Twilight of the Silurians
First published by Marvel Comics Ltd in Doctor Who Weekly issues 21 to 22 (5th-12th March 1980)
Writer: Steve Moore
Artist: David Lloyd
Companions: None
Apocrypha: The Silurians built their cities out of metal. Some of the Silurians are cynical about the impending disaster, believing it to be a scare-story. Towards the end of their reign, when they were preparing to go into hibernation, the apes started hunting in packs, using rocks and clubs, and attacking Silurians, even those riding on dinosaurs. The Silurians find the odour of the apes unpleasant. Nagara foresees a time when the apes will become sufficiently intelligent that they can be bred as servants to labour in the Silurian factories. The Silurian who calculated that the Moon's arrival would strip away the atmosphere of Earth is named Doctor Wolik.
Links: The Silurians first appeared in The Silurians and returned in Warriors of the Deep. The Doctor suggested that Eocenes, also used here, would be a more accurate name in The Sea Devils. The Silurians have had numerous appearances outside of the television series, including the novels The Scales of Injustice and Blood Heat, and the Big Finish audio Bloodtide. This is their first comic strip appearance, but they would reappear in the Seventh Doctor strip Final Genesis and the back-up strip City of Devils in the 1992 Doctor Who Magazine Holiday Special.
Location: Earth, millions of years ago [the exact dating is rather controversial, since it isn't clear exactly when the Silurians ruled the Earth - it is well known that both the names Silurians and Eocenes are highly inaccurate].
Notes: Twilight of the Silurians was dedicated to Malcolm Hulke, who died in May 1979. A look at the final days of the Silurian civilization is the sort of thing that the back-up strips are well suited to, although not a great deal happens here; the Silurians prepare to go into hibernation whilst the apes that Nagara has been studying turn against him and kill him. Given his fondness for them, this results in a rather sad ending!
Comic Guide by Paul Clarke
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