❉ A new four part comic mini-series, telling the story of the greatest Doctor Who villain of all time – OMEGA!
Minyos is in revolt against their ruling alien Gods, but amidst the chaos, the darkest of these Gods seizes his opportunity for both escape and vengeance. OMEGA.
Cutaway Comics, the new independent British comics label exploring characters and universes from the worlds of BBC TV’s Doctor Who is back! Following the tremendous success of launch title Lytton (“The SF noir of Blade Runner had it been realised in London“, We Are Cult), Cutaway Comics is now bringing you OMEGA!
A new Cutaway Comics four part US-style comic mini-series by Mark Griffiths and John Ridgway, telling the story of the greatest Doctor Who villain of all time – OMEGA!
Introducing OMEGA
“A hero? I should have been a GOD!”
A stellar engineer and revered figure in Time Lord history, it was OMEGA who gave the Doctor’s people the power of time travel. However, at what should have been the moment of his triumph, an accident condemned Omega to an eternity of loneliness trapped at the heart of a black hole in an anti-matter universe. With near limitless powers OMEGA will stop at nothing to escape back into our universe, whatever the cost.
Featuring art by the indomitable John Ridgway (Doctor Who Voyager, Hellblazer), OMEGA’s mix of the cosmic and mythologic will appeal to fans of The Sandman and Promethea. We have worked closely with original creator Bob Baker to ensure our exploration of the character is true to Bob Baker and Dave Martin’s vision of Doctor Who‘s own Galactus.
The story follows revolt on the planet Minyos (expanding the world seen in the 1977 Doctor Who story, Underworld…
“Trapped in his black hole prison, Omega is stoking the chaos on Minyos – the key to his freedom. Standing in Omega’s way is Princess Malika – last of the Minyan Royal Family. The fate of Minyos – and the entire universe is in her hands!”
OMEGA is in full-colour featuring colouring by Andrew Orton of John Ridgway’s artwork with Issue 1 published in January 2021, and further issues following quarterly.
Each issue, as is customary with Cutaway Comics, comes with three variant covers to collect. Covers for Issue #1 include art by series artist John Ridgway, Marvel cover artist Stephen B. Scott and Doctor Who animation and DWM supremo Martin Geraghty! Capturing the mythological theme, there are multiple options to collect all variants, and clean versions of the covers in the Kickstarter perks as part of the exclusive trading cards.
An extremely limited edition hardback of OMEGA #1-4 will also be available through Kickstarter featuring John’s unaltered, original black and white art. This edition will be limited to 60 copies only, with each copy individually numbered and signed by John Ridgway and Mark Griffiths and is el must for discerning comics fans.
FREE VAM DVD with each issue!
EVERY issue of OMEGA will come with a VAM disc, when ordered with the appropriate packages on Kickstarter, or when ordered directly through the Cutaway Comics website. Planned for the OMEGA discs are the following:
❉ Specially recorded video interviews with John Ridgway and Mark Griffiths.
❉ Archive interviews from the Room 5064 Vault with the great and the good of Doctor Who and BBC television from across the decades.
❉ Scene specific commentary from Mark Griffiths and John Ridgway, with writer and artist taking you through the strip page by page.
❉ New audio commentaries on the VAM discs for related classic Doctor Who episodes with key cast and crew moderated by Hollyoaks star and Doctor Who fan Annie Wallace. Expect special guests from the Three Doctors, Underworld and more from the Bob-verse and stories featuring Gallifrey and the ancients yet to be announced.
More VAM surprises will be announced soon, but with studio days planned at Room 5064’s recording facility – the amazing Videodyssey Liverpool, Cutaway are aiming to bring you some very special OMEGA-related treats, lockdown permitting!
About The Creators
OMEGA’s writer, Mark Griffiths is a comedy writer, author, and playwright. From his first commission for Radio 4 at the age of seventeen, he has since written comedy and drama for radio, TV, and stage. Working under the pen name Mark Powers, Mark has also written a number of successful young adult and children’s books including the hugely successful Spy Toys series of children’s books, currently optioned by Dreamworks for further development. He is also the writer of We Apologise for the Inconvenience, an infinitely improbable play about Douglas Adams and his struggle with deadlines. A script book (reviewed here) and audio drama (reviewed here) of this acclaimed play are available from Cutaway Comics webstore .
Mark is thrilled to be telling this new tale for Omega, “It’s a dream come true – a Premier League Doctor Who villain!”. Learn more about Mark over at https://markgriffithsbooks.co.uk, he’s a witty chap and well worth a follow on Twitter @markgriffiths42.
Artist John Ridgway is nothing less than a legend of British comics. Renowned for his detailed line work, imagination and bold inks, his art is adored by fans the world over.
He has drawn extensively for 2000 AD, Marvel and created the style for DC’s Hellblazer, as well as illustrating stories for Doctor Who Magazine including the fondly remembered ‘Voyager’ and ‘The World Shapers’ stories. It was on this run that John became the most prolific penciller and inker during the Sixth and Seventh Doctors’ runs in Doctor Who Magazine.
He is marking a tangential return to the Doctor Who universe with this story, and the themes of mythology and darkness are something he has found thoroughly engaging to deal with. Even more exciting, each page has been created using traditional methods, on board with pen and ink. “This is as real as art gets and we’re honoured to have such great talent onboard for OMEGA.” says Cutaway’s Gareth Kavanagh.
