Did the Dalek Project graphic novel ever come out?

[23skidoo]

Some months ago BBC Books was supposed to have published a Doctor Who graphic novel called The Dalek Project. It was promoted as their first foray into graphic novels.

I never heard anything about it after that. The cover art was circulated and it was listed on Amazon for a while, with an early October 2009 release date.

I just checked the Canadian Amazon it's listed as unavailable, and the same goes for Amazon UK. Which is weird as books usually don't go out of print in less than 6 months - certainly not something from BBC Books (you can still order Ninth Doctor novels from Amazon). Book Depository, meanwhile, has a release date for sometime in mid-2011.

I don't recall seeing any reviews of it, or mentions of it elsewhere.

Has anyone ever seen this book, or has it become vaporware?

Here's the Amazon.co.uk listing so you can see what it looks like:

ww.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Project-Justin-Richards/dp/1846077559

This is reminiscent of The Age of Chaos, the DW graphic novel Colin Baker wrote in the late 1980s that Marvel was supposed to have put out, but no one was able to get it except maybe in the UK.

Alex

 

[danjamesb]

It didn't come out, no. It's on hold, but as far as I know the BBC still want to launch their own graphic novel line, so we might see it or others in the future.

 

[StCoop]

Last I heard it was being redrawn to replace Tennant with Smith.

 

[The Badger]

I thought it was dropped because it was too similar to the upcoming story Victory Of The Daleks.

 

[23skidoo]

Are either of the above just rumors, or have they actually been reported somewhere? Considering Dalek Project was announced long before work began on Victory of the Daleks I can't see the book being cancelled - the episode would more likely have had to be changed. First come first served (just as RTD had to drop the Daleks from End of Time because by then he knew about Victory of the Daleks).

Alex

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I thought it was dropped because it was too similar to the upcoming story Victory Of The Daleks.

That was a prevailing rumor, but it was never confirmed.

Later, quotes from Justin Richards and others at BBC Books were posted at GallifreyBase to the effect that the graphic novel was being redone with Matt Smith's Doctor instead of David Tennant's Doctor. Also, the BBC felt that the graphic novel was a prestige project.

So I believe it's currently on target for a late fall release.

I imagine it won't be distributed to North America because of IDW's North American comics rights.

 

[Andrew_Kearley]

Are either of the above just rumors, or have they actually been reported somewhere? Considering Dalek Project was announced long before work began on Victory of the Daleks I can't see the book being cancelled - the episode would more likely have had to be changed.

Don't you believe it. The producers of the tv show could and would shut down a spin-off project in a heartbeat.

 

[23skidoo]

Don't you believe it. The producers of the tv show could and would shut down a spin-off project in a heartbeat.

Not when it's the BBC doing it themselves.

This isn't a Big Finish project, and this isn't a rerun of what happened back in 1997 when the BBC shut down Virgin's DW series because it wanted to start its own under BBC Books.

I have my doubts that The Dalek Project will be that easy to redo as a Smith story. They can't just "redraw it". The Tennant version as I understand it was a non-companion story -- set in post-Journey's End continuity. For them to make it a Smith story, they'd need to revise it in order to incorporate Amy Pond. (Yeah I know it's not unusual for comic book Doctor stories to feature the Doctor by himself, but since the revival began this has generally not been the case except for stories set post-JE.)

Alex

 

[Andrew_Kearley]

Don't you believe it. The producers of the tv show could and would shut down a spin-off project in a heartbeat.

Not when it's the BBC doing it themselves.

BBC Books and BBC tv are two very separate entities. The Cardiff production team are the absolute ultimate authorities. If they wanted to do a story, and someone at BBC Books said, "hang on we've got a graphic novel coming out which is a bit similar", it's the book that would get canned. End of story. They want to protect the integrity of the tv show above all else.

 

[The Badger]

Right. If there is a good idea for a story, and they have a choice of using it on a TV show with an audience of millions, or a graphic novel for a few thousand, it's not really up for debate.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I have my doubts that The Dalek Project will be that easy to redo as a Smith story. They can't just "redraw it". The Tennant version as I understand it was a non-companion story -- set in post-Journey's End continuity. For them to make it a Smith story, they'd need to revise it in order to incorporate Amy Pond.

Or... it takes place post-season five. Or... there's a point in the season where the Doctor and Amy are separated and he has his own adventures. Based on rumors, either is possible.

Yeah I know it's not unusual for comic book Doctor stories to feature the Doctor by himself, but since the revival began this has generally not been the case except for stories set post-JE.

The Whispering Gallery, though it's a Ten/Martha story, refers back to the tenth Doctor traveling alone, presumably pre-"Smith and Jones."

Also, "Hotel Historia" (pre-"Partners in Crime") and "The Warkeeper's Crown" (pre-"Smith & Jones").

I'm not familiar with the DWA or Battles in Time comics (as neither are available on this side of the pond), so I don't know the extent to which the tenth Doctor traveled alone there.

Did you know there are something like 200 tenth Doctor comic book stories? Two hundred! The mind boggles.