Vworp Vworp! Issue 5
The acclaimed Doctor Who comics and artwork fanzine Vworp Vworp! returns with its fifth issue in January 2023.
The 148-page issue kicks off with an in-depth series of articles and script reviews focusing on the many Doctor Who animation projects that have, for a variety of reasons, been abandoned over the years.
The Canadian company Nelvana might be the best known, but as researcher Richard Bignell has uncovered for Vworp Vworp!, through a wealth of interviews, documentation, scripts and design drawings, there’s so much more to learn, including the real reason it was aborted. But what of Ruby-Spears, the company behind Scooby-Doo? Interest from a Japanese anime studio? Terry Nation’s Daleks? The BBC itself, in 2001? And who can forget Karen McCoy and her Doctor Who: The Animated Series?
Elsewhere in the issue:
- Interviews with artist JOHN RIDGWAY and writer/artist STEVE PARKHOUSE, as we go behind the scenes of their magnum opus, the Voyager saga.
- PHIL BEVAN remembered, with personal recollections of his brother Kit and those he worked with, offering a unique insight into this much-loved artist, who illuminated the vibrant fanzine scene in the 80s and 90s.
- Packaging beauty! Graphic and packaging designer ANDREW PREWETT, who designed the beloved Doctor Who Sound Effects LP, reveals unused designs for a number of Doctor Who DVD boxsets.
- ABSOLUTE DAAK: A REVENGER’S TRAGEDY – The Dalek Killer deconstructed by Alan Stevens ahead of his return in our comic strip, Paper Tiger.
- New features on TERRY NATION and DAVID WHITAKER’s work on the TV Century 21 DALEKS strip and the stage play THE CURSE OF THE DALEKS.
Also, issue 5 includes several brand new comic strips and fiction: - The truly epic 22-page THE IRON EMPIRE, written by Lance Parkin and drawn by Steve Andrew. What happened to the Empire during the reign of Emperor Vesuvius? Find out in this much anticipated sequel to the Mills/Wagner great that launched Doctor Who Weekly.
- Ever pondered the fate of the Thals in the TV Century 21 Dalek strips? Find out in YEAR ZERO, a new instalment in the adventures of outer space robot people, imagined by Alan Stevens, Matthew Kilburn and artist Andy Walker.
- Abslom Daak gets a bittersweet coda in PAPER TIGER, written by Alan Stevens with crisp black and white art by the legendary John Ridgway.
- We’re also treated to three thrilling pages of DALEK KILLERS! – an intriguing reboot (of sorts) pitched to Titan by Richard Starkings and Lee Sullivan.
- Thrill to Sam Gingell's debut strip NEWTON'S SLEEP, a thought-provoking examination of the Cybermen as a reaction to societal decay and decadence. Sam crashed onto the scene in 2022 and we're sure this won't be the last we see of him.
- Sixties script editor Donald Tosh’s final piece of fiction, JOURNEY TO NOWHEN, a whimsical tale of competing realities and the power of nostalgia.
- Finally, we take a visit back to the scene of one of the Doctor’s lesser-discussed small-screen adventures in Graham Kibble-White’s ENCOUNTER AT CRINKLEY BOTTOM!
Plus, an exciting FREE GIFT this issue:
DOCTOR WHO: ROWEN – a full-cast audio adaptation of the 1992 initial script for the cancelled Nelvana series. Presented on CD, directed and adapted by Sean Mason and introducing ARTHUR BOSTROM as the Nelvana Doctor, this brand new drama is intended to give an authentic taste of what this new era might have been like.
Order Vworp Vworp! issue 5, price £10.99, from vworpvworp.co.uk now. Pre-orders open on New Year’s Day with shipping scheduled for early February 2023.
Whotopia: Issue 41
The latest issue of the fan magazine Whotopia is now available
Whotopia Issue 41 Includes:
- UNRAVELLING A CLASSIC: THE EDGE OF DESTRUCTION
Ian McLachlan examines the Hartnell-era story, "The Edge of Destruction" - POWER OF THE DOCTOR REVIEWED
- Daniel Tessier reviews Jodie Whittaker’s swan song finale
- KEEPING THE EIGHTH: A HISTORY OF THE EIGHTH DOCTOR NOVELS
- Reecy Pontiff delves into the history of the BBC Eighth Doctor novels
- OH BRILLIANT! OR HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE THIRTEENTH DOCTOR ERA
- Tony J Fyler discovers there is much more to the Thirteenth Doctor's era
- THE WHITTAKER YEARS: JUST THE GOOD BITS
- The best bits of the Thirteenth Doctor's era as picked by Greg Maughan
- ON CHARACTER: KATE LETHBRIDGE-STEWART
- Aidan C Matear gets to know the character of Kate Lethbridge-Stewart
- TEMPORAL LOGBOOK 3 EDITOR JAMES SILVESTER INTERVIEWED
- Bob Furnell sits down with "Temporal Logbook 3's" editor James Silvester to talk about the recently released short-story collection
- COLUMN: THE VAULT
- Jez Strickley continues his look into the metaphysical worlds of Time Lords and TARDISes in search of all things curious, puzzling and perplexing.
- WHAT THE FANS THINK: TORCHWOOD: GREEKS BEARING GIFTS
- Aidan C Matear reviews this episode from Torchwood's first season
- WHO YOU BUILD #9
- Dave Etches returns for another installment of prop construction
- WHO WERE THE FAMILY OF BLOOD?
