In addition to being a Multiversity staffer and podcaster, Chris Thompson is the brand manager for Doctor Who’s publisher, Titan Comics.
For those in the know, one of the annual highlights of the “Doctor Who” calendar is the well-established Gallifrey One convention in Los Angeles. A lot of people are surprised to discover the premier celebration of Who is held in the U.S. – and not here in the U.K. – but after 28 years I think ‘Gally’ (as it is affectionately known) has more than earned its place.
As a fan, I’ve dreamed about going for a long time, so this year it was an absolute pleasure to attend as a guest in my role as “Doctor Who” brand manager for Titan Comics. Not only did the show invite us over to take part in their celebrations, but they had a star-studded line-up of our creators along for the ride – including a couple of other Gally newbies.
In total we had seven creators in attendance – Nick Abadzis, Rachael Stott, Paul Cornell, Christopher Jones, Richard Dinnick, Blair Shedd, and Tony Lee – and were given two Titan Comics panels, in addition to the extra ones I hosted. I really can’t say enough about Gallifrey One and this year’s show, but with the help of some of our creators I’m going to break from the usual format and try:
Whoniversity – Was this your first year at Gallifrey One? If so, how was it? If not, how did it compare to your previous trips?
Richard Dinnick (upcoming writer on “The Twelfth Doctor”) – I’ve been attending Gally since 2010 (Gallifrey One – Blackjack 21)! Back then I was pretty new to the Who world of writing, with just a Short Trip from Big Finish to my name but with many new and wonderful things to come… so it was a big step! This year has been amazing because lots of attendees know me but I had lots of exciting things to announce like my episode of Thunderbirds Are Go on TV and, of course, my forthcoming run on the 12th Doctor comic with the new companion Bill and Ice Warriors. What’s not to be excited about?
Paul Cornell (writer on “The Third Doctor”) – Not at all, I’ve been going since their 9th convention, and this was their 28th (but I had a gap of a few years in the middle). I think that they’re actually getting to the point where each year is better than the last. The new focus on good panel subjects and more games really helps. I go because it’s my Who convention home. My people are there.
Blair Shedd (cover artist extraordinaire) – This was my fifth or sixth year at Gallifrey One (brain is mush, so old… so very old). As I had obligations at another convention slightly further south on that Saturday and Sunday, I only got to spend Friday morning through afternoon at Gallifrey. As always, what sets Gallifrey One apart from other conventions I attend regularly is the camaraderie and family-esque feeling of the attendees. The convention has a limited number of tickets, and therefore you know it’s the most hardcore of the hardcore Whovians, as the majority of attendees have to buy tickets a year ahead of time. Further, you know they all like one thing in particular, unlike a regular comicon where you might have hundreds of different reasons for the many attendees to be there. So you find yourself in a relatively small area, with folks you’ve seen year after year, all enjoying the same thing, getting all the same inside jokes. Like I said, family. Granted, I don’t always get along with everyone in my family… 😉
Rachael Stott (artist on “The Twelfth Doctor”) – It was my first! And it was an incredible experience.
Nick Abadzis (writer on “The Tenth Doctor”) – This was my first time at Gallifrey One. Friends like Graeme Burk and Deb Stanish had long told me how much fun it was, but I was unprepared. It’s like being bathed in a warm bath of Who-love.
Continued belowChris Thompson (brand manager for “Doctor Who”) – It was everything I’d been expecting and more! Making it to Gally meant I’d finally attended Doctor Who shows on three continents (anyone care to make it four?) and this was by far the best yet. Things went at a breakneck pace from start to finish, but I took in as much as I could throughout … It’s my sincere hope to do the same again next year, but to really ramp things up.
Whoniversity – How did you find fan response to the comics at the show?
Richard Dinnick (upcoming writer on “The Twelfth Doctor”) – The cheers we got when we announced I was writing on the 12th Doctor and the fact that we’re going to see some Ice Warrior action blew me away! And those are just some of the cool things in store that we could announce! Everyone I spoke to was pumped for the future, but also loving what’s going on right now with Nick, Rachael, Cavan and George and the rest of the gang doing a top job. It’s a pretty awesome pantheon I am joining!
Paul Cornell (writer on “The Third Doctor”) – Awesome. So much love, and so many people buying the individual issues of The Third Doctor. I think the audience were very pleased that Titan decided to come along officially this year. It was great to see Rachael Stott wowing the crowds so much.
Blair Shedd (cover artist extraordinaire) – Gallifrey One attendee response to the comics was on par with last year for me, though I might’ve found it greater had I stayed to experience the whole weekend. Got to see some familiar fan faces, sell some original art, and sign a few books.
