Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious #1

 

   The comic books based on the beloved Doctor Who series have a couple of advantages: unlimited special effects budgets and any incarnation of The Doctor is always on call. 

   For this story, the focus starts out with the 10th Doctor (David Tennant), traveling solo through time - but wherever he goes, a contingent of The Daleks is waiting for him.

   (The Daleks, for those who came in late, are the pillbox-like race that is determined to “Exterminate”… well, everyone.)

   It seems that something - or someone - actually scares the Daleks more than The Doctor.

   It’s a clever idea and there are lots of fun bits of business that play out as we start to unravel the mystery (and at the same time The Doctor is trying to unravel another paradox of his own - one that involves the 13th Doctor).

   The art by Roberta Ingranata is wonderful - fresh and lively, it captures Tennant’s look nicely and provides lots of lovely scenery (and lots and lots of Daleks).

    The story is by James Goss and writer Jody Houser (is that the same as plotter and scripter?), and while it wanders a tad in places, it does a wonderful job of capturing the style of both the actor and the show.

   So, this one’s off to a good start - I’m looking forward to the next chapter!

Grade: A-

——————— 

Doctor Who The Thirteenth Doctor #4

   When your villain is a hoarder, you run the chance of stinging some of your readers (not that I would react that way, of course).

   But since this is a Doctor Who adventure, The Hoarder is stealing items from across time and space - and forcing others, including children, to do his dirty work.

   So The Doctor and her companions have a lot of ground to cover - antidotes to concoct, children to rescue, and villains to defeat - all done with intelligence and wit (you know, like the TV series).

   It's a fun wrap-up to the story - which goes right into my collection. (There is a difference between a collector and a hoarder, right? Right?)

Grade: B

-------------------

    

Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #0

   As we draw nearer to the premiere of the newest series starring the newest Doctor Who, Titan Comics prepares us for the fun with an issue #0 starring (well, sorta kinda) the Thirteenth Doctor.

   Writer Richard Dinnick works with a small army of talented artists to provide a primer of sorts, checking in with the past incarnations of The Doctor in short vignettes.

   They are (by their very nature) a bit of a mixed bag, but they form a delightful patchwork, with each short story capturing well the different versions of The Doctor and his Companions.

   I'm generally not a fan of issues #0 (only for math reasons), but this is certainly a fun issue and it does give us our first glimpse of the new Doctor (and yet it doesn't, thanks to a clever bit of literary lifting).

   If you're a fan of this series, don't miss this one. 

   It's bound to make you smile.

Grade: A-

----------------

Doctor Who: The Road to the Thirteenth Doctor #2

   As Doctor Who fans anxiously wait for the premiere of the new season starring the newest version of everyone's favorite Time Lord, Titan Comics helps us all prepare for the event with a mini-series titled The Road to the Thirteenth Doctor.

    Each issue checks in with the predecessors of the newest Doctor, starting with the Tenth Doctor - which means this issue, the second in the series, stars the Eleventh Doctor.

   Are you still with me?

   The adventure brings The Doctor and his companion Alice Obiefune to San Francisco in 1896, where they make a surprising discovery: the city's population includes a large number of humanoid robots!

   How they survive when faced with an army of killer robots - and how the menace might return to threaten the next version of The Doctor - is all part of the fun!

   It's short but entertaining, and always great to see the Matt Smith version of the character back in action!

Grade: B+

--------------------

Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor: Operation Volcano #2

   Whoever your favorite Doctor might be (and everyone who's a fan of Doctor Who has a favorite), Titan Comics has you covered, as they create various comics starring the different iterations of The Time Lord.

   This time around, it's the Seventh Doctor in the spotlight, as played by Sylvester McCoy, along with his most famous companion, the lovely and feisty Ace, as played by Sophie Aldred.

   They caught in the middle of a mystery that involves strange, mind-controlling, snake-like creatures, along with a possible alien incursion in Australia, and a death trap!

   The story is by Andrew Cartmel and the stunning art is by Christopher Jones, with color art by Marco Lesko. 

   There's also a short backup story by Richard Dinnick (story), Jessica Martin (art) and Charlie Kirchoff (colors).

   It's all fast and funny and an entertaining reprise of the classic cast! 

   Recommended!

Grade: A-

-----------------

Doctor Who 12th Doctor: Year Three #9

   The bad news is, we're rapidly approaching the Doctor Who Christmas Special, which sadly spells the end of Peter Capaldi's run as the 12th Doctor.

   The good news is, it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun, as it reunites him with the wonderful Bill, and it introduces a new and different Doctor!

   The bad news is, it looks like Nardole's run on the series is over, and Bill may also be done.

    The good news is, their adventures continue in the Titan Comics series, and the latest issue is a solid addition to the run.

   (OK, it's just good news for the rest of this review.)

   This "done in one" issue is mostly lighthearted as the trio go on a shopping trip - but when you're a Time Lord looking for special equipment, you can't just drop by Home Depot.

   So it's off to the Ubermarket, and some fun bits scattered among the usual running for your life.