- Aidan C Matear examines who exactly were the Family of Blood
- WHAT THE FANS THINK: THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES: THE MAD WOMAN IN THE ATTIC
- Stacey Smith reviews this unique story from 'The Sarah Jane Adventures
- THE CYBERMEN: DESTINY PART 5
- Another new installment of our ongoing strip by John Swogger
WHOTOPIA ISSUE 41 | 56 PAGES
Available free in downloadable PDF format
TO DOWNLOAD A COPY VISIT whotopia.ca
DWCA news: Zerinza Volume Five / Data Extract
The Doctor Who Club of Australia have released the fifth volume of their Zerinza yearbook series:
With a beautiful cover by David Blewer and covering the full range of Doctor Who history, this volume is sure to have something for every fan!
A double issue of DWCA newsleterr Data Extract (250-251) ships to all members this month:
Further releases throughout 2022 will include DE 252 (June), DE 253 (September), DE 254 (December), Zerinza Volume 6 (December) as well as the novel Trash Island by Dom Kelly (the first release in our new ongoing Eleanor series).
The Unofficial Dr Who Annual 1989
The unofficial Dr Who annual 1989 has been released by Terraqueous Distributors
The annual is 209 pages, featuring stories and illustrations produced by fans, as well as contributions from well-known names such as Alister Pearson, Smuzz, Dominic Glynn, Jessica Martin, Mike Tucker, Andrew Skilleter, Andy Walker, Daryl Joyce, Stephen Wyatt writer of 'The Greatest Show in the Galaxy' and a foreword by Doctor Who's script editor of the time - Andrew Cartmel.
There is also a very special Beano style comic strip written by the Beano's editor John Anderson and illustrated by Beano artist Shannon Gallant. as well as an exclusive short story telling the tale of how Mags and the intergalactic explorer Captain Cook met.
A free to enter competition gives a chance to win an original piece of artwork from the 1989 annual, kindly donated by artist Richard Young. To enter the competition and for further details, please visit the Terraqueous Distributors FaceBook page
The release follows last years 'The unofficial Dr Who annual 1972, and 'The unofficial DrWho annual 1987' as well as 'The unofficial Master annual 2074. Which all featured stories and illustrations produced by fans, as well as celebrity contributions from the worlds of Doctor Who.
Discussing why the team moved onto the Seventh Doctor they said
The annual is a not-for-profit publication, and none of the money paid by purchasers goes to the publisher or to any of the contributors.
The Unofficial Dr Who Annual 1989 is published by Terraqueous Distributors and available from Lulu at the print-on-demand price of £32.08 plus shipping costs).
Also Available- The unofficial Dr Who OMNIBUS from Terraqueous Distributors
The Unofficial Dr Who Omnibus which collects the previous 1972, 1987, and the Master annuals together in one gigantic 461 paged volume.
The Unofficial Dr Who OMNIBUS is available from Lulu at the print-on-demand price of £16.22 plus shipping costs).
Further details can be found on the Terraqueous Distributors FaceBook page.
Comsic Masque Issue XII
Blackpool Remembered
A free ebook celebrating Blackpool's Doctor Who exhibition, has been released.
Blackpool Remembered is a FREE digital publication, collated and edited by John Collier. It celebrates the original Doctor Who Exhibition on Blackpool’s Golden Mile, which ran from 1974 to 1985.
Hot on the heels of the latest series of Doctor Who, every year fans would travel the length and breadth of the country to visit the TARDIS and defy the Daleks – no other television show had its own permanent exhibition, and this was a chance to get up close and personal!
Blackpool Remembered charts the history of the exhibition, bringing together special memories, stories and photographs from the fans who visited it, as well as documenting the ever-changing exhibits which, like the series itself, regenerated every year to bring new thrills and excitement. Alongside this, are detailed recollections from some of the people who made it happen.
Travel back in time through a feast of nostalgia, with many previously unseen photographs, exclusive interviews and illustrations. Contributors include Steve Cambden, Julie Jones, Bob Richardson and Mike Tucker.
The ebook can be downloaded here
Fish Fingers and Custard
Issue 18 is the first issue in four years and can be downloaded as a free PDF
- The Curse of Time – Are all Doctor Who stories with ‘Time’ in the title destined to not be very good? The Doctor Who Cookbook – A review of one of the more ‘left-field’ official publications.
- 10 Years of Fish Custard – How we took 4 years off but still claim to have been ‘fanzining’ for a decade.
- Returning Villains – Which classic Who baddies are due for a return?
- Obituaries for John Hurt and Deborah Watling
Tales from the Matrix
The latest edition of the Fanzine Tales from the Matrix is now available.
Tales from the Matrix is a free weekly Doctor Who long-form fiction zine. So far 10 issues have been published with over 300 pages of fiction.
The magazine is being distributed by three Doctor Who clubs (The Guardians of Gallifrey, the Prynceton Prydonians, and the Doctor Who Club of Australia) to all of their members. This is a non-commercial effort that now built a readership of over 1,000.
The zine can be found on Facebook, can be subscribed to by email,
Homemade Who
The Homemade Who project was launched last month to give the Doctor Who community something creative and fun to do while everyone’s been stuck at home.
With Doctor Who celebrating 15 years since its revival, fans were asked to recreate some of their favourite scenes from 2005 onwards using whatever they could find in their house.
A compilation video featuring every clip sent in so far can be found here
Entries were sent in from England, Australia, France, Luxembourg, Argentina, Wales, Germany, Italy, the Philippines, the USA, and New Zealand!
You can watch all the complete clips on Instagram:
Due to its success, the project has been extended for another month. If you would like to take part you can find all the details here.