Doctor Who Magazine

Doctor Who Magazine

Doctor Who Weekly issue 1, cover dated 17 October 1979
Editor Tom Spilsbury
Categories Science fiction television
Frequency Monthly
Circulation 35,374 (ABC figure as of 12 August 2010)
First issue 17 October 1979 (442 issues as of 15 December 2011)
Company Panini Comics
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Website Panini listing
ISSN 0957-9818

Doctor Who Magazine (abbreviated as DWM) is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Its current editor is Tom Spilsbury. It is the current Guinness Book of World Records holder for the longest running TV Tie-in.

Contents

History

Officially sanctioned by the BBC, the magazine began life as Doctor Who Weekly in 1979, published by the UK arm of Marvel Comics. The first issue was released on Thursday 11 October with a cover date of 17 October and priced 12p.

The magazine moved from weekly to monthly publication with issue 44 in September 1980, becoming Doctor Who (the tagline "A Marvel Monthly" was not part of the name, but simply a description which appeared on many of Marvel UK's monthly titles at that point) and a cover price of 30p. The title changed to Doctor Who Monthly with issue 61 and The Official Doctor Who Magazine with issue 85 in February 1984. It became The Doctor Who Magazine with issue 99 in April 1985, and simply Doctor Who Magazine with issue 107 in December 1985. The magazine has remained under that title ever since, although an exception was made for issue 397 in June 2008 when the cover only featured the words Bad Wolf following transmission of the Doctor Who episode "Turn Left" on Saturday 21 June. In 1990 the magazine started appearing once every four weeks (13 times a year). Despite the BBC discontinuing production of Doctor Who in 1989, the magazine continued to be published, providing new adventures in the form of comics. The television programme was revived in 2005, providing a new generation of fans which the magazine was seeking to attract.

Originally geared towards children, DWM has grown into a more mature magazine exploring the behind-the-scenes aspects of the series. Due to its longevity, it is seen as a source of 'official' and exclusive information, sharing a close relationship with the television production team and the BBC. In 2006, however, it lost its exclusivity when BBC Worldwide launched its own comic, Doctor Who Adventures, aimed at a younger audience.

DWM is now published by Panini Comics, which purchased the title along with the rest of the Marvel UK catalogue in 1995. Panini has begun to digitally restore and reprint older DWM comics in trade paperback format. Twelve volumes have been printed so far: two featuring the comics adventures of the Fourth Doctor, one with the adventures of the Fifth Doctor, two featuring the Sixth Doctor, one with the adventures of the Seventh Doctor, four focusing on the Eighth Doctor, and two featuring the Tenth Doctor. Panini also published a one-shot magazine-format reprinting of the complete Ninth Doctor strips in 2006 and most of the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones strips in 2008. DWM issue 426 reported that the series has been postponed, although Panini hopes to be able to continue it in the future.

DWM's 400th issue was published in September 2008, and the publication celebrated its 30th anniversary in October 2009. In April 2010, it was confirmed in issue 420 that Doctor Who Magazine now holds the Guinness World Record for "Longest Running Magazine Based on a Television Series."[1]

In April 2011, Panini Comics released a new monthly magazine titled Doctor Who Insider, although it is made in Britain the magazine is published for North America.

Content

DWM features an ongoing comic starring the current incarnation of the Doctor, though for a period between 1989 and 1996, when the series was off the air, it featured previous Doctors. Notable writers and artists who have worked on the comic include John Wagner, Pat Mills, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Dave Gibbons, Mike McMahon, John Ridgway and Ian Edginton. Selected stories from the comic were also reprinted in North America by Marvel Comics. Supporting characters that have crossed over from the comic to other spin-off media include Frobisher, the shape-changing companion of the Sixth and Seventh Doctors; Abslom Daak, the Dalek Killer; the Special Executive, who would later appear in Marvel's Captain Britain; and the villainous Beep the Meep.

The magazine has also featured other comics over the years, most notably "Doctor Who?", a humorous look at the series by Tim Quinn and Dicky Howett. This was principally a three-panel comic strip, though occasionally page-long parodies were featured. A currently running strip, and Doctor Who?'s spiritual successor, is a single-panel strip "Doctor Whoah!". Embedded into the Galaxy Forum letters page, it lampoons a recent episode, DVD release of stories or other such event by showing alternative, exaggerated and expanded versions of Doctor Who scenes. For example, after the broadcast of "Partners in Crime", the strip portrayed the Doctor's arrival on the "Planet of the Hats", referred to in the episode. Between 1989 and 92 "The Comic Assassins" was a series of parody strips by Steve Noble and Kev F. Sutherland.

