Marvel Premiere Featuring Doctor Who
Issue 57 (December 1980)
The Front Cover
“1st American Comicbook Appearance! ” “Collector’s Item Issue! ” A very bright cover, mostly yellow, featuring the Doctor and the TARDIS. The likeness is ‘reasonable’ although for some reason the Doctor’s scarf goes on and on and on for far longer than it should. The artist is uncredited (the signature on the actual cover is unreadable), but the next issue will identify it as drawn by Walt Simonson. The Doctor’s face appears in the corner box (in an illustration taken from The Iron Legion Part Seven), as it will for the next three issues. The unique diamond logo, while also used for the later comic, is placed lower on these four Marvel Premiere issues to accommodate the extra captions.
The Strips
“Doctor Who and the Iron Legion” Part One (“The Iron Legion” Parts One – Four)
The first strip story from Doctor Who Weekly makes a natural starting point. Curiously, the first page’s credit to the editor seems to have been removed and replaced by one for ‘Colors: Andy Yanchus’. The caption and dialogue spellings have been changed for Americans (‘favourite’ to ‘favourite’, etc).
The Articles
“Who is the Doctor” (by Mary Jo Duffy)
The first of several articles designed to bring Americans up to speed on Doctor Who and its continuity. Basically just a long history of the Doctor, complete with actor and personality changes in the Doctor. Includes some very strange facts about the Doctor’s physiognomy (see Fun Mistakes, below) and the same illustration of the Doctor as on the cover (albeit with different colouring).
The Pin-Ups
Four full art pages by Cockrum & Giacoia, depicting different Doctor Who characters and destined to be used in the later Doctor Who comic.
“The Five Doctors” shows Hartnell, Troughton, Pertwee, Tom Baker, and Peter Cushing – although only Cushing really looks like the actor at all;
“The Tardis and K-9” features, uniquely, everyone’s favourite police box and everyone’s least favourite mechanical mutt;
“The Daleks” presents the Michael Wisher version of Davros, numerous Daleks (including a purple one), and an Ogron; and
“The Doctor’s Most Fearsome Foes!” depicts the Sontarans, a Revenge-type Cyberman, a Wheel-type Cybermat, an Abominable-type Yeti, a Silurian, and the Delgado and Pratt versions of the Master (although curiously, Delgado is wearing full Time Lord regalia from The Deadly Assassin).
The Adverts
Wildfire handheld pinball machine, from Parker Brothers;
NBC Saturday Morning! (featuring The Godzilla/Dynomutt Hour, The Flintstones Comedy Show, The Space Stars, and The Daffy Duck Show);
comics classifieds;
Grit family newspaper;
Marvel Comics 20th Anniversary Calendar 1981;
Saturday Morning on ABC (featuring Super Friends, The Happy Days Gang, Richie Rich, Scooby and Scrappy Doo, Heathcliff and Dingbat, Plastic Man, and Thundarr the Barbarian);
Marvel Comics subscription offer (featuring Doctor Doom);
Electronic Marvels (handheld Spider-Man and Incredible Hulk games);
Great Whoppers From History (Whoppers malt balls);
“Iron Man vs. the Bank Robbers!” (humorous comic ‘adventure’ advertising Hostess Fruit Pies);
“The Saga of Johnny West” (another comic page, this time for Acme boots); and
LEGO Expert Builder Series.
Highlight
“Iron Man vs the Bank Robbers!” The bad guys are hilarious: “Ooooh’we should never have put down our weapons!” “But who could resist the real fruit filling?” “And the light, tender crust.”
The Back Cover
The back covers start off inauspiciously with a full-page ad for LEGO Expert Builder Series. “Ready for a challenge? You’re ready for the LEGO Expert Builder Series.”
Cool Colours
The Ectoslime is green with pink feelers, while the Malevilus is a bright magenta. The skin tones of the human characters, including the Doctor, variegate from a very pale peach to a bright reddish-orange. The Doctor’s scarf includes some very strange colours, including dark brown, purple, dark blue, red, bright green, and orange. On the cover, though, it’s yellow, blue, gold, red-orange, and grey.
