SEND IN THE TRODS

 

Who remembers the Trods, the cut-price Dalek types, that appeared

 in the 1960’s Doctor Who TV Comic strip?

The Trods, made their first appearance in TV Comic issue 348, dated

 16^th April, 1966, in a story, which has been unofficially titled, ‘The

 Trodos Tyranny’.

Art: John Canning. Story: Roger Noel Cook

In their debut story, The Trods and their leader, Super Trod were

 robot creatures who had overthrown and enslaved the human

 population.

The five issue story ends when Super Trod is thwarted by the Dr

 Who, who pulls it’s power cord from a plug socket in it’s body.

The villainous Trods returned in October, 1966, seeking revenge on

 Dr Who, thanks to a space traveller who had landed on Trodos and

 reactivated the Trods.

Although the Doctor Who TV Comic strip had started in issue dated

 14^th November, 1964, the publishers, TV Publications, didn’t have

 the rights to The Daleks, which were due to appear in City

 Magazines TV Century 21, the following January.

The Daleks ran in TV21 until issue 104, dated 14^th January, 1967.

 Following that, TV Publications were able to obtain the rights to use

 the Daleks in their TV Comic Dr Who strip.

The second incarnation of Dr Who has dealings with the Trods, in a

 story unofficially titled, The Trodos Ambush, which ran in TV

 Comic from 21^st January until 11^th February, 1967. For this story the

 Trods become allies of Doctor Who to fight against – you guessed it

;The Daleks.

A Trods story appears in the 1968 TV Comic annual called ‘Pursued

 by The Trods. In this story, The Trods have their own Time & Space

 machine which they use to follow Dr Who to the Stone Age.

There was a couple of excellent Trod figures on display at

 Smallspace, both built by Phil Stevens.

These scratch built models have inter-changeable claws, and the

 Super Trod even has a pull out power cord!

Phil’s display also featured a TV21 Emperor Dalek, and Ron Turner

 type Dalek.

There was also a model, built by Phil of a ‘Hayakawa’ Dalek’. This

 design appeared on two Japanese books, Dr Who and The Daleks,

 and The Day of The Daleks. The books were published by

 Hayakawa Bunko Books, and the covers illustrated by Michiaki

 Sato, who, for one reason or another, drew the Daleks as they were

 described in the translated text.

Finally, Phil's scratch-built model of Vesuvius, the robot Emperor of

 an alternate Rome, as seen in the Doctor Who Weekly comic strip,

 The Iron Legion.