Just what the Doctor ordered...

I have never shied away from the fact I am a life long Doctor Who fan. Ever since the early 1980's when WGBH Channel 2 Boston started playing them around 7PM in the evening (I think) I have been hooked on the show.

 

I look at it this way. You either love the show or you just don't get it. I love the show.

 

Recently, my wife Syd had found a Groupon to go to Super Mega Fest in Marlborough Massachusetts. One of the guests at the show was going to be Sylvester McCoy. Which some of you might know as Radagast the Brown.

 

But the rest of us Doctor Who fans know as The Seventh Doctor.

 

Well, we got the Groupon. How many chances does one get in one's lifetime to meet an actor who portrayed a character you enjoyed greatly.

 

I decided to present Sylvester with an original illustration. But I decided to do it with a twist. Back in the day there was a novel in the Doctor Who New Adventure line which had #7 crossing paths with Sherlock Holmes.

 

And I read recently, Big Finish Productions was to do an audio adaption of said novel with Sylvester McCoy portraying his incarnation of the Doctor.

 

So I decided to use that as the basis of my illustration.

 

Having Holmes and Watson entering the Doctor's TARDIS. I also used the TARDIS console room from the 1996 Paul McGann movie because he had stated in past interviews it being a favorite of his.

 

I finished the piece, framed and matted it and Syd and I gave it to him at Super Mega Fest.

 

And what might have helped him accepting the piece is he liked my hat. Which was the first comment he made when I walked over. Probably grinning like an idiot.

 

For those of you non-Doctor Who fans to understand. For me, this was like meeting William Shatner and Mark Hamill in person.

 

Later in the day I won some swag in Nerd Trivia because I knew Luke Skywalkers nickname on Tatooine and who was the artistic team who created Captain America...

 

...and just in case you didn't know the answers were Wormie and Joe Simon and Jack Kirby respectively. You don't know how many people said Stan Lee. Although, he did help to create half if not most of the Marvel Universe. However, he did not create Captain America.

SPECIAL AUCTION!! Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor and The Valeyard SIGNED PRINT!!

If you missed out on the last print auction, here's another opportunity to bid on a ONE OF A KIND print!!

You are bidding on a color print featuring the Seventh Doctor and the Valeyard. Although the Seventh Doctor never officially faced his evil future on television, this particular image was inspired by Robert Perry and Mike Tucker's novel MATRIX originally published by BBC Books. This story would have taken place after the television episode SURVIVAL.

 

I had decided to give the Seventh Doctor a new look inspired heavily by the way Lee Sullivan illustrated him in the BBCi webcast DEATH COMES TO TIME.

 

Although the stiff collar, spats and question mark on his lapel were my invention. The choice of dark reds for the Valeyard was to have him lurking in the shadows. Which he did for most of Perry and Tucker's novel. If you have not read it, I high recommend you try and find a copy!!

 

The print itself will measure 11x17 and will be printed on high quality glossy cardstock. What makes both the auction and this particular print unique is once it's sold I WILL NOT BE MAKING another copy of it. There will be only one copy of this print made. Once the winning bid has been made, ONE COPY of the print will be made SIGNED PERSONALLY to the winning bidder and dated.

 

After that, the original digital file of the image will be deleted. Making this color print ONE OF A KIND in every way!! The winning bidder of this auction will own the only copy of this print.

Suitable for framing and the ideal gift for any fan of Doctor Who, the Seventh Doctor and the Valeyard.

Click on the link below and Happy Bidding:

Doctor Who: Seventh Doctor and the Valeyard 11x17 SIGNED Color Print

Doctor Who: Love and War

Back in those "wilderness years" of Doctor Who in the 1990's when it looked as though our beloved program was to never appear on our television sets again, there was really only two ways, if you a fan of the program, to get your fix.

1.) You could get your hands on a video camera and film your own adventure. Which many fans did. And actually did very well. Or...

2.) Read the continuing adventures of the Doctor in a series titled New Adventures being published by Virgin Books and later BBC Books.

Which many of us young fans did. The Doctor, in his Seventh incarnation as portrayed by Sylvester McCoy, continued his adventures throughout time and space in a ship which had been stuck in the shape of a 1960's London police box since the series began in 1963. These adventures had the luxury (for the most part) of not being restricted by the budget and censorship which the television endured. And the writers could tell stories that were a tad more mature than what was had been seen on the BBC and readers began to see a much darker and Machiavellian version of the Seventh Doctor. Which was a direction the character seemed to be heading in before the series ended.

There were many writers who had written episodes for the television series had written stories for these "New" Adventures. Many of the young writers of that series such as Russell T. Davies, Gareth Roberts, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss would go on to write episodes for the series. And in the case of Davies and Moffat would go onto be the series showrunners and call the shots.

One of these young and budding writers was Paul Cornell. Who would become a fan favorite in the run of Doctor Who "New" Adventures and much like the writers mentioned above would go on to write for the current television series. Even one of his novels from the New Adventures "Human Nature" would be adapted into an episode. However, one of his earliest novels after Timewyrm: Revelation was "Love And War". Which would introduce a new companion for the Doctor in the series named Bernice Surprise Summerfield.  Bernice, or Benny as her friends would call her, would go on to star in her own series of novels as well as a series of audio plays. These plays actually were what gave Big Finish Productions the final go ahead from the BBC to do a series of Doctor Who audio adventures in 1999.