   Nothing too serious or deep - it's just a fun story for fans of all ages.

   Like I said, Good News!

Grade: B+

--------------------

Doctor Who: The Lost Dimension Omega (#8 of 8)

      Some of the best Doctor Who stories (or at least the ones I enjoy the most) bring together different incarnations of The Doctor.

   Whoops, forgot the recap: Doctor Who is a long-lived alien who travels through space and time in a machine / starship called the Tardis that's bigger on the inside. If he is killed during an adventure, his body regenerates in the shape of an entirely different actor - something it's done 13 times so far (depending on who's counting) - and it'll be happening again in about a month. Apparently.

   So this issue gives us a galactic menace - mysterious white holes that, like their black hole counterparts, draw in any object - and they seem to be unstoppable.

   You'll see lots of Doctors popping up in this series, as they discover the surprising person behind the white holes - and work together to devise a solution.

   And with a small army of Doctors and a swarm of Companions to tackle the problem, you can expect some wild twists and turns.

   It's a delight to see the different characters interact in this tale, and it gives each character the proper voice and attitude.

   As always, it's great fun watching this lot trying to one-up each other. Loved it!

Grade: A-

-----------------  

Doctor Who: The Lost Dimension: Part 1

   I have to admit that I'm a fan of both Doctor Who and the stories that bring together more than one Doctor.

   And you get that in this story - in spades!

   The focus is on the most recent incarnations - Doctors 9, 10, 11 and 12 - but there are plenty of other guest stars in this fun, fast-paced story that left me with a smile on my face throughout.

   Written by George Mann and Cavan Scott, it gives us a massive, universe-destroying threat that brings together some well-known Time Lords.

   The art is by Rachael Stott with five other artists also credited, and we get some very good depictions of the Doctors and lots of entertaining antics and environments.

   It's all part of a big, rollicking story that's going to weave in and out of several issues. It's an eight-part saga, and it'll continue into the books that star Doctors 9, 10, 11 and 12 (plus lots of guest stars), and then back into the "Lost Dimension" mini-series!

   Lots of fun, and highly recommended to any fans of the Doctor!

Grade: A-

----------------

 

 

 

Introducing the New Doctor Who

   The BBC ended the mystery this week and announced the actor who will be the next Doctor Who.

   To the surprise of - well, very few people - the next Doctor will be played by a woman - and the first female to tackle the role is the terrific Jodie Whittaker.

   Of course, it was an opportunity for the usual trolls to vent their spleen, declaring this to be the end of the series - but that's just silly.

   Was there outrage when the Doctor's longtime enemy, The Master, regenerated as a woman? Not that I heard.

   And The Doctor solves problems with his or her mind and heart, and those aren't qualities that are exclusive to males.

   My only quibble is that I'm sorry to see Peter Capaldi's run end. It took a few episodes for me to warm up to him as The Doctor (he was quite a change from Matt Smith's lighthearted approach), but he's terrific in the part.

   I'm sad to see the media focus on the negative comments (though perhaps that was the idea - to generate buzz). But Doctor Who is a terrific concept and a positive force - here's hoping the new creative team, and our new Doctor, will take us to even bigger and better stories.

Doctor Who: Ghost Stories #1 (of 4)

   Just in time for the return of The Doctor (new episodes start this weekend on BBC America), here's a mini-series based on the most recent Christmas episode of Doctor Who, which took the series into new territory.

   Namely, super-heroes.

   It was a delightful episode that featured a Superman-like hero named The Ghost (real name Grant), who gained his powers as a boy after merging with an alien power gem.

   The Doctor shows up in the middle of a typical heroic fight against a gang of robbers to ask for The Ghost's help in tracking down the other three power stones (don't call them Infinity Gems, please).

   That leads to a trip in the Tardis and a stop in a future dystopian world - and The Ghost's first encounter with a real live super-villain.

   It's a fun start to the mini-series - welcome back, Doctor!

Grade: A-

---------------------

Doctor Who: Supremacy of the Cybermen #4 (of 5)

   I'm a sucker for Doctor Who stories that team different incarnations of the Doctor, and that's exactly what you get in the Supremacy of the Cybermen mini-series.

     This issue doesn't feature a direct meeting of the Doctors, but follows adventures in different time eras as each one fights against different staggering menaces created by the robotic Cybermen.

    So you have the Ninth Doctor trying to save Rose and stop nanites from taking over his body; the Tenth Doctor is trying to save his companions from a skyscraper-sized Cyberman; the Eleventh Doctor finds himself a prisoner of Cyber-controlled dinosaurs; and the Twelfth Doctor must find a way to save the Time Lords and Gallifrey itself from the destruction of the universe.

   It makes for a fast-paced issue, and writers George Mann and Cavan Scott do a good job of capturing the voice of each version of the Doctor.

   The art by Ivan Rodriguez and Walter Geovanni is quite good, capturing the likenesses well and making the mayhem clear and easy to follow.

