The classic Trading Card game, Doctor Who: Battles in Time is making a comeback, thanks to Master Replicas. But what about the comic strip?
Doctor Who – Battles in Time was first published as a trading card and magazine partwork by defunct publisher GE Fabbri, first launched in mid-April 2006 in two “test regions” in Britain, followed by a national launch across the UK and Australia on 20th September 2006, running for three years ending in May 2009.
Each magazine included a comic strip, initially drawn by John Ross (Issues 1 to 6) and Lee Sullivan, with colours by Alan Craddock.
Lee also created sample illustrations for the trading card series, including images of the Tenth Doctor, played on screen by David Tennant and Rose, played by Billie Piper; but Fabbri decided on photo images instead. However, the commission resulted in five years of comic strip work with the company, surely crying out for collection.
Comic archivist Paul Scoones estimates there are 280 pages of comic strip (70 issues x four pages each) in the Battles in Time run. “That’s a good length to fill a couple of book collections,” he notes. “Though there would probably need to be 144 pages of strip in Volume 1 and 136 pages in Volume 2, to avoid breaking part-way through a story.”
“Whilst it was aimed at a much younger audience than my previous work on Doctor Who Magazine, it constitutes my longest continuous stint on a Who-related strip,” Lee says of his work on the series. “I coloured the first strip I drew, featuring Rose. Remaining episodes were coloured by Alan.”
The new Doctor Who – Battles in Time
Shipping from March 2026 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the original game launch, in Doctor Who – Battles in Time, collect heroes and monsters and pit them against one another in epic battles. Look out, too, for special bonus cards that change the rules.
You can start your Battles in Time collection with a special Game Pack “Retroduction Set”, available to preorder here in limited quantities, which contains 80 new unique cards. 72 cards are reissues from the classic trading card game that have been printed on a special foil for the first time. Eight all-new cards feature the Fifteenth Doctor, his closest friends and some of his most powerful foes.
“This is just the beginning,” say Master Replicas. “More cards are coming soon!”
But, again – what about the comic strip?
• Preorder Doctor Who Battle In Time – Retroduction Set, shipping from March 2026
• Check out this fantastic fan resource for the original Battles in Time game here
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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: British Comics, Comics, Doctor Who, downthetubes News, Games, Licensing, Merchandise, Other Worlds, Television
Man I would be all over those comic collections! Lee Sullivan’s work is breathtaking.