Andrew Orton is colourist on OMEGA. He’s also an artist and animator, designing Big Finish’s Sapphire & Steel audio series amongst other things. You can follow him on Twitter @andreworton while his folio can be enjoyed at https://www.behance.net/indefinablemagic
Colin Brockhurst is on lettering duties for OMEGA, as well as overseeing the overall design of the comic. Best known as designer editor of the acclaimed Doctor Who fanzine, Vworp Vworp! Colin will also be providing design for many of the Kickstarter goodies. He’s rather good and can be followed on twitter @brockhurst, while Vworp Vworp! can be enjoyed via www.vworpvworp.co.uk.
But that’s not all. There’s that little matter of a second strip to enjoy in OMEGA. Because…
The Back-Up Strips Are BACK!
Cutaway Comics is greatly influenced by Dez Skinn’s seminal backup’ strips from Doctor Who Weekly, which delved deeper into the characters and cultures of the Doctor Who universe and imagined a world far removed from the Doctor. Cutaway Comics continues this rich legacy with a back-up strip of their own!
Cutaway’s debut backup strip The Demons of Eden will be featured across the four issues of OMEGA. Written by Ian Winterton with art by Doctor Who Magazine legend, Martin Geraghty, The Demons Of Eden charts a return to the planet Eden – the deadly paradise introduced to us in the much loved Doctor Who story Nightmare of Eden written by Bob Baker for Tom Baker’s Doctor back in 1979.
Writer Ian Winterton is an accomplished playwright and writer, with his lockdown film, Stuart and Dumplings featuring Doctor Who alumni Louise Jameson and Mina Anwar co-produced with Cutaway’s sister company Room 5064 Productions over the summer. His latest play, Affirmative is to be performed at the 2021 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Ian can be followed on twitter @IanWinterton and his homepage is www.ianwinterton.co.uk.
Artist Martin Geraghty is top drawer Doctor Who comics royalty having drawn for Doctor Who Magazine’s main strip for over 25 years including for eight different Doctors and fifteen different companions. The Flood, The Glorious Dead, Wormwood and more. Martin’s work on the strip arguably defined the Eighth Doctor. In more recent years, you’ll have seen Martin’s work on the BBC Doctor Who animations where his work has been pivotal to bringing lost classics such as The Power of the Daleks, The Macra Terror and The Faceless Ones back to life for BBC Studios.
As with OMEGA, Colin Brockhurst is lettering for the strip with colouring by Andrew Orton.
Demons of Eden will be featured across the four issues of OMEGA with a deluxe collected edition available to backers on Kickstarter if the stretch goal is met! If the stretch goal isn’t met, Cutaway hope to make this available independently on the Cutaway Comics website after the release of Issue #4 of OMEGA.
Kickstarter rewards!
Cutaway Comics’ Gareth Kavanagh says: “We have such treasures to offer… We’ve already committed to an extensive VAM package with EVERY issue to include video and audio content based around the comics, but we want to bring you even more. Kickstarter allows us to do this in a risk-free environment to an extent. If you’re looking for more, we can recommend our merchandise packages that are packed with custom extras. Special quad posters, CCGs, tradings cards, patches, extra commentaries, your chance to be in the strip and super funky Ryan Hall card sculptures.
“We’re even offering a super collected limited edition of the John Ridgway black and white art, individually numbered and signed. That’s a very special piece indeed!
“But by subscribing to a merchandise bundle, you also qualify for all of our stretch goals. And believe me, there are some pearlers in there.”
Kickstarter Stretch Goals!
Cutaway have come up with some very exciting projects that you might all enjoy as part of the stretch goals for Omega. Here’s what the team have got in mind:
£6,000 – Collected Demons of Eden one-shot edition.
What is it? A deluxe single collected edition of the 24 page Demons of Eden backup story with extras, interviews and a brand new cover by signed by Martin Geraghty.
Who gets it? Backers of all merchandise bundles (Minyan Level upwards)
£7,000 – Demons of Eden sketch book
What is it? A sketchbook featuring extracts of the Demons of Eden script, early layouts and sketches and other goodies relating to the creation of this story. Demons of Eden initial rough by Martin Geraghty
Who gets it? Backers of all merchandise bundles (Minyan Level upwards)
£8,000 – Demons of Eden VAM disc
What is it? Exclusive VAM disc with video content, including exclusive interviews with Dez Skinn – publishing legend, the man who launched Starburst, Doctor Who Weekly and Warrior, and the father of the backup strip as we know it from his time on Doctor Who Weekly and House of Hammer Magazine and a new audio commentary for the Doctor Who story inspiring this script, ‘Nightmare of Eden’.
Who gets it? Backers of all merchandise bundles (Minyan Level upwards)
Further stretch goals to be announced.
❉ Click here to visit the OMEGA Kickstarter Campaign page.
❉ Cutaway Comics’ launch title Lytton (Writer: Eric Saward, Artist: Barry Renshaw) is out now and available to order from the Cutaway Comics website, with Paradise Towers: Paradise Found coming in 2021.
❉ News source: Cutaway Comics. Follow Cutaway Comics: @cutawayuniverse on Twitter, @cutawaycomics on Instagram. Visit the Cutaway Comics website.
❉ We Are Cult is not responsible for the content of this news release.
