The new issue of the official Doctor Who Magazine (No. 584), on sale now from branches of WH Smith and selected supermarkets, sports the new logo – and includes a fantastic new comic strip that ties in directly with the upcoming TV stories starring David Tennant as the mysteriously retroactively regenerated Time Lord.

There’s plenty of mystery (and no end of fan speculation) as to why the face of the Fourteenth Doctor is the face of the Tenth’s. The new strip, “The Strip of a Lifetime”, by Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies, new series Script Editor and Big Finish writer, director and producer Scott Handcock and longtime Who author Alan Barnes, with smashing-looking art by Lee Sullivan, offers a comic strip tale directly connected to the continuity of the TV show, for the very first time.

Episode one picks up moments after the ending of The Power of the Doctor TV special and this special story will run for the next 12 issues, leading straight into the next TV special, due for broadcast by the BBC in the UK and Disney+ worldwide in November 2023.

“Russell T Davies, our new showrunner, has long admired the DWM strip,” says the title’s editor Marcus Hearn, “And that’s why he’s granted us the honour of telling the Fourteenth Doctor’s first story in an adventure that dovetails with the most recent episode. For the first time in our 43-year history, the strip is now in lockstep with the television series’ continuity.”

Russell T Davies says, “From day one, I wanted to increase ties between the show and the magazine. I love it when we’re in sync! A lot of people will be thinking, David’s not the real Doctor, he’s a trick, an illusion, a flashback. But no. He’s real. And DWM can help us underline that.”

Quite apart from the fantastic comic strip, it’s great to see the “Diamond logo” back on the cover of the magazine. Longtime readers of the title may recall that, as editor, I reinstated this best known form of the Doctor Who ident when I was editor back in the 1990s, after it seemed clear the show might never return (although the BBC never officially confirmed that during my tenure on the title).

Although many series logos look great on screen they don’t translate well to print, and the “poppy” ident of the Seventh Doctor’s era was very definitely a struggle, despite adding elements to it for use on the cover of DWM to try to male it “pop” on the newsstand. I was so glad BBC Enterprises (now BBC Worldwide) authorised the change back then – and it definitely works really well today!

Other highlights of the new issue include:

• Meet the New Team – the producers, directors and other crew members of Doctor Who tell us what they’re looking forward to in the 2023 Specials and beyond
• “Daft Dimension” from the ever-brilliant Lew Stringer
• Letter from the Showrunner – in the first of his new regular columns, Russell T Davies reveals what brought him back to Doctor Who.
• Production Diary – script editor Scott Handcock provides exclusive updates about forthcoming episodes, direct from Doctor Who’s HQ.
• Reach up for the Sunrise – David Tennant, Russell T Davies, former showrunner Chris Chibnall, directors Rachel Talalay and Jamie Magnus Stone, and CG artist Ben Pickles describe shooting The Power of the Doctor’s regeneration sequence.
• The Watchers ­– fans who were lucky enough to be granted studio visits in the 1960s and early 70s recall the thrill of watching Doctor Who being made.
• Hack to the Future – an interview with artist Robert Hack about the new illustrated version of David Whitaker’s seminal novel Doctor Who and the Daleks.
• Collectivity: The TARDIS – meet the fans for whom collecting police-box merchandise has been a lifelong passion.
• Factory Records – the sets of 1966’s The Power of the Daleks are recreated, providing new insights into this mostly missing story.
• The Fact of Fiction encounters Cybermen and Daleks as it looks back at 2006’s Army of Ghosts.
• Other Worlds – an essential guide to forthcoming stories in the expanded Doctor Who universe.
• Previews, reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser, Sufficient Data and more.

• Doctor Who Magazine Issue 584 is on sale now from panini.co.uk and WH Smith and select supermarkets priced £6.99 (UK) | Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £5.99 | Web: doctorwhomagazine.com

John Freeman

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: downthetubes News

Tags: Alan Barnes, David Tennant, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Magazine, downthetubes News, Lee Sullivan, Lew Stringer, Russell T Davies, Scott Handcock, SF Comics