Pex: Guess Who's Coming for Christmas Dinner?

 Here at last, the third Xmas special for 2024, and another long-in-the-tooth Eratoon.

This time it's from Pex, and it's weird to think that in the original series this story marked the halfway point of Cyberleader Krang's appearance in the strip in TSV. After this there were two stories over four parts, and that was that for Krang and Pex, revisited and expanded years later in the pages of Reverse the Polarity. It was disappointing to end things as they were at the time - there's much more to  do with Krang, and I hope to be able to do them this time 'round. IN the mean-time, here's the return of an old strip, the debut of Pex's brother Kern, and the last strip for this year. Thanks for reading!

Christmas With a Dalek 2024

 Lordy, this took a while to make its return.

This story (under the same title) had its genesis way back in the very late 1990s - perhaps even 1999, and is pretty much as you see here, albeit a page shorter, and with a different end-reveal. The original I Want To Spend My Xmas kicked off a sort of arc around a weird and unexplained beef between the Karkus and Santa Claus that ultimately ended the strip's run in Time-Space Visualiser. You'll see here that, as with The Sevillian Job (which had also been part of the Santa arc), tweaks have erased that storyline - or perhaps eased it off for now. I regret nothing, and the revision also gave me a chance to improve on the original, the artwork, and the story's pacing. I don't have the indulgence of my 1999 audience. hell, I hardly even have my 1999 audience - but I do most of this for me, anyway. I hope you enjoy it along the way, dear Reader.

And for those of you wondering if this starts a new, replacement story arc? Hmm... 

Christmas With a Dalek 2023

 ...Yes, I know. A WHOLE YEAR late?

You shouldn't really be surprised. You should be surprised it's finished at all!

A rhyming Erato story is almost as good as a musical one (your mileage may vary on either, of course) - and believe it or don't, this is one of two rhyming Erato stories. The second one hasn't been done yet.

There's not much else to add here - I enjoyed writing the story, it does of course lean heavily on the old favourites, as well as Dr Seuss' Yertle the Turtle, and yes, it was originally slated to appear in Christmas 2023, the only Eratoverse Christmas Without a Dalek. How about that, fact fans?

Interrogator-aid

 

Hark- a Shark!

 

I'm sorry. The Shape of Water was a terrific movie - but I needed a story idea, so I stole two. 

The Karkus: The Monoid Mutineers

 

Ooh, I never liked the title for this, the third adventure in the adventures of Doctor Human, his granddaughter Susan and her comprehensive schoolmaster The Karkus. The other ones had nice Who-like portmanteau names, but this? Ah well.

This got trimmed down a fair bit, and there's at least one abandoned page of the three 'heroes' getting captured, imprisoned, and escaping - a Very Doctor Who Thing to have happen, as it turns out; ah, but it meandered. And thus common sense prevailed, brevity won and, I rather think, so did you, gentle reader.

The Karkus: Re-Enter the Rani!

 Remember that one time Erato posted an imagining of the very first Karkus story? That was done without a script - this one is the actual script!

I found the run-through in faded pencil on the back of the other 'original' strip (and, as it happens, also twice-done story) The One With The Steel Octopus, and naturally, it ran to two pages. So, here's a less-economical version of - er, The One With The Rani in a rare outing of a Time Lord in the strip. It's a bit light, to be honest, and wears its influences on its puffy, glittery Eighties sleeve. But it's the real deal, folks!

You're welcome.

The Karkus: This One Delivers

 Happy Birthday, Doctor Who! I brought you a present:

This one harkens back to the posting of the old Magnetoids cover from last year, and the cameo by SPLiNX the Robo Cat. Someone on the Facebook asked for a strip with the teleporting tabby in it, and Erato obliged! NIce to have something for the fans on a special weekend, and all that.

Plus any reason to bring back Prof Boffin, really.

Duplicates and Duplicity

 

It is a truth universally databanked that every nefarious scheme must ultimately come to naught - and so it is with Zeg's rebellious duplicate army. I had some fun designing international Daleks, but in truth not as much as I'd have liked. This was mainly because the genesis of this strip came off the back of a Christmas Special that already had numerous iterations of Daleks through the years. I was almost burned out. In the end I summoned up the reserves and leant into it. In the world of Judge Dredd the non-Mega City law enforcers are popularly dismissed as 'Judge Dredd with silly hats on' - usually by residents of a once-great colonial power, so know your place Johnny Foreigner, but I digress. These are Daleks with silly hats on. It's a comedy, dammit. That said, Zeg's original insignia for his Kozax was to be a capital 'Z', and that idea got nipped in the bud when the real world took it away from me.

Er, so here it is. The end of the longest (to date!) Karkus story. Now, eagle-eyed readers will note that this is pretty much a year late, and it is. Your humble Tythonian Beastie has a lot of catching up to do to get to 2023, so things will get a little bit busier around here for a short while. I hope you enjoy it.

And happy 60th, Doctor! You don't look a day over... er, is it 14, now?

PM Dawn

 

    

The addition of Winston Churchill as third wheel was a late addition to the story once I'd decided to make it a three-parter. Zeg dealing death and destruction from a tobacconists is, of course, a riff on Victory of the Daleks and its location filming for the Dalek base (the highlight, IMHO), but also references an old cartoon of Daleks handing out ciggies to the kids. I can't find it online, but it exists, honest!

Part three tomorrow. Or the day after!

Blitz and Clamour

It's the 23rd of November - Doctor Who's birthday! 

Plus, it's also a rather auspicious year - for the Eratoverse has reached its quarter-century. yes, Twenty-Five Laborious Years under the groaning belt of Erato.

Ooh- and this is also another momentous occasion, because this story is OFFICIALLY the  FIFTIETH KARUS STORY!

In fact, it may be close to the 100th Eratoverse story, but nobody stops to count. I know YOU will -out there. You know who you are. Leave your comments in the box below!

So it's fitting that this story should have one of Herr Karkus' oldest foes, Zeg the Dalek. This will also be the longest Karkus story to date, so stick around, and we hope you enjoy it!