Cybermen (reference book)
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Cybermen is a combination fiction/non-fiction reference book published by Who Dares Publishing in November 1988 and by Virgin Publishing in September 1990.
It was written by David Banks, who portrayed the Cyber-Leader in several television episodes.
Synopsis
(this synopsis is taken from the 1988 hardback edition)
"There are some corners of the Universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things which act against everything we believe in. They must be fought."
So speaks the Doctor of one of his most daunting enemies. And for more than two decades — in many gripping TV adventures — he has fought them. They are beings dedicated only to survival. Human once, they are now more machine than man — creatures motivated by logic and devoid of emotion. They call themselves the Cybermen.
An exciting celebration of these most popular of Doctor Who monsters, Cybermen is arranged in four self-contained sections:
- CONCEPT
How Frankenstein and Dan Dare, cybernetics and spare-part surgery, came together in the minds of two men to create the Cyberman myth.
- ARCHIVE
An epic History of the Cybermen and their encounters with the Doctor told as never before from the viewpoint of an imaginary alien race — the ArcHivists. All the facts and the many theories woven together through inspired speculation and dramatic illustration. A mindgame and a visual feast.
- PROGRAM
The fullest account yet of the making of the TV programmes. Producers, Directors, Actors, Designers and Writers — many for the first time ever — recall in their own words the changing shape of Cybermen. Includes previously unpublished photographs, and the shape of Cybermen to come...?
- DATALOG
The story that never made it to the screen — Genesis of the Cybermen [+]Loading...["Genesis of the Cybermen (unproduced TV story)"] by Gerry Davis. Technical credits and cast lists. Details of novelisations, merchandise and the comic strips.
Introduced by GERRY DAVIS — co-creator of the Cybermen. Written by DAVID BANKS — the Cyberleader himself — with additional material by ADRIAN RIGELSFORD. Illustrated by ANDREW SKILLETER and guest artists.
• 144 large-format pages, packed with illustrations, many in full colour.
Here at last is everything you want to know about Cybermen but might have been afraid to ask!
"EXCELLENT!"
Subject matter
The book includes comprehensive coverage of the creation of the Cybermen, their appearances on television and a coherent history of the Cybermen from an in-universe perspective. The book includes detailed and well supported theories on the chronology of Cyber-history and the relationships between the various sub-types of Cyberman.
Features
- The book includes an introduction by Cybermen co-creator Gerry Davis.
- Andrew Skilleter's illustrations depict, amongst other things, a possible post-Silver Nemesis [+]Loading...["Silver Nemesis (TV story)"] form of the Cybermen, which went on to influence descriptions of future Cybermen in some printed works.
- The 1990 paperback edition was revised and expanded to include the events of Silver Nemesis.
Notes
- The ISBN's of the 1988 hardback and Deluxe editions are not known.
- An audio anthology adaptation of the in-universe biographical elements of the book was released as The ArcHive Tapes.
- The 1988 Deluxe edition was titled "Specialist Collector's Limited Edition", and only 75 copies were produced, all signed by David Banks and Andrew Skilleter, as well as Cathy Robert from Delta Design who individually bound each book. The book came encased in a plain black slipcase, with the book itself bound in a silver-effect cover with a Cyberman motif.
- The synopsis of the 1988 hardback and 1990 paperback editions are largely the same. The only changes in the latter edition is that some text has been emboldened, names have been written in lower-case and the "Excellent!" quote has been removed.
External links
to be added
