Prepare to add some Doctor Who books to your collection! An omnibus of short stories will shortly be landing in the Whoniverse, courtesy of Terraqueous Distributors.
This is certainly an exciting new release. In fact, it’s several releases: several Doctor Who books in one. Terraqueous Distributors, who have previously released the 1972, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1997 and 2074 Doctor Who annuals have compiled all of these books into one super-volume, titled Monsters from Outer Space. Or, less poetically, The Second Unofficial Doctor Who Omnibus.
This is a gargantuan compendium of stories which spans an impressive 492 pages. It contains all the stories and artwork from the aforementioned Doctor Who books, so if you’ve never read them before, this is a great time to jump on board.
Of course, if you already own these Doctor Who books, you may be wondering why you should invest in an omnibus. Well, Monsters from Outer Space also contains a number of intriguing exclusives, the first of which is a Davros tale penned by award-winning writer Chris McAuley and Davros himself Terry Molloy, with illustrations by Alister Pearson.
There is also a comic strip written by Philip Martin, which is illustrated by Martin Baines. Philip Martin, of course, was one of the classic series writers who penned ‘Vengeance on Varos‘ for the Sixth Doctor and created the oleaginous, slug-like monster Sil. This comic strip acts as a prequel to the spin-off film Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor, which was produced independently and is available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray.
(C) Reeltime Pictures
And like all good Doctor Who books, there is of course a choice of covers. One of these is dedicated to the late William Russell, who played the First Doctor’s companion Ian, and who recently passed away.
This cover will also be familiar to those of you who have seen the classic Doctor Who story ‘The Chase.’ In the adventure, Ian is reading a book titled Monsters from Outer Space, and the cover has been specially recreated for this omnibus edition.
“All of you would have noticed that COVER-B of Monsters from Outer Space features some quite strange little creatures on it,” says Mark from Terraqueous Distributors. “That is because while watching the William Hartnell story ‘The Chase’ as part of my Doctor Who 60th Anniversary viewing marathon, I was drawn to the book Ian Chesterton was reading, while sat in the TARDIS.
“I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to make the book that Ian is reading a reality. The then-BBC art department simply pasted new imagery over an existing cowboys and Indians children’s book.
“So I had to do more, and really bring that book into the Doctor’s universe. So those weird little one-eyed creatures are obviously the mythical bogeymen used by adults to frighten Gallifreyian children into good behaviour – named the Toclafane.
“At the time of recreating the cover, I had no idea that Ian would soon embark on the final mysterious adventure we all must eventually go on. William Russell, the great actor and original beloved crew member of the ship TARDIS had passed away. So I dedicate COVER-B, and the Toclafane short stories within this book, to him.”
And if you’re watching the pennies and don’t wish to repurchase some Doctor Who books you already own, there is also a more slender edition to choose from. This is a 54 page publication and just includes the new content. Mark explains: “For those of you who have been collecting the Terraqueous annuals for the past five years, you can still get the new content, without having to spend money on content you already own.”
It’s also worth mentioning that all of these Doctor Who books are not-for-profit, and none of the money made goes to the publisher or any of its contributors.
And speaking of the publisher, you might want to join Terraqueous Distributors’ official Facebook group to chat about this and other Doctor Who books, and meet like-minded fans. Stay tuned to this group for details on how to buy this latest release, which will be published on Lulu.
Monsters from Outer Space, or The Second Unofficial Doctor Who Annual, is set to be released on the 29th June at the print-on-demand price of £30.69, plus shipping costs. The more slender volume is expected to cost around £12.
In the meantime, tell us: have you read any of these Doctor Who books before? If so, which is your favourite? And which of the new stories are you most excited to dive into? Let us know in the comments below.
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