As Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary year got underway, DWM changed size. The magazine had been produced in an A4 format since Issue 217 in 1994, but Issue 456 saw the magazine become slightly shorter and slightly wider...
“Making the magazine wider,” explains art editor Richard Atkinson, “meant that we could make things bigger. The logo is now bigger and more prominent on the cover. Wider text columns make it slightly easier to cram in tens of thousands of words. And, ultimately, the new format is a more aesthetically pleasing shape – very few magazines use the A4 format. I had suggested changing the size when we redesigned DWM for Issue 430, but it was going to create problems with the comic strip, which has to be prepared well in advance and is then compiled into book collections. The beginning of the 50th anniversary year seemed a good time implement a few changes.”