DWM comic stories

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Contents

Overview

Since Doctor Who Magazine was first launched in 1979 (as Doctor Who Weekly), it continued an already long tradition, established in the pages of World Distributer's Doctor Who Annuals (See DWA) and various TV themed comics (See TVC), of providing further adventures for the Doctor through the provision of comic strip adventures. Indeed the early issues of the magazine were very much comic strip led, taking the comic strips in an altogether different direction to those that had gone before.

Early issues of DWM featured a number of comic strip strands:

  • Ongoing comic strip stories featuring the Doctor. (Usually these featured the current Doctor of the time but past Doctors adventures have often been included.)
  • Regular Back-up Comic Strip Stories featuring characters and elements from the Whoniverse.
  • In the earlier issues, under the heading 'Tales from the TARDIS', reprinted comic strip adaptations of classic science fiction stories (namely, War of the Worlds; The Invisible Man; Dr Jeykll and Mr Hyde; First Men in the Moon) were included as a regular feature.
  • Reprinted US comic strip material (using the Doctor to open and/or close a story). These short, time-related stories were introduced under the heading of 'Dr Who's Time Tales'.
  • Reprinted material from older publications, such as The Dalek Tapes).
  • Following the success of the reprinted Dalek Tapes (from the pages of TV Century 21), Doctor Who Magazine later acquired the rights to all the older comic strips from other titles. Using these comic strips on occasions in its regular issues, they were mainly used to launch a sister publication, Doctor Who Classic Comics, where the cleaned up and re-coloured material was presented to a new audience.

Many of the comic strips have been reprinted a number of times in, or as, various publications, including as a series of mini-comics given away free in multi-packs of crisp snacks.

Doctor Who comic strip material has also been included in the Marvel Premiere Issues aimed at an American audience. Its success spawned a short-lived, separate US Doctor Who comic strip title. (See DWUS)

While the format for DWUS was very much that of a traditional Marvel comic (that is, without the sophistication of its UK printing counterpart), DWUS did present new artwork covers and colour throughout the reprinted stories.

Towards the end of 2007, the American comic publishing company IDW Publishing picked up the option to reprint (again) early DWM comic strips featuring the Fourth Doctor in a monthly series entitled 'Doctor Who Classics' as well as obtaining a license to launch a second USA comic title (imaginatively called 'Doctor Who') featuring new comic strip adventures for the Tenth Doctor.

In the UK, recent years have seen the comic strip adventures from the pages of Doctor Who Magazine being released as a series of graphic novels, complete with new artwork and commentaries from those involved, collecting together a full run of the Doctor's adventures along with selected reprints of the back up comic strips, presenting them as they originally appeared.

Doctor Who Magazine's comic strips have also been a key feature of hardback publications like the series of Doctor Who Yearbooks, Doctor Who Annuals and Doctor Who Storybooks (See DWA) as well as numerous Holiday Specials from the publishers of the monthly title (See DWMS).

Making the best use of talented artists, writers, inkers (and later colourists), the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip has gone from strength to strength.

Doctor-lead Comic Strip Stories by Issue

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