#menoptera

doctor who daily challenge (first doctor edition)

day nine: least favourite stories

Doctor Who Annual 1966

On the back cover, the First Doctor was originally drawn to look younger, only to be covered with a more accurate illustration. The original illustration was reminiscent of how he was depicted in the Cadet sweet cigarettes cards:

Excerpt From: Paul Magrs. “The Annual Years.” iBooks.

This beautiful piece of artwork from the original Doctor Who Annual Cover 1965. Published by World Distributors. This piece used to hang on the wall of the company Directors office but an order was given, when the company ceased in 1990, to skip all the artwork archive.

This original cover was rescued by one of the World Distributors employees and kept safe for the last 17 years.

Very proud to be the owner of this iconic original piece. For me this is the Holy Grail of Dr Who artwork and captures the vibe of an exciting 1960’s adventure series, with it’s slightly scary lead character.

For it’s age, it looks remarkable. The colours are so vibrant for something that’s over 50 years old. It’s a gem.

According to artist Stanley Freeman who worked at World Distributors, it was him who created the cover art.

“Stanley Freeman is a graphic artist and designer with some fifty years in the business.  In early 1964, he created the cover for the first Doctor Who Annual, until now generally credited to Walter Howarth.”

“This chat, about a new programme called Doctor Who, consisted of mention of a time machine in the form of a police box, some robots and Menoptera (half butterfly-half man).   A photo of William Hartnell to follow in the post.

I must admit my memory is a bit woolly on the sub-cast on the cover. I don’t think at that time the Beeb had actually started filming [stories with some of the figures on the cover] and there may have even been a ‘chicken or egg situation’. I am certain I invented the Menoptera from the phrase 'half man, half butterfly’ in that phone call with nothing else to go on. I never did see the creature later as I didn’t have a television. They were all kept vague and small in the artwork without much definition because of lack of info about their looks or function. I’ve never heard the other names [of the Zarbi and the Voord]. 

This would be in early 1964, and I spent the next few lunch times looking for pictures of a police box in the back street book shops of the city of Manchester, before putting together a largely guesswork annual cover artwork ”

“What is in the centre of the web, hmm?”