...out of time

YOU MIGHT NOT realise it, but you're looking at the cover art for the 1964 novel Doctor Who and the Daleks (an adaptation of the second Doctor Who TV serial, The Daleks).

The difference is, this is the 1980 Japanese edition, published by Hayakawa Books of Tokyo. Artist Michiaki Sato has taken a liberal approach to drawing the Daleks, and created an even looser interpretation of the TARDIS. And is that Darth Vader slaying Skaro's metal monsters?

Four other Doctor Who novels were released in the empire of the rising sun: The Auton Invasion, The Cave Monsters, Day of the Daleks and The Doomsday Weapon. All of the books contained equally striking black and white illustrations and some colour spreads.

More about the books at On Target, where you can also see the internal illustrations.