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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.
When Doctor Who Weekly began publishing in 1978, 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.
| # | Title | Featuring | Writer | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Death Flower" | Sarah Jane Smith | TBA | January–March 1975 |
| 2 | "Return of the Daleks" | Sarah Jane, the Daleks and the Time Lords | TBA | March–May 1975 |
| 3 | "The Wreckers!" | Sarah Jane | Dennis Hooper | May–July 1975 |
| 4 | "The Emperor's Spy" | Sarah Jane | TBA | July–September 1975 |
| 5 | "The Sinister Sea" | Sarah Jane | TBA | September–October 1975 |
| 6 | "The Space Ghost" | Sarah Jane | TBA | October–November 1975 |
| 7 | "The Dalek Revenge" | Sarah Jane and the Daleks | TBA | December 1975 – January 1976 |
| 8 | "Virus" | Sarah Jane | TBA | January–March 1976 |
| 9 | "Treasure Trail" | Sarah Jane and the Time Lords | TBA | March–May 1976 |
| 10 | "Hubert's Folly" | Sarah Jane | TBA | May–June 1976 |
| 11 | "Counter-rotation" | Sarah Jane | TBA | June–August 1976 |
| 12 | "Mind Snatch" | Sarah Jane | TBA | August–September 1976 |
| 13 | "The Hoaxers" | Sarah Jane | TBA | September 1976 |
| 14 | "The Mutant Strain" | Tom Lambert | TBA | September–October 1976 |
| 15 | "Double Trouble" | The Time Lords | TBA | October–December 1976 |
| 16 | "Dredger" | Sarah Jane | Geoff Cowan | December 1976 – January 1977 |
| 17 | "The False Planet" | TBA | TBA | February–March 1977 |
| 18 | "The Fire Feeders" | Inspector Keel | TBA | March–May 1977 |
| 19 | "Kling Dynasty" | TBA | TBA | May–July 1977 |
| 20 | "The Orb" | Leela | TBA | July–August 1977 |
| 21 | "The Mutants" | Leela and the Time Lords | TBA | August–October 1977 |
| 22 | "The Devil's Mouth" | Leela | Geoff Cowan | October–November 1977 |
| 23 | "The Aqua-City" | Leela | Geoff Cowan | November 1977 – January 1978 |
| 24 | "The Snow Devils" | TBA | TBA | January–February 1978 |
| 25 | "The Space Garden" | TBA | TBA | February–March 1978 |
| 26 | "The Eerie Manor" | TBA | TBA | March–April 1978 |
| 27 | "Guardians of the Tomb" | TBA | TBA | April–May 1978 |
| 28 | "The Image Makers" | The Time Lords | TBA | May–June 1978 |
| 29 † | "The Duellists" | TBA | TBA | July 1978 |
† indicates a reprinted story with the artwork altered to show the Fourth Doctor in place of the Doctor in the original story
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" | none | Pat Mills and John Wagner | October–December 1979 |
| 2 | "City of the Damned" | none | John Wagner and Pat Mills | December 1979 – January 1980 |
| 3 | "Timeslip" | K9 | Dez Skinn | February 1980 |
| 4 | "The Star Beast" | Sharon and K9 | Pat Mills and John Wagner | February–April 1980 |
| 5 | "The Dogs of Doom" | Sharon and K9, and the Daleks | John Wagner and Pat Mills | April–June 1980 |
| 6 | "The Time Witch" | Sharon and K9 | Steve Moore | June–July 1980 |
| 7 | "Dragon's Claw" | Sharon and K9, and the Sontarans | Steve Moore | July–October 1980 |
| 8 | "The Collector" | Sharon and K9 | Steve Moore | November 1980 |
| 9 | "Dreamers of Death" | Sharon and K9 | Steve Moore | December 1980 – January 1981 |
| 10 | "The Life Bringer" | K9 | Steve Moore | February–March 1981 |
| 11 | "War of the Words" | none | Steve Moore | April 1981 |
| 12 | "Spider God" | none | Steve Moore | May 1981 |
| 13 | "The Deal" | none | Steve Parkhouse | June 1981 |
| 14 | "The End of the Line" | none | Steve Parkhouse | July–August 1981 |
| 15 | "The Free-Fall Warrior" | Dr Ivan Asimoff | Steve Parkhouse | September–October 1981 |
| 16 | "Junkyard Demon" | The Cybermen | Steve Parkhouse | November–December 1981 |
| 17 | "The Neutron Knights" | King Arthur Pendragon and Merlin | Steve Parkhouse | January 1982 |
| # | Title | Featuring | Writer | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Rest and Re-Creation" | Leela and the Zygons | Warwick Gray | 1994 |
| 2 | "The Naked Flame" | Sarah Jane Smith | Warwick Gray | 1995 |
| 3 | "Star Beast II" | Sharon and K9 | Gary Gillatt | 1996 |
| 4 | "Junkyard Demon II" | The Cybermen | Alan Barnes | 1996 |
| # | Title | Featuring | Writer | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Gaze of the Medusa" | Sarah Jane Smith | Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby | March–September 2016 |
Patrick Eamon Mills is an English comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since. He has been called "the godfather of British comics".
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