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First Doctor comic stories refers to the
comic strips
A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...
devoted to the long-running British
science fiction television
Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
series ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', using the likeness of the
First Doctor
The First Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor William Hartnell.
Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time L ...
William Hartnell
William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the First Doctor, first incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, ...
. The strip was launched in
Polystyle's ''
TV Comic
''TV Comic'' was a British comic book magazine published weekly from 9 November 1951 until 29 June 1984. Featuring stories based on television series running at the time of publication, it was the first British comic to be based around TV pro ...
'' on 14 November 1964, less than a year after the television series began broadcasting and was the first original
spin-off media from the show.
["Scoones (2012), p. 16] This strip began what has become known as the '
Polystyle era': running from 1964 to 1979.
["Scoones (2012), p. 11] The First Doctor starred in this strip running parallel with his appearance on the television show, ending in December 1966, after which ''TV Comic'' began creating strips for the
Second Doctor
The Second Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. While the Troughton era of ''Doctor Who'' is well-remembered by fans an ...
. The franchise to print a regular comic strip passed to ''
Doctor Who Magazine
''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the followi ...
'' (then ''Doctor Who Weekly'') in 1979, and was opened up to multiple franchises in the mid-2000s. During this time, the First Doctor has made various guest appearances as well as starring in some one-off comic strips.
Polystyle comic strips (1964–1966)
History
''TV Comic'', according to ''Doctor Who'' historian Jeremy Bentham, 'had grown up in the wake of commercial television. Just as publications like ''
Radio Fun
''Radio Fun'' was a British celebrity comics comic book, comic paper that ran from (issues dates) 15 October 1938 to 18 February 1961, when it became the first out of twelve titles to merge with Buster (comic), ''Buster''.
The comic strips incl ...
'' had blossomed during the golden years of the wireless so ''TV Comic'' began catering for young readerships who watched and liked children's programmes on
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
.
["Bentham, "Doctor Who Comics" (March 1982), p. 15] ''TV Comic'' - despite only having previously featured spin-offs of ITV programmes, decided to pitch for ''Doctor Who'' with the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, and despite initial reticence from the channel, eventually struck a deal.
["Bentham, "Doctor Who Comics" (March 1982), p. 16] The strip launched in issue 674 with a cover date of 14 November 1964; hitting the shelves - according to ''Doctor Who'' comics historian Paul Scoones - on 8 November 1964.
["Scoones (2012), p. 16] This means that the ''Doctor Who'' comic strip in ''TV Comic'' was officially the first spin-off media from the show - the first novelization ''
Doctor Who in an exciting adventure with the Daleks'' not being released until later the same week on 12 November.
["Scoones (2012), p. 16] One immediate difference from the TV show was that the Doctor would be referred to in-strip as 'Doctor Who'.
There were other differences too. The rights to use ''Doctor Who'' applied 'then, as now' only applied to the likeness of the actor playing the Doctor and the TARDIS, and the portrayal of any other characters - be they companions or adversaries - would have been a separate negotiation and an increased cost, even prohibitive for companions who would appear in every instalment.
Accordingly, the Doctor was given new companions in the first strip, "The Klepton Parasites", two grandchildren Gillian and John. Regarding ''Doctor Who'' foes, the situation was very similar. During the First Doctor period of the ''TV Comic'' strip, only the inhabitants of
Vortis from "
The Web Planet
''The Web Planet'' is the fifth serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by Bill Strutton and directed by Richard Martin, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in six weekly parts from 1 ...
" (1965) - the
Zarbi and
Menoptra - made it into a story. The Doctor's greatest adversaries - the
Dalek
The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1963 ''Doctor Who'' ...
s - could not appear for another reason. This was that creator (
Terry Nation
Terence Joseph Nation (8 August 19309 March 1997) was a British screenwriter and novelist. Especially known for his work in British television science fiction, he created the Daleks and Davros for ''Doctor Who'', as well as the series '' Survivo ...
) had 'a separate copyright' for the creatures, and had negotiated a deal with ''
TV Century 21
''TV Century 21'', later renamed ''TV21'', ''TV21 and Tornado'', ''TV21 and Joe 90'', and ''TV21'' again, was a weekly British children's comic published by City Magazines during the latter half of the 1960s. Originally produced in partnership ...
'' (aka ''TV21'') comics around the same time for their own strip; and copyright could 'only be held by one company at any one time' for the same format.
["Bentham, "Doctor Who Comics" (March 1982), p. 17] "
The Daleks
''The Daleks'' (also known as ''The Mutants'' and ''The Dead Planet'') is the second serial in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC TV in seven weekly parts from 21 December 1963 to ...
" strip appeared in issue 1 of ''TV21'' (23 January 1965), and ran for one hundred and four instalments, each a page long, ending in issue 104 (14 January 1967).
Writers and artists
''Artists:'' There were three artists during the ''TV Comic'' First Doctor period. Neville Main was the first to draw the First Doctor (and thus to draw any incarnation of the Doctor).
