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)


 * Oops, I completely forgot about this discussion. Apologies.


 * I'm glad you agree! I suggest we go ahead with the move before finishing a review of the other Daleks titles (which I do think is a good idea) as almost every story has a similar but unique background to their titles.


 * The Penta Ray Factor is an interesting one. It was a Bentham title originally but now outnumbers The Envoys of Evil in publications containing the story 3-1 with The Dalek Tapes, Doctor Who Classic Comics and The Dalek Chronicles all opposing the first official title of The Envoys of Evil as given in Terry Nation's Dalek Annual 1977. The recent reference sources of The Comic Strip Companion: 1964 – 1979 and Vworp Vworp! I mentioned above err towards Bentham's title but instead go for The Pentaray Factor to reflect the most common name of the titular weapon. It is worth noting, however, that the first mention of it in the comic is as "PENTA RAY" rather than "PENTARAY" or "Pentaray" so either is acceptable in my opinion. With all this in mind, I'd personally stick with The Penta Ray Factor because it's the most common name by far and its first official use is only three years adrift from Envoys.


 * The Quest is more easy to analyse in my mind. Although I think it's alright to bolden it on the page for The Archives of Phryne the simple fact is The Archives of Phryne alone has never been called The Quest in something containing it. In the Dalek annual, The Quest begins with a lone Dalek defeating the Monstrons and the Golden Emperor vowing to rebuild his city and guarding against all enemies from the skies. Everything since has instead included that as part of The Menace of the Monstrons but I think it would inaccurate to rename when this proclamation is as much a part of The Quest as The Archives of Phryne is. Borisashton ☎  21:24, 18 July 2022 (UTC)