Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
Launched in 1979 as Doctor Who Weekly, the magazine became a monthly publication the following year. In 1990 it switched to a four-weekly schedule, publishing 13 issues a year, along with triannual deluxe Special Editions and Bookazines. Regular issues include interviews, behind-the-scenes articles on television episodes and Doctor Who in other media, as well as producing its own comic strip.
Its founding editor was Dez Skinn, and the longest-serving editor was Tom Spilsbury who served from 2007 to 2017. He was succeeded by Marcus Hearn, who took over from Spilsbury in July 2017. The incumbent editor is Jason Quinn, who took over from Hearn in September 2023. DWM is recognised by Guinness World Records as the longest running TV tie-in magazine, celebrating 40 years of continuous publication on 11 October 2019. The magazine published its 600th issue on 1 February 2024.
History
Originally geared towards children and predominately featuring comic strips, DWM slowly transformed into a mature magazine, expanding to explore behind-the-scenes aspects of the series and developing the comic strip. Due to its longevity, it is seen as a source of 'official' and exclusive information, sharing a close relationship with the television production team and the BBC.Marvel years (1979–1995)
Officially licensed by the BBC, the magazine began life as Doctor Who Weekly in 1979, published by the UK arm of Marvel Comics. The first issue was released on Thursday 11 October with a cover date of 17 October and priced 12 pence.The magazine moved from weekly to monthly publication with issue 44 in September 1980, becoming Doctor Who – A Marvel Monthly with a cover price of 30 pence – although the tagline was not part of the name, but simply a descriptor which appeared on many of Marvel UK's monthly titles at that point. The indicia continued describing the publication as 'Doctor Who Weekly' until issue 48. The cover title changed to Doctor Who Monthly with issue 61, and then to The Official Doctor Who Magazine with issue 85 in February 1984. It became The Doctor Who Magazine with issue 99 in April 1985, and simply Doctor Who Magazine with issue 107 in December 1985. The magazine has remained under that title ever since; an exception was made for issue 397 when the cover featured only the words Bad Wolf, following transmission of the Doctor Who episode "Turn Left" on Saturday 21 June.
Despite the BBC discontinuing production of Doctor Who in 1989, the magazine continued to be published, providing new adventures in the form of comics. In 1990 the magazine started appearing once every four weeks.
Panini years (1995–present)
DWM is now published by Panini Comics, which purchased the title along with the rest of the Marvel UK catalogue in 1995. In 2006, however, it lost its exclusivity when BBC Worldwide launched its own comic, Doctor Who Adventures, aimed at a younger audience.DWM's 400th issue was published in September 2008, and the publication celebrated its 30th anniversary in October 2009. In April 2010, it was confirmed in issue 420 that Doctor Who Magazine now holds the Guinness World Record for "Longest Running Magazine Based on a Television Series." The magazine reached its 500th issue in May 2016. It reached its 600th issue in February 2024.
In April 2011, Panini Comics released a new monthly magazine titled Doctor Who Insider; although it was made in Britain the magazine was published for North America. It was announced on 27 January 2012 that Doctor Who Insider had ceased publication after nine issues. Doctor Who Insider returned for a special edition issue on 1 November 2012.
Panini has begun to digitally restore and reprint older DWM comics in trade paperback format. Twenty-five volumes have been printed so far: two featuring the comics adventures of the Fourth Doctor, one with the adventures of the Fifth Doctor, two featuring the Sixth Doctor, five with the adventures of the Seventh Doctor, four focusing on the Eighth Doctor, one with the adventures of the Ninth Doctor, three featuring the Tenth Doctor, four collecting the adventures of the Eleventh Doctor and four with the adventures of the Twelfth Doctor. Panini also published a one-shot magazine-format reprinting of the complete Ninth Doctor strips in 2006 and most of the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones strips in 2008. DWM issue 426 reported that the series had been postponed; it eventually resumed with the publication of "The Crimson Hand" in May 2012.
In November 2020, Panini published The Daleks, a new compilation of the Dalek comic strips originally published on the back pages of early issues of 1960s comic TV Century 21. Unlike previous reprints, the majority of pages in the collection were scanned from the original artwork.
Editors
DWM's founding editor was Dez Skinn, who had been headhunted by Stan Lee to oversee the revitalisation of the ailing UK division. " had the idea for a Doctor Who title around 1975.... I felt it would be a perfect stablemate to my then-current House of Hammer magazine, and could be produced in the same format, with a mix of comic strips and features, going behind and beyond the TV series." To make the publication work, Skinn needed a comic strip to be at the heart of the publication, and successfully negotiated for the rights to the Doctor Who comics licence with the BBC which had previously been held by Polystyle Publications since late 1964. DWCC Launching in 1979 as a weekly comic strip based publication, Skinn handed over the reins in 1980.His immediate successor as editor, Paul Neary, was faced with significant falling sales following the premature end of the programme's 17th season in January 1980. Neary first attempted to target the publication at a younger readership; when this failed to halt falling sales, he instead relaunched the title as a monthly magazine. Subsequent editors gradually realised then surpassed Skinn's vision of a more mature magazine, getting rid of secondary and tertiary comic strips for regular features and articles going behind the scenes of the show.
During 1995 Panini bought out Marvel UK, and thus took control of DWM. The incumbent editor Gary Russell – who would go on to produce the Big Finish Productions Doctor Who audios dramas from their inception, and to work for BBC Wales as a Script Editor on the Doctor Who spin-offs The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood – was 'asked to leave'. The editorship was taken over by recently hired comic strip editor, Gary Gillatt.
Gillatt edited the magazine for the next five years, except for issue 255 in 1997 which was guest-edited by one of the stars of the Doctor Who TV show Sophie Aldred.
In February 2001, the editor at the time Alan Barnes, oversaw the transformation of the comic strip from black and white to full-colour with the first episode of the Eighth Doctor story Ophidius.
Clayton Hickman became the editor in 2002, launching the deluxe triannual Special Editions of the magazine and the Doctor Who Annual, later Storybook, in 1996. He was the first editor since John Freeman to work on the publication with the show actually in production.
Subsequent editor Tom Spilsbury took over in 2007, later launching the deluxe triannual Bookazine. Spilsbury would stay at the helm for a decade, becoming the longest-serving editor in the process, handing over the editorship to Marcus Hearn in 2017. Hearn announced his departure as editor in issue 594 in 2023, and he was succeeded by Jason Quinn.
| Editor | Duration | Issues Range | Total |
| Dez Skinn | 1979–1980 | 1–22 | 22 |
| Paul Neary | 1980–1981 | 23–48 | 26 |
| Alan McKenzie | 1981–1985 | 49–96 | 48 |
| Sheila Cranna | 1985–1988 | 97 & 107–136 | 31 |
| Cefn Ridout | 1985 | 98–106 | 9 |
| John Freeman | 1988–1992 | 137–185 | 49 |
| Gary Russell | 1992–1995 | 186–200 201–221 222 | 37 |
| Gary Gillatt | 1995–2000 | 223–254 256–261 262–263 264–271 272–292 | 69 |
| Sophie Aldred | 1997 | 255 | 1 |
| Alan Barnes | 1998–2001 | 262–263 272–292 293–312 313 | 44 |
| Clayton Hickman | 2002–2007 | 313 314–386 | 74 |
| Tom Spilsbury | 2007–2017 | 387–515 | 129 |
| Peter Ware & Richard Atkinson | 2017 | 515 | 1 |
| Marcus Hearn | 1993–1994 2017–2023 | 201–221 516–594 | 100 |
| Jason Quinn | 2023– | 595– | Ongoing |