Rachael Stott (artist on “The Twelfth Doctor”) – I was really overwhelmed by the positive feedback I got from fans at the show, and it was lovely to spread a bit of comics love to Who fans that maybe didn’t know about them. Plus, as a fan myself, it was lovely to be able to have proper geeky chats about some of the cheeky little nods and references that we sneak into the comics.
Nick Abadzis (writer on “The Tenth Doctor”) – I was blown away. There was so much interest and incredible goodwill. I’ve always aimed to create Doctor Who comics that embrace the whole legacy of Doctor Who – all of it, whether its TV adventures or audio, literary or comic tie-ins. All of it, spanning 53 years, so it’s lovely to be told: “You’re writing the best Doctor Who around right now. It’s better than the TV show!” No false modesty – someone said that! (Thanks, Dave.)
Chris Thompson (brand manager for “Doctor Who”) – It was incredible. I think we still have a way to go in terms of getting the word out there, but this year we’ve made leaps and bounds in doing so. As I said at the show, “We’re preaching to the choir; they just don’t know the tune yet” – but people are starting to clap along. Those who already know the comics were very sweet and uplifting, and those who were coming to them fresh were very open and curious. Once people see the incredible passion and work that goes into the comics, I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised and want to stick around.
Whoniversity – What was your favourite part of this year’s Gallifrey One convention?
Richard Dinnick (upcoming writer on “The Twelfth Doctor”) – I loved the Titan panel for the amazing response we got to everything. But I also love the masquerade and, of course, as host of the Charity Auction I was thrilled to help raise an astounding $18,000 for Lalla Ward’s charity, Denville Hall. She was running around the auction, showing off items to the crowd and I got to call her my glamorous assistant! Romana! My assistant! Huh.
Continued belowPaul Cornell (writer on “The Third Doctor”) – I really enjoyed running my panel games, notably Would I Lie To You? Nick Abadzis has an incredible talent for knowing when someone’s lying!
Blair Shedd (cover artist extraordinaire) – Honestly, my favorite part of this year’s Gallifrey One was just getting to attend at all, when it looked like I wouldn’t score an invite, nor have the time even if I did.
Rachael Stott (artist on “The Twelfth Doctor”) – It would be impossible to nail it down to one thing. I loved doing the panels, and the Kaffekl… koffeklo… the coffee drinking thing that I did with Nick. I think my favourite panel was the Doctor Who Deathmatch though – it was totally worth screwing my voice up for – the highlight being when I voted the Tenth Doctor out in a revenge move after the Twelfth had been booted on the previous round. Oh, and also the Cornell Collective recording was hilarious. And meeting all the amazing people from the Verity! podcast and Radio Free Skaro.
Nick Abadzis (writer on “The Tenth Doctor”) – On a professional note, I was very, very happy with the response to the “Making of the Tenth Doctor Comics” presentation I did. A lot of people approached me afterwards and said how much they’d enjoyed this glimpse into how comics of this nature are “built.” It gave me a chance to sing the praises of my collaborators, talents like Elena Cassagrande, Eleonora Carlini, Giorgia Sposito and Arianna Florean. It also gave me a chance to show the visual methods I use to construct stories and the fun we all have working together. Richard Starkings of Comicraft called this the “most inspiring” comics panel he’d ever seen at Gallifrey One, and that guy knows what he’s talking about! I’m not sure that was my favourite part on a personal level though. That was probably having dinner with Philip Hinchcliffe and Roger Murray-Leach…
Chris Thompson (brand manager for “Doctor Who”) – I really enjoyed hosting the panels. We had two for Titan Comics, plus I did another three which were either comics or Doctor Who-related (what a surprise!) … On the Sunday I felt especially privileged to host a panel of luminaries who had worked on the new and original TV series, including Gary Russell, June Hudson, Howard Burden, Dominic Glynn, Sam Watts, Mat Irvine, Roger Murray-Leach, and the astounding Philip Hinchcliffe. I don’t mind saying I was more nervous going into that than I usually am on a panel (understandably so), but it was also a massive highlight for me – both professionally and personally. Saturday night’s disco was also a huge amount of fun, and a nice chance to let our hair down. Like Rachael, I have to mention how cool it was meeting the folks from Radio Free Skaro and the Verity! podcast (plus Graeme Burk and Chip Sudderth), but sadly I didn’t get to spend as much time with them as I would have liked … Next year, for sure!
Whoniversity – Do you have any favourite pictures, quotes or stories from the show that you’d like to share?