In the 1990s a secondary serious comic was featured on the inside cover; for many issues this was "The Cybermen", a series of tales set on Mondas prior to the events of The Tenth Planet, explaining the back-history of the Cybermen. The TV Century 21 comic "The Daleks" was also resurrected, continuing the story from where it had left off by showing the Daleks attacking Earth; it was drawn in the same style as the 1960s original.

Other regular features of the magazine include the news section "Gallifrey Guardian", which has run since nearly the beginning of the magazine; the letters page "Galaxy Forum"; reviews of television episodes and merchandise (in "The DWM Review", known for a time as "After Image", "Off the Shelf", and "Shelf Life"); the "Matrix Data Bank" page, where readers' Doctor Who questions are answered; the "Time Team", which involves four fans watching every Doctor Who story in order from the beginning; and, since production restarted on the series in 2004, a regular column "Production Notes" by the show's executive producer. From 2004 to 2009 the column was written by Russell T Davies, and since January 2010, Steven Moffat has taken over the page, although other writers and production staff have from time-to-time written the column.

A single-page 'opinion' column has often been part of the magazine's mix – past columns have included "Fluid Links" by Matt Jones, "The Life and Times of Jackie Jenkins" by 'Jackie Jenkins', "It's the End... But" by 'The Watcher' and "You Are Not Alone" by Neil Harris.

The format has changed over the years, but the news, letters, reviews, and comic strip have all been present consistently since the early 1980s. The magazine also features a 'Who On Earth Is...' section, which showcases a brief interview with someone involved in 'Doctor Who'. This article features usually at the back of the magazine.

The magazine also features interviews with the cast and crew of the television show (including the old episodes), and reports from the set of the current series, written by Benjamin Cook or Jason Arnopp. The behind-the-scenes stories of all of the 1963–1989 episodes have been documented in Andrew Pixley's "DWM Archive", and detailed analysis of certain significant serials are covered in "The Fact of Fiction", usually written by former DWM editor Alan Barnes or David Bailey. "The DWM Review" is currently written predominantly by Graham Kibble-White, former editor Gary Gillatt, Vanessa Bishop, and Matt Michael. Previous reviewers include the late Craig Hinton (who went on to write Doctor Who novels), and Gary Russell, who subsequently became the magazine's editor.

In 2004 Russell T Davies offered to let the magazine write and publish the official regeneration scene from the Eighth to the Ninth Doctor as part of its ongoing comic strip prior to the relaunch of the TV series. Although work was done on this storyline, then editor Clayton Hickman and writer Scott Gray eventually turned down the offer as they felt they couldn’t do such an important event justice under the constraints imposed by the TV series' continuity.[2]

Editors

Editor Duration Issues Range Total
Dez Skinn 1979–1980 1–22 22
Paul Neary 1980–1981 23–48 26
Alan McKenzie 1981–1985 49–96 48
Sheila Cranna 1985–1988 97 & 107–136 31
Cefn Ridout 1985 98–106 9
John Freeman 1988–1992 137–185 49
Gary Russell 1992–1995 186–222 37
Gary Gillatt 1995–2000 223–254, 256–292 69
Sophie Aldred 1997 255 1
Alan Barnes 2000–2001 293–312 20
Clayton Hickman 2002–2007 313–386 74
Tom Spilsbury 2007–incumbent 387-incumbent 56*

* Ongoing (up to Issue 442)

Special editions

From 2002 Doctor Who Magazine began producing an irregular series of "Special Editions" – stand alone magazines themed around a specific topic and carrying a much higher page count than the regular magazine. Previously, the magazine had released seasonal and irregular one-shot special editions with various titles.