Fun Mistakes
From “Who is the Doctor” (see ‘The Articles’ above): “[The Doctor’s] blood pressure is 70/70, and his blood itself, while structurally similar to human hemoglobin, differs in many respects, including a much greater capacity to carry oxygen. The Doctor only breathes about four times per minute (as opposed to the average human respiratory rate of 12-16), and although his skin is warm to the touch, his body temperature is only 60 degrees Fahrenheit.” What book has Mary Jo been reading?
Conclusion
The Doctor makes his debut on the American comic market, and he’s reasonably entertaining. The quality of the paper, though, is pretty bad, and the inks and colours are often washed out. Also, if you’ve only ever seen the post-Premiere Doctor Who comic, the adverts can be rather off-putting’they are funny, though! Worth finding for “The Iron Legion” in colour, but who would’ve guessed this would lead to such a nice, exclusively Doctor Who comic?
Issue 58 (February 1981)
The Front Cover
“He’s Back!” Green is the background colour du jour, and the cover art – credited to “Miller and Austin – Dat’s Who!” – shows Magog dragging the Doctor away to be eaten. “Come along, Doctor! I’ve never eaten a Time Lord before!” Sadly, the Doctor is drawn very poorly, and he looks more like Gareth Hunt than Tom Baker’ He has very hairy legs, too.
The Strips
“Stan Lee Presents: Doctor Who and the Iron Legion – Book Two: Against the Gods!” (“The Iron Legion” Parts Five – Eight)
The Doctor’s adventures in alternate Rome continue. Once again, the editing credit has been removed, this time replaced by “Color: A. P. Yanchus”. The usual logo (as seen on television) has been replaced on the first page of the strip by the new comics logo. The closing caption invites us to “Join the Doctor in’CITY of the DAMNED!”, despite that story being renamed.
“K-9’s Finest Hour”
The first back-up strip to be presented to American audiences, which features K-9 – although he hasn’t even appeared in the main comic yet.
The Columns
“First Class Mail” (curiously, Mary Jo Duffy’s article appeared in the previous issue under this banner, but it had nothing to do with mail)
The first set of cards and letters sent in to congratulate Marvel on their fine, fine Doctor Who comic. Some fairly basic comments expressing love for Doctor Who and Dave Gibbons’ art come from Mike Wall, of Eimhurst, Louisiana; Margaret R. Purdy, of Ridgewood, New Jersey; Scott E. Taylor, of Seven Valleys, Pennsylvania; and Mark Alessio, of Brooklyn, New York. Ann Larimer of Lincoln, Nebraska, recites the old “But who is he?” “Yes!” joke and signs off with the unusual “Till K-9 eats People Crackers, Make Mine Marvel!”
The Adverts
Fun Factory Super Gifts & Gimmicks; comics classifieds;
Doctor Who Full Colour T-Shirts! (from Time & Space Travel Agency);
Captain Universe;
Grit newspaper;
Join the Official Star Wars Fan Club;
Pez Candy;
Marvel Comics 1981 Calendar;
Mighty Marvel’s Big Money-Saving Holiday Offer! (subscription offer);
Doctor Strange;
“Daredevil vs Johnny Pink!” (another comic ‘adventure’ advertising Hostess Fruit Pies);
204 pc Revolutionary War Soldiers set;
Johnson Smith Company (more gag and trick items); and
LEGO Expert Builder Series.
Highlight
“Daredevil vs Johnny Punk!” Yes, Hostess wins the prize again. “I sure dig that real fruit filling!“
The Back Cover
Once again, the LEGO Expert Builder Series. “You build them from scratch with gears, pistons and universal joints that really work.”
Cool Colours
The Beast Men are’light yellow? On the front cover, the Doctor wears an orange waistcoat, and a scarf of light blue, purple, orange and yellow. He also wears yellow socks. In “K-9’s Finest Hour”, the Doctor is shown wearing a brown shirt, and later, his red coat from season 12. K-9, for his part, is blue in some cases and grey in others – very odd.
Fun Mistakes
Aw, none to be had. We’re very sad now.
Conclusion
Slightly more entertaining on the strip front, but there aren’t any articles or pin-ups to balance out the wacky fun. Probably the most entertaining of the Premieres at the time, but now rather standard and dull – after all, would you have chosen “K-9’s Finest Hour” as the first back-up strip? Bring on the Barabara!
