Experience the Screamer

Thursday, 14 July 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
A 10" model of a monster created for a Doctor Who Adventures competition has been added to the Doctor Who Experience.

Twelve year old Jessica Rickarby won the design-a-monster competition which featured in the magazine with her design, Screamer, picked from over 1,000 entries. The monster was then incorporated into a comic strip character for the Doctor to encounter in last week's issue, and a model maker has created a physical version which has been put on display to visitors to the Doctor Who Experience for the next three months; Jessica will then receive it to keep.



Natalie Barnes, editor of Doctor Who Adventures said:
The popularity of our Design A Monster competition highlighted the amazing imagination of children in the UK – but as soon as we saw the Screamer we knew that Jessica’s creation was the winner. With the ability to render its victim unconscious by screaming in its face, the Screamer was so original and so scary, we had to ask the model-maker to make sure it wasn't too terrifying for adults!

The prize-winning design featured on today's edition of the news programme for children on BBC1, Newsround - this is currently available to watch in the UK via their website.




FILTER: - UK - Exhibitions - Miscellaneous - DWA

Doctor Who Adventures 214

Thursday, 21 April 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
This week's Doctor Who Adventures features a new cover design, and comes with either a free TARDIS money-box or Doctor Who pencil set.

The magazine is also launching a competition to win a Sony Cyber-Shot Camera by submitting a photo of the TARDIS in the "craziest place imaginable", closing date 18th May 2011. (see our earlier article for readers' votes on TARDIS landing sites)

Also in this issue:
  • Letter from the Doctor
  • Who’s Who – get up to speed with Doctor Who!
  • Top secret preview of Episode 1The Impossible Astronaut!
  • Mega Who Win – win over £1,000 of prizes!
  • Matt Smith interview
  • AAAGH comic – William and Katie ask the Ood for wedding help!
  • Meet the monster panel – DWA’s own quality control crew!
  • We Want Answers – The Doctor Who mysteries we hope they solve this year!
  • Doctor, Doctor – the Doctor answers YOUR questions!
  • Silence scares!
Plus the usual comic strip adventures, exclusive posters and puzzles.


Issue 214 of Doctor Who Adventures is out in the UK now.




FILTER: - DWA

Olympic TARDIS?

Thursday, 21 April 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
BBC Worldwide have revealed the results of a poll undertaken to see where readers of Doctor Who Adventures would like the TARDIS to land:

Doctor Who fans want to see TARDIS in Olympic adventure

For a machine capable of travelling through time and space in seconds, the 100 metres or high jump should be a breeze for the TARDIS, as a survey of Doctor Who fans reveals the place they would most like to see the time machine land is the Olympic Stadium, Stratford, London.

In a poll of 1,428 BBC Magazines readers, conducted for Doctor Who Adventures Magazine, 21% of respondents said the Olympic Stadium was the place they would most like to see the TARDIS land, beating off competition from the pyramids (13%), with music festival Glastonbury coming third with 11%. This was followed by next weekend’s Royal Wedding (10%) and then the Silverstone Grand Prix (6%).

The new issue of Doctor Who Adventures (214), features a competition for readers to submit photos of the TARDIS in the "craziest place imaginable", with the chance to win a Sony Cyber-Shot camera. Full details of the competition are in the magazine.


 
Of course, the Doctor has already visited the Olympic Stadium on screen, with his tenth incarnation arriving in time for the Opening Ceremony (Fear Her, 2006). Indeed, it was the Doctor himself who saved the Games by carrying the Torch to its final destination - and lighting the Olympic Flame!




FILTER: - Magazines - Press - DWA - BBC

Doctor Who Adventures 210

Wednesday, 23 March 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward
This week's issue of Doctor Who Adventures comes with a free Prisoner Zero grabber!

Also in this issue:
  • That’s Not My Name! We look into the Doctor’s biggest secret – what he’s really called!
  • The Pandorica Alliance! The scariest bunch of monsters ever assembled actually managed to imprison the Doctor! Find out which aliens were in this fearsome group!
  • The Timey Wimey travels of Amy Pond!
  • Doctor, Doctor! If you’ve got a problem that needs solving, ask the Doctor – there’s no one smarter!
  • Readers’ Awards
The magazine also contains exclusive posters, more comic adventures and puzzles.

Issue 210 of Doctor Who Adventures magazine is out in the UK now.




FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

Doctor Who Adventures 207

Thursday, 3 March 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward
This week's issue of Doctor Who Adventures comes with a free Doctor Who tin and stationery set.

Also in this issue:
  • More terrifying than Daleks? We meet the Vashta Nerada!
  • How to delete a Cyberman! As well as the scary skeletons, this week's monster-tastic issue of Doctor Who Adventures explains how to delete a Cyberman
  • Comic strip! The Empress of the Racnoss visits the offices of Aaagh
  • New Monster! the Doctor, Amy and Rory meet a new monster designed by one of our readers!
  • Daleks Return! We revisit the moment that Matt Smith's Doctor met the Daleks
  • Alien Alert! How do you put out a Pyroviles's fire?
As well as all that, we've got the usual news and jokes and puzzles and mayhem!

Issue 207 of Doctor Who Adventures magazine is out in the UK now.




FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

Doctor Who Adventures 206

Friday, 25 February 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward
This week's issue of Doctor Who Adventures comes with a free Fez and four free posters!