["Scoones (2012), pp. 23-61] Main drew the first 9 stories (46 episodes) of the ''TVC'' strip, plus one single episode strip for the 1965 ''TVC Holiday Special'' and two single episode strips for the 1965 ''TVC Annual 1966''. Bill Mevin took over for the middle of the run, producing 7 stories (28 episodes) for ''TVC'' between October 1965 and April 1966.
["Scoones (2012), pp. 62-75] He also produced one of the two single episode strips for that year's ''TVC Annual 1967'' released some months after his tenure came to an end due to illness.
["Scoones (2012), p. 91] These strips were produced much earlier in the year (April) ready for the more complex print procedure, hence the appearance in the table below which makes it look as if Mevin returned to the script some time later. After Mevin's relatively short tenure, the ''TVC'' strip was taken on by John Canning who produced 8 stories (36 episodes) plus two single episode strips for the 1966 ''TVC Holiday Special'' and one of the two single episode strips for the 1966 ''TVC Annual 1967''.
["Scoones (2012), pp. 77-96] Canning was thus the last of the three artists to draw the First Doctor for ''TVC'', and, furthermore, would go on to kick off the Second Doctor run which began late December 1966.
["Scoones (2012), p. 100]
''Writers:'' The situation with the scripts is more complex. Writing in 1982, Jeremy Bentham, the first researcher of ''Doctor Who'' comic strips, believed these strips to have been written by the artists who drew them. Thus in 'those days the notion of a strip having a separate writer was strictly the prerogative of American comic books'.
However, this view was later revised. John Ainsworth, another comic strip historian, said in an interview: 'There's quite a mystery surrounding around who actually wrote the scripts for the early Hartnell ''Doctor Who'' strips, or indeed, all the Hartnell ''Doctor Who'' strips. It was thought that the artists wrote them, but, after talking to
..one of the artists, Bill Mevin
..he doesn't know who wrote them but he knows he did actually work from scripts someone else provided'
[''Stripped for Action'' (2008), 00:07:01-00:07:24] In the same documentary, Mevin confirmed this saying, ''TVC'' strips were 'a production line
..a conveyor belt. I'd get a script and I'd draw it'.
[''Stripped for Action'' (2008), 00:07:24-00:08:27] Later research by Paul Scoones in ''The Comic Strip Companion: 1964-1979'' (2012) clarified some aspects of script production. In an overview, Scoones notes: 'Writers and artists were seldom named on the strips, which presents a challenge when trying to credit stories', and while all the artists have been identified, some of the writers 'unfortunately remain unknown'.
["Scoones (2012), p. 14] The first writer Scoones identifies is David Motton with the fifth story of the Neville Main tenure, and a couple more Main strips soon thereafter.
["Scoones (2012), p. 43] This information comes from Motton himself, as indicated in a footnote from Scoones regarding correspondence with the writer between March and May 2012.
["Scoones (2012), p. 44] Motton would go on to script another couple of stories the following year for the ''TVC Annual 1967'' (released September 1966). As these strips were produced earlier in the year, during the change over between the second and third artists Mevin and Canning, Motton ended up writing for all three of the First Doctor artists.
["Scoones (2012), pp. 90-91] Scoones goes on to possibly identify a second writer,
Tom Tully
Thomas Kane Tulley (August 21, 1908 – April 27, 1982) was an American actor. He began his career in radio and on the stage before making his film debut in ''Northern Pursuit'' (1943). Subsequently, he was nominated for an Academy Award for hi ...
from a third writer,
Roger Noel Cook
Roger Noel Cook (born 1946) is a British comics writer, musician, and magazine editor.
Biography
As a teenager, Cook began working at Polystyle Publications in 1962, becoming a staff writer on ''TV Comic'' in 1964. He wrote for various series in ...
.
["Scoones (2012), pp. 78-79] During correspondence with Scoones between February and March 2010, Cook writes he took over the strip from 'a freelance scriptwriter called Tom - I can't for the life of me remember his last name'. Scoones goes on to suggest from further information given by Cook that this was 'Tully, a prolific comic strip writer', adding he later confirmed this with Motton.
However, it remains unknown which stories Tully may have written, and indeed if there were other writers involved in the Main and Mevin periods. In an online errata, Scoones subsequently withdrew and corrected this claiming, writing:
"It was Thomas Woodman, not Tully, who worked on the strip. Tully was writing for Valiant in 1965 and worked on strips for Battle and 2000AD until the late 1980s. David Motton appears to have got Woodman and Tully mixed up in his recollection. Roger Noel Cook has subsequently confirmed that the ‘Tom’ whose surname he initially couldn’t recall was Woodman. There is no evidence that Tully worked on the Doctor Who strip."
With respect to Cook, he took over the scripting at the same time that Canning took over the artwork, this 'marking the beginning of a four year collaboration' for ''TVC'' on a number of strips.
And once again, just like Canning, Cook would go on to work on the Second Doctor run, beginning late December 1966.
["Scoones (2012), p. 100]
''Style:'' Bentham describes Main's output thus: very simplistic in style, consisting of basic line illustrations drawn in a very cartoonish way. During his 45 week stint on the strip he never quite captured the likeness of Hartnell
..He was, however, quite an inventive storywriter.