Issue 59 (April 1981)
The Front Cover
“TV’s Cult Hero Now in His Own Marvel Mag!” The Brains Trust take over the cover this week – as drawn by Gene Day – with their huge, imposing magenta forms. A rather cartoonish little Doctor flies overhead, proving that, indeed, the Brains Trust are’100 ft tall? Okay’
The Strips
“Stan Lee Presents: Doctor Who: City of the Cursed” Part One (“City of the Damned” Parts One – Four)
Now here’s a strange one. Who decided to change the title from “Damned” to “Cursed”, and more to the point, why? The previous issue advertised it as “Damned”, and relevant dialogue hasn’t been changed. Are we really to believe that Marvel is this prudish? The editor caption is gone again, replaced by “Colorist = Gafford”, and once more the comic logo replaces the program’s on the first page.
“Werewolf by Night!: Full Moon on the Highway!”
The only non-Doctor Who strip to appear in the American Doctor Who comic, this is a very irritating and cliched werewolf story. Why couldn’t they find a six-page back-up strip to fill in the space?
The Columns
“First Class Mail”
Everyone wants a monthly Doctor Who comic, at least, five fans do: (unsigned) of Framingham, Montana; Bruce Goodness of Wakefield, Rhode Island; Bill Vinyard of Sedalia, Missouri; David Gene Morrison of Paul Valley, Oklahoma; and Mrs. Connie Tittle of Rock Island, Illinois. They’ll only have to wait, say, 3.5 years’ Accompanied by an ad for The Savage She-Hulk.
The Adverts
Johnson Smith Company (gags and tricks);
comic classifieds;
Bubble Yum bubble gum;
Mile High Comics;
more classifieds;
Mighty Marvel’s Big Money-Saving Holiday Offer! (in April?);
Grit family newspaper;
Heroes World action figures and kits;
Spider-Man in “The Rescue!” (guess what? Hostess Twinkies!);
100 pc Toy Soldier Set; Olympic Sales Club, Inc; and
MONOGRAM truck models.
Highlight
Oh, the 100 pc Toy Soldier set is precious. For $1.98, you get all these soldiers “Packed in this footlocker!”, which is a ‘pasteboard toy storage box’. Note that the word “pasteboard” is in tiny letters’
The Back Cover
Oh, it’s not LEGO this time! No, it’s MONOGRAM Peterbilt truck models. Six different varieties, with two optional Snap-Tite trailers and two truck-trailer combo sets!
Cool Colours
On the cover, the Doctor’s brown coat has long orange lapels. His scarf is mostly yellow, green, orange, and red in both the cover illustration and the strip story (with predominance towards yellow). The Brains Trust have red and yellow uniforms, but are solid purple on the cover. Some of the inhabitants of the city have triangles on their clothing – and they’re of a pinkish-orange shade. Interesting’
Fun Mistakes
From “First Class Mail”: “Walt Simonson’s cover for [Marvel Premiere] #57 proved to me that he could draw a great Dr. Who. And from Mary Jo’s article, we take it that she’s very familiar with the characters. [‘] A Duffy/Simonson/Janson Doctor Who book would be to my liking!” Who is this guy, and how much was he paid?
Conclusion
Another pretty standard issue. This issue easily has the least Doctor Who material of any in the whole series, and as such might be the most disappointing issue. At least it’s got one good strip story.
Issue 60 (June 1981)
The Front Cover
“How Can the Doctor Save the City of the Cursed?” Paul Gulacy was intended to draw the cover, but as is explained on page 23, he ran out of time. Earl Norem of Savage Sword of Conan was brought in as a replacement. The cover illustration is probably the best of the four Marvel Premieres, depicting a version of the lower left-hand panel on page 16 (including the “By George! I think I’ve got it!” speech bubble). The colour scheme is quite muted. Also includes a little yellow circle advertising “The Inside Story on the New Doctor!”.
The Strips
“Stan Lee Presents: Doctor Who: City of the Cursed” Part Two (“City of the Damned” Parts Five – Eight)
Although Half-Daft’s dialogue regarding “the city of the damned” hasn’t been altered, the Doctor’s cliffhanger line has (“Now nothing can save the city of the cursed!”). Once again, the logo has been replaced, and the editor’s caption removed – the colorist is “Gafford”, just like in issue #59. The ‘Next Issue’ caption has been altered to advertise “Star-Lord in Planet Story!”
