In Print - 96

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And Jim's back!

As you probably know 'In Print' isn't a professional web comic, by which I mean we don't make money from it and we all have other ways of paying the bills. It's a labour of love for all involved, but as a result when real life starts to stack up stresses and pains it's usually our time on the strip that has to be sacrificed rather than work or family time. You probably noticed a bit of disruption in the strip last year when I separated from my wife and this year Jim's had some pretty major dishevel in his personal life which is why it's been 3 or 4 months since we last saw his stuff. Nesshead has other stuff going on as well. Just the nature of things I'm afraid, sadly we can't make a living off and can't afford to quit our jobs and pursue drawing and writing careers, so it'll always be the first thing to go when things need pared back. But we'll always come back to it when time allows. Always.

And on that note I'd be remiss not to mention Mike Key at this point. We couldn't have kept the site going the last few months without Mike. At all. He's been utterly fantastic and I worry that I haven't told him that enough. Actually I worry that I don't tell all the artists that.

But I do.

Anyway...

In case any of you are wondering 96 is significant because the 8th Doctor's first (and until recently only) TV appearance was in this year. 7 is probably a bit grumpy about it as that's the year the stepped out the TARDIS and was shot multiple times and then had his heart broken (literally not figuratively).

Speaking of the telly, I'm still really enjoying the new series. 'The girl that died' was tremendous fun and almost, almost, had me liking the sonic specs. The idea of using them as an eye patch was perfectly in keeping with the episode.

IN PRINT - CLIFF NOTES

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I honestly hadn't thought too much about it when I first started coming up with the idea of 'In Print'. I just knew that I loved the old multi Doctor stories and the fact that the Doctor can never get on with himself. I'd just finished re-watching them all, mostly because I'd read 'Cold Fusion' by Lance Parkin shortly before that and it had made me nostalgic.

Lets all be thankful that it wasn't Paul Cornell's entry for the 'Timewyrm' series instead, if I'd read that before I started doing 'In Print' then I would never have started.The trip into the Doctor's mind in that book is very, very close to how I see the strip's reality working, although Paul's version has more ambition and scope. That and some of the imagery featuring the poor 5th Doctor just wouldn't work for the humourous tone of 'In Print'.

Luckily though I read 'Timewyrm: Revelations' months into the strip's run. I spent about a fortnight panicking about it though.

Anyway, the point is that I just plonked 7 and 8 down in the TVM TARDIS and figured that people wouldn't question the logic of that given that this was a blatantly non-cannon comic strip.

I underestimated the pedantry of Whovians.

The above strip chronicles my various attempts to explain just what's going on. Although Handles puts it most succinctly, my favourite remains the Shalka Doctor's explanation.

In other news I've been reading 'Engines of War' the last few days. It's not been sold as such, but it is definitely a PDA. It ticks all the boxes; features a past Doctor and is published by the BBC. I'm halfway through and loving it so far. If I'm reading it right it also features a semi regular member of our cast, but I'll confirm that on Gallifrey Base once I've finished reading it, not before.

 Plans are still a little in flux for next week, but rest assured we have a Plan A and Plan B. So there'll be something new for you guys. See you then!

IN PRINT GUEST STRIP 5 - JESSE LAX

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And that's the end of that arc. I think we'll be calling it Duel of the Time Lords. But that's still being worked up.

Today's strip is a sequel to Jesse's first strip and brings it right into the continuity of the main strip. If anyone is wondering why the Masters are in a shoe box I suggest watching Planet of Fire. It may also give you a clue as to what the Valeyard is up to. Maybe.

If you want any clues about next year you'll have to settle for me telling you it's half written and that I've been watching Logopolis.

I hope you all caught our Christmas Special  last week. If you didn't then go read all 15 pages right now!

See you all next week. If you miss us before then we'll be loitering on Facebook and Twitter.

IN PRINT EPISODE 41

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We've seen something like this before.

Everything's connected. Everything is going to tie together for the 50th in November. We have big plans here at In Print. Speaking of the 50th, you can read my thoughts on the preparations for it over at Kasterborous.

I'm a good bit more excited about The Snowmen. I'm loving the idea of a Doctor who has given up, finally had his fighting spirit beaten out of him. I mean, there's no way it's going to last, but I plan to enjoy it whilst it does. Whilst the 10th Doctor dabbled in it at the beginning of The End of Time I don't think we explored it nearly enough, I'm hopeful that Matt Smith will correct that for us all. The other thing I'm looking forward to is Richard E Grant. Right up until broadcast I'm going to be convincing myself that's he's playing either the Doctor from Scream of the Shalka or on of The Fatal Death Doctors or perhaps, given his history of playing differing versions of the Doctor, The Valeyard himself. I'm almost certainly wrong on all three counts, but I'll enjoy the possibility whilst I can. And if it turns out I'm totally wrong? Well I'll still have Richard E Grant appearing in an episode of Doctor Who. It's a bit of a win/win situation.

