Step inside Doctor Who's epic multimedia story, Time Lord Victorious, at Comic-Con@Home

Allonz-y! Not only are we getting a new Doctor Who comic featuring the Tenth Doctor this September, but this two-part comic kicks off a multimedia Doctor Who event that'll span 12 weeks. As the Ninth Doctor would say, fantastic! 

As explained by BBC producer James Goss at the Doctor Who Time Lord Victorious Comic-Con@Home panel on Saturday, this new comic featuring the Tenth Doctor versus the Daleks, written by Jody Houser with art by Roberta Ingranata, will be part of Time Lord Victorious, an epic Doctor Who story that features the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Doctors told across multiple media.

"Time Lord Victorious is a multi-platform event which unites all of the BBC’s licensees to tell an epic Doctor Who story across various platforms," said Goss, who organized and curated the project. "So, it’s comics, it’s audio dramas, it's novels, it is gaming, it is an escape room. There’s an immersive theatre experience. Weirdly, there are toys."

All told, Goss said that the project has about 30 products coming from at least 10 different platforms. 

"It’s massive!" he said. "And it’s incredibly fun."

Still, Goss was quick to note that the project has also “been designed to be incredibly accessible,” so fans don’t need to read the novels to understand the comics (or vice versa), but are certainly encouraged to. In other words, this comic from Titan Comics is both part of a larger whole and still also a self-contained story.

"It is part of a larger puzzle, so you have to make sure that the piece is going to fit in that larger puzzle," said Houser on the challenge of writing this particular story. "There is very much more of a necessity to be aware of what else is going on in the larger scope of the project."

Goss admitted he worried that the coronavirus pandemic would impact the production of the project, potentially canceling the whole thing. Fortunately, all the licensees figured out a way to sally forth. 

For example, audio drama producers Big Finish managed to use the GarageBand recording app in a shed, while the immersive theater project and escape room have found ways to reopen safely without compromising the experience. 

"I was convinced the entire project was going to be over. And instead, what has been amazing is that every single licensee has found a way," said Goss. 

For Ingranata, working on the comic was a welcome distraction from the pandemic.

"Without the job, I would have gone crazy," Ingranata said. "So, thank you!"

Credit: BBC

Not only will there be Daleks and the Ood throughout the sprawling multimedia event, but companion Rose Tyler will also join the Doctor's (or is it Doctors'?) quest to save the universe.

The first issue will be available for sale beginning Sept. 2, with Issue #2 going on sale Oct. 7. The trade paperback collecting both issues comes to comic shops both physical and online Nov. 17.

Click here for SYFY WIRE's full coverage of Comic-Con@Home 2020.