Doctor Who comic stories

A variety of Doctor Who comic stories have appeared from 1964 to the present. The range of releases, since 1963, reflects the range of stories told and makes Doctor Who the longest running comic strip based on a television series in the world.

The 1960s
The first comics based on Doctor Who appeared in TV Comic and in Doctor Who annual. The Dalek Chronicles, which did not feature the Doctor himself, appeared in TV Century 21 and others featuring the Daleks appeared in the Dalek annuals.


 * See First Doctor comic stories, The Dalek Chronicles'' and Second Doctor comic stories.

The 1970s
With the advent of the Third Doctor, the home of the Doctor Who comic strip changed from TV Comic to Countdown. After that publication failed some two years later, the strip returned to TV Comic, where it remained until Polystyle lost the license to Marvel UK. The Fourth Doctor was the final incarnation to debut in a Polystyle publication. While there were some Polystyle Fourth Doctor stories that were original, in fact the majority of Polystyle stories involving the Fourth Doctor were merely reprints of earlier Second and Third Doctor stories, with Tom Baker's likeness superimposed on top of the Doctor who had originally appeared in the adventure. This makes the placement of the very latest Polystyle adventures awkward for anyone who today wants to try to establish a chronology of the Polystyle events. In 1979, with the publication of the first issue of Doctor Who Weekly, the Doctor's adventures passed into the hands of people more influenced by American comic books than British cartoon strips, and thus their style radically altered. By the end of the decade, the only venue left for cartoon — and occasionally even avant garde — strips were the pages of the various World Distributors annuals.


 * See Third Doctor comic stories and Fourth Doctor comic stories.

The 1980s
The adventures of the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and, finally, Seventh Doctor appeared in Doctor Who Monthly and Doctor Who Magazine (Doctor Who Weekly under a different name). Comics also appeared in Doctor Who annual.


 * ''See Fourth Doctor comic stories, Fifth Doctor comic stories, Sixth Doctor comic stories and Seventh Doctor comic stories.

The 1990s
The comics actually outlived the original series, which had ended in late 1989. Comics in Doctor Who Magazine and Doctor Who Yearbook featured the adventures of past Doctors, and later the Eighth Doctor, who took over the main strip starting in 1996. A short Radio Times feature in 1996 also featured the adventures of the Eighth Doctor. A new publication, Doctor Who Classic Comics reprinted older stories, mainly from the 1960s and 1970s in their original colour form.


 * See Seventh Doctor comic stories and Eighth Doctor comic stories.

The 2000s
The adventures of the Eighth Doctor continued until 2005 with the debut of the first new Doctor Who season and the Ninth, then Tenth Doctor. New magazines Doctor Who: Battles in Time and Doctor Who Adventures, as well as the Doctor Who annual and Doctor Who Storybook featured new stories, which continue to do this day. Meanwhile, Panini began the publication of series of graphic novels re-printing older stories.


 * See Eighth Doctor comic stories, Ninth Doctor comic stories and Tenth Doctor comic stories.

Original companions
The comics have introduced a number of new companion characters.

Other information
Promotional mini-comics have been given away free with multi-packs of crisps and snacks. A newspaper strip was at during the early 1990s considered (and sample work done) for a run in a national newspaper. Other comics have apepared various other merchandising (like collectable cards in ice lollies, and as slide shows for projectors and viewmasters.