Cybermen limited edition book goes on sale (break out your gold)

Acclaimed illustrator Andrew Skilleter, perhaps best known for his Doctor Who art, is offering Cybermen fans the opportunity to buy a unique edition of the Cybermen book first published by Who Dares/Silver Fist in 1988 - a limited facsimile edition of actor David Banks the Cyberleader's personal copy No 1, in a Limited Hand Bound embossed ‘titanium’ Silver Edition.

You can find this Collector's Item on Ebay as a Buy It Now/Best Offer listing offered for sale by Andrew Skilleter, offered as a Limited Edition of just 75 copies of this classic title. But be warned, it's strictly an item for the well heeled fan, with a cover price just short of £800 reflecting its manufacture and rarity.

David Banks portrayed the Cyberleader throughout the 1980s, in Earthshock, Attack of the Cybermen, Silver Nemesis and The Five Doctors and his much-acclaimed Cybermen book was first published in 1988, with an introduction by the Cybermen’s co-creator, Gerry Davis. The book was extensively illustrated by Target and Classic Who artist, Andrew Skilleter together with numerous photographs and graphics, then later re-released in paperback by Virgin Books. The title was voted some years back as one of the best ever Doctor Who books of any any kind.

This limited edition, individually bound, large format hardbound book is hand bound in a textured silver fabric. Embossed on the front cover is the Cybermark personalised with ‘D’ on the left and ‘B’ on the right.It has high quality heavy weight textured black end-papers, followed by two heavyweight grey papers with the certificate mounted on the right hand side numbered as 1/75 and signed in silver by David Banks, who played the Cyberleader in several Doctor Who stories, and in black by Andrew Skilleter and the book binder. There's also a silver’ ‘D’ & ‘B’ initialed by David Banks either side of the certificate title.

This unique, if incredibly expensive collectable edition comes protected by a sturdy black cloth slipcase and offered in a deliberately 'distressed' appearance unique to each special edition, (the photograph above doesn't do justice to the embossed Cybermark). The slip case shows some signs of shelf wear and a just perceptible fade on the open edge, we assume to give the impression of the book being a well Cyber-thumbed tome.

One for determined Cybermen collectors to check out. Perhaps they can use some of the gold they have set aside just in case of a Cybermen invasion...

- View the Book on eBay here

- Andrew Skilleter's official web site: www.andrewskilleter.com

- Facebook fan Page http://www.facebook.com/artofandrewskilleter

 

 

 

Cybermen, Borg, set to battle in Doctor Who-Star Trek crossover

Following up on our earlier report that a Doctor Who/Star Trek comic crossover was in the works, US publisher IDW have released more detals about the eight-issue mini series.

In conjunction with BBC Worldwide Consumer Products and CBS Consumer Products, IDW Publishing will make history when two of the greatest science-fiction properties of all time come together in a comic book for the first time. The world’s most popular time traveler teams up with the U.S.S. Enterprise crew in Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation 2.

“By joining these two sci-fi powerhouses, fans will be taken on the ultimate adventure through time and space,” said Liz Kalodner, executive vice president and general manager of CBS Consumer Products.

Launching in May but, as far as we know at presnt, only to be on sale officially in the US, Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation 2 will feature fan-favourite villains the Borg and the Cybermen as they create an unholy alliance resulting in potential disaster for all humanity. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise find themselves joining forces with the Eleventh Doctor and his companions, with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance.

This eight-issue series will be written by Scott and David Tipton, two of the regular IDW Star Trek writers, with a helping hand from longtime Doctor Who writer Tony Lee, and will feature fully painted artwork by J.K. Woodward (Fallen Angel).

“We are excited about this new adventure for the Doctor and the fact that he will be travelling with Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his iconic crew," says the BBC's Soumya Sriraman, executive vice president Home Entertainment and Licensing.

"This is a perfect partnership for not only Doctor Who’s incredible fans, but also for the brand. We have just celebrated our most successful year yet. Doctor Who’s latest season delivered record ratings for BBC America and it was most downloaded full TV seasons of 2011 in the U.S. on the iTunes Store,” .


The fisrt issue variants include a rare wraparound photo cover and an alternate cover from Star Trek Ongoing artist Joe Corroney featuring the Doctor and friends aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. 

The bad news for British comics fans is that getting hold of this crossover series might be difficult. Because Panini license Doctor Who comic rights in the UK for Doctor Who Magazine and the BBC publishes its own Doctor Who Adventures title, IDW's Who comics are not usually available officially in the UK.

• Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation 2 ($3.99, 32 pages, full colour) will be available in US comic stores in May 2012.

• Visit IDWPublishing.com to sign up for updates and learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

® & © 2012 CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved. STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc.

BBC, DOCTOR WHO (word marks, logos and devices), TARDIS and CYBERMAN are trade marks of the British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under license.

Doctor Who: The Anime

(with thanks to Frank Garcia, via Topless Robot and Japanator): Expect this stunning piece of work to go hugely viral -- and if BBC Worldwide don't pick up the phone to Sheffield-based artist and animator Paul "Otaking" Johnson and offer him a job, they're mad.

Paul is in the process of writing a Doctor Who-inspired anime short -- "It's taking me b***** ages," he says -- and has posted some progress footage from it on YouTube, including the penciling and inking process. The sequences so far feature the Third Doctor roughing up some would-be muggers with a bit of Venusian karate, meeting scantily-clad anime girls, and getting caught in a battle between Daleks and Cybermen.

Anime site Japanator notes Paul tried to create a stir a while back about fansubs -- the practice of creating a fan-produced translated, subtitled version of an anime program, which began back in the 1980s -- with his own brand of animation, and this taster, which also features The Master looks great to us, especially the climactic fight between the Doctor and the Master atop the Tokyo Tower.

• The work as it progresses can be seen, as always, on Paul's "Mightyotaking" Deviantart page