Richard Dinnick (upcoming writer on “The Twelfth Doctor”) – I took a few photos of the cosplay – as I always do. The Robots of Death costumes were amazing but I loved the Gell Guard for pure nostalgia. I also had my picture taken with the amazing Lalla Ward. Genuinely, one for the highly-prized scrapbook! So many funny things are said during the course of the weekend and everyone says “that’s a ribbon for next year” and then promptly forget them! However, one that stuck with me was the brilliant Paul Cornell and I coming up with a new code for secretly checking if someone is a Who fan: “Are you a friend of Terrance’s?”
Paul Cornell (writer on “The Third Doctor”) – Philip Hinchcliffe slipped into the back row of the recording of the Reality Bomb podcast, on which I was guesting, and I made a bit of a fool of myself introducing him to everyone, not that I knew him beforehand. I was just more drunkenly brave than everyone else.
Continued belowBlair Shedd (cover artist extraordinaire) – (I don’t have a photo of the gentleman that purchased it, but I could share my photo of the original penciled cover to The Ninth Doctor #3 that I sold.)
Rachael Stott (artist on “The Twelfth Doctor”) – I don’t have the exact quote, but if you listen to the RealityBomb podcast that they recorded at the show, I thought that Graeme Burk’s closing words were really lovely.
Nick Abadzis (writer on “The Tenth Doctor”) – Here’s a picture of said occasion. The other gentleman is my friend Dave Barsky, who I have to say, Philip took to in a big way. Next time Dave’s over in the UK, Philip’s promised to take him to where they filmed the first Zygon incursion. Dave is what you’d call a “people person” and instantly puts anyone at their ease. Thus began an evening I shall remember forever. I got to tell both gentleman (and Dave) what inspirations they are to me. Philip later said to me when I got to show him the comics we do – I shall cherish this for all time – “Oh, I like what you’ve done with Sutekh. You’ve kept his nihilistic sense of humour.” Very special thanks to Graeme Burk who organised that evening. Huge appreciation. Also, meeting Paul McGann. Look at my face below! “I met the Doctor!”
Chris Thompson (brand manager for “Doctor Who”) – For the Titan Comics panel, I was trying to come up with a nice slogan to encapsulate what we do … I was tempted to steal Big Finish’s “We love stories”, but opted for “Titan Comics. We have issues”. Considering what happened on the panel next, that proved almost prophetic. Outside of what we were doing, the cosplay was absolutely amazing. I’m used to comic shows where a segment of the audience get dressed up, but it paled in comparison to the broad level of talent and participation on display at Gallifrey One. It really was people of all ages and backgrounds, celebrating what they love in an environment that 100% encouraged and supported it, which (for me) was so overwhelmingly beautiful.
Whoniversity – Speaking as a fan, who were the coolest people you got to meet this year?
Richard Dinnick (upcoming writer on “The Twelfth Doctor”) – Wow. So many. The Titan crew, of course: Rachael Stott became an instant favourite of mine. She’s so funny and dry and amazing. And Nick Abadzis! He’s done such a good job on the 10th Doctor ongoing that when I spotted a cuddly Anubis in the dealers’ room (as you do) I simply had to buy it for him because I’d enjoyed his Osiran story so much! Other than that, it was a real honour to meet Lalla Ward. She’s just pure class. It is also always lovely to see Robert Napton from Legendary, he’s a class act too: such a nice guy and totally in love with what Titan is doing with Doctor Who.
Paul Cornell (writer on “The Third Doctor”) – It was probably him (Philip Hinchcliffe), in that I’ve met most of the guests before. Oh, actually I got to have a long chat with composer Sam Watts, who was charming.
Blair Shedd (cover artist extraordinaire) – As far as the person I was most excited to see, it would’ve been Naoko Mori, Tosh from Torchwood. I had a table next to her last year at Gallifrey One, so we got on great, and we were very happy to see each other again this year. Past that, I didn’t have time to check out the whole show or the guests.
Rachael Stott (artist on “The Twelfth Doctor”) – I did get an impromptu hug from Katy Manning which was a delight, and got to do a signing next to Anneke Wills- which was a little surreal! Also Chris Jones is very naughty for telling John Leeson I ‘squeed really loud’ when he did the K-9 voice on stage. I mean it’s true, I did, but don’t tell the guy!
Continued belowNick Abadzis (writer on “The Tenth Doctor”) – See my answers above. Also meeting Frazer Hines, Katy Manning, Gary Russell, Nicholas Briggs, Scott Handcock and all the guys from Big Finish. I had a long conversation with Danny Webb, who was brilliant – Danny, I’m sorry we never got to have that drink! Next time! Hanging out in the Green Room was sort of incredible, seeing the likes of John Leeson or Lalla Ward tucking into a cheese sandwich. My inner 12-year old kept saying things like, “Romana’s over there and she likes pickles.” I got to hang out with Paul Cornell who I know a little through writing these comics, plus all the lovely people behind podcasts like Reality Bomb, Verity! and Radio Free Skaro. Meeting fans-cum-writers like Jon Arnold who are involved with Obverse Books and just having quality conversations, Dave Whittam, Lars Pearson, many others. Plus, some friends of mine drove up from just outside LA who I don’t get to see very often, so there was this big sense of reunion for me.
