Cutaway Comics’ Ian Winterton returned last weekend from the Gallifrey One convention in Los Angeles, where a number of new titles – and their creators – were announced. In this exclusive piece for Sci-Fi Bulletin, he talks about both the upcoming expansion of the Cutaway Universe, and the delights of one of the world’s greatest Doctor Who conventions…

It’s the morning of Friday 18 February in the lobby of Los Angeles’ Marriott Hotel at LAX and I’m asking a Meeping Angel (yes, a Weeping Angel but with the head of Beaker from The Muppet Show) to pose for a video while robot dog K-9 zooms around in the background. What’s weird is quite how un-weird it is; this is Gallifrey One and things like this happen all the time.

For Doctor Who, a sci-fi TV show with roots in draughty BBC studios and the UK’s finest quarries beneath overcast skies, it’s pretty strange that Gallifrey One – amongst the biggest and most prestigious Doctor Who conventions in the world – takes place beneath the blazing sunshine of Los Angeles. But it’s fitting too, proof of the universal appeal of Doctor Who’s simple premise: a “madman in a box” travelling through time and space.

For me, having just turned 50, finding myself at Gallifrey One for the first time is intensely surreal. Doctor Who’s been part of my life since I’ve been able to form memories (the first episode I recall is 1977’s Horror of Fang Rock – screaming as a Rutan slithered up a lighthouse) and I’m definitely a fan – as my wife, family and friends will wearily attest – but attending conventions has never been my bag.

At least it wasn’t until I met Manchester-based superfan Gareth Kavanagh some ten years ago. Part of the convention scene since childhood, he’d moved onto organising many Who-related events and, as a film critic, playwright and scriptwriter, Gareth was soon employing me to host Q&As with talent and – my personal favourite – even pen a Doctor Who play encapsulating the show’s then-50 years of storylines.

And then came Cutaway Comics.

A chat in the greenroom at a con with the mighty Eric Saward led to Gareth commissioning a four-issue adventure featuring Lytton, Saward’s character from Resurrection of the Daleks (1984) and 1985’s Attack of the Cybermen. When Covid-19 plunged the planet into lockdown in early 2020 and almost everything else Gareth had planned was put on hold, he turned to the comics and got busy – really busy.

Quite how prolific Cutaway has been these last 18 months hit home when Gareth and I first set up all the company’s wares on our dealer’s table at Gallifrey One. At one end was a complete set of Lytton’s four issue run (a bargain at $20), running through to my own hot-off-the-press Demon of Eden special collectible edition. In between was a complete run of Omega and the on-going Paradise Towers sequel Paradise Found. It’s all a testament to Gareth’s unerring ability to cut deals, hoover up IP owned by the writers and not the BBC, and – most important of all – to persuade the original writers to either create new stories or oversee Cutaway’s own writers’ forays into their worlds and characters.

But Gareth and I weren’t just there to sell stock but to promote the company – and announce the next phase of the Cutaway story: Gods and Monsters (you can read all about it here) which I’ll be editing, as well as writing nine of the 12 issues.

It all kicks off with a two-part adventure from Stephen Gallagher who, early in his screenwriting career, wrote Warriors’ Gate (1981) and Terminus (1983). It’s to the time-sensitive Tharils of Warriors’ Gate that he’s returning, with a time-bending prequel/sequel featuring Tharil princess Faustine. On art duties is Martin Geraghty, and he and Stephen attend Gallifrey One as guests and as ambassadors for Cutaway. The love for both is palpable, with signing sessions at our table well attended by fans; many tell Stephen that Warriors’ Gate is amongst their favourite Who adventures of all time. Counting myself amongst that number makes it even more of a pinch-me moment that I’m not only working with Stephen but – on the Thursday before the con, and the Monday after it – get to see LA from his point of view (he worked here as a showrunner for many years).

We’re honoured to be given an 11am slot on the Saturday in the main room, and get a good-sized crowd who respond enthusiastically as we unveil our new art for Gods and Monsters which includes Martin’s Faustine, more Omega from John Ridgway, Steve Scott’s Drax and Libby Reed’s Iris Wildthyme.