Of course, given the information above, we now know the stories were not by Main at all.
List of comic strips
The list below is of all the First Doctor comic strips that appeared in ''TV Comic'' (''TVC'') as well the yearly ''TV Comic Holiday Special'' (''TVCHS'') and ''TV Comic Annual'' (''TVCA''). The order is that designated by the publication date, as integrated by Paul Scoones.
[Scoones (2012), p. 7]
World Distributors comic strips
World Distributors issued ''Doctor Who'' annuals from 1966 (as well as one special). Most of their content was short stories. However, they did also have some comic strips, increasingly so as the years progressed. During the period of the First Doctor, however, there was only one strip, in the annual for 1967.
''Doctor Who Magazine'' comic strips
''Doctor Who Magazine''
Doctor Who Yearbook
Non-parodic
Both (non-parodic and parodic)
See also
*
List of Doctor Who comic stories
''Doctor Who'' comic stories are a range of comic strips featuring the offscreen adventures of the Doctor, the protagonist in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''
History
Comic strip adventures of the Doctor appeared almost fr ...
*
Second Doctor comic stories
The Second Doctor comic stories is a range of offscreen adventures featuring the second incarnation of the Doctor, the hero of BBC 1's longrunning science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. They initially appeared in ''TV Comic''.
History
The '' ...
*
Third Doctor comic stories
The Third Doctor comic stories is a range of offscreen adventures featuring the third incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the hit sc-fi series, Doctor Who.
History
During the early 1970s, the adventures of the Third Doctor in comic ma ...
*
Fourth Doctor comic strips
Fourth Doctor comic stories is a collection of the offscreen and comic adventures of the fourth incarnation of The Doctor, the protagonist of the long-running, hit sc-fi series, Doctor Who.
History
When 'Doctor Who Magazine' began publishing in ...
*
Fifth Doctor comic stories
See also
* List of Doctor Who comic stories
* First Doctor comic stories
* Second Doctor comic stories
* Third Doctor comic stories
* Fourth Doctor comic strips
* Sixth Doctor comic stories
* Seventh Doctor comic stories
* Eighth Doctor comic sto ...
*
Sixth Doctor comic stories
The Sixth Doctor comic stories is a range of off-screen adventures featuring the sixth incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the hit sci-fi series ''Doctor Who''. Continuing the themes of the televised series, every story sees the Doctor ...
*
Seventh Doctor comic stories
The Seventh Doctor comic stories is a wide range of comic strip adventures featuring the seventh incarnation of The Doctor, the Time Lord protagonist of the hit sci-fi series, Doctor Who.
History
Doctor Who Magazine's Seventh Doctor comic stor ...
*
Eighth Doctor comic stories
Eighth Doctor comic stories are two ranges of comic series that featured the adventures of the eighth incarnation of The Doctor, the protagonist of the hit sc-fi series, Doctor Who.
Two separate series of original comic strips featuring the Eight ...
*
War Doctor comic stories
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
*
Ninth Doctor comic stories
Ninth Doctor comic stories are those featuring the ninth incarnation of the Doctor from the television science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. The Ninth Doctor's brief comic tenure included the involvement of Rose Tyler. No other Doctor had a run ...
*
Tenth Doctor comic stories
''The Tenth Doctor'' comic stories is a wide range of adventures featuring the tenth incarnation of the Doctor, the Time Lord protagonist of the popular sci-fi series, ''Doctor Who''. The range had the unprecedented claim of appearing in no less ...
*
Eleventh Doctor comic stories
The Eleventh Doctor comic stories ran in several regularly published titles: Doctor Who Magazine, Doctor Who Adventures and the American Doctor Who (2011). All of these comic strip adventures were supported by appearances in the ''Doctor Who'' ann ...
*
Twelfth Doctor comic stories
The Twelfth Doctor comic stories consisted of several regularly published titles: Doctor Who Magazine, Doctor Who Adventures and Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor from Titan Comics.
Comics
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Adventures
Immedi ...
References
General
*Ainsworth, John, "Behind the Frame"
: Polystyle strips (1960s)in ''Doctor Who Classic Comics''
ssue 1 9 December 1992, pp. 20–21
*Ainsworth, John, "Frame Count"
: First Doctor Polystyle stripsin ''Doctor Who Classic Comics''
ssue 1 9 December 1992, p. 19
*Bentham, Jeremy, "Doctor Who Comics"/"Comics Checklist"
olystyle First Doctorin ''Doctor Who Monthly'' (Issue 62), March 1982, pp. 15–18; 23
*Hearn, Marcus (director), ''Stripped for Action - The First Doctor'' documentary feature with John Ainsworth (Comics Historian); Alan Barnes (Former ''Doctor Who Magazine'' Editor); Jeremy Bentham (Comics Historian); Gary Russell (Former ''Doctor Who Magazine'' Editor); Bill Mevin (Comics Artist), on ''Doctor Who: The Time Meddler'' (DVD), 16 mins., 2008
*Scoones, Paul, ''The Comic Strip Companion: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who in Comics: 1964-1979'', Prestatyn: Telos, 2012
Specific
{{Reflist
Comics based on Doctor Who