 Doctor Who Adventures issue 1, cover dated 5 April 2006 | |
| Editor | Moray Laing (2006–2010, 2013–2015) Natalie Barnes (2011–2013) Jason Quinn (2015, 2019) |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science fiction television |
| Frequency | Every 2 weeks (2006–2008, 2013–2014) Every week (2008–2013) Every month (2014–2016) Every 2 months (2016–2017) |
| Total circulation | 10,364 |
| First issue | 5 April 2006 |
| Final issue | 22 June 2017 (385 issues) Special: January 2019 |
| Company | Immediate Media Company (2006–2015) Panini Comics (2015–2017, 2019) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| ISSN | 1750-1717 |
Doctor Who Adventures (abbreviated as DWA) was a British magazine devoted to the science fiction television programme Doctor Who. Originally published by Immediate Media Company, the magazine launched in 2006 to accompany the revived era of the show. It featured news, behind-the-scenes articles, comic strips, puzzles, pull-out posters and information from upcoming episodes of the series. Every issue also came with a free gift, usually in the form of stickers, stationery or a small toy. The magazine also covered content from the Doctor Who spin-off programme The Sarah Jane Adventures. Compared to its sister publication, Doctor Who Magazine, Doctor Who Adventures was aimed at a younger readership demographic of 6 to 13-year-olds.
Initially released fortnightly, the magazine became a weekly publication in 2008 before a loss in profits forced it to resume its fortnightly release in 2013. After discontinuing its subscription services, DWA became a monthly publication in 2014, and then bi-monthly in 2016. After issue 363, Panini Comics took over publication and 'rebooted' the magazine, re-starting the issue numbering at 1. In June 2017, after releasing 24 issues, Panini confirmed that publication of the magazine would to be paused, however, a special one-off edition was released in January 2019.
History
Doctor Who Adventures was first published as a fortnightly magazine on 5 April 2006, featuring fact files, puzzles, makes, news guides and more. The regular price for issues 1–33 was £1.99, rising to £2.10 from issue 34. Issue 45, a special "long-read" edition, was £2.99. From issue 47 the magazine became weekly. Doctor Who Adventures is the alternative to Doctor Who Magazine and is aimed at a younger audience,
Design
From issues 1–12 the heading had the Doctor Who logo in a transparent white with the word Adventures in writing filled with the colors from the official Doctor Who logo. Since then, the official Doctor Who logo was used, with the word Adventures being in various colors each issue. From April 2010 the design changed to fit around the newest Doctor (Matt Smith) and the 2010 series occupying it, and featured the new logo. The design then changed a third time from April 2011 to fit around the 2011 Series. The design was changed a fourth time from March 2013 to fit around the 2013 Series, The design then changed for a fifth time from January 2019 to fit around the 2018 Series,
Regular Features (From Issue 313 to 363)
- Contents - these are pages 2–3 and include a welcome from The Doctor, a contents of what is in the Issue and a "Monster Watch" at the side.
- This Week/Who News - these are pages 4–5 and include secrets about the newest episode/ latest news of Doctor Who.
- Facts - these are pages 6–7 and include facts about a specific monster, alien, gadget or human.
- Puzzles - these are pages 8–9 and include many puzzles.
- Letters (Doctor, Doctor/Monster Mail) - these are pages 10–11 and include letters to The Doctor from the readers. At the side of page 11 there is a section called Monster Mail which has letters to a different monster each week.
- Competitions - these are pages 12–13 and include a variety of competitions offering various prizes.
- Alien Babies - this is page 14 and is a one-page comic strip about a nursery run by Dorium Maldova which alien babies go to. (See below for a list of "Alien Babies" Characters).
- Whoniverse Collection - these are pages 15–16 and come in different parts (one in each issue) and make a mini-mag when all parts have been collected.
- Advertisement - this is no longer included.
- Poster - this is the middle pages (pages 18–19) and is different each issue.
- Puzzles - this is a single page (page 20) with just one puzzle on it.
- Comic Strip - this is pages 21–24 and is a different story each week. (See below for a complete list of comic doctors and Companions.
- Fun - this is a single page (page 25) and has a different make each week.
- LOLS! - this is a single page (page 26) and has jokes and funny made up story's about monsters.
- The Doctor's Guide to the Galaxy! - this is a single page (page 27) in which The Doctor gives the reader information about a certain planet.
- Behind The Scenes - these are pages 28–29 and tell the reader about how the producers made a monster, set, prop etc.
- Where's The Doctor? - these are pages 30–31 and is a Where's Wally? type activity where you have to find The Doctor and his friends and aliens.
- Letters (You Who) - these are pages 32–33 and contains letters that have been sent in by the reader. The best send in (Doctor's Pick) each week wins a prize.
- Poster 2 - this is a single pages poster on page 34.
- Next Time - This is the final page of the magazine (page 35) and tells the reader what is in the next issue and when it is out.
Comic characters
Companions
- Rose Tyler – 2006–2007
- Martha Jones – 2007
- Donna Noble – 2008–2009
- Heather McCrimmon – 2009–2010
- Wolfgang Ryter – 2009, 2010
- Amy Pond – 2010–2012
- Rory Williams – 2010–2012
- Decky Flamboon – 2012–2013
- Pippa – 2013
- Clara Oswald – 2013–2016
- Jata - 2016–2017
- Yasmin Khan – 2019
- Ryan Sinclair – 2019
- Graham O'Brien – 2019
Doctors
- 10th Doctor – 2006–2010
- 11th Doctor – 2010–2014
- 12th Doctor – 2014–2017
- 13th Doctor – 2019–
Alien Babies characters
- Dorium Maldovar - owner of the nursery.
- Blun - A baby Slitheen
- Simon - A baby Cyberman
- Strup - A baby Sontaran
- Eldast - A baby Silurian
- Chas and Chelsea - Baby Cherubs
List of Doctor Who Adventures
- 2006 - issues 1-19
- 2007 - issues 20-45
- 2008 - issues 46-95
- 2009 - issues 96-147
- 2010 - issues 148-198
- 2011 - issues 199-249
- 2012 - issues 250-300
- 2013 - issues 301-336
- 2014 - issues 337-360
- 2015 - issues 361-363 & 1-9
- 2016 - issues 10-20
- 2017 - issues 21-24
- 2019 - One-off special issue
See also
References
Notes
- July–December 2016
- After issue 363, the magazine's numbering re-started and ran for a further 24 issues.
Citations
- "UK Comic Sales - Last Updated February 2021".
- "Doctor Who Adventures To Pause Publication". Doctor Who News. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
- "Doctor Who Adventures: New magazine for younger viewers launches". BBC News. 20 March 2006.
External links
- Official Doctor Who Adventures magazine website
- Clockworkrobot.com, were credited for some early paper engineering features.
- Official website for Doctor Who
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- BBC publications
- British comics titles
- Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom
- Children's magazines published in the United Kingdom
- Doctor Who magazines
- Comics based on Doctor Who
- Magazines established in 2006
- Magazines disestablished in 2017
- 2006 establishments in the United Kingdom
- 2017 disestablishments in the United Kingdom