Doctor Who Magazine

Doctor Who Magazine

Doctor Who Weekly issue 1, cover dated 17 October 1979
Editor	Tom Spilsbury
Categories	Science fiction television
Frequency	Monthly
Circulation	36,151 (ABC figure as of 14 February 2014)
First issue	17 October 1979 (1979-October-17) (509 issues as of 9 February 2017)
Company	Panini Comics
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Website	Official website
ISSN	0957-9818

Doctor Who Magazine (abbreviated as DWM) is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Its current editor is Tom Spilsbury, who has been with the magazine since 2003. It is currently recognised by Guinness World Records as the longest running TV tie-in magazine.

Officially licensed by the BBC, the magazine began life as Doctor Who Weekly in 1979, published by the UK arm of Marvel Comics. The first issue was released on Thursday 11 October with a cover date of 17 October and priced 12p.

The magazine moved from weekly to monthly publication with issue 44 in September 1980, becoming Doctor Who Monthly with a cover price of 30p. Styled on the cover as 'Doctor Who - A Marvel Monthly' the tagline was not part of the name, but simply a descriptor which appeared on many of Marvel UK's monthly titles at that point. The copyright notice continued describing the publication as 'Doctor Who Weekly' until issue 48. The cover title changed to Doctor Who Monthly with issue 61. The title changed to The Official Doctor Who Magazine with issue 85 in February 1984. It became The Doctor Who Magazine with issue 99 in April 1985, and simply Doctor Who Magazine with issue 107 in December 1985. The magazine has remained under that title ever since, although an exception was made for issue 397 in June 2008 when the cover only featured the words Bad Wolf following transmission of the Doctor Who episode "Turn Left" on Saturday 21 June. In 1990 the magazine started appearing once every four weeks (13 times a year). Despite the BBC discontinuing production of Doctor Who in 1989, the magazine continued to be published, providing new adventures in the form of comics. The television programme was revived in 2005, providing a new generation of fans which the magazine was seeking to attract.

Originally geared towards children, DWM has grown into a more mature magazine exploring the behind-the-scenes aspects of the series. Due to its longevity, it is seen as a source of 'official' and exclusive information, sharing a close relationship with the television production team and the BBC. In 2006, however, it lost its exclusivity when BBC Worldwide launched its own comic, Doctor Who Adventures, aimed at a younger audience.