Crowdfunding Spotlight: Omega, a new Doctor Who-inspired comics project

Cutaway Comics Omega #1 cover by Martin Geraghty
Cutaway Comics Omega #1 cover by Martin Geraghty

Hot on the heels of their successful crowdfunding campaign for Eric Saward’s Lytton project, Cutaway Comics have launched a Kickstarter for their second title featuring characters originally created for Doctor Who Omega, offering some stunning art by John Ridgway.

Omega is a new four part US-style comic mini-series by Mark Griffiths and Doctor Who Magazine comic strip veteran John Ridgway, with a backup strip, “The Demons of Eden” by Ian Winterton and another DWM stalwart, Martin Geraghty.

“We’ve brought back one of the greatest Doctor Who artists of all time to tell the story of the greatest Doctor Who villain of all time – Omega!enthuses Cutaway Comics Publisher Gareth Kavanagh.And if that wasn’t enough thrill power on it’s own, there’s a brand new backup strip taking us back to that savage world of beauty, Eden glimpsed in 1979’s Nightmare of Eden!”

Omega can be described as the Galactus of the Doctor Who Universe, the villain who brought fear to the face of not one but two Doctors in The Three Doctors back in the 1970s, when he famously declared: “A hero? I should have been a GOD!”

A stellar engineer and revered figure in Time Lord history, it was Omega who gave the Doctor’s people the power of time travel. However, at what should have been the moment of his triumph, an accident condemned Omega to an eternity of loneliness trapped at the heart of a black hole in an anti-matter universe. With near limitless powers, Omega will stop at nothing to escape back into our universe, whatever the cost.

Featuring art by the John Ridgway, an artist whose credits who span some of the most memorable strips for Doctor Who Magazine such as “Voyager“, an unforgettable Sixth Doctor story penned by Steve Parkhouse, Omega’s mix of the cosmic and mythologic will, say Cutaway Comics, appeal to fans of The Sandman and Promethea.

“We’ve worked closely with Omega’s original co-creator, Bob Baker, to ensure our exploration of the character is true to his and Dave Martin’s vision of Doctor Who‘s own Galactus,” says Gareth.

Planned to launch in January 2021, with colouring by Andrew Orton and lettered by Colin Brockhurst, Omega follows revolt on the planet Minyos (expanding the world seen in the 1977 Doctor Who story, Underworld).

“Trapped in his black hole prison, Omega is stoking the chaos on Minyos – the key to his freedom,” Gareth teases. “Standing in Omega’s way is Princess Malika – last of the Minyan Royal Family.

“The fate of Minyos – and the entire universe is in her hands!”

Omega - Demons of Eden Back Up Strip Sample Art
Omega - Demons of Eden Back Up Strip Sample Art
Art from "Demons of Eden" the back up strip for Omega, written by Ian Winterton, art by Martin Gergahty
Art from “Demons of Eden” the back up strip for Omega, written by Ian Winterton, art by Martin Gergahty

Each issue of Omega will comes with three variant covers, by John Ridgway, Stephen B. Scott and Martin Geraghty providing these for #1; and there are some great “perks” on offer, too, including an extremely limited edition hardback of Omega #1-4 presenting John’s art in black and white – just 60 copies! – plus exclusive “trading card” versions of the covers.

Capturing the mythological theme, there are multiple options to collect all variants, and clean versions of the covers in the Kickstarter perks as part of the exclusive trading cards, VAM discs going behind the scenes on the making of the story, and more.

Cutaway Comics Omega #1 variant cover by John Ridgway
Cutaway Comics Omega #1 variant cover by John Ridgway
Cutaway Comics Omega #1 variant cover by Stephen B. Scott
Cutaway Comics Omega #1 variant cover by Stephen B. Scott

Cutaway Comics is a new British imprint of comics and graphic novels drawn from the darker recesses of a dangerous, unpredictable cutaway universe. From the creators of the acclaimed Vworp Vworp! Magazine, they star some of the most enigmatic characters to have graced our screens.

The project is inspired by the so-called ‘backup’ stripes of Doctor Who Weekly, which delved deeper into the characters and cultures of the Doctor Who universe away from the Doctor. The imprint launched earlier this year with Lytton, a four-issue limited series written by Eric Saward (Doctor Who) and featuring the eponymous mercenary (as portrayed by Gangster’s Maurice Colbourne), drawn by Barry Renshaw.

