Martin Geraghty

Martin Geraghty
Work in the DWU
Main jobs:	Artist
Stories:	see credits section
Main time period active:	1994-2005, 2007-present

Martin Geraghty is an exceptionally prolific penciller in the pages of Doctor Who Magazine, active since 1994. He can also claim to be its most versatile artist, since he's drawn non-parodic stories featuring eight different incarnations of the Doctor and well over fifteen companions. Only Mike Collins rivals him for the crown of "most Doctors featured in proper, non-parodic stories" — but Collins has only drawn stories featuring the Seventh through the Eleventh Doctors.

Drawing unusual combinations

Because he began his career with DWM at a time when the magazine was featuring comic strips of past Doctors, his portfolio includes serious, non-parodic interpretations of TARDIS crews that were rarely seen in comics. He's one of the few artists to depict the First Doctor and Susan; (COMIC: Operation Proteus) the Second Doctor, Jamie and Victoria; (COMIC: Bringer of Darkness) the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane and Harry; (COMIC: Black Destiny) the Fifth Doctor and Peri; (COMIC: The Curse of the Scarab) the Fifth Doctor, Turlough and Tegan; (COMIC: The Lunar Strangers) and the Seventh Doctor and Mel. (COMIC: Plastic Millenium)

In each of these cases, he was the first artist to portray in comics the particular TARDIS crew in question. Indeed, he handled the comic debuts of Mel and Susan. He was the first person to use Harry, Victoria, Turlough, and Tegan outside of annuals or parodic comics.

Eighth Doctor

Geraghty became practically the house artist during the Eighth Doctor's run. Beginning in earnest with the last of the more-or-less regular Seventh Doctor story, in which Ace controversially died (COMIC: Ground Zero), Geraghty was in place for the vast majority of Eighth Doctor stories. He was the first artist since Dave Gibbons to completely dominate a Doctor's era in the pages of DWM, and, indeed, the first to do a Doctor's first and last strips. He drew and inked the following Eighth Doctor adventures:

• Endgame
• The Keep
• A Life of Matter and Death
• Fire and Brimstone
• Tooth and Claw
• The Final Chapter
• Wormwood
• The Fallen
• The Road to Hell
• The Glorious Dead
• Ophidius
• Beautiful Freak
• The Way of All Flesh
• Oblivion
• The Land of Happy Endings
• Bad Blood
• The Flood

The BBC Wales Doctors

Doctor Who Magazine chose to go with Mike Collins as their principal artist during the "Rose Tyler run", but Geraghty returned with a vengeance for the story immediately after Rose departed from the pages of DWM. His first story back, The Warkeeper's Crown, gave him the unique opportunity of depicting an encounter between the Tenth Doctor and the Brigadier. It was the first time that an older, post-Third Doctor (and almost certainly post-Battlefield) Brigadier had been seen in comics, DWM or otherwise. He went on to draw The First, The Widow's Curse, and the Tenth Doctor's final story, The Crimson Hand. As of early 2011, his only contribution to the Eleventh Doctor's run is The Golden Ones. In 2016, he drew the Twelfth Doctor stories Witch Hunt and The Stockbridge Showdown (with art by Dave Gibbons, Roger Langridge, Adrian Salmon, Dan McDaid, John Ross, Mike Collins, John Ridgway and David A Roach).

Not really an inker

Geraghty was, in a sense, the first of the modern pencillers for DWM. As technology improved in the comics industry, and inking has become a more specialised skill, there has been a general trend away from pencillers being their own inkers. Inking, as a profession, began to rise in importance, and Geraghty's portfolio demonstrates this. Despite his unusually long list of stories pencilled, he's only inked six relatively short stories — most of them his very earliest work: Operation Proteus, Black Destiny, Bringer of Darkness, Plastic Millenium, and A Life of Matter and Death, whose credits are vague enough to allow for the possibility that the inks were actually done by Sean Longcroft. The only modern, colour story Geraghty inked was The Widow's Curse.

Most companions, most Doctors

Geraghty far and away holds the record of "most companions drawn" — discounting, perhaps, the artists on The Forgotten, who were just drawing different companions in cameos. Geraghty has drawn real, proper stories featuring: Susan Foreman, John and Gillian, Victoria Waterfield, Jamie McCrimmon, Harry Sullivan, Sarah Jane Smith, Tegan Jovanka, Vislor Turlough, Peri Brown, Melanie Bush, Ace, Izzy Sinclair, Dr. Grace Holloway, Destrii, the Brigadier, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, Majenta Pryce, Amy Pond and Clara Oswald.

He's also drawn the most incarnations of the Doctors in full, non-parodic stories. This record would discount "multi-Doctor" stories like The Forgotten, where there's a two-page splash that shows ten incarnations in a single portrait, or parodies like Happy Deathday. Geraghty has drawn at least one "serious" story involving the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors. He's also been the final artist for the most number of Doctors, having drawn the DWM swansong for the Seventh, Eighth and Tenth Doctors.

Big Finish previews

Geraghty has also been employed by DWM to draw "comic previews" for Big Finish stories. These illustrations have accompanied reviews and/or announcements of particular Big Finish releases.

External links

• Martin Geraghty at comicbookdb.com