TV Comic / Covers The covers for " TV Comic " featured some combination of the title of the magazine , elements included inside the issue , the publishing dates of said issue , and the issue number itself . The printing of " Doctor Who " lasted across 756 non - consecutive issues , totally almost 15 years of coverage . The following sub - sections have galleries illustrating the changes in font and format that the " TV Comic " covers went through . Unless noted otherwise , certain gaps in this page ' s catalogue are caused by the scarcity of quality images of some of the covers . Covers and issues . First Doctor . At the time of " Doctor Who " s introduction to the magazine in 1964 , the common tactic for the magazine was to feature a popular strip on the bottom half of the page ( usually " Popeye " ) , and a banner briefly advertising other stories included inside . These often would mention " Doctor Who " . Because of the lack of a need of " Popeye " content on this wiki , these galleries will mainly function to cover the top banner of the issue . Second Doctor . The very first story of the Second Doctor ' s comic era continued the previous trend of a brief banner over a non - DWU comic . After this story , " Doctor Who " itself took over the magazine ' s first page . In these cases , the first panel of said story would serve as the cover instead of a banner . However , the magazine soon returned to the previous status - quo . Third Doctor . After the Second Doctor regenerated at the end of COMIC : " The Night Walkers " , a two - month gap occurred where no " Doctor Who " content was featured in " TV Comic " . This started after TVC 936 and ended with the publication of TVC 944 . Issue 999 was the final TVC issue to feature " Doctor Who " material up until 1973 ; during this time stories were instead printed in " TV Action " . Issues to feature DWU material would continue in TVC 1133 . Fourth Doctor . Initial issues featuring Fourth Doctor fiction features covers to form with previously noted instances . After issue 1291 , " TV Comic " transitioned into " Mighty TV Comic " , with the adjective " " NEW " " added to initial publications . Alongside a thicker volume , the rejuvenated " Mighty TV Comic " featured a cover more common with modern publications . Starting with issue 1323 , " Mighty TV Comic " returned to the previous standard of a simple banner printed on the top of one of its regular strips . However , shortly after this the magazine also began to include additional non - comic information on a side - panel , creating a merge of a regular cover and a preview of the comics inside . While technically not relevant relevant to the covers of the magazine , it should be noted that TVC 1385 was the final issue to feature original content . All issues after the fact contained slightly - altered reprints , retracing Tom Baker ' s ( vague ) likeness over previous " Doctor Who " comics . " Mighty TV Comic " soon returned to the original title of " TV Comic " . Issue 1430 was the final " TV Comic " variation to feature any licensed elements from the " DWU " . Issue 1 of " Doctor Who Weekly " would begin printing five months later . A similar comprehensive organisation of that publication can be found here .