Since then, not only has Paul gone onto write some memorable episodes for the current Doctor Who, but he has also gone on to write for comics. In particular for Young Avengers and Action Comics.

Most recently to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the first appearance of Benny Summerfield, Big Finish has adapted Paul's novel Love and War into an audio play. Unlike his story Human Nature, this adaptation actually features the Doctor it was intended for with Sylvester McCoy providing the voice for the Seventh Doctor.

Reading many of the Doctor Who novels, I always felt the best stories I've felt are the ones that make me think "That would have made a smashing television episode". Although, this has not been adapted into a television episode, Jacqueline Rayner has done a smashing job adapting Paul's book into an audio.

 Listening to it, this story would have made an excellent television episode for Sylvester McCoy's Doctor if the series were to have continued into a 27th Season. I've always felt both Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy were sorely underrated during their respective times in the roles. Colin got sacked by the BBC and Sylvester got the series yanked out from under them.

Big Finish has done a great job in presenting this story. In this modern age we live in, audio is a difficult medium for people to get into. We have become very visual society. Especially in the United States where we really don't have much in terms of radio dramas the way they still do in in the UK.

Which is kind of sad. There is something warm and comfortable about sitting back and imagining what characters and scenes might look like.

Big Finish had already dabbled in the waters of the Virgin New Adventures with two previous Seventh Doctor and Benny audio dramas. One of which, Shadow of the Scourge, was written by Paul Cornell back in 2000.

However, it has left me wanting more. I would love to hear more adventures between the Seventh Doctor and Benny. Either adaptations from other stories or new tales. I think it's an avenue that needs to be explored more.

I highly recommend you go on Big Finish's website and order a copy or if you live in Worcester Massachusetts, stop on by Annie's Book Stop of Worcester and pick one up. You'll be glad you did!!

Commissioned Work: Seventh Doctor and Ace (9x12 pen and ink)

A piece I did for a Mr. Kenneth Tabor depicting the Seventh Doctor and his companion Ace as portrayed by Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred in the late 1980's.

I decided to give McCoy's Doctor a waistcoast similar to the one he was depicted in wearing on the cover of future Doctor Who and Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss's novel St. Anthony's Fire instead of the question marked pullover he wore during his tenure. Which Sylvester McCoy apparently hated.

Ace is dressed as she appeared in the television episode Curse of Fenric in 1940's attire and hairstyle. But still wearing her bomber jacket with patches on it.

Doctor Who: Nest Cottage

An illustration I did depicting the Fourth Doctor as portrayed by Tom Baker in Nest Cottage. A place created by author Paul Magrs which first appeared in a series he wrote for the Fourth Doctor titled The Hornets Nest.

Ths series was the first time Tom Baker had played the part of the Doctor since his final appearance in the 1981 television episode Logopolis. Paul got the pleasure of being the first person to write for his Doctor.

The way Paul had originally described Nest Cottage to me is it was a bit like Merlin's House. A mix of the Doctor's travels. Past, present and future. So, I was sure to add a few items from the Doctor's future self such as the jackets he wore in his Fifth and Sixth incarnations as well as the question mark handled umbrella he carried in his seventh.

There's even a picture of the Doctor's first incarnation with a smaller painting of his granddaughter Susan next to him.

I even added Panda sitting next to him reading a copy of The House at Pooh Corner. Panda was a character created for Paul's Iris Wildthyme series. It's a stuffed panda who travels with Iris.

The woman glowering nearest the window would be the Doctor's landlady Mrs. Wibbsey. A bit like the Doctor's very own Mrs. Hudson who keeps an eye on the place when the Doctor is off traveling through time and space.

I also decided to create a different version of the Doctor's costume for this series. Although, this series is supposed to take place somewhere in the middle of Baker's tenure as the Doctor. Somewhere in between the Invasion of Time and The Ribos Operation which were on television between 1977 to 1978. I decided to a version of the Fourth Doctor's costume that was a cross between the one he was wearing during that period and one that he wore in his last year as the Doctor.

Doctor Who

I had started doing some artwork again for E-Bay. This time I thought I would try some Doctor Who art.

It's funny what will sell and what won't sell on E-Bay from month to month. A couple months ago people were bidding on my Sherlock Holmes work right to left. But now I haven't even got a sniff. But I put my first Doctor Who illustration up for bidding and the same day someone has put a bid on it.

Oh well. I'll probably hang onto the Sherlock Holmes ones till the Robert Downey Jr. movie comes out. People will probably take interest in the character by then. Especially if the movie is a success.

For those of you who know me or read my blog, I have been a huge fan of Doctor Who since the early 1980's when I use to watch episodes from behind the sofa because Tom Baker frightened me. Especially the end of The Invasion of Time when he looked right at the camera and started to laugh. I still remember that one and when Julian Glover's character pulled off his human masked and revealed that he was a one-eyed alien at the end of part one of The City of Death.

Of course fear usually turns to intrigue and by the time I was in the Fifth Grade (and they started showing episodes of the Fifth and then Sixth Doctor) I was hooked. Every night at 7pm on PBS Channel 2 in Boston.

But here are the illustrations I created for E-Bay. All of which are selling: