'DR WHO VERSUS THE MARTIANS': PETER CUSHING COMIC STRIP FROM 1996

THE EXCELLENT WORK OF ARTIST LEE SULLIVAN PETER CUSHING IN 'DR WHO VERSUS THE MARTIANS' IN THE DR WHO MONTHLY MAGAZINE SPECIAL.

LEE SULLIVAN TOLD US: The 'Daleks versus the Martians' strip was produced back in 1995 for a Doctor Who Magazine 'Dalek Movie Special' published by Marvel Magazines in the UK.


I'd always been a great fan of the Cushing Dr.Who movies since I'd seen them, as a child, on their theatrical release here in the UK. Although I was annoyed that some aspects of the original stories had been changed, they still left an incredibly powerful impression. The cinematic versions benefited enormously from vivid colour (red Daleks!) and the sheer volume of the soundtrack; I can clearly remember the Dalek voices, already with a metallic echo added in the movies, really reverberating around the walls of the theatre. And of course, Peter Cushing, whom I was seeing for the first time here, was one of the most watchable actors ever, so even my discomfiture with the change to the character was mollified.

So, I was very pleased when strip editors Gary Gillatt and Scott Gray offered me this strip to draw. I'd gained a 'Dalek' reputation in DWM, and It was lovely to draw the movie Daleks, and Alan Barnes' script was a pleasure to work on; the Cushing dialogue sounds just right to me. We were all fans of the series and movies, and I hope it shows. Looking at it now, I can't work out exactly why the Dalek saucer is not one fully based on the second movie's wonderful version, especially as I still think it's one of the most well-executed models in film - until the end scene that is smile However, it does look very like a wooden toy my father made me when I was little, so maybe that's the reason. I was also amused to see that I'd included 'lava-lamps' in the saucer's interior too.

Trivia time - the Dalek hoverbout shot on the bottom of page two is a direct reference to the glorious Richard Jennings art on page 14 of 'The Dalek Book' which remains an absolutely magical cornerstone to my love both of the Daleks and comic strips of the period.

It's ironic that our version of a sequel was in monochrome; it seems absurd now, when computer-colouring and colour print is available for virtually every publication, but back then it was a cost too far for an already expensive title. Maybe one day it will come back in colour, yes, one day . . .

RARE: PCASUK UNCOVERS PETER CUSHING FORGOTTEN ROLE: NELSON!

Did you know: PETER CUSHING played HORATIO?

Horatio Nelson to be precise. The date was November 16, 1955. The place was the Empire cinema, Leicester Square in London for the Royal Premiere of the feature film "Cockleshell Heroes" directed by and starring José Ferrer. Co-written by Bryan Forbes, the film tells the true story of a daring British commando raid by canoe on German blockade runners at Bordeaux in December, 1942. Attending the premiere were: Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Wilding, Jack Hawkins with his wife Doreen (who was once engaged to Peter Cushing), Michael Denison, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Robert Beattie, Clement Attlee and his wife, Lord and Lady Mountbatten, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duchess of Gloucester. Major Herbert "Blondie" Haslar and William Edward "Bill" Sparks, the sole Marine survivors of the famous 1942 canoe raid, also attended with members of their families. 

Before the feature attraction, guests were treated to a lavish prologue conceived by producer Jess Yates called: "Fanfare For Heroes". This live prologue included a mock commando raid, utilizing a handful of Marines in such a way to make their numbers appear more vast. Included amongst the 300 performers of "Fanfare For Heroes" was none other than Peter Cushing. The cover of "To Day's Cinema" showcases Cushing dressed in costume as Lord Horatio Nelson. In addition, the producers of "Cockleshell Heroes", Irving Allen and Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli (Warwick Film Productions), published a letter of thanks and singled out Cushing as a "distinguished artiste" in connection with the prologue. 

Christopher Lee was cast in the film "Cockleshell Heroes" as Submarine Commander Alan Grieves. Lee, Cushing and Ferrer had all previously worked together on John Huston's "Moulin Rouge" in 1952. Cushing and Lee (though not on screen together in the Huston film) wouldn't appear in the same film again until Hammer's "The Curse of Frankenstein" in 1957, which made them both instant film stars.