Fourth Doctor comic stories

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

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When Doctor Who Weekly began publishing in 1979, the Fourth Doctor (played by Tom Baker) was the current Doctor on television.

Doctor Who Weekly took over an ongoing regular comic strip presence of the Doctor's adventures from TV Comic. Central to the concept of Doctor Who Weekly (later renamed as Doctor Who Magazine), was to offer more mature comic strip adventures than had previously appeared.

The Doctor Who Magazine comic strip launched with the Doctor travelling on his own. Later a number of new as well as more familiar characters were included. (These decisions were largely determined by the issue of image rights).

While most of the adventures occur within their own continuity, direct references to the television series make placing these adventures into on-screen continuity problematic.

While Doctor Who Magazine mostly uses the current Doctor in the regular comic strip adventures, later Fourth Doctor comic strip stories have appeared from time to time in the regular magazine, specials and in other publications. The Fourth Doctor's comic strip adventures have gone through the most reprints and his early DWM strips are widely regarded as among the best.

Polystyle comic strips

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TV Comic

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# Title Featuring Writer Release Date
1"Death Flower"Sarah Jane SmithTBAJanuary–March 1975
2"Return of the Daleks"Sarah Jane, the Daleks and the Time LordsTBAMarch–May 1975
3"The Wreckers!"Sarah JaneDennis HooperMay–July 1975
4"The Emperor's Spy"Sarah JaneTBAJuly–September 1975
5"The Sinister Sea"Sarah JaneTBASeptember–October 1975
6"The Space Ghost"Sarah JaneTBAOctober–November 1975
7"The Dalek Revenge"Sarah Jane and the DaleksTBADecember 1975 – January 1976
8"Virus"Sarah JaneTBAJanuary–March 1976
9"Treasure Trail"Sarah Jane and the Time LordsTBAMarch–May 1976
10"Hubert's Folly"Sarah JaneTBAMay–June 1976
11"Counter-rotation"Sarah JaneTBAJune–August 1976
12"Mind Snatch"Sarah JaneTBAAugust–September 1976
13"The Hoaxers"Sarah JaneTBASeptember 1976
14"The Mutant Strain"Tom LambertTBASeptember–October 1976
15"Double Trouble"The Time LordsTBAOctober–December 1976
16"Dredger"Sarah JaneGeoff CowanDecember 1976 – January 1977
17"The False Planet"TBATBAFebruary–March 1977
18"The Fire Feeders"Inspector KeelTBAMarch–May 1977
19"Kling Dynasty"TBATBAMay–July 1977
20"The Orb"LeelaTBAJuly–August 1977
21"The Mutants"Leela and the Time LordsTBAAugust–October 1977
22"The Devil's Mouth"LeelaGeoff CowanOctober–November 1977
23"The Aqua-City"LeelaGeoff CowanNovember 1977 – January 1978
24"The Snow Devils"TBATBAJanuary–February 1978
25"The Space Garden"TBATBAFebruary–March 1978
26"The Eerie Manor"TBATBAMarch–April 1978
27"Guardians of the Tomb"TBATBAApril–May 1978
28"The Image Makers"The Time LordsTBAMay–June 1978
29 †"The Duellists"TBATBAJuly 1978

† indicates a reprinted story with the artwork altered to show the Fourth Doctor in place of the Doctor in the original story

Doctor Who Magazine comic strips

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Doctor Who Weekly

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Two of the early strips ("The Iron Legion" and "The Star Beast") were adapted as audio stories under The Comic Strip Adaptations by Big Finish Productions in 2019.[1] "The Star Beast" was then adapted into a television episode in 2023.[2]

# Title Featuring Writer Release Date
1"The Iron Legion"nonePat Mills and John WagnerOctober–December 1979
2"City of the Damned"noneJohn Wagner and Pat MillsDecember 1979 – January 1980
3"Timeslip"K9Dez SkinnFebruary 1980
4"The Star Beast"Sharon and K9Pat Mills and John WagnerFebruary–April 1980
5"The Dogs of Doom"Sharon and K9, and the DaleksJohn Wagner and Pat MillsApril–June 1980
6"The Time Witch"Sharon and K9Steve MooreJune–July 1980
7"Dragon's Claw"Sharon and K9, and the SontaransSteve MooreJuly–October 1980
8"The Collector"Sharon and K9Steve MooreNovember 1980
9"Dreamers of Death"Sharon and K9Steve MooreDecember 1980 – January 1981
10"The Life Bringer"K9Steve MooreFebruary–March 1981
11"War of the Words"noneSteve MooreApril 1981
12"Spider God"noneSteve MooreMay 1981
13"The Deal"noneSteve ParkhouseJune 1981
14"The End of the Line"noneSteve ParkhouseJuly–August 1981
15"The Free-Fall Warrior"Dr Ivan AsimoffSteve ParkhouseSeptember–October 1981
16"Junkyard Demon"The CybermenSteve ParkhouseNovember–December 1981
17"The Neutron Knights"King Arthur Pendragon and MerlinSteve ParkhouseJanuary 1982

Doctor Who Yearbook

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# Title Featuring Writer Release Date
1"Rest and Re-Creation"Leela and the ZygonsWarwick Gray1994
2"The Naked Flame"Sarah Jane SmithWarwick Gray1995
3"Star Beast II"Sharon and K9Gary Gillatt1996
4"Junkyard Demon II"The CybermenAlan Barnes1996

Titan Comics

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# Title Featuring Writer Release Date
1"Gaze of the Medusa"Sarah Jane SmithGordon Rennie and Emma BeebyMarch–September 2016

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Gooden, Tai (25 November 2023). "Doctor Who's Beep the Meep and the Wrarth Warriors Comic and Big Finish Origins, Explained". Nerdist. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  2. ^ Seale, Jack (25 November 2023). "Doctor Who: The Star Beast review – David Tennant and Catherine Tate have got this show flying again". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 November 2023.