The Klepton Parasites (comic story)

The Klepton Parasites
Doctor:	First Doctor
Companion(s):	John, Gillian
Main enemy:	Klepton One
Main setting:	England, 20th century; The Thain's planet, 30th century
Key crew
Writer:	Neville Main
Artist:	Neville Main
Release details
Number of parts:	10
Printed in:	TV Comic 674-683
Release date:	9 November 1964 - 11 January 1965
Reprinted in:	DWCC 2
Format:	Comic
TVC comic stories
Next →	The Therovian Quest

The Klepton Parasites was the first TV Comic story, as well as the first Doctor Who strip of all time.

It featured Dr. Who and introduced two new companions for the comic, his grandchildren, John and Gillian Who.

Summary

On Earth, John and Gillian meet their grandfather, the Doctor. They travel in the TARDIS to the 30th century, where the Kleptons are attacking the peaceful Thains. The travellers help them repel the invaders, follow the Kleptons to their secret underwater city and defeat their plans.

Plot

Part One: 9th November 1964.

In the far distant future, the Thains have lived happily and peacefully for many years, but one day, strange, menacing creatures hover above the city, in their glass pod like flying ships, threatening to take over their cities and their lands, and to enslave their race. The invaders have huge eyes, snouts and large finlike ears, and are known as Kleptons. Three of their flying ships then swoop down in formation, capturing many of the Thain people in a gravity lift that picks them up off the ground as if they were mere toys, to imprison them as hostages. Minutes later, the Kleptons unleash an ever spreading plant based life form whose root mass and appendages, grow at a fantastic speed, crushing the buildings of Thain City and bringing them crashing down. Having no weapons and no way to stop the Kleptons, the Thains fear they are doomed.

Across time and space, on a peaceful road in England, on 20th century Earth, two children named John and Gillian search through the darkened night for the home of their grandfather, a man who they've never before met. All they know is he lives on this road at number sixteen, and that he is an inventor. Realising number sixteen is not a house, but an empty yard, they wander in and discover a blue police telephone box, the type that was so often found on street corners. Its door was open, and John and Gillian went in. In a room that defied its exterior in terms of size, a white haired old man stood by a six sided control console, as the children told him, they were looking for their grandfather, Dr. Who. "You must be John and Gillian" came the man's reply, before he began to explain that they were inside his time travelling machine. , and that they could journey to any year in the past, or the future. With a child's curiosity, John then pressed a button on the console and with a sudden gust of wind, the police box revolves, then disappears, as Dr Who confirms they are rushing headlong into the 29th century. On, into the mysterious future they travel, until they come to a stop, land, and open the door, where they are greeted by the gun of a Klepton Podship, and orders that confirm they are about to be captured.

Part Two: 16th November 1964.

Having traversed the barriers of time and space beyond that of the 29th century on into the 30th, Dr. Who and his grandchildren, have two of the Klepton's flying machine's pointing their guns directly at them, as the twisted, curling plant life, that were known as creepers, continued to rip their way through the ground, and the Thains ran in fear of their lives. The Kleptons wanted hostages, they wanted these new visitors captured, and thereafter used the gravity lift to elevate this schoolchild Gillian upwards toward one of their podship's in an attempt to kidnap her. This said, John was quick to act and amid the propelling stems that surrounded him, he found a brick, a brick that had once been part of a dwelling the creepers had demolished, but a brick he now turned into a weapon to fight the Kleptons with.  Throwing it with all his strength, the boy, not only managed to hit the ship that was kidnapping his sister, but also to shatter its glass dome, which in turn caused it to plunge out of control, to release Gillian, and to crash into the planet's surface below. It also had the knock on effect of the Kleptons making a tacticle withdrawl, as they realised that the strangers had wrecked their plans, and that they must return to their base to report their loss to the Klepton leader.            

