Telos Publishing has opened preorders for Leap of Eighth: The Unofficial and Unauthorised History of the Eighth Doctor by Reecy Pontiff, featuring a cover by comic artist Martin Geraghty.
This new book offers background and history to all the eighth Doctor fiction across book, comic strip, audio and television produced so far.
In 1996 an American-made Doctor Who television film burst on the scene, starring the charismatic English actor Paul McGann as the Doctor, and fandom embraced him.
While there was at the time no more of Paul’s performance on screen, his Doctor transitioned to other media with ease: comics, books and finally audio, bringing a wealth of stories, adventures, companions and more to Doctor Who lore.
Reecy Pontiff’s book chronicles the creation and development of those media. Through interviews with more than fifty of the creators, and McGann himself, Reecy Pontiff picks a path through the so-called “Wilderness Years”, to emerge from the other side with literally hundreds of new adventures and stories to enjoy, all featuring the eighth Doctor.
It truly was … A Leap of Eighth!
Having lived in six time zones on three continents, Reecy Pontiff has long embraced the lifestyle of a ‘professional vagabond’ (which sounds nicer in American). She’s a writer, tour guide and devastatingly clever lyricist. Her Renaissance faire alter ego Bettina Bawdeville has performed original, morally questionable songs in a spectacular hat. At the time of publishing Reecy has relocated to the UK to pursue broadcast journalism.
• Leap of Eighth: The Unofficial and Unauthorised History of the Eighth Doctor by Reecy Pontiff is available to preorder direct from Telos Publishing | Cover by Martin Geraghty | 270pp approx. 6×9 paperback non-fiction | Out: 12th May 2026 | ISBN: 978-1845833582
• Reecy Pontiff is online at reecypontiff.com
- About the Author
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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: Books, Doctor Who, downthetubes News, Other Worlds, Television
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