Dr. Who & the "Yeti" (comic story)
Dr. Who & the "Yeti" was a fumetti comic strip in The Daleks Are Back!. Using photographs taken from Marco Polo, it told a brand new story that functioned as something of a sequel.
Supposedly published in 1964, it was actually a parody of the ‘photocomic’ stories of the era, original to a joke mock-up of the supposed "1 year anniversary issue" of DWM packaged with DWM 467 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. In reality, the magazine did not begin until 1979.
Summary
The TARDIS arrives in the Himalayas in the 13th Century AD. The Doctor comments that they have been here before, blaming this on his ship being "on the blink". Susan suddenly spies a giant’s footprint on the ground. Ian dismisses this, but Susan insists that, unlike last time, this is real. Just then, the TARDIS's flux capacitor explodes, and the Doctor and co. are assailed by soldiers. The Doctor lies that Ian knows "the ancient art of barisu", tricking them into focusing their attention on Ian, then runs off and hides behind a rock. Fortunately, Marco Polo enters and calls them off. He explains that a Yeti is terrorising the region. As if to prove his point, it roars in the distance, and the TARDIS travellers resolve to investigate.
Characters
References
- If a TARDIS's flux capacitor explodes, it becomes unsafe to enter the ship for ten minutes.
- Yeti are spoken of in the legends of the Hymalayas.
- Yeti are, or are at least said to be, ten feet tall.
- Ian’s attitude towards Susan is described as "kindly sneering".
- A malfunctioning TARDIS will revisit old lactations at random, even when it’s wonder would normally be unable to deliberately make it do so. Despite their earlier insistence on returning home, Ian and Barbara do not wonder out loud if this could be their best hope.
Notes
- This is a bizarre story for multiple reasons: it gives a false year of publication, every frame is a "telesnap", it functions as a sequel to a pure historical, it is a DWM comic published during the reign of NuWho to feature a past Doctor and not the current one, has an abrupt ending followed by a preview of a non-existent story, has the Doctor act uncharacteristically cowardly even for this early in his life, even leaving Ian to die, and follows an intentionally extremely inane "plot". All of these are in device of its nature, as part of a parody of the 60s annuals.
- The actual writer of this story is unknown; their credit as "E. Travers", an obvious meta-joke referencing Edward Travers.
- Tele-snaps are credited to John Cura.
- The Doctor is referred to as "Doctor Who", and the TARDIS without capitalisation or the definite article, throughout.
- End caption: "Next time: The Terrors of Snow"
- This story’s plot is a deliberate cross between the televised Marco Polo and The Abominable Snowmen.
