Frobisher

Avan Tarklu is a Whifferdill — a shapeshifting extraterrestrial species — who worked as a private investigator before crossing paths with the Sixth Doctor and joining the TARDIS crew. Though capable of assuming virtually any form, he habitually wanders the universe as an Emperor penguin.

Few characters in the long, strange history of Doctor Who comics are as delightfully unexpected as Frobisher, who first waddled onto the page in The Official Doctor Who Magazine #90 in 1984, the creation of writer Steve Parkhouse and artist John Ridgway. A Bronze Age original published under the Marvel UK banner, Frobisher has proven genuinely enduring — a 1984 debut still generating appearances nearly four decades later is no small feat in any universe. With 51 catalog appearances spread across Doctor Who Magazine and its companion graphic novels, and at least one collector-significant key issue to their name, this is a character with real staying power in the Whoniverse. Fans who've followed the Doctor's comic adventures alongside the likes of Rose Tyler know that Frobisher brings something wonderfully offbeat to the table — a reminder that the best Doctor Who companions often defy every expectation.