There had been comic strip adventures based on the long-running BBC-TV series Doctor Who almost since its inception, and other publishers had been telling the character's adventures for years in the pages of such titles as TV Comic and Countdown. It wasn't until Marvel got the rights to make a weekly tie-in comic and set 2000 AD's Pat Mills, John Wagner and Dave Gibbons to work on the character in 1979 that the comic became an icon in its own right.
For thousands of readers, Marvel's chronicles formed a thrilling, parallel continuity to that of the television series, and a "canon" every bit as memorable as that shown on television. Sometimes it's even more memorable: "The Star Beast" features one of the Doctor's all-time great villains, and anybody who'd prefer the lackluster twentieth TV season of the show to the incredible Stockbridge stories in the third volume needs their eyes checked.
Panini's first three volumes cover Marvel's complete adventures of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors. Four further editions will cover the complete comic story of the Eighth Doctor and are greatly anticipated.
Sadly, Panini's Doctor Who volumes are quite scarce in the United States, and not currently available, or even listed, on amazon.com. Until Panini can find some way to correct this problem, we hope American readers can order the books from their local comic shop, through Diamond, who have released some stock to retailers in the US.
Doctor Who Volume 1: The Iron Legion. 162 pages, £14.99 UK, $24.95 US.
Enter a dimension where the robot centurions of the mighty Roman Empire travel from planet to planet, crushing all in their path – driven by cruel gods of greed, destruction and despair… Explore a world where feelings are a crime, where love is punishable by death, and where the Nervous, the Brave and the Half Daft must unite with their “Great Emoter” in a desperate fight for freedom… Visit an ordinary street in an ordinary town, but one where aliens lurk in the coal shed and the cabbage patch, where good and evil travel in disguise, and where your best hope of escape is the 5A bus… Travel to a future where the colonists of New Earth are under attack by the vicious Wereloks – but the ferocity of these beasts is as nothing beside the calculated cruelty of their masters… Discover a realm where the laws of time and space mean nothing, and where a simple request for a cup of tea could lead to the end of everything...
Join the Doctor, that immortal traveler in time and space, on five of his wildest and wittiest comic strip adventures. The Time Lord’s courage and ingenuity is all that stands against evil and oppression – even though he’d happily swap it all for a bag of jelly babies and a week in Benidorm!
Contents:
Interview with Dave Gibbons (originally published in Doctor Who Classic Comics #11)
The Iron Legion, written by Pat Mills & John Wagner, art by Dave Gibbons (originally published in Doctor Who Weekly #1-8)
City of the Damned, written by Pat Mills & John Wagner, art by Dave Gibbons (originally published in Doctor Who Weekly #9-16)
The Star Beast, written by Pat Mills & John Wagner, art by Dave Gibbons (originally published in Doctor Who Weekly #19-26)
The Dogs of Doom, written by Pat Mills & John Wagner, art by Dave Gibbons (originally published in Doctor Who Weekly #27-34)
The Time Witch, written by Steve Moore, art by Dave Gibbons (originally published in Doctor Who Weekly #35-38)
Doctor Who Volume 2: Dragon's Claw. 162 pages, £14.99 UK, $24.95 US.
The time-travelling Doctor is back in his second collection of classic comic-strips!
Join the heroic Time Lord in eleven more wild and witty sci-fi stories: Dragon’s Claw, The Collector, Dreamers of Death, The Life Bringer, War of the Words, Spider-God, The Deal, End of the Line, The Free-Fall Warriors, Junk-Yard Demon and The Neutron Knights!
In these fast-paced adventures through time and space, our hero must contend with old enemies – the emotionless Cybermen and the warlike Sontarans – as well as an amazing array of new intergalactic foes – including the ancient Gods of Olympus, a cannibal street gang, mythical warriors from another dimension and a race of psychic vampires – with only his loyal companion Sharon, his robot dog K9 and his trusty TARDIS to aid him in his battle to save the universe!
Contents:
Dragon’s Claw, story by Steve Moore, art by Dave Gibbons. (originally published in Doctor Who Weekly #39-45)
The Collector, story by Steve Moore, art by Dave Gibbons. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly#46)
Dreamers of Death, story by Steve Moore, art by Dave Gibbons. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly #47-48)
The Life Bringer, story by Steve Parkhouse, art by Dave Gibbons. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly #49-50)
War of the Words, story by Steve Parkhouse, art by Dave Gibbons. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly #51)
Spider-God, story by Steve Parkhouse, art by Dave Gibbons. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly #52)
The Deal, story by Steve Parkhouse, art by Dave Gibbons. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly #53)
End of the Line, story by Steve Parkhouse, art by Dave Gibbons. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly #54-55)
The Free-Fall Warriors, story by Steve Parkhouse, art by Dave Gibbons. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly #56-57)
Junk-Yard Demon, story by Steve Parkhouse, art by Mike McMahon. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly #58-59)
The Neutron Knights, story by Steve Parkhouse, art by Dave Gibbons. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly #60)
Doctor Who Volume 3: The Tides of Time. 226 pages, £14.99 UK, $24.95 US.
The travelling Time Lord has regenerated – and he’s back in this third collection of classic comic-strips!
Join the heroic Fifth Doctor in his complete Doctor Who Magazine strip collection – six incredible, out-of-this-world adventures from the pen of Steve Parkhouse: The Tides of Time, Stars Fell on Stockbridge, The Stockbridge Horror, Lunar Lagoon, 4-Dimensional Vistas and The Moderator!
In these mind-bending adventures through time, space and alternate realities, the Doctor finds himself up against old enemies – the Ice Warriors and the Meddling Monk – plus an incredible array of new foes – including the demonic Melanicus, the money-grabbing Josiah W Dogbolter, trigger-happy Time Lord Tubal Cain, and a ghostly presence aboard his own TARDIS!
Joined by the mysterious Matrix agent Shayde, UFO-spotter Max Edison and time-warped GI Gus Goodman, the Doctor has to contend with threats to the universe, to his own freedom and even to the lives of his companions...
Contents:
The Tides of Time, story by Steve Parkhouse, art by Dave Gibbons. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly #61-67)
Stars Fell on Stockbridge, story by Steve Parkhouse, art by Dave Gibbons. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly #68-69)
The Stockbridge Horror, story by Steve Parkhouse, art by Parkhouse & Mick Austin. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly #70-75)
Lunar Lagoon, story by Steve Parkhouse, art by Mick Austin. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly #76-77)
4-Dimensional Vistas, story by Steve Parkhouse, art by Mick Austin. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly #78-83)
The Moderator, story by Steve Parkhouse, art by Steve Dillon. (originally published in Doctor Who Monthly #84, Doctor Who Magazine #86-87)
Timeslip, story and art by Paul Neary. (originally published in Doctor Who Weekly #17-18)
Doctor Who Volume 4: End Game. ?? pages, £?? UK, $?? US.
Volumes 4-7 of the Doctor Who series are planned to reprint the complete comic adventures of the Eighth Doctor. "End Game" is the first of these and is scheduled for December 2005. More information is expected soon!