Doctor Who (2009) published byIDW Publishing, was the firstAmerican comic book, comprised of multiple stories, with anongoing, originalDoctor Who narrative. It was set entirely within the2009 Specials and featured theTenth Doctor.

It ran for 16 issues andone annual during 2009-2010, and was the last comic strip series in the world to regularly starTennant's Doctor, untilTitan Publishing Group got the license in2014, and madeDoctor Who: The Tenth Doctor.

In January 2011, it was succeeded byDoctor Who (2011), a publication that featured theEleventh Doctor,Amy Pond andRory Williams.

Overview[[edit] |[edit source]]

When originally published, this series was often marketed with the unofficial title ofDoctor Who Ongoing. Because IDW were publishing one-shots at the same time as the early issues of this series, the wordongoing helped to distinguish the title in the minds of consumers and retailers. However, theactualindicia title was always simplyDoctor Who. Since those early issues, IDW virtually stopped their publication of one-shots in 2010, and they decided to relaunch the series with a new issue #1 to herald the arrival of theEleventh Doctor. Hence, for clarity, the Tennant issues are best thought of as "Doctor Who (2009)", while the Smith issues are best referred to as "Doctor Who (2011)".

IDW announced in February 2009 that it was planning the series to run for at least 18 issues. The company repeated this commitment at the New York Comic Con and on the publisher's page of issue #1. On both occasions, they claimed that the 18th issue, scheduled for publication in December 2010, would feature the start of original comic book adventures featuring theEleventh Doctor.

However, in February 2010 IDW modified its schedule slightly. The Tenth Doctor's adventures were reset to end with issue #16, scheduled for publication inDecember2010.^[1] At that time, it was unclear whether the Eleventh Doctor would simply pick up at issue #17, whether the title would restart with issue #1, or whether the Eleventh Doctor would simply be used in a series of limited or one-shot titles.^[2] Finally, IDW dropped all pretence of including the Eleventh Doctor in this title, and said that he would get his own title, with his own issue #1.^[3]

Ultimately, then, the series focused on the adventures of theTenth Doctor, pairing him with both new characters created for the comic book and occasional returning companions. Beginning with issue #6 (published in mid-December 2009), the Doctor began travelling with two companions created for the comic book,Matthew Finnegan andEmily Winter.Martha Jones appeared at the end of issue #8 and joined him for thethe four-part story arc withUNIT andCaptain Magambo that followed.

All stories occurred consecutively, with one story leading into the next with acliffhanger (much in the spirit of the early seasons of the TV series). Judging by author Tony Lee's hints in issue #1, the general plan was always that the first sixteen issues would be interconnected to some degree.

In a Newsarama interview,Tony Lee said, "We do have stand alone stories set on colony worlds, Lovecraftian horrors inOxford,UNIT in modern dayGreenwich, and a two parter set inthe TARDIS."^[4] In order, these last three descriptions referred to what becameFinal Sacrifice,Don't Step on the Grass andTesseract.

Setting for the Tenth Doctor[[edit] |[edit source]]

Initially, the exact placement of the Tenth Doctor stories was slightly vague. Lee wrote in a publisher's column:

When is this set? Whenever you want. That's the joy of time travel. For me, though, it's set during the year of thespecials. Maybe afterPlanet of the Dead, perhaps afterThe Waters of Mars. Either way, the clock's ticking for the Tenth Doctor. Tick tock, tick tock‚ and soon that door willknock four timesTony Lee^[5]

Lee has given subsequent opinions that seem to shunt the stories afterThe Waters of Mars. In an interview with Comic Book Resources^[6], he said that theTenth Doctor's adventures in the ongoing are most likely set directly beforeThe End of Time. Lee confirmed that this is where he personally sets them in his Newsarama interview. This view is supported by the Doctor's first scene inThe End of Time, which revealed that followingThe Waters of Mars, the Doctor travelled for an indeterminate period of time (the animated TV story,Dreamland, is also said to take place during this period).

Dialogue throughout the series confirms that the stories firmly take place after the "he will knock four times" prophecy first heard inPlanet of the Dead, but more exact placement is not yet possible barring a possible future reference to the events ofThe Waters of Mars. It is worthy of note, however, that a major plot point in bothSilver Scream andFugitive deals with the Doctor having saved the life of a woman considered a "fixed point" in history. Considering the events ofThe Waters of Mars, in which the Doctor learns a painful lesson about violating this rule, placement beforeWaters of Mars is a possibility.

Annual[[edit] |[edit source]]

According to an old tradition in theAmerican comic book industry, IDW published anannual in 2010. This special issue was 48 ad-less pages, square-bound, and contained four original short stories,Ground Control,The Big, Blue Box,To Sleep, Perchance to Scream, andOld Friend. It should not be confused withBritish annuals more commonly associated withDoctor Who. It was first published on 14 July 2010 in North America.

Initial publicity regarding the annual indicated that it would focus onthe Doctor's TARDIS.^[7]

Awards[[edit] |[edit source]]

Doctor Who (2009) was recognised byMTV as the "Best Licensed Series" of2010.^[8] In giving the award, they wrote:

. . . Tony Lee has proved himself time and time again over the course of2010, and gave anyone who longed for more time withDavid Tennant's iteration ofThe Doctor a wealth of wonderful stories.MTV Splash Page team

Stories[[edit] |[edit source]]

Issues[[edit] |[edit source]]

Collected editions[[edit] |[edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] |[edit source]]