Check out Cutaway Comics Omega project, launching in January 2021 with following issues published quarterly, here on Kickstarter

• Keep looking on the Cutaway Comics website for more about this story, including the opportunity for artists to be involved

• Find Cutaway Comics on Facebook | Follow Cutaway Comics on Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Meet the Omega Team

Writer Mark Griffiths

Omega‘s writer, Mark Griffiths is a comedy writer, author, and playwright. From his first commission for Radio 4 at the age of seventeen, he has since written comedy and drama for radio, TV, and stage.

Writer Mark Griffiths
Writer Mark Griffiths

Working under the pen name Mark Powers, Mark has also written a number of successful young adult and children’s books including the hugely successful Spy Toys series of children’s books, currently optioned by Dreamworks for further development.

He’s also the writer of “We Apologise for the Inconvenience”, an infinitely improbable play about Douglas Adams and his struggle with deadlines. A script book and audio drama of this acclaimed play are available from Cutaway Comics webstore – and it may even be performed again at the Edinburgh Fringe come 2021, assuming the Festival goes ahead (Fingers very much crossed!).

• More about Mark Griffiths at www.markpowers.com | Follow Mark on Twitter @markgriffiths42

Artist John Ridgway

John Ridgway - 2006
John Ridgway

Artist John Ridgway is nothing less than a legend of British comics. Renowned for his detailed line work, imagination and bold inks, his art is adored by fans the world over. He has drawn extensively for 2000AD, Marvel and created the style for DC’s Hellblazer, as well as illustrating stories for Doctor Who Magazine including the fondly remembered “Voyager” and “The World Shapers” Sixth Doctor stories, and is colourist on independent projects such as Space Ace and his own tales. The Horned God: Life, Death & Rebirth, written by Bard Cerannon and illustrated by Scott Tyrrell, John Ridgway, Shaun Durham & Tony Jennison will be published soon by Wyrd Harvest Press.

Follow John Ridgway on Facebook

Colourist Andrew Orton

Colourist Andrew Orton is also an artist and animator, designing Big Finish’s Sapphire & Steel audio series amongst other things. He lives in Durham, where he spends his time making 3D models of obscure Doctor Who studio sets, for fun.

Letterer Colin Brockhurst

Letterer Colin Brockhurst is best known as designer editor of the acclaimed Doctor Who fanzine, Vworp Vworp! Colin will also be providing design for many of the Omega Kickstarter goodies.

Follow Andrew on Twitter @andreworton | View his work on Behance

Follow Colin Brockhurst on Twitter @brockhurst | Vworp Vworp! is online at www.vworpvworp.co.uk

“Demons of Eden” Writer Ian Winterton

Writer Ian Winterton
Writer Ian Winterton

Ian Winterton is a film journalist, award-winning playwright, university lecturer and screenwriter. As a film journalist, he’s interviewed many big Hollywood names, before starting to write for theatre in 2009. His play, Sherica, was selected for the 2011 24:7 Manchester Theatre Festival where it won both Best Play and the Audience Choice Award. It was also selected for the Library Theatre’s Re:Play festival and won a prestigious Manchester Theatre Award.

Sherica also led to Ian being short-listed for the BBC’s Alfred Bradley Bursary Award and he is currently a member of BBC Writersroom’s Northern Writers Group. His stage adaptation of The Best, an unfilmed Jack Rosenthal screenplay about George Best, won a Manchester Theatre Award in 2013. Other plays include Wednesday, Big Sid – another Rosenthal adaptation – and South, the latter developed with the support of Arts Council England and the Peggy Ramsay Foundation.

For the screen, Ian has written a trio of short films – Balance, One of the Crowd and The Ghosts of Abercwmboi. He is currently under commission from Movie Mogul Ltd to write a trilogy of films entitled The Skindred Chronicles, fantasy/sci-fi movies aimed at teens and young adults.

In addition, Ian has a number of drama projects in development with various production companies, for audio, TV and film.

Ian is online at ianwinterton.co.uk | Follow him on Twitter @IanWinterton

“Demons of Eden” artist Martin Geraghty

Martin Geraghty
Martin Geraghty

Martin Geraghty began drawing for Doctor Who Magazine in the early 1990s and has continued to draw regularly for the title ever since.

An exceptional artist, he’s drawn stories featuring eight different incarnations of the Doctor and well over 15 companions.



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