Here’s a list of comics – both US and UK releases – on sale in specialist UK comic shops from today, Wednesday 15th October 2014, courtesy of First Age Comics, Lancaster. We’ve picked out the titles published by British publishers in bold below, or titles with a British connection we’re aware of.
Perhaps the most eagerly-awaited release of the week is Titan Comics Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #1 by Robbie Morrison (Drowntown, The Authority, 2000AD, Nikolai Dante) and New York Times-bestselling artist Dave Taylor (Batman: Death by Design; 2000AD)
Offering shocks, surprises, and galaxy-shaking revelations, Robbie and Dave mark the start of their first five-issue run by diving headfirst into the console room and pulling all the levers they can – spinning the new Doctor off to his most challenging destination yet!
Freshly regenerated and with a new head full of unanswered questions, the Doctor (as played by Peter Capaldi) whisks Clara Oswald (as played by Jenna Coleman) away to a strange and distant world. Clara thought she was in for some skiing lessons: instead, she and the Doctor discover a world transformed through terraforming – and not in a good way.
Alongside the Doctor, Clara’s facing down exotic flora and fauna, smoothing the tempers of everyone the Time Lord seems happy to rub up the wrong way – and she doesn’t even know what the Doctor is searching for, or what will try to kill them should they find it!
Titan kindly sent us a review copy of the first issue and, as expected, the artwork is absolutely amazing, beautifully telling Robbie’s wonderful story setting up a story of ancient menace awakened by human meddling (don’t you just hate that when it happens? The Doctor clearly does). There are some terrific nods to the past in Robbie’s crisp script and dialogue and, to Robbie’s credit, a quick passing reference, I think to the first Doctor Who comic strip outing in Doctor Who Magazine. The issue introduces the Twelfth Doctor, Clara and the abilities of the TARDIs with consummate skill and great humour, so do check it out.
Robbie will be signing copies of the new comic at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival as well as making appearances there, including the Doctor Who in Comics: Fifty Years in 50 Minutes panel chaired by myself, alongside Scott Gray from Doctor Who Magazine, Martin Geraghty, Mike Collins and Nick Abadzis. (Dez Skinn, Mark Buckingham, Dave Gibbons, Andy Diggle and Gary Erskine are among other Doctor Who comics luminaries at the Festival).
Dave Taylor will be signing the Twelfth Doctor #1 at First Age Comics, Lancaster on Saturday 1st November from 12 noon until 1.0pm as part of their annual Hallowe’en festivities (Facebook event link). There will be cake and I’ll be lurking in the background muttering “Marvel should bring Back Gene Dogs“.
Also on sale this week (and available in all good newsagents) is 2000AD Prog 1903, featuring a cover from D’Israeli featuring ‘The Bad Pennies’ from “Stickleback”, a rival gang amidst a growing list of enemies who have filled the vacuum since Stickleback ‘disappeared’ from Victorian London’s criminal underworld, five years earlier. But the former ‘Kingpin of Crime’ will not go down without a fight, and may have more sinister problems to deal with..
Tharg’s awesome Autumn Attack continues apace, with some of the UK’s finest creators involved including, Pat Mills, John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra, John Higgins, Dan Abnett and even more top talent. The strip line up includes “Judge Dredd”, “Stickleback”, “Greysuit”, “Ichabod Azrael” and “Kingdom”.
Don’t forget The Beano is also on sale every week in newsagents along with a host of other comics (though never enough, these days), including the latest issues of Commando, Doctor Who Adventures, TOXIC, VIZ, Doctor Who Magazine and Panini’s Marvel US comics.
Sadly, the latest issue of Titan Magazines’ Totally…, featuring the CBBC show Wolfblood, on sale from Thursday 16th October, doesn’t include a comic strip, but nonetheless it’s a fun package based on the smash it series, which recently started its new season. Wolfblood is aimed at young teens, much the same as the TV series and as well as features on the show, in the style of Doctor Who Adventures, there are puzzle pages, pin ups and a short interview with the series creator Debbie Moon, who ponders the possibility of Wolfblood: The College Years, which sounds like a great idea to me…
- 2000AD Prog 1903
- A City Of Whiskey And Fire One-Shot
- Alice Cooper 2
- Amazing Spider-Man Trade Paperback Volume 1 Paper Luck
- Army Of Darkness: Hitched 3
- Avengers And X-Men: Axis 2
- Avengers World 14
- Batman And Robin 35 ROBIN RISES
- Batman Eternal 28
- Batman/Superman 15
- Batwoman 35
- Black Widow 11
- BPRD: Hell On Earth 124
- Danger Girl: Mayday 4
- Daredevil 9
- Dark Horse Presents 2014 Issue 3
- Deadly Class 8
- Deadpool’s Art Of War 1
- Death Of Wolverine 4
- Doctor Who Twelfth Doctor 1
- Earth 2 Worlds End 2
- Edge Of Spider-Verse 5
- Evil Empire 1
- Fables 145 DEFY (Art by Mark Buckingham)
- Fantastic Four 11
- Flash Gordon 6
- Green Lantern New Guardians 35 GODHEAD
- Guardians Of The Galaxy 19
- Haunted Horror 13
- Hellraiser: Bestiary 3
- Hulk 7
- Infinite Crisis: Fight For The Multiverse 4
- Jim Henson’s Storyteller Witches 2
- Judge Dredd 24 (Subscription Variant cover by John Charles)
- Justice League 35
- Last Broadcast 6
- Life After 4
- Loki: Agent Of Asgard 7 AXIS
- Lumberjanes 7
- Magneto 11 AXIS
- Manifest Destiny 11
- Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man 6
- Ms Marvel 9
- My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic 24
- New 52 Futures End 24
- New Avengers 25 TRO
- October Faction 1
- Original Sin Annual 1
- Painkiller Jane 22 Brides Issue 3
- Prometheus Fire And Stone 2
- Quantum And Woody 1
- Red Hood And The Outlaws 35
- Red Sonja: Black Tower 2
- Rocket Raccoon 1 (3rd Printing)
- Saga Trade Paperback Volume 1
- Simpsons Comics 215
- Skylanders 1
- Sleepy Hollow 1
- Spider-Man 2099 Issue 5 EOSV
- Star Trek New Visions: Cry Vengeance
- Storm 4
- Strain: Night Eternal 3
- Supergirl 35 DOOMED
- Superior Foes OF Spider-Man 16
- Supreme Blue Rose 4
- Teen Titans 3
- Teen Titans Go 6
- Thanos: A God Up There Listening 2
- The Devilers 4
- Thief Of Thieves 24
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 39
- Trees 6 (by Warren Ellis)
- Trinity Of Sin 1
- Uncanny X-Men 27
- Unity 0
- V-Wars 6
- Wilds End 2 (by Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard)
- Winterworld 3
- Witchblade Case Files 1
- Witchfinder Mysteries Of Unland 5
- Wolverine And X-Men 10
• First Age Comics is at 3 Moor Lane, Lancaster LA1 1QD. Open: Tuesday – Friday 10.00am – 4.30pm, Saturday 10.00am – 5.30pm. Find them on Facebook
• First Age Comics also has a shop site on e-Bay: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/First-Age
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: 2000AD, British Comics, Doctor Who, downthetubes Comics News, US Comics