The following is an idea that we chased around on the old board, and which I have discussed with folks off the board, so not all of the below is original with me.

 

There have been Doctor Who comics just about since the show's inception. Suppose you had been in charge of deciding who drew them? Only two rules:

One: A different artist for each "incarnation" of the Doctor.

 

Two: The artists you pick have to be someone who was alive and active during each Doctor's "incumbency".

 

Recommendation:  I try to pick artists whose style I think is suitable to the Doctor in question, and is distinctive from that of the artists who precede and succeed them. You don't have to do that, but that's what I'm trying to do.

 

Please note that I'm just suggesting these folks as artists, so if a list a "writer/artist", I'm not necessarily suggesting they write the stories, too.

 

Now, my problem when it comes to drawing up lists like this is that while I've read alot of comics over the years, my knowledge of same is far from systematic. Some of you*, I picture your memories as being like the most carefully-maintained library in the world, where every book is properly shelved and constantly updated in perfect Dewey Decimal System order.  Not so, my memory. My memory is more like a cellar or an attic where the owner has spent a lifetime indiscriminately storing random stuff in random order, some of it valuable and some of it worthless, and much of it painstakingly mislabeled. Anyway, my point is that if my list seems to have some glaring omissions on it, it's not deliberate - these are the artists that I think best suited, from the list in my head of folks whose work I possess a reasonable knowledge of, and who I'm reasonalby certain were working during the periods in question.

 

So, here's my list:

 

1)The First Doctor (1963-1966): Wayne Boring - one of my favorite Superman artists, I think he'd do a good job with the sort-of "old school science-fictioniness" of the Hartnell Era.

 

2)The Second Doctor (1966-1969): Osamu Tezuka - I think Doctor Tezuka would be a good fit for the whimsical and yet serious Troughton Doctor.

 

3)The Third Doctor (1970-1974): Gil Kane - I think Kane would be a good fit for the "Earth being regularly invaded" UNIT Era.

 

4)The Fourth Doctor (1974-1981): Jack Kirby - I wanted to get the "King" in here somewhere, and I think that the best fit for him would be the most "alien" incarnation of the "Time Lord".

 

5)The Fifth Doctor (1982-1984): George Perez - another old favorite - I think his style would suit Davison.

 

6)The Sixth Doctor (1984-1986): Walt Simonson - he was one of my thoughts for the Fourth Doctor, but I decided Kirby was a better fit there. He probably wouldn't thank me for making him draw that costume, though!

 

7)The Seventh Doctor (1987-1989): John Byrne - whatever else you might think of Byrne, I've always thought that he was an excellent artist. Besides, with any luck, we'd get entertaining diatribes on why it was unacceptable for fans to call the Doctor "Doc".

 

8)The Eighth Doctor (1996):  Michael Golden - this is a tricky one, as I'm a little skethcy on the artists of that era. I remember Golden as someone whose work I enjoyed at the time, however.

 

9)The Ninth Doctor (2005): Gene Ha - I liked his work on Top 10, I think he'd fit well here.

 

10)The Tenth Doctor (2005-2009): Steve Rude - I remember him mostly from the Hulk/Superman, what I remember of that makes me think he could handle the Tennant Era.

 

11)The Eleventh Doctor (2010- ): Mike Allred - I've always liked his work, I think he'd be a good fit for Matt Smith's particular brand of weirdness.

 

So - suggestions, corrections, random gibberish?

 

*i.e., The Commander, for example

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  • I'd want to stuff the list with artists who worked in British comics. But I'm not sufficiently familiar with the British industry to pick out potential artists. I can imagine Frank Bellamy or Ron Smith doing a good job. I've seen very Bellamy-ish Dr. Who stories from the 70s by other artists. Actually, Bellamy himself did a two-page adaptation of the opening of Colony in Space for the Radio Times (here), but I don't care for that. Ron Smith did good work on Judge Dredd.

      

    Of artists who've done work for the US industry, I'd pick Gil Kane and Sid Greene on the first Doctor. I know they could do good SF stories due to their Green Lantern work in the period. You could argue the more staid Kane/Giella look would've suited the first Doctor better. I'd like to put the 70s Swan/Anderson or Swan/Oskner teams on the first Doctor, but that would violate the time period rule.

     

    On the second Doctor, Kurt Schaffenberger or Ross Andru might've been interesting. Their versions could've been light-hearted and a bit goofy, with lively central characters. But I don't know whether either could do good likenesses, and arguably you'd want an artist who could capture the show's tense drama/horror side. I can imagine the Mike Sekowsky of the later 60s doing a good Troughton, bringing the characters alive and handling the drama well. 

     

    Neal Adams on the third Doctor. He could handle the action element the show had in Pertwee's period, SF, and intense drama.

     

    Gene Colan on the fourth, although again I don't know how he was at likenesses. The earlier Baker years had a strong horror element. I'm also picking Colan for his ability to draw interesting, real-looking people, and the real world.

     

    Ross Andru and Dick Giordano, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, or Andru and Garcia-Lopez on the fifth Doctor, for their Atari Force work. The Atari Force ongoing got going around the time Davison's time as the Doctor ended. It was preceded by the insert comics which came with some Atari games. Work by Andru/Giordano (and Mike DeCarlo) appeared in some of the inserts; Andru/Garcia-Lopez art appeared in ##4-5 of the ongoing.

     

    Kerry Gammill on the sixth Doctor, for his work on the Dr. Who parody in Power Man and Iron Fist #82. This came out during Davison's time as the Doctor, but I think the story's comedic style would suit the C. Baker Doctor better. Its Dr. Who analogue, Prof. Gamble, doesn't look like Davison.

     

    Possibly one should choose two different artists for the seventh Doctor: one for the early, goofier McCoy stories, and another for the later, darker ones. I'll pick Steve Bissette and John Totleben for the horror stories. The time-period is after their time on (Saga of) Swamp Thing, but close enough, I think, for me to pick them. For the goofier stuff, Joe Staton.

     

    For later Doctors, I'll put Walt Simonson on the eighth. I originally had Alan Davis here, but he's the best match I can think of for the ninth. It's the eighth Doctor: he only appeared in one story. I'll assume the comic's storyline involves a clash of cosmic gods.

     

    Alan Davis on the ninth Doctor, perhaps Jackson Guice in his Ruse style on the tenth. The best alternative I can offer for the eleventh is Paul Grist.

  • Geoff Campion did a colour series for Ranger called "Space Cadet" when Hartnell was the Doctor. This was reprinted in the 80s in a book called Space Wars Fact and Fiction. I can imagine good first Doctor stories in the same style.

    Much information on Dr. Who (and Daleks) comics can be found here. (Dell did an adaptation of the first Cushing movie with art by Dick Giordano? How can I have not known that? Yet here it is.)
  • Interesting suggestions, LB - alot of guys I hadn't thought of!
  • You know who would have been a great writer/artist for Doctor stories?  Carl Barks. 

     

    Heck, most of his Uncle Scrooge stories, with Scrooge as the Doctor and Donald and the boys as companions, could have been Who stories.

  • Jim Steranko for the Pertwee Doctor.
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