all those burgers. Big thumbs up to one and all.

I'm still a bit confused as to why the Doctor jumped out of an alien spaceship and crashed through the roof before going splat on the floor... did he think he would bounce or something? But anyway, we are used to brushing over such minor details these days. And was Dalton really playing Rassilon? Perhaps some explanation needed there if he was. At whilst we're at it, how did the Master get resurrected with super-powers? Not even a hint of an explanation? Please? However I am sure that all these minor points of detail were detailed in full in the script, but just couldn't be fitted into the show, and I am therefore waiting for the novelisation to explain all. By the way, why is it we don't have any novelisations of New Series Who episodes? Has the Beeb forgetten to flog the rights to these?


There is an excellent detailed review of the 'loose ends' surrounding the story here, as recommended by the one and only combom.

For my money, I like the idea that the 'Woman in White' was the Doctor's mum, but also equally that it's Romana or Susan...(which I hadn't even thought of) so long as the White Guardian is the one pulling the strings behind everything!