I’ve never seen
this annual till I bought it online a few months ago. Fronted by a photograph
of the second Doctor looking decidedly cheesed off (perhaps yearning for the
end of his contract) the 1969 Annual, released in time for the 1968 Xmas market
is noticeable in a very distinct way. The artwork is extremely stylised and
striking even if some of the artists don’t capture particularly good likenesses
of either Jamie or Zoe. Both are often depicted looking at least a decade older
than they should be dressed like characters from a serious period drama. Some of the artwork is surreal- on the inside
cover the Doctor is playing his recorder while being fired on by space helmeted
aliens. Even more bizarrely on the next page a facially unrecognisable Patrick
Troughton is capering about on an alien planet in his stove pipe hat being
fired on while under attack from one of the `Mind Robber` robots.