We're not sure what's coming to you next week. It may be the conclusion of this particular arc or it might be the Christmas Special itself. We'd be pretty interested to hear what you guys would prefer. Feel free to leave feedback either in the comments section, Twitter or Facebook,

Either way we'll see you again in seven days....

IN PRINT EPISODE 40

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Ah yes, Seven and Eight. Didn't they used to star in this strip?

I seem to have gone off on a bit of a tangent of late, but don't worry; it's all part of the plan.

This week marked 49 years since Doctor Who appeared on our screens and this time next year we'll be in the middle of a full swing celebration of the half centenary. In fact our plans for this year coming are so epic that myself and Jim have already decided to forego the Christmas Special in favour of a Giant-Sized Anniversary strip  instead. All the dangling plot threads will come together as we celebrate 50 years of our favourite Time Lord.

But you'll still be getting a Christmas Special this year. It's coming together nicely. So nicely in fact that Jim hasn't stopped Emailing me pages from it since last night. Not that I'm complaining you understand, I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing scenes I've written come to life.

It's not just Jim though. We have a range of contributors for this year's Special and I really don't think any of you will guess what the nature of them.

In other news DJ Foo has followed in Colin Baker's footsteps and been voted off. DJ and Hartnell's Wig have been the two break out stars this year going by the feed back we've received so far. Let us know in the comments if you'd like to see the DJ back in the thick of things.

We're still on Twitter and Facebook, feel free to follow and like us there. 750 likes on Facebook and counting, would be nice to hit the 1,000 mark before the New Year.

Hint, hint...

IN PRINT EPISODE 39

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Wasn't it just?

What might have happened if the Master had discovered the Valeyard's little project? It's a good question, but a better one might be why does he keep regenerating?

Obviously I know the answer to that one, but I'd love to hear what you guys think about that...

Anyway, I've been putting it off but at some point I should really tell you what I thought of the Angels take Manhattan:

I didn't hate it, but like anything that has that kind of hype and build up it could never live up to expectations. I don't buy the finality of the whole scenario, Rose was left in a much more isolated situation and she came back. We'll see the Ponds again, just as soon as the Doctor realises he could just hire a car and drive to Manhattan from any other state or pick the Ponds up a few years into their exile.

I still maintain that I would have enjoyed this episode an awful lot more if we hadn't known how it was going to end. Which is why I'm not spilling about the Master or the Continuity Wars.

Anyway....

Hartnell's wig from last week seems to have generated quite a bit of positive response as well as his own twitter account. Don't worry, we haven't seen the last of this particular character (is that the right word, should I say prop?), 2nd Fade and myself have some plans ahead. But before I get onto them I really need to finish writing the Christmas Special for this year, especially given that I received the three of the first few pages in my Inbox this week. They all look fantastic, but you'll need to wait to see them.


In other news it appears a former member of the Who cast and a man very much still involved in the Who community dipped his toe into a certain reality program this week. I don't watch it so I can't really comment. However Jim has taken time to provide us with credits to this weeks strip in homage to the man. Very retro.

However it goes without saying that all of us here at In Print wish him the best of luck in this particular trial. Just watch out for men in black....

I need to go sleep now but before I go there's just enough time to remind you all that we're still on Twitter and Facebook, feel free to follow and like us there.

IN PRINT EPISODE 38

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There you have it. For anyone who ever wondered where the Master in Scream of the Shalka came from; this is my version of events. And since it's the only version of events It's going to have to do.

This strip also includes my take on what happened to the Master after the TV Movie. Has anyone else ever addressed that point before? Surely I'm not the first on that one.

The strip has deviated somewhat from it's initial premise, maybe one day I'll get back to 7 and 8 screaming at the television set as Matt Smith annoys them, but for now I'm quite happy exploring obscure continuity. Hopefully you're ok with it as well.

Kasterborous ran an article about us this week. Apart from calling us a "popular online comic featuring all versions of the Doctor that you can imagine", which made me smile, they also queried just what we were up to with The Wrong Doctor.

It's a fair question and one that needs something of an answer. Tone Cartoons went into a small amount of detail over on his Facebook page for The Daily Dalek, but since not everyone follows him (your loss I'm afraid, we love the Daily Dalek!) I thought we'd post something here as well.

The premise for The Wrong Doctor is remarkably simple; what if a different version of the Doctor went on a previous or future regeneration's adventure? Given that there's a been a Time War and the Doctor has lost a handful of centuries it would make sense that some cutting and pasting of his personal time line might occur. How would the 4th Doctor have dealt with Ian and Barbara finding the TARDIS for example?

It's an idea that I proposed on Gallifrey Base a few years ago and it's been percolating in the back of my head ever since.

Tone and I are now working on the first few scripts and arcs as well as coming up with 'rules' to keep things consistent.