Chris Thompson (brand manager for “Doctor Who”) – I met some wonderful people over the course of the show. Shaun Lyon, his fellow organisers, and all the volunteers were so lovely … You can tell why people want to go back again and again. We had so many fans stop by to talk about comics and/or Doctor Who, which is always a treat when they’re things you actually care about. It was also great hanging out with all our incredible creators, and to finally meet Blair Shedd, Chris Jones, and Richard Dinnick. I hate singling them out, but our creators happen to be some of my favourite comics people (which makes my job much easier than it could be) and I mean that with absolute sincerity. But my favourite meeting (as a fan) was on Sunday night when I finally caught up with my friend Alan ‘Sizzler’ Kistler, who was in the bar chatting with Anneke Wills. I’d met Anneke before and read her excellent autobiographies (though I didn’t expect her to remember), and we chatted until the Eighth Doctor Paul McGann came to join her. I bought them both a drink (prosecco, because we’re so classy at Titan) then them to chat … It’s those little moments, however brief, that make all the difference. Sadly I missed the chance to meet my lifelong crush Lalla Ward (Romana II), but at least Richard Dinnick did. Oh, and Gary Russell, Richard Starkings, Sue Cowley, and Robert Napton … I met so many good people.
Whoniversity – What do you hope to do over the coming year to make next year’s Gallifrey One even more special?
Richard Dinnick (upcoming writer on “The Twelfth Doctor”) – Naturally, I’ve got my first run on Titan’s 12th Doctor coming up in July, I am so thrilled to be working on that, and what an honour to be penning Bill’s first run. She’s going to be amazing. I can’t wait to find out what people think of it! Eeek! Then there’s my super-exciting new Doctor Who book, Time Lord Myths & Legends, which is a collection of 15 short stories (all written by me!!) coming out in June from BBC Books. Hopefully there’ll be lots of people wanting those all signed next year. I also have a few other Doctor Who-related projects in the pipeline that I can’t say very much about right now, and my episode of Thunderbirds Are Go should have broadcast by next February. Plus I am developing my first original graphic novel, and there are other books and TV shows to come. So, lots to look forward to, and to make next Gally a very special one. 🙂
Paul Cornell (writer on “The Third Doctor”) – Think up more panel games!
Blair Shedd (cover artist extraordinaire) – While I know it’ll never happen, I’d love to see any NuWho Doctors at next year’s (or future!) conventions. I’d also like to get invited back as a proper guest. I mean, Rachael Stott got a photo in the programme and mentioned on the website with a full bio. They’ve never done that for me, the lucky dog. 😉
Continued below
Rachael Stott (artist on “The Twelfth Doctor”) – Sleep so much over the year that for the duration of Gally I won’t need any sleep.
Nick Abadzis (writer on “The Tenth Doctor”) – I promise to continue writing good Doctor Who comics and, if I’m invited back, I greatly look forward to it! I always wanted to go, and it was everything I was told it was, and more.
Chris Thompson (brand manager for “Doctor Who”) – I really hope we get to go back next year … Seeing Gally, and it’s importance to the fan community, has made me consider how we can better synch our schedule with what they’re doing. My hope over the next year is to continue raising awareness among fans, promoting the excellent comics I know our creators are working on, and to go back with some exciting new releases and things tailored specifically to the show.
Photos courtesy of Richard Dinnick, Nick Abadzis, Chris Thompson, and Nebula on Flickr.
Finding Your Local Comic Shop.
How can you get your hands on comics by all these delightful people? Well, your friendly local comic shop can help. Most of them do mail order, and you can find your closest store with the Comic Shop Locator.
Looking Further Afield.
Our friends over at Radio Free Skaro have put out a comic-based Gallifrey One special this week, featuring interviews with Paul Cornell and me. I can’t endorse the mention of ‘Comic Sans’, but I can heartily endorse the podcast as a wonderful listen (both this week and in general). They even have Patreon, for those who are so inclined.
You can find the latest episode online here: www.radiofreeskaro.com/2017/03/05/radio-free-skaro-572-comic-sans.
And, for those who’d like to attend Gallifrey One together with us next year, tickets for their 29th instalment go on sale April 8 at gallifreyone.com!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse behind the scenes of Gallifrey One. Feel free to send us your own stories, pics, comments and feedback. We now have our very own feed for @TitanDoctorWho on Twitter, as well as Titan Comics’ Facebook.