The Articles
“Hello, Goodbye, Hello” or “Who’s Coming and Who’s Going” (by Mary Jo Duffy, illustrated by Walt Simonson)
Duffy witters on at some length about how hard it is to come by interesting heroes these days, her first experience of Doctor Who (either the end of RobotPart Two or the start of Part Three), and how much she enjoys Tom Baker’s characterisation of the Doctor. Some considerable space is given over to a biography of Baker, and a multiple-paragraph quotation from his interview in the documentary Whose Doctor Who. Toward the end, we learn that Baker – this incredible, magical guy, according to Duffy is leaving the show, and will be replaced by Peter Davison. How terribly sad. Two cartoons are included, one depicting the Fourth Doctor and Romana II, the other showing the Fourth Doctor being chased by a gigantic Zygon (“A Last Look at an Old Enemy” Let’s Let Zygons By Zygons, Shall We?”). There’s a group illustration of “Sgt. Major Benton, the Brigadier, and Harry”, as well as one of Leela (clearly based on a photograph). Also along for the ride are two rather appalling portraits of people named “Peter Davison” and “Sarah Jane”. We wonder who they are? Hmm…
The Columns
“First Class Mail”
And they want a regular comic more than ever: Warren C. Sinclair Jr (no address given); Kevin C. McConnell, of Warren, Pennsylvania; David Brierley (no, not that one) of North Smithfield, Rhode Island; Mitchell Rentzier of Brooklyn, New York; and Michael Mornard of Minneapolis, Michigan. Sandra Fenniak of Ontario, Canada, wants to see a strip with Leela in, while Leon Allen Jr of Sacramento, California, thinks the comic should be helmed by Roger Stern and Frank Miller! At the end is a small box telling readers that “Marvel Premiere #60 ends out four-issue run of Doctor Who.”
The Adverts
Attack of the Mutants (Yaquinto Publications roleplaying games);
Life Savers candies;
comics classifieds;
Bubble Yum bubble gum;
Heroes World comic “collectibles’;
Grit family newspaper;
announcement of the winners of Mighty Marvel’s win-yourself-a-Toys ‘R’ Us shopping-spree sweepstakes;
Marvel Comics subscription offer;
more comic classifieds;
Johnson Smith Company (gags and tricks); and
Olympic Sales Club, Inc.
Highlight
Mighty Marvel’s win-yourself-blah-blah-blah sweepstakes. “The Grand Prize winner, a lucky recipient of a hectic three minute spree at Toys ‘R’ Us is’Sean McDonald from Sacramento, California!” Not to mention thirty second prize (“AMF ‘Hawk 3’ bike”) winners, sixty third prize (Entex ‘Baseball 3’ game”) winners and one-hundred fourth prize (“‘Cruiser’ skates”) winners. And the ‘special announcement’ is made by Spider-Man and Geoffrey the Giraffe (in a shirt, fedora and necktie)!
The Back Cover
The 100 pc Toy Soldier set. “Made of durable plastic, each with its own base.”
Cool Colours
On the cover, the Doctor’s shirt is brown (or at least, his cuff is). The Barabara are hot pink from head to toe – except for a single cell on page 14, where they are bright blue! The Doctor’s coat varies from brown to a sort of dark red, and his necktie is gold. The portions of people’s bodies being transported are lime green.
Fun Mistakes
Keeping with a long-standing tradition of getting his name wrong, Sherlock Holmes’ nemesis is Professor “Moriarity”. And what about Sgt. Major Benton, eh? In her article, Mary Jo Duffy expresses her surprise upon first seeing the fourth Doctor: “That was a scientist? [‘] Impossible! Where was his age? Where was his superior intellect? Where were his lab coat and his weapons? Why was he so much fun? So interesting? So young?” Clearly, she’s never seen the Pertwee era’ The Whose Doctor Who documentary is said to be spelled incorrectly, but it’s not. Tom Baker is said to be leaving the show after six years, and Peter Davison apparently played a character named “Tristam” on All Creatures Great and Small.
Conclusion
Well, We’re happy to say goodbye to the Marvel Premiere issues. This is a reasonable issue, though, dedicated almost entirely to finishing “City of the Cursed”. Baxter paper, better colors, better reproductions, original Dave Gibbons covers and a distinct lack of ads are just around the corner’