I'm also working on finishing our Christmas Special (it's 75% written), The Infinites and Dangling Threads.

If only I got paid for my time behind the keyboard.

Good thing I enjoy it really isn't it.

That's me for another week, just enough time to remind you all that we're still on Twitter and Facebook, feel free to follow and like us there.

IN PRINT EPISODE 37

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At last we finally know what was behind that door in the God Complex. Or least we know what I think was behind the door. Of course it was the Doctor, or least a dark distillation of him.

This is the third time the Valeyard has turned up in this strip. The first time it was in a guest strip by Paul Salvi, the second was more recently in The Infinity Doctors. You'll notice that he's acquired a Special Weapons Dalek since the last time we were in here, there's a story there and you'll find it here.

We're almost ready to announce the winner of the "Next Infinity Doctors" artist, however not all the entries are in just yet and we won't make a final judgement until everyone has had their chance. Soon though, very soon.

So, that'll be another artist on board. Did you know that none of the team that bring you In Print have actually met each other? I'm in Scotland, Jim and 2nd Fade live in England and Jesse hails from one of our former colonies. We'd all really like to meet up for a drink sometime and plan out In Print in person and over a pint. But since In Print doesn't bring us any income and we all have families it doesn't seem likely to happen any time soon. Of course if any of you want to contribute to the In Print Pub Fund then feel free to click on the donate button below. Or not. It's entirely up to you.

Of course if you want to just contribute towards Jim, 2nd Fade or Jesse getting a digital drawing pad or a Tablet for myself so that I can write strips on the move; then the same button applies, just let us know what you're contributing towards. Or just keep reading and don't worry about it, because quite frankly we'll keep making the comic anyway. We're enjoying ourselves far too much.

Other ways to support us is to use our shop whenever you make an Amazon purchase or by clicking the advert on the right hand side of the page or expressing interest in a printed book.

Right, plugging over.

In actual strip related business I'm sure a few of you are wondering why the Master keeps regenerating and why he isn't regenerating in order. There's a very good reason for that, there's also a very good reason why we haven't seen the Derek Jacobi Master. All these things shall be revealed in time.

Believe it or not there is a plan.

I'm still not quite ready to discuss The Angels take Manhattan, but in the mean time you can always check out Joel Watson's take on it over at Hijinks Ensue. He makes a very valid point, only Martha got a traditional Companions exit.

Anyway, we'll see you all next week for Jesse's final Infinity Doctors. In the mean time we're still on Twitter and Facebook, feel free to follow and like us there.

IN PRINT EPISODE 36

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You're humming it right now aren't you? I know I am.

Those last three panels may be my favourite ones so far; 

I can almost see the Master dancing to the Scissor Sisters.

Those of you paying attention will have noticed that none of our regulars appear in this strip. Between that and 

The Prop Cupboard and The Infinity Doctors we've been expanding our cast significantly of late, the cast seem to be expanding of their own accord and lately I just seem to be trying to manage them all rather than write them. It's a box full of mad men and they're intent on taking over

Anyway, next week we really do have The Infinity Doctors, although TheOneRing.net seemed to really enjoy last weeks last minute Extra.

In the mean time we're still on Twitter and Facebook .



















                                                       

IN PRINT EPISODE 34

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I'm sorry.

I'm really, really sorry. I've just gone and created a character for a one off joke.

Unless of course DJ Foo takes off in a big way, in that case I'm not sorry at all.

The Master seems to be burning through his regenerations here doesn't he? I wonder if this has any connection to the last time we saw him in the strip? Incidently I just adore the Survival version of the Master. He's everything that Anthony Ainley Master could and should have been. And since we have the Geoffrey Beevers version on screen, as it were, you should all go and listen to 'Master' from Big Finish to find out how good he could have been with an extended run.

There's just so much more to the Master than we get to see on screen.

Oh and you should also go and check out Paul Hanley's take on the Master. It's a sight to behold.











So, Asylum of the Daleks, I don't know about you guys, but I rather enjoyed it. Completely astounded about the giant, humongous spoiler that managed to slip in under the radar. Although I was pretty disappointed that the Special Weapons Dalek didn't get a bigger cameo. Still it was pretty good to see him in New Who at all.

Maybe he'll crop up in In Print next...

As usual keep an eye on our Twitter and Facebook feeds and we'll see you all again next week.

IN PRINT GUEST STRIP 4 - JESSE LAX

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Our guest strip today comes from our very own Jesse Lax. Many of you will know Jesse as the artist behind my other comic project Dangling Threads. 

When he's not designing the look for the Doctor Who Reprint Society or drawing Threads Jesse is the Creative Director of Kwaai Games. His current project is Vampires: The Dark Side, you should go check it out.

To see more things that Jesse has drawn you should check out his dA page.

Now, does anyone know who our guest star in the strip is?

IN PRINT EPISODE 18

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