Dr Who, meanwhile, is thanked by Valda,, the leader of the Thains for saving his people, and assures him that he and his grandchildren will help if they can. He tries to discover who the Kleptons are and why they are attacking, but Valda doesn't know who they are or indeed where they come from, and is only able to reiterate that the invaders are determined to destroy Thain City and make his people slaves. Valda fears that the Kleptons will crush the Thains as they have lived in peace for centuries, and have no weapons. However, Dr Who manages to give them hope by reminding them that something as simple as John's brick had already sent the Kleptons flying, and they can, and must defeat these monsters. The old man encourages the planet's inhabitants to use heat ray guns found in their museum , which are subsequently repaired just in time for the arrival of ten Klepton Podships, with orders to crush the Thains. Dr Who directs John, Gillian and the Thains to battle stations.   

Part Three: 23rd November 1964.

Dr Who and his grandchildren John and Gillian have journeyed through time and space, to the 30th century, where Thain City and its peaceful inhabitants are being invaded by the might of the Kleptons, their podships and that of their creeper plants. Taking charge, Dr Who, has encouraged the Thains to stand up for themselves and to use weaponry from their museum to defend their people. Young Thains, some no older than children were armed with hand held heat guns, John, himself no more than a boy, was in charge of the much larger heat cannon. The sky was full of Klepton Podships, the ground and a nearby observation post quite literally crawling with the continuously expanding killer plant formation, and so the battle began. The much more highly advanced and warlike Kleptons versus the inexperienced Thains, who hadn't handled a weapon of any sort in a hundred years. However the fact the Thains were now armed came as so much of a surprise to Kleptons, that after suffering a couple of direct hits to their vehicles, they decided to retreat, blaming their losses on the strangers giving their foes a new fighting spirit.

Valda, the leader of the Thains then thanked Dr Who, saying that he and the children had taught his race how to defeat their enemies, to which the white haired old man replied that they had not yet defeated the Kleptons, that they were ruthless, determined, and that they would be back. Despite not knowing where the invaders were from, Dr Who felt the Thains must take the fight to the Kleptons and catch them in their lair, prompting Gillian to suggest there may be some clues as to their origins in one of their not so badly damaged flying machines. Studying the craft, her grandfather, comes to the conclusion that the Kleptons cannot survive in this planet's atmosphere without their podships, reminding her that when their transport's globe had previously been pierced the Klepton had crashed, he also wonders if they could repair and fly the alien vessel. Elsewhere, the would be conquerors, with their huge eyes, snouts and large finlike ears, stand in a court room like chamber, reporting to their leader, Klepton One, telling him that eight of their podships have been smashed up. Angered, he informs them that he will not be defeated, that the Thains must be crushed, that the Kleptons must intensify the creepers, and drag their city to the ground. Suddenly, the plant life that had already been tearing down numerous buildings, multiplied tenfold, ripping itself from the ground, with its tendrils curling and coiling, to wrap itself around anything that got in its way including John.  

Part Four : 30th November 1964.

Dr Who's grandson John was in the clutches of the terrifying creepers, a living plant species that was spreading at an alarming rate across Thain City, in an attempt to destroy it, and to help its masters the Kleptons enslave the planet's inhabitants. The creepers have tendrils that seem to have an infinite growth capacity, twisting and turning in on itself to maintain its hold on the the boy as its stems shoot high into the air. His sister Gillian watches on helplessly as the plant begins to choke him, and Dr Who tells her that they need to find a weapon, as the branches are too thick and strong for them to tackle. Racing toward the Thains guns, the old man believes that a blast from a heat gun should do the trick, and fires off the biggest of the guns in order to "singe that overgrown aspidistra's tentacles." A searing blast hits the creeper, and John jumps free to the ground. The heat gun had saved John, but couldn't tackle all the creepers that were sprouting up around them, and indeed engulfing every last building too. Rather than see the city as a heap of rubble Valda considered surrendering, but John insisted that the Thains mustn't let the Kleptons enslave them, with Dr Who concluding that if the Thains are determined to fight they will beat, what he calls those "bug eyed monsters."

Dr Who thereafter rallied the Thains to help repair the dome of the Klepton's flying machine, in an attempt to get the podship in the air, and try and find their enemy's base. However, as they worked together, a lone Klepton vessel returned with a stark warning booming out for all to hear, a final and chilling warning from Klepton One, that said, "Surrender or we will utterly destroy your city..." Valda replied on behalf of all his people saying that the Thains would not give in, that they would fight and they would win. The Klepton ship then took off, as Dr Who, John and Gillian boarded their now repaired podship, in which they intended to give pursuit. This side, their craft was right by a building the creepers were about to pull down right on top of them. The ship starts to rise, the building starts to fall toward them, and amidst the fleeing people, someone yells out that the travellers are doomed...

