Edited by Paul Cooke

Moon Distributors, out now in paperback

Expanding the universe of the Zygons…

For those of us who were around in 1975 when the Zygons arrived on our screens at the end of the summer holidays, they were something very different for Doctor Who from the Sontarans, Daleks and Cybermen that we’d seen in the most recent stories. They looked and sounded unearthly, and OK, even on the less than seriously advanced televisions of the time the Skarasen didn’t exactly look too convincing rearing over the Thames Embankment, but this still new Doctor and those around him took it and its masters seriously. It was always one of the bigger surprises of the classic era that they remained a one-off, and personally I enjoyed their involvement in the 11th and 12th Doctor’s eras.

And the 12 year old me would have devoured a book dedicated to them had it appeared in the shops ready for Christmas 1975. Seeing them in comic strip action, finding out more about them in “factual” pieces, following a group of them as they prepare to arrive on Earth, becoming caught up in mysterious sabotage and much else? It would have been a no-brainer. If parents hadn’t provided it, then that’s where the Christmas money and book tokens would have been used.

Now that book really is available, thanks to Paul Cooke and a huge number of writers and artists, with a terrific cover from Alister Pearson and David Lavelle, all in aid of Cancer Research UK. The artwork alone is worth the cover price, before you dive into the stories which will provide hours of entertainment. (Oh and yes, inevitably there’s a story called Let Zygons be Zygons – and it’s rather good!) It’s one to dip into – but do read it through in order, as there’s a number of ongoing threads leading into the events we know…

Verdict: A thoroughly entertaining deep dive into one of Doctor Who’s less plundered alien cultures. 8/10

Paul Simpson

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