Talk:Eve of the War (comic story)

Proposed rename
I'm suggesting this rename because, as far as I can tell, the title Eve of the War has been in use for longer and more prevalently in official sources than Eve of War.The earliest instance of Eve of War (and the only instance prior to this article's creation in 2008) I could find was in 1991's The Terrestrial Index.

Meanwhile, the earliest occurrence of Eve of the War was in Jeremy Bentham's article about TV21 from the Gallifrey fanzine in 1980. Although this was unofficial, it is worth noting that 10 of the 15 Bentham-invented titles became adopted by later reprints to such an extent that they are the titles used by this Wiki. This number rises to 13 of 15 if one takes or adds the word the from Bentham's. The two exceptions (The Menace of the Monstrons and The Rogue Planet) are special cases in that they are stories which got their titles from the reprints in the 1970s Dalek annuals, of which Bentham was unaware. The first official use of Eve of the War was in issue 6 of Doctor Who Classic Comics as part of an editorial accompanying the reprint of the story in that issue (although the contents gives it as The Eve of the War). Frame Count, a list of all The Daleks stories featured in issue 8, soon corroborated Eve of the War as the more correct styling. Eve of the War was also used for 1994's The Dalek Chronicles, which is to date the only single release to reprint all The Daleks stories while giving them individual titles.

Eve of War has undoubtedly achieved greater prominence online in recent years (which I suspect is in large part due to this very Wiki) but Eve of the War has by no means disappeared in reference works covering TV21. The name with the the was used in 2012's The Comic Strip Companion: 1964 – 1979 and in 2017's edition of Vworp Vworp!. I'm likely missing some recent official uses of Eve of War in DWM or somesuch but the very salient (imo) fact remains that Eve of War has never been used in a release actually containing the story whereas Eve of the War has been used twice and in the two most recent reprints. I can understand some reluctance to this proposal as the name has been used on the Wiki for over a decade without objection but it is my belief that we shouldn't be scared to upset the status quo if a more accurate name is found (and I think it has).

What does everyone else think? Borisashton ☎  21:48, 9 April 2022 (UTC)


 * I agree. If there are titles that have actually been applied to a story in publications that contained them, it seems obvious to me we should use those, not names used in reference books. And earlier titles are preferred when available.


 * On which note… while we're reexamining all these names: just why do we call The Penta Ray Factor and The Archives of Phryne by those titles, anyway? Don't The Envoys of Evil and The Quest have seniority? But at least Penta Ray Factor and Archives of Phryne are names that actually have been used in some printings of those stories. Eve of War, though, I think doesn't really have any legs to stand on as more than a redirect. Scrooge MacDuck ⊕ 22:15, 9 April 2022 (UTC)