Fanzine review
Edited by Gareth Kavanagh and Colin Brockhurst
Release date Out now
www.vworpvworp.co.uk

A Doctor Who fanzine that celebrates the long history of Doctor Who Magazine, with particular emphasis on the comic strips…

Beautifully made and with a meticulous attention to detail, this not-for-profit fanzine is a world away from the crudely photocopied sheets of smudged paper of yesteryear. It’s a gorgeous, glossy volume (the first of many we’re promised) that feels like an officially licensed product, though in actuality it is unofficial.

An interview with Dez Skinn, Doctor Who Weekly’s original editor, and a look back at the classic, often reprinted strip The Iron Legion are definite highlights for those fans who were there from the start. A lot of the material is newly unearthed, with scripts, notes and detailed sketches showing just how much care and attention was lavished on the title.

The latter strips are treated to detailed analysis as well. There’s a comprehensive look at the designs of the new Cybermen in the 2005 tale The Flood, along with a strip of one of its pages. Sticking with the Cybermen theme, the long-running strip, The Cybermen, gets a comprehensive 14-page overview with an exclusive sample page and in-depth interview with the strip’s creators.

If this wonderful labour of love has a flaw, it is perhaps the fact that the newly commissioned comic strips don’t quite work, coming across as slight in a publication otherwise built on detail. However, the creators of Vworp Vworp! should be praised for offering a range of art styles within the new material, something the current magazine rarely does these days. It’s a fanzine that is likely to remind many readers why they fell in love with Doctor Who in the first place. Jonathan Wilkins

VERDICT: 9/10
A wonderfully in-depth publication. As an added bonus, it comes with free transfers!