Also in this issue:
  • Wow! Dress up like the Doctor with your free fez! There's a special treat for fans of cool headgear as well - a brilliant free fez. Stick it on and you'll look just like the Doctor!
  • Secrets of the Sontarans revealed! We've bagged an amazing interview with a Sontaran, where we ask him just why they have heads like baked spuds.
  • The Doctor answers your questions! The Doctor answers some truly monstrous questions, and reveals how you can get him to answer your queries about life, adventure and the Universe!
  • Winston Churchill battles the Daleks
  • Monster trouble for Brucie!
  • How to draw a Judoon
  • Alien Files The Vespiform takes flight!
Plus prizes, scares, puzzles and comics!

Issue 206 of Doctor Who Adventures magazine is out in the UK now.





FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

DWA 'Design-a-Monster' competition

Wednesday, 23 February 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward
Doctor Who Adventures magazine has launched a 'Design a Monster' competition. The winner will see their creation battle the Doctor, Amy and Rory in a special comic strip in the magazine and be made into a model to go on display at the Doctor Who Experience in Olympia, London.

Comic artist John Ross offers the readers some great tips to help them create the perfect creature:


The great thing about Doctor Who monsters is that they can be scary but a bit funny, too. For example, a really scary face could be balanced out by something quite wacky, like a foot that's joined on backwards, or one arm that's much bigger than the other.

Things that tend to look good on monsters are wrinkles, extra eyes, fewer eyes, long tongues, tentacles, spots, stripes, spikes and funny-looking alien weapons/gadgets. Monsters based on animals are quite popular. For example, you could take the head of a rat and put it on the body of a chimpanzee and add tentacles.

Posture is always something you have to think about, too. If your monster is strong and confident, it should stand straight and tall. If it's a bit more nervous and unsure of itself, it could be hunched over, possibly with slumped shoulders. If it's just a jumbled mass of tentacles with a head, it's a bit trickier to give an idea of the creature's personality.

Your monster has to pose a threat to the Doctor, so will need some special powers or weapons. It could fire energy beams from its fingertips/tentacles, laser beams from its eyes or cannonballs from a hole in its belly - whatever you think is interesting. Weapons could be a giant device which could destroy the planet or a tiny alien flower which looks like a daisy but releases a scent which sends people to sleep.

It's also good to colour your monster nice and brightly so he stands out in a crowd.

How to enter

Download the PDF entry form by clicking on the button below, then print it out and draw your monster! Fill in the monster's details, along with your name, age, address and daytime telephone number. Put the page in an envelope and send it to: DWA DESIGN, PO Box 8951, Market Harborough LE16 0EF, or scan the page and email your design to design@dwacomps.co.uk

Download the pdf entry form

For full terms and conditions please visit www.dwamag.com/design-a-monster.




FILTER: - Comics - Magazines - Competitions - DWA

Official Magazine Statistics

Thursday, 17 February 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Audit Bureau of Circulations have now released statistics relating to the distribution figures of magazines for the second half of 2010, which includes details relating to both official publications, Doctor Who Magazine (Panini) and Doctor Who Adventures (BBC).

When compared to previous periods, the data reveals how the average circulation trends have fared:

 Jul - Dec 2009Jan - Jun 2010Jul - Dec 2010
Doctor Who Magazine29,00035,374 (+22%)33,554 (-5.1%)
Doctor Who Adventures44,66453,559 (+20%)56,648 (+5.8%)
Figures: Audit Bureau of Circulations

The figures show that both DWM and DWA saw a surge in circulation during the first half of last year - tying in with Matt Smith's debut as the Eleventh Doctor! The latter half saw DWM's readership tail off a bit, whilst DWA continued to increase (the latter offering a free gift every week to its readers!).

Jaynie Bye, joint Managing director for BBC Children’s Magazine told the BBC Press Office:
"In this digital age it is really heartening to see that our top brands continue to have huge appeal with the pre-teen audience. In particular, I am delighted with the performance of Doctor Who Adventures magazine – up by an impressive 26.8% year on year – demonstrating the continuing strength of the title and the increased interested generated by Matt Smith in his role as the Doctor.

Publication certificates provide further breakdowns on circulation; for instance 14% of DWM's and 17% of DWA's sales are through subscription, whereas figures for general sci-fi magazine SFX over last year show a much higher subscription rate of 31% (total average circulation 31,360).

The figures for the next six months are expected on 18th August 2011.






FILTER: - Magazines - DWM - Circulation - DWA

Doctor Who Adventures 188

Wednesday, 13 October 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Adventures 188This week’s issue of Doctor Who Adventures comes with a 2-page pull-out mag all about the new series of The Sarah Jane Adventures, in which some of the secrets of the next episode are revealed. There is an exclusive interview with actress Elisabeth Sladen.

What makes a great companion? Have you got what it takes to travel with the Doctor? You can find out in this week’s fact file.

Plus: a free 3-D notebook, posters and a puzzles and jokes section.

Issue 188 of Doctor Who Adventures magazine is out on Thursday 14 October.




FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

Doctor Who Adventures - 187

Thursday, 7 October 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
This week's issue of Doctor Who Adventures comes with a pair of 3D Glasses in order to experience the 3D Special - a twelve page pull-out section portraying favourite monsters in three dimensions!

Also this week, test drive the TARDIS. Explore behind the controls of the Doctor’s amazing time and space ship.

And find out what’s in store for Sarah Jane and the gang in the sneak preview of the first episode in series four of The Sarah Jane Adventures!

Plus: fantastic monster magnets, great jokes and huge puzzle section!

Issue 187 of Doctor Who Adventures magazine is out in the UK today.




FILTER: - Magazines - DWA