Titan Comics has revealed the full suite of variant covers for Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker #1 – Adversary of the Daleks, the publisher’s direct comic book tie-in to the BBC’s upcoming summer transmedia crossover.
Scheduled to materialise in comic shops on 8 July 2026, the 48-page oversized launch issue is priced at $6.99. The narrative acts as a crucial early piece of the broader Circuit Breaker multi-platform event, which officially commences on 25 June 2026 across various media formats including audio adventures, digital platforms, and novels.
The two-issue comic book arc focuses specifically on the Fugitive Doctor, played on television by Jo Martin, as she is pulled into a crisis alongside UNIT’s Petronella Osgood. The opening issue, Adversary of the Daleks, sends this particular incarnation of the Time Lord to Thessaloniki in ancient Greece, where she discovers cosmic anomalous entities terrifying the local population and regional deities. The subsequent chapter, Dawn of the Daleks, follows on 5 August 2026, shifting the battleground to the classic, war-ravaged planet of Skaro during a critical conflict involving the Daleks and their biological precursors, the Kaleds.
The comic pairs British writer Dan Watters (Batman: Dark Patterns, Nightwing) with American editor and writer Dulce M. Montoya on script duties. Visual responsibilities are split across a collaborative team, featuring sequential and layout artwork by Sami Kivelä (Undone by Blood) alongside veteran Doctor Who artist Roberta Ingranata, with colours provided by Valentina Bianconi. Following the two standalone issues, Titan Comics plans to release a compiled graphic novel version on 2 December 2026.
Operating from its publishing headquarters in London, UK, Titan Comics is coordinating this rollout with the height of the summer sci-fi convention season. This seasonal timing aligns directly with major British geek culture gatherings where regional transmedia promotions peak. Rather than leaning on typical modern urban British backdrops, the choice of an ancient Macedonian setting offers a historical, mythological framework to reintroduce the Doctor’s original conflict with her oldest foes before transitioning to the sci-fi industrial ruins of Skaro.
The cover reveal showcases heavy commercial targeting of the collector market, offering five distinct cardstock variants for the single-issue launch. These include Cover A by Jay Anacleto, a live-action photo cover, an illustrated variant by Robert Sienicki, and a “takeover” variant alongside a black-and-white “colour your own” option by the artist known as Flops.
However, the aggressive marketing push arrives under a shadow of recent drama. In May 2026, eagle-eyed fans noted that Titan’s initial promotional material for Circuit Breaker incorporated specific Dalek designs that were heavily borrowed from independent fan artist James Johnson without prior attribution. Titan editor Jonathan Wilkins subsequently issued a clarification stating that the borrowed artwork was merely placeholder material utilised during early presentation phases and would not be featured on any final retail covers sold to the public. This behind-the-scenes scramble underscores the intense pressure publishers face when operating within tightly scheduled, high-profile multi-partner media events managed by BBC Studios.
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