  1. The Complete Fifth Doctor (March 2002, 68 pages): A detailed look at the complete run of Fifth Doctor stories and their various spin offs. This included in-depth articles on the production the seasons and updates on DWM 's original Archive features on the serials (by Andrew Pixley), a short essay on a specific aspect of each of the TV stories (by various fan/writers) and detailed overviews of the Fifth Doctor's appearances in comics (by John Ainsworth, novels (by Matt Michael) and audio plays (by Gary Gillatt; authorships of these features are consistent across the range of original TV programme's Complete _ Doctor volumes).
  2. The Complete Third Doctor (July 2002, 84 pages): A detailed look at the complete run of Third Doctor stories and their various spin offs. This included in-depth articles on the production of each of the seasons covered and Archive updates on each serial, a short essay on a specific aspect of each of the TV stories and detailed overviews of the Third Doctor's appearances in comics, novels and audio (in this case, strictly radio) plays.
  3. The Complete Sixth Doctor (September 2002, 68 pages): A detailed look at the complete run of Sixth Doctor stories and their various spin offs. This included in-depth articles on the production of each of the seasons covered and Archive updates on each serial, a short essay on a specific aspect of each of the TV stories and detailed overviews of the Sixth Doctor's appearances in comics, novels and audio plays.
  4. The Complete Second Doctor (January 2003, 84 pages): A detailed look at the complete run of Second Doctor stories and their various spin offs. This included in-depth articles on the production of each of the seasons covered and Archive updates on each serial, a short essay on a specific aspect of each of the TV stories and detailed overviews of the Second Doctor's appearances in comics and novels.
  5. The Complete Eighth Doctor (July 2003, 84 pages): A detailed look at the Eighth Doctor and his various spin offs. This included a detailed archive feature on the making of the 1996 TV movie, a look at the history of Doctor Who in the intervening years following the end of the TV show and a detailed overview of the Eighth Doctor's appearances in comics, novels and audio plays.
  6. We Love Doctor Who (November 2003, 84 pages): Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first broadcast of the TV show readers of Doctor Who Magazine had been asked to vote for their all time favourite aspects of the show in various categories. This magazine published the results and essays on the most popular TV stories, books, comics, writers and contributors.
  7. The Complete First Doctor (January 2004, 100 pages): A detailed look at the complete run of First Doctor stories and their various spin offs. This included in-depth articles on the production of each of the seasons covered and Archive updates on each serial, a short essay on a specific aspect of each of the TV stories and detailed overviews of the First Doctor's appearances in comics and novels.
  8. The Complete Fourth Doctor – Volume One (July 2004, 84 pages): A detailed look at the run of the first four seasons of Fourth Doctor TV stories. This included in-depth articles on the production of each of the seasons covered and Archive updates on each serial, plus a short essay on a specific aspect of each of the TV stories.
  9. The Complete Fourth Doctor – Volume Two (October 2004, 84 pages): A detailed look at the final three seasons of the Fourth Doctor TV stories. This included in-depth articles on the production of each of the seasons covered and a short essay on a specific aspect of each of the TV stories and Archive updates on each serial, plus a detailed overview of the Fourth Doctor's appearances in comics and novels.
  10. The Complete Seventh Doctor (February 2005, 100 pages): A detailed look at the complete run of Seventh Doctor stories and their various spin offs. This included in-depth articles on the production of each of the seasons covered and Archive updates on each serial, a short essay on a specific aspect of each of the TV stories and detailed overviews of the Seventh Doctor's appearances in comics, audio plays and novels. There was also an errata section correcting some errors in the previously published volumes.
  11. The Doctor Who Companion – Series One (July 2005, 100 pages): A guide to the production of the recently aired first series of the revived TV show. This included a detailed look at the production of each of the episodes by Andrew Pixley, articles on aspects of the design work on various episodes, a look at some of the special effects, a profile of the Ninth Doctor and the original series pitch with annotated notes by show runner Russell T Davies.
  12. In Their Own Words – Volume One 1963–1969 (November 2005, 100 pages): A chronological commentary on the making of the TV series in the 1960s by those involved in its production. This is collated from extracts of interviews previously published in Doctor Who Magazine with the individuals concerned.
  13. The Ninth Doctor Collected Comics (April 2006, 100 pages): A reprint of all the Ninth Doctor comic strip stories published by Panini Comics. This includes:
  14. The Doctor Who Companion – Series Two (August 2006, 108 pages): A guide to the production of the recently aired second series of the revived TV show. This included a detailed look at the production of each of the episodes by Andrew Pixley and the original second series pitch with annotated notes by show runner Russell T Davies.
  15. In Their Own Words – Volume 2 1970–1976 (November 2006, 100 pages): A chronological commentary on the making of the TV series in the first part of the 1970s by those involved in its production. This is collated from extracts of interviews previously published in Doctor Who Magazine with the individuals concerned.
  16. In Their Own Words – Volume 3 1977–1981 (April 2007, 100 pages): A chronological commentary on the making of the TV series in the latter part of the 1970s and start of the 1980s by those involved in its production. This is collated from extracts of interviews previously published in Doctor Who Magazine with the individuals concerned.
