The many incarnations of Doctor Who have travelled through time and space, tackling enemies from the Daleks to the Weeping Angels. Now they are set to enter one of their strangest habitats to date: the brightly coloured world of the Mr Men, a place where worms smile and cars can be made from shoes.
The Mr Men/Doctor Who mash-up was inspired by online fan art, and follows a new partnership between Puffin Books, BBC Worldwide and Sanrio Global. It will see Adam Hargreaves, the son of the Mr Men’s creator Roger Hargreaves, writing and illustrating 12 stories for the Time Lord’s different incarnations, in the iconic Mr Men style.
The first four books, featuring the first, fourth, 11th and 12th doctors – played respectively by William Hartnell, Tom Baker, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi – will be published next spring. The First Doctor will be taking on the Cybermen, reimagined in Roger Hargreaves’ classic style; the Fourth Doctor, along with Sarah Jane Smith, will be confronting the Daleks; the 11th Doctor will be appearing alongside River Song, and the 12th Doctor with Time Lady Missy.
Dr First, Dr Fourth, Dr Eleventh and Dr Twelfth will be followed with eight further titles, one for each doctor.
“There is a wealth of unofficial fan-created content online,” said Alastair McHarrie at Sanrio Global. “We wanted to give something back to these supporters so we’ve created the first official Hargreaves mashup. Who better to partner with than another classic British property, Doctor Who. We couldn’t be more excited.”
“As the global publisher of Doctor Who and champions of books which push creative boundaries, we are delighted to be publishing such unique and fun stories,” said Francesca Dow, managing director of Penguin Random House children’s books. “We’re confident and excited they will appeal to the thousands of Doctor Who and Mr Men fans around the world.”
Earlier this year, Adam Hargreaves also created four new characters to mark the Mr Men’s 45th anniversary: Mr Marvellous, Little Miss Fabulous, Mr Adventure and Little Miss Sparkle. He told the Guardian at the time: “I hope my dad would have liked my new books – and that he would think they were in keeping with the rest of the series.
“It’s one of those weird things – I was never involved with the Mr Men before my dad died, and it took a very long time until I felt I had put in an apprenticeship which meant I could add new characters. There’s always a sense I’m walking in his footsteps, but I hope these capture the humour, which was always a key element of his books.”
