Two separate series of original comic strips featuring the Eighth Doctor (and thus the likeness of actor Paul McGann) were published after the broadcast of Paul McGann's appearance the 1996 TV movie Doctor Who and before the debut of the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler in the 2005 Doctor Who episode Rose. The Radio Times published a weekly comic strip for a time. There was also the standard Doctor Who Magazine strip. The two series introduced brand-new companions, although the Eighth Doctor's only on-screen companion, Grace Holloway, also appeared twice. There were also cameo appearances by companions from past DWM series. The Master was also resurrected.
During the latter period of the DWM comic stories the stories switched from black and white strips to full colour.
One of the strip's most noted fans was Russell T Davies, the first and fourth head writer of the revived Doctor Who series which began in 2005. Davies had proposed that the magazine's strip regenerate McGann's Doctor at the conclusion of The Flood. Whilst a draft was prepared to include the regeneration, the idea was abandoned as the magazine team had reservations about taking such an important element from the television series should McGann ever be used in the series for flashback purposes. Eventually the decision was taken to simply end The Flood on a note similar to Survival, with the Eighth Doctor and Destrii's later adventures left a mystery to the readers. In 2016, the DWM comic story story The Stockbridge Showdown confirms that Destrii survived.
