Doctor Who annual

A number of Doctor Who annuals have been published from 1965 onwards. They have printed fiction, comics and features based on Doctor Who in the form of a slim hardback volume.

History[]

Under World Distributors[]

The Annuals were hardbound books priced at pocket money prices and released near autumn, in time for the Christmas market. Usually a mix of prose and comic strip stories intended for children, they also contained puzzles, quizzes, games and a varying amount of filler material usually having little direct connection with Doctor Who.

From the late 1960s through to the late 1980s (with the single exception of 1971), World Distributors, Ltd published The Dr Who Annual each August or September.

Especially during the late 1970s, the Annuals became notorious for featuring increasingly bizarre stories and comic strips, some of which suggested that those responsible for their creation had not actually watched the series. Illustrations of the companions seldom bore any resemblance to the actors who portrayed them on television, as only the rights to the actor playing the Doctor had been negotiated. The principal exception to this was Caroline John as Liz Shaw, who was credited after Jon Pertwee on the front cover of The Dr Who Annual 1971 (published 1970) and featured prominently in the illustrations within the publication. (In contrast, Nicholas Courtney was not credited as the Brigadier, and illustrations of his character were somewhat more generic.)

Having been licensed and commissioned early in the year, compiled during the spring and summer and published in the autumn, a majority of the Annuals were dated for the coming year: so, for example, The Dr Who Annual 1975 was actually published in the autumn of 1974. Some annuals/yearbooks failed to include a year date on the cover so, where applicable, that reference is bracketed and assumed.

An unfortunate consequence of World Distributors’ relatively slow schedule – at least in comparison with those creating contemporary Doctor Who comic strips – was that their Annuals often unintentionally ended up providing “snapshots” of the series that were out of date by the time they were published. For example, The Dr Who Annual 1968 uniquely features a notional Second Doctor (although he’s written very much in terms of the First Doctor’s personality) with Polly and Ben – a regular cast which was only featured in a single story, TV: The Power of the Daleks.

More generally, the World Distributors’ Annuals were always “late” when it came to featuring a new incarnation of the Doctor; the first annuals to feature the Second, Third and Fourth Doctors were cover-dated 1968, 1971 and 1976 respectively. The only exception to this was the Doctor Who Annual 1982, which uniquely included stories featuring both the Fourth and Fifth Doctors.

Once producer of Doctor Who from 1979, John Nathan-Turner exerted a greater influence on the quality of the show’s merchandising and tie-ins; for example, under his watch the World Distributor annuals saw an increase in quality and relevance regarding both their short stories and factual features, the latter exploring “behind the scenes” aspects of the series. At his insistence, from the 1980 edition (published in 1979) onwards, the Annuals also began to adopt the contemporary series logo, in the process dropping the definitive article from their titles to become simply “Doctor Who Annual”.

In 1985 the company, by then renamed World International Publishing, Ltd, opted not to continue publishing a Doctor Who Annual. The company became part of Egmont Group in 1999.

Under Marvel[]

There was a lapse for a few years in publication before Marvel Comics secured the license to produce a Doctor Who Yearbook. These followed the same mix of prose, comic strip stories and features, this time all Who-related and directed at a fan audience. The Yearbooks, published between 1991 and 1995, were consequently dated from 1992 to 1996.

Revival of the Annuals[]

Following the successful return of Doctor Who in 2005, so too did Annuals based on the series. The first, Doctor Who Annual 2006, was published by Panini, while all subsequent annuals were published by BBC Children's Books. From 2007 to 2010, Panini opted to publish the similar Doctor Who Storybook, aimed at an older audience.

In the USA, while IDW held the Doctor Who comic book licence, they also published four annuals from 2010 to 2013, with the annual years being the years as published. They changed annual to special at the last minute for 2012 and it carried over to the 2013 edition for the 50th anniversary.

Releases[]

Doctor Who Annuals (1965-1985)[]

Doctor Who Yearbooks (1991-1995)[]

Doctor Who Annuals (2005-present)[]

Comics and magazines[]

Polystyle Annuals (1965-1977)[]

When Polystyle Publications, Ltd. held the rights to publish original Doctor Who comic strips, they mostly exercised that right in the pages of TV Comic, though, for a few years, they published them in Countdown/TV Action. Both publications also had their own hardbound annuals, where the occasional Doctor Who strip might be found.

IDW Annuals (2010-2013)[]

DWM Special Edition Yearbooks (2015-present)[]

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External links[]

• "The Annuals - A Collectors' Guide" by Paul Scoones