American comic book An American comic book is a periodical which is typically , but not always , 16 . 83 cm wide by 26 cm tall . It usually has 32 pages , though some special issues can be of greater length . It is bound by staples , rather than glue . Its contents are overwhelmingly sequential art and advertisements . Main differences with UK publications . An American comic book ' s format makes it a radically different , and smaller , size than " Doctor Who Magazine " , " " , " Doctor Who Adventures " and most anything published by Polystyle or Marvel UK . Further unlike British " Doctor Who " publications , most of its content is devoted to a single story , and there is typically very little , if any , prose content — other than a page printing letters from readers . In almost every case , " Doctor Who " stories told in this format are not concluded in just one issue , but rather are spread out over several issues . It is then typical for the individual issues to be collected in trade paperback s , where the entire story can be enjoyed by readers in a single publication . Sometimes , an American comic book can have both a main story , which takes up most of the book , and a " backup strip " , comprised of just a few pages ( or even panels ) in the back of the book . As the name implies , the format is popular in the United States and has been rarely , if ever , used as the format of origination in the United Kingdom . Nevertheless , in the 21st century , mainly due to licenses given by BBC Worldwide to both IDW Publishing and Titan Publishing Group , the format has been used to tell a number of " Doctor Who " stories . Distribution . In contrast with , say , " TV Comic " or " Doctor Who Magazine " , American comic books are not typically sold at newsagents or bookstores . Instead , they are usually found at specialised comic shops . Like DWM , however , they are also available in digital formats . " Regular " , " ongoing " or " mini - series " American comics almost always have a monthly release schedule . As with the mini - series , " The Forgotten " , this release schedule can meet with artistic delays , but the " intent " is almost always monthly delivery . This contrasts with most every British publication with " Doctor Who " content , where release schedules have been occasional , weekly , fortnightly , four - weekly — but only rarely monthly . Historical overview . 20th century . Though dominantly a format of the 21st century , the first " Doctor Who " story told in this format was an adaptation of the movie , " Dr . Who and the Daleks " . At that time in the 1960s , Dell Publishing specialised in publishing adaptations of films and television shows . " Daleks " was merely one of the hundreds of properties it had obtained the right to publish . The next major American comic book was " Doctor Who " ( 1984 ) , a repackaging of stories from Marvel UK by Marvel Comics Group . Though it had been prefigured by a couple of " pilot " issues in " Marvel Premiere " , the 1984 series of " Doctor Who " was the first true " run " of American comic books in " Doctor Who " history . 21st century . After the successful BBC Wales return of " Doctor Who " , IDW Publishing picked up the license for American comic books in the waning days of David Tennant ' s stewardship of the programme on television . They then published a number of stories based on both the Tenth and Eleventh Doctor s . As Peter Capaldi loomed on the horizon , however , the BBC awarded its contract to Titan Publishing Group . Titan then embarked on the most aggressive publication schedule in " Doctor Who " ' s American comic book history . As of the latter half of the 2010s , Titan have regular comics with the Ninth through the Twelfth Doctor s , as well as specials and limited runs with previous Doctors .