Doctor Who Magazine North America!
Early reports coming from British fans who have the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine (pictured above) indicate that the issue contains an intriguing news item that would be of interest to US (and presumably North American) fans. There apparently is to be a new montly Doctor Who magazine produced out of the US, to be entitled Doctor Who Unlimited. It will be a 44-page magazine with different content from that of Doctor Who Magazine (and not sold in shops in the UK, other than by import presumably).
At the time of writing this blog entry it is unknown when this magazine will launch in the US (and presumably Canada), nor is there much idea as to how the content shall be different (other than apparently there will be more “fan interaction” - whatever that means). It has not been revealed whether Doctor Who Unlimited will also contain a comic strip (as DWM always has), although it will include free posters.
It is a (positive) sign of the times that Doctor Who has become successful enough in North America that someone is willing to have another go at producing a US based Doctor Who Magazine. The first attempt was a US Marvel comic in the mid-80’s which re-printed DWM strips in colour with a few additional DWM-like factual features and commentary, which lasted a few years. This will be the first attempt to do a magazine with completely different content, if the early reports are to be believed. Whatever happens, it should be interesting!
UPDATE: The title of this blog entry has been changed to more accurately reflect the content of the DWM report - now that I have the latest issue of DWM to confirm the news item for myself, it actually indicates that DWM will have a “sister publication in North America” (not the US specifically, as suggested by the aforementioned early reports from British fans) which will be aimed at the North American market. Doctor Who Unlimited Editor John Ainsworth is even quoted as saying that new magazine has come about due to the increasing popularity of the show in North America thanks to the broadcast of the program “by BBC America in the US and Space in Canada”. The content will be complement and exist alongside Doctor Who Magazine (rather than sharing the same content), with more of a focus on the “fictional side of Doctor Who as well as regular coverage to the fans themselves”. As such, it is nice to see the publishers of the new magazine (wisely) have an eye on both markets on this side of the Atlantic.
The first issue comes out fairly soon - April 7th. 44 pages long, it is to retail for $6.99 in the US and $7.99 in Canada.
Posted by Luca on Wednesday, January 12 at 8:24 pm
5 Comments...
Meh. Seems a bit pointless to me. Why not just have better distribution in NA? Add a bit more “world”/NA content to the current ‘zine and bob’s yer uncle. A whole new US ‘zine for the same UK show? I don’t get it. If it’s a hit show in the US that will sell ‘zines… then sell us the real thing.
But then again I’m sure there’s a boat load of pro/semi pro fans out there clambering to get their work read by the editors. Graeme? Cameron? Scott? I’m looking at youz!
Posted by Rod on 01/13 at 11:54 AM
As Rod says why not get better distribution? Last I noticed DWM was getting in various stores here.
Possibly a lower priced alternative in a more US style. DWM is set to become even bigger and pricier in the UK so maybe that is a problem.
Either way it’s going to be treading on the same ground.
Posted by Ryan on 01/13 at 03:58 PM
Various stores. But it’s not exactly an easy find.
And if there’s an American alternative… won’t that put the kibosh on the UK version hitting main(ish)stream shelves?
Question: the current DWM we can get here… are they printed in the UK and shipped over? Or reprinted here and distributed?
Posted by Rod on 01/13 at 10:44 PM
I believe printed there and shipped over - because where I get mine comes in on their once a week ‘International shipment’ as opposed to their regular daily shipments which include US mags. Plus it’s got the price in pounds on it.
Posted by Julie on 01/14 at 07:24 AM
DWM is shipped over, and we get a special version that is dated a month after the UK release, which sadly renders much of DWM outdated by the time it gets here. This week we just got the DWM trumpeting a preview of Christmas Carol, which was rather pointless. (It’s even worse for people buying off newsstands such as Chapters and Indigo - those issues are 2 months out of date). That said, I love DWM and my only concern is I don’t want Panini to remove DWM from distribution here. It’s already hard enough to get DWM - here in Calgary most of the comic shops that carry it only do so for customers who request it, and the Torchwood Magazine was virtually never seen.
As for whether there’s any point in multiple DW magazines - over in the UK there’s at least 3, including DWM, Doctor Who Adventures, and Doctor Who DVD Files. So I don’t see a problem with there being two over here. Just as long as DWM continues to be available to us.
Posted by Alex on 01/15 at 10:31 AM
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