Our even bigger news, that we’ve kept under wraps until our panel, is that Gary Russell has joined our stable of writers. Genuine Doctor Who royalty, he co-founded Big Finish, edited Doctor Who Magazine, wrote numerous tie-in novels, produces the animated reconstructions and, under Russell T Davies, worked as script editor on the actual Doctor Who show, as well as Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

For Cutaway he’s getting to write a prequel/sequel to his favourite Doctor Who serial: 1970’s Inferno. Currently subtitled “The world dies screaming”, the basic premise is simple: when Jon Pertwee’s Doctor left the parallel Earth to the cataclysm – and hordes of mutant Primords – he declared that the world would be dead in a matter of weeks. Gary’s starting point is that the Doctor was wrong – though not by much. He said:

“As a youngster in 1970, I had been so excited when Star Trek did alternative universe/parallel worlds and people stories – The Enemy Within, The Alternative Factor and Mirror, Mirror fired up my imagination. So when, a few weeks later, Doctor Who gave us Inferno, I was whooping with joy.  Ever since then, Inferno has remained my favourite Doctor Who story – and Cutaway Comics and Don Houghton’s generous family have given me an opportunity to explore what happened next. And believe me, on a world where Stahlmann’s Gas escaped, it’s not pretty.  How can it be with a world literally ripped apart and, in places, turned upside down? With Primords roaming what’s left – and not just Primords as seen in the TV story but animals and birds also touched by the green slime.  Imagine a Totalitarian State where everyone wants the opportunity to brutally oppress everyone else, where survivors are penned into Work Camps and no one has a clue what’s happening outside their immediate sphere of reference.  Are there survivors in other parts of Britain? In Europe? In America or China or Australia? No one knows and so each day is survival of the fittest… and no one is particularly fit, physically or mentally…”

Beginning with the fascist UK encountered by the Doctor in the TV adventure, Gary’s saga moves on to China and Germany, as the peoples of this alternative Earth struggle desperately to survive. As well as characters from Inferno, Cutaway have also secured permission from Houghton’s family to include characters from his 1971 tale The Mind of Evil – especially Chinese army doctor Chin Lee. To say more would be to enter spoiler territory but, suffice to say, it’s going to be a three-book epic, published over three years, with all art from – once again – that talented chap Martin Geraghty. His teaser art, featuring fascist UK’s “Leader” (in reality the show’s Visual Effects Designer Jack Kine), earns a gasp of awe from fans.

As well as Cutaway, there’s also the small matter of everything else. Now in its 32nd year Gallifrey One continues to reflect the entirety of televised Doctor Who plus spin-off material such as Big Finish audios and Titan Comics, through to non-BBC licenced books such as the wonderful range published by Telos Publishing (their head honcho David Howe is sat at the table next to us – lovely chap).

And, of course, the A-list guests which this year include many from the latest era who’ve been unable to meet fans due to lockdown – Jo Martin, Sacha Dhawan, Mandip Gill – and those from the Classic Era including Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy (a highlight of the con is getting to chat to him at the hotel bar about his long career, including anecdotes on Ken Dodd, Ken Campbell and Peter Jackson).

Eric Roberts (the Master in the 1996 TV Movie) is present too, signing at his table just over the aisle from us. He kickstarts our Sunday in the most perfect way by ambling over, all Californian charm, and telling us he thinks our comics look “awesome”. He agrees to posing for a picture with my Demon of Eden – but only if he can direct me. And so, just as I began the weekend ordering a Meeping Angel about, so I find myself being art directed by Eric Roberts. “No, no – hold your phone higher. Higher. Not that high. There. Now take the shot…”

As we leave Gallifrey One, all of us agree that we can’t quite believe we’ve never attended before. But there’s one thing for certain: we’ll be back next year – and every year after that.

Cutaway Comics would like to thank Shaun Lyon and the rest of the Gallifrey One team for their support.

The Gods and Monsters Kickstarter can be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cutawaycomics/gods-and-monsters-book-one

For more information and to purchase comics, visit Cutaway Comic’s website at: https://www.cutawaycomics.co.uk/