Cover Preview: MASTERS OF BRITISH COMIC ART

Here's news of a book that I'm sure will be appreciated by fans of British comics. Masters of British Comic Art will weigh in at over 300 pages and will be published by Rebellion next April. Written by artist and historian David Roach it features over 400 scans shot from original artwork and includes notable UK comic artists such as Reg Bunn, Dave Gibbons, Dudley Watkins, Frank Bellamy, Yvonne Hutton, Tom Browne, Roy Wilson, Hunt Emerson, Leo Baxendale, Ken Reid, Bob Dewar and many, many more, with a cover by Brian Bolland! "Well over 100 artists" said David Roach, "and is as complete a history of British comics and artists as I could put together". 

Sounds like a must-buy! You can pre-order it from Amazon now:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Masters-British-Comics-David-Roach/dp/1781087598/

DWM Limited Edition

The latest Doctor Who Magazine appeared in the shops yesterday, but at the Doctor Who Festival this weekend there'll be a chance to buy the issue with a limited edition cover, exclusive to the event.

The Festival Edition is limited to just 2000 copies, all numbered. The content is the same as the regular edition, featuring news, interviews, reviews, previews and the concluding part of The Highgate Horror strip by Mark Wright, David Roach and Mike Collins.

As I mentioned the other day, I'll be at the Festival on Saturday, at the Doctor Who Magazine stand, and will be happy to sign my Daft Dimension strip if you buy a copy of the mag. I'll also be available to do sketches if you wish to commission one.  

See you at the Doctor Who Festival at the ExCel tomorrow (Saturday 14th November). 

For full details of the Festival, visit their website:
http://www.doctorwho.tv/events/doctor-who-festival/

Doctor Who Magazine website:
http://www.doctorwhomagazine.com/

DWM 486 preview

Doctor Who Magazine No.486 arrives in shops this Thursday (April 30th) and here's a few highlights from its 84 packed pages. 

The cover features seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy and two of the cast of the new Big Finish audio drama Damaged Goods, based on a Doctor Who novel by Russell T Davies from 1996. There's a nine page feature on the production inside.

Part two of the new twelfth Doctor comic strip Fire and Ice is in this issue, running to twelve pages. Jacqueline Rayner's script is engaging and intriguing, and it ties in nicely with a classic Who story from long, long ago. The artwork by Martin Geraghty and David Roach is excellent too. Can't wait for part three!

A few other features hearken to the early days too, with an article on the new book about Verity Lambert, plus an eight page interview with Carole Ann Ford and her recollections of press clippings of the 1960s. 

There's also the first part of the history of Doctor Who on home video, a tribute to the late designer Barry Newberry (who worked on many of the early Doctor Who serials), and a lengthy Fact of Fiction on the 1966 story The Highlanders.

Now that Panini are also publishing the junior title Doctor Who Adventures it's only right that DWM should run a feature on it and the comic's editor Jason Quinn gives us some background info plus a preview of issue 2. It's looking good, and I found myself agreeing with Jason's new direction for the revamped DWA. (Issue 1 is out now if you haven't already tried it.) 

All that plus much more, including another Daft Dimension strip by me. Don't miss your copy on Thursday, priced £4.99. 

It's time for the latest Doctor Who Magazine!

Doctor Who Magazine No.483 went on sale today and it's another 84 packed pages of Who-related goodness. If you didn't already know, each issue features an all-new full colour 12 page Doctor Who strip by some of Britain's top comics talents. This issue has part three of The Instruments of War, written and drawn by Mike Collins with inks by David Roach. Fantastic stuff!

The other regular comic strip is The Daft Dimension by me, and this month I've brought back the Zarbi! Who? They were going to be huge in the sixties you know. Had their own badges on sale in Woolworths and they appeared on the Doctor Who Give-A-Show Projector Set. Since then.... not so much. But I've always liked 'em so I couldn't resist devoting one strip to them.

The rest of the magazine is crammed full of features including part two of the exclusive interview with Peter Purves on his time on Doctor Who 50 years ago...

...and an article on the set designs of the First Doctor's Marco Polo adventure, plus loads of other features. 

Doctor Who Magazine No.483. On sale now from WH Smith and other retailers for £4.99. 

Doctor Who and The Daft Dimension

There's a brand new series of Doctor Who commencing on BBC One on Saturday night (7.50pm - 9.10pm) and to whet your appetites there's a new issue of Doctor Who Magazine out today.

As you might expect, this issue is a great 'jumping on point' for new and lapsed readers, with extra pages (a total of 100!) and it's bagged with a huge double-sided poster of the new Doctor and a Dalek. Tear open the plastic outer wrapper (shown above) and the magazine inside has a very classy minimalist cover...

This issue begins the comic strip adventures of the 12th Doctor and Clara, in a 12 page story The Eye of Torment by Scott Gray, Martin Geraghty, David Roach, and James Offredi.

There's another comic strip in there too. The debut of a new humour mini-strip, - The Daft Dimension by... er... me! 


I'm really pleased to have been invited aboard the TARDIS as the official magazine's latest cartoonist and I hope readers enjoy the strip. I've been reading Doctor Who Magazine on and off (mainly on) since it began as Doctor Who Weekly in 1979, and I've seen most episodes of the TV show since its early days of 1963/64. So as you can probably guess, I'm over the moon to be in the pages of DWM but at the same time apprehensive as to the reaction from this new audience. Be gentle with me, Whovians!

Of course, the comic strips are only part of DWM. The bulk of the magazine features a wealth of material about the new series and its rich heritage. This issue sees previews of the first four episodes of the 2014 series, an exclusive interview with Peter Capaldi, the third part of an interview with script editor Terrance Dicks, a look at the career of Dalek voice-artist Peter Hawkins, a nice big 10 page feature on the 1964 story The Reign of Terror, an interview with Tom Baker, Louise Jameson and Philip Hinchcliffe, reviews, and much more. As always, this is the essential publication for fans of Doctor Who.

Doctor Who Magazine No.477. 100 pages. £5.99. Published by Panini UK. Out now!  Check out the magazine's official website for more info:
http://www.doctorwhomagazine.com/

The Internet Explodes

As most of you are no doubt aware, Doctor Who celebrates its 50th anniversary with a 75 minute special episode on Saturday 23rd November. If that hasn't had people speculating enough the BBC have today released a seven minute prequel to that episode! You can find it here on the BBC's You Tube page:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U3jrS-uhuo

Yes - the Internet is buzzing with discussion about it already. If you're a fan of the series it's a vital part of the story (and of Doctor Who history in general) that's not to be missed!

Also out today is Doctor Who Magazine No.467. It's a special bumper edition with 116 pages and comes in a card envelope (shown above) together with 12 Anniversary Art Cards showing 12 Doctors plus a retro-styled 16 page mini mag showing how Doctor Who Magazine might have looked if it had been around in 1964. (The design isn't quite sixties enough but it's close - and it's a great bit of fun.)

As this is a comics blog I can't let the 12 page comic strip in the latest DWM go unmentioned. It's a truly exceptional complete story written by Scott Gray with artwork by the hugely talented David Roach and colours by James Offredi. One of the best stories to have appeared in a British comic this year.

Such a whopping amount of goodness comes with a higher price and this issue is £7.99 - but well worth it. Available from WH Smith, Asda, Tesco, and many other retailers.