  17. The Doctor Who Companion – Series Three (August 2007, 132 pages): A guide to the production of the recently aired third series of the revived TV show. This included a detailed look at the production of each of the episodes by Andrew Pixley and an overview of the development of the series by show runner Russell T Davies.
  18. In Their Own Words – Volume 4 1982–1986 (November 2007, 100 pages): A chronological commentary on the making of the TV series in the 1980s by those involved in its production. This is collated from extracts of interviews previously published in Doctor Who Magazine with the individuals concerned.
  19. The Tenth Doctor Comics (April 2008, 100 pages): A reprint of most of the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones comic strip stories published by Panini Comics. This includes:
    • "The Woman Who Sold the World" (Doctor Who Magazine issue 381–384, written by Rob Davis, art by Mike Collins)
    • "Bus Stop!" (Doctor Who Magazine issue 385, written by Rob Davis, art by John Ross)
    • "The First" (Doctor Who Magazine issue 386–389, written by Dan McDaid, art by Martin Geraghty)
    • "Death to the Doctor!" (Doctor Who Magazine issue 390, written by Jonathan Morris, art by Roger Langridge)
  20. The Doctor Who Companion – Series Four (August 2008, 148 pages): A guide to the production of the recently aired fourth series of the revived TV show. This included a detailed look at the production of each of the episodes by Andrew Pixley and an introduction by show runner Russell T Davies.
  21. In Their Own Words – Volume 5 1987–1996 (November 2008, 100 pages): A chronological commentary on the making of the TV series in the latter part of the 1980s, the events following the initial cancellation in 1989, and the making of the TV Movie in 1996. This is collated from extracts of interviews previously published in Doctor Who Magazine with the individuals concerned.
  22. 200 Golden Moments (May 2009, 148 pages): To mark 200 television stories with the broadcast of "Planet of the Dead", at least one 'golden moment' was chosen from each story, with an essay to celebrate the chosen scene.
  23. Sarah Jane Smith (October 2009, 100 pages): A guide to the production of The Sarah Jane Adventures, covering holiday special "Invasion of the Bane", the first and second series, and the Comic Relief special. This included a detailed look at the production of each of the episodes by Andrew Pixley and an interview with Elisabeth Sladen who played Sarah Jane.
  24. In Their Own Words – Volume 6 1997–2009 (February 2010, 116 pages): A chronological commentary on the events following the TV Movie in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and the making of the revived series from 2005 to 2009. This is collated from extracts of interviews previously published in Doctor Who Magazine with the individuals concerned.
  25. The Doctor Who Companion – The Specials (April 2010, 100 pages): A guide to the production of the 2008-2010 specials starring David Tennant, from "Planet of the Dead" to The End of Time, plus the Proms special "Music of the Spheres" and the animated episode "Dreamland". This included a detailed look at the production of each of the episodes by Andrew Pixley.
  26. The Doctor Who Companion – The Eleventh Doctor Volume One (October 2010, 100 pages): A guide to the production of the first half of the recently aired 2010 series, from "The Eleventh Hour" to "The Vampires of Venice". This included a detailed look at the production of each of the episodes by Andrew Pixley.
  27. The Doctor Who Companion – The Eleventh Doctor Volume Two (December 2010, 100 pages): A guide to the production of the second half of the recently aired 2010 series, from "Amy's Choice" to "The Big Bang", plus DVD extras "Meanwhile in the TARDIS". This included a detailed look at the production of each of the episodes by Andrew Pixley.
  28. Sarah Jane Smith – Volume Two (April 2011, 116 pages): A guide to the production of The Sarah Jane Adventures, covering the third and fourth series. This included a detailed look at the production of each of the episodes by Andrew Pixley.
  29. The Doctor Who Companion – The Eleventh Doctor Volume Three (September 2011, 84 pages): A guide to the production of the next five Eleventh Doctor episodes, from "A Christmas Carol" to "The Doctor's Wife". This included a detailed look at the production of each of the episodes by Andrew Pixley.
  30. The Doctor Who Companion – The Eleventh Doctor Volume Four (December 2011, 84 pages): A guide to the production of the next five Eleventh Doctor episodes, from "The Rebel Flesh" to "The Girl Who Waited", plus the specially-made sequence that introduced the National Television Awards. This included a detailed look at the production of each of the episodes by Andrew Pixley.
  31. The Doctor Who Companion – The Eleventh Doctor Volume Five: A guide to the production of the next five Eleventh Doctor episodes, from "The God Complex" to "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe", plus the competition episode "Death is the Only Answer". This included a detailed look at the production of each of the episodes by Andrew Pixley.

Comic Strip: Collected editions

Panini has been collecting the comic sections of the magazines into a number of trade paperbacks.

Due to its comparatively short run, the Ninth Doctor comic strips collection was published as a magazine format Special Edition (issue 13, above).

The available collections are:

Fourth Doctor:

Fifth Doctor:

Sixth Doctor:

Seventh Doctor:

Eighth Doctor:

Tenth Doctor:

Doctor Who Classics

In January 2008, IDW Publishing, an American comic book company, launched Doctor Who Classics, a monthly comic book series reprinting digitally colourised Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctor strips from the early issues of DWM.[3] The series is being collected in trade paperbacks:

Other reprints

The DWM comic strip has also been reprinted in other formats:

See also

References

  1. ^ John, Andrew (2 April 2010). "Guinness World Record for Doctor Who Magazine". DigitalJournal.com. http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/289974. Retrieved 3 April 2010. 
  2. ^ The Flood – ISBN 978-1-905239-65-8 Pg 221–223
  3. ^ IDW Launches Dr. Who Classics in December (press release) Newsarama, 3 November 2007

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