While Doctor Who Magazine has been enjoying the crest of a wave of nuWho’s popularity over the past few years it seems that the admirable Doctor Who Insider is about to publish its last.
Issue 9 is due out soon and according to emails received by subscribers will be the final part of the magazine that shared the rich history of Doctor Who with a North American audience.
Subscribers will be receiving either a refund or a transfer to Doctor Who Magazine, which seems fair enough although we suspect a great number of them already do subscribe to the older publication.
Although an official, public announcement is yet to come from Panini, it is a terrible shame as editor John Ainsworth was doing a great job of appropriately blending classic and modern Doctor Who. Take it from me, that’s a tricky combination to get right (as checking back over 7 years of Kasterborous will prove) and in my opinion DWI got it right each time.
Of course, there is always the consideration of market forces and the threat of recession to influence our thoughts about the demise of this particular magazine, but ultimately this was a Doctor Who publication that didn’t deserve to die.
I picked up a copy and to be honest wasn’t that impressed. It seemed far too lightweight and fluffy and almost like a retread of what had already been printed in DWM. I don’t two official magazines devoted to the show was needed and DWM has been doing a far better job covering the show than DWI.
I think DWI was – content-wise – ideal for newcomers in a way that perhaps some elements of DWM aren’t
It seems a shame but perhaps the marketing people weren’t fully behind it?
Can’t say this is the world’s biggest surprise but it’s a shame it will now be heading to Magazine Heaven, to join the likes of Fast Forward, Look-in and Whizzer and Chips.