Part Five : 7th December 1964.

to be added

Part Six : 14th December 1964.

to be added

Part Seven : 21st December 1964.

to be added

Part Eight  : 28th December 1964.

to be added

Part Nine : 4th January 1965.

to be added

Part Ten : 11th January 1965.

to be added

Characters

• Dr. Who
• John Who
• Gillian Who
• Valda
• Klepton One
• Kleptons
• Thains

References

• The Doctor says that the TARDIS is travelling to the 29th century before it finally comes to a stop in the 30th.
• The Thain city is on land, while the Klepton city is on the ocean floor.
• The Thains are peaceful, but used to make heat guns which are now found only in their museum.
• The Kleptons possess flying machines, giant creepers and paralyser guns.
• Both the Doctor and John call the Kleptons "bug-eyed monsters".
• The Doctor speculates that the Kleptons cannot survive in the Thains' atmosphere.
• The Doctor mockingly calls one creeper an "overgrown aspidistra".
• The Kleptons keep their Thain slaves behind an electrified wire cage.
• The Doctor says he will try to get his grandchildren back to the 20th century.

Notes

The cover to TVC 674, proudly declaring the start to the Doctor Who comic run which would last until 1979.

• Dr Who is a white haired old man, whose origins are not explored in the context of this story. He has two grandchildren John and Gillian, whom he's never met before, with John having been told that he was an "inventor or something." He lives in a time travelling machine, which is disguised as a police telephone box. Whether he constructed the machine or not, he is certainly clever enough to understand it and pilot it. He shows compassion and an eagerness to help the Thains. He is capable of asking the right questions, of finding solutions quickly and of giving hope to those that feel they have none. He shows bravery and ingenuity and that he has an enquiring mind. He has the technical know-how to repair and pilot an alien flying machine, and the courage to fly it into the enemy's base. His interpretation of right and wrong however appears to be very clear cut, favouring direct action rather than even considering diplomacy. In order to ultimately save the Thains, Dr Who has them break a century of peace and encourages even the youngest of their race to use weapons. He himself does not seem ill at ease with the idea of using a gun or with killing the aggressor.
• The first issue of this story was printed in TV 674. The cover to said issue advertised the narrative on the cover, stating "Starts today! Doctor Who"
• This was the very first Doctor Who comic strip. It opened with the following narrative: "In the far distant future, the Thains have lived happily and peacefully for many years. But one day, strange, menacing creatures hover over the city..."
• The very first words were spoken not by the Doctor himself but by the villains of the story, the Kleptons: "We are the Kleptons! We will take over your cities and your land! You Thains will be our slaves!"
• The very first words spoken by Dr. Who (who does not appear until the third panel of the second page) were: "You must be John and Gillian! How nice to meet you!"
• The title of this comic story logically applies to the city-destroying plants harvested by the Kleptons, the Creepers. However, some have taken the title to mean that "Klepton Parasites" is an alternate term for the Klepton race.
• John and Gillian's home time, presumed to be 1964 by most fans, is never stated in the comic, as it is just said that they are from the 20th century.
• John has been told that his and Gillian's grandfather Dr. Who is "an inventor or something", but the reader never learns who gave him this information.
• The word TARDIS is never spoken in this comic. Dr. Who's vessel is referred to as a "time travelling machine", "the 'Police Box'", and "the flying machine." The next story, COMIC: The Therovian Quest, would be the first to use the term.
• This story was reprinted in DWCC 2 in colour.
• While the Kleptons are planning to enslave the Thains and destroy their city, it is not stated that they intend to kill or that they had killed anyone; strangely, it seems the only ones killing are those encouraged to do so by Dr Who.
• Part 3 of The Klepton Parasites was released on 23rd November 1964, exactly a year after the first TV story An Unearthly Child was aired.

Continuity

• The Kleptons reappear in COMIC: Prisoners of the Kleptons and PROSE: Placebo Effect.
• The yard the Doctor appears in is similar to 76 Totter's Lane in appearance. (TV: An Unearthly Child)