   This series has been a lot of fun and is building to a whopper of a conclusion. While the Doctor's on hiatus on TV, this is a great way to keep your Who-meter topped out. (Sorry, that was terrible.)

Grade: A-

-------------------

Doctor Who 3rd #1

   I was trying to decide what to review next when I remembered this comment last Wednesday from my pal Sam Kujava: "I picked up Doctor Who 3rd #1 (as you list it) and quite liked it. The artist did a fine job capturing the likenesses of the main characters and the writer had a feel for British dialog of that time period. The characters sounded like themselves, and the reader was drawn into the unfolding events that much quicker. 

   The last page cliffhanger was surprising and delightful! I can't wait for the second issue to arrive!"

   I couldn't have said it better! The issue focuses on the Third Doctor, as played by Jon Pertwee - yet another terrific choice to fill the role, he offered an intelligent and athletic take on the character, packed behind a vivid, hound-dog-like face. You immediately like him.

   This issue feels like an episode of the original series as the Doctor and his military friends in U.N.I.T. (led by The Brigadier) - plus his lovely and capable assistant, Jo Grant - face an alien invasion by a strange, robotic menace.

    The story is by Paul Cornell and the art, which nicely captures the feel of the series and the look of the characters, is by Christopher Jones.

    If you're any kind of fan of The Doctor, I think you'll really enjoy this one. 

   I'm with Sam - I can't wait 'til the next issue!

Grade: A

-------------- 

Doctor Who: Supremacy of the Cybermen #1 (of 5)

   Titan Comics has started a fun tradition with its line of comics devoted to Doctor Who: every summer they offer a special mini-series that teams up different Doctors in one big adventure!

   For 2016 we have the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Doctors teaming up (well, eventually - they haven't met up yet by the end of this issue) to deal with the menace of the Cybermen!

   The Cybermen are a robotic race that assimilates humans and turns them into easily-controlled cyborgs (and yes, they were doing that long before the Borg first appeared).

   As Doctor Who villains go, they're second only the the Daleks (though many fans may give you an argument on that score).

   So what's their evil plan this time around? No idea.

   But apparently there's something wrong with time, as each version of the Doctor discovers as they each pursue different adventures (which usually involves lots of running, natch) with different companions (including some new faces and some old favorites).

   The story by George Mann and Cavan Scott is fun, though it's all about the setup at this point - but they mix lots of characters and settings across time and space as they lay the groundwork.

   The art is by Alessandro Vitti, Ivan Rodriguez and Tazio Bettin, and it's very good, with lots of energy and animation - though to be fair, the likenesses are a bit shaky in a few panels.

   But that's a minor quibble. This is a fun story that should help hold over fans until the new adventures of #12 start up again.

Grade: A-

--------------------

 

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #9

   The one strike against the televised "modern" adventures of Doctor Who is that sometimes the plots get a bit too tangled to follow (I'm looking at you, Sandmen).

   That's a charge that can fairly be leveled against this adventure of the 10th Doctor (David Tennant, natch).

   It finds the Doctor and two companions - Gabby Gonzalez, an artist, and Cindy Wu, Gabby's best friend - in a sleepy village that's plagued by a strange, ghost-like witch that lives in a well.

   The witch attacks people and steals their memories - all while making odd, fragmented comments that seem familiar.

   It's up to the Doctor to sort out the mystery and find a solution.

   But I have to admit, even after reading this issue, I'm not sure I entirely understand what happened.

   That probably says more about me than about this comic - but if I'm struggling, I assume most readers will do likewise. It's ok for a writer to be clever - but it's possible to be too clever, too.

Grade: B

---------------------

Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor #1

   It's about time they printed a Doctor Who comic featuring the real Doctor!

   Oh, I know - everyone has their own choice for the actor who played the "best" Doctor - and there have been lots of terrific actors filling those Gallifrey boots - but my personal favorite is the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker!

   That actor managed the perfect mix of humor, mischief, likability and intelligence. Part of his appeal for me, of course, may be the fact that he was the first Doctor I saw, as the local Public Television station started airing his adventures in the late '70s.

   He's starred in other comic series over the years, but Titan Comics has finally dedicated one of its new (and largely excellent) series of Doctor-based comics to number four.

   This one finds the Doctor and the beautiful Sarah Jane Smith (lovesick sigh) visiting Victorian England on a holiday, but trouble soon finds them, as a mysterious woman sends two giants - each one sporting a single eye - to capture Sarah.

   It's a fun, fast-paced story written by Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby that reads just like an episode of the classic show. The art by Brian Williamson is terrific, capturing the real-life likenesses of the stars perfectly.

   It's a real delight to read this series - it gets the Doctor "right," and does it with a smile and a wink.

   More like this, please!

Grade: A

----------------------

Doctor Who: Four Doctors #5 (of 5)

   It's always a special event when more than one version of The Doctor teams up - and Titan Comics has put together a special event of its own with this weekly comic, the five-issue-long Doctor Who: Four Doctors.

   The Doctor (he never calls himself "Doctor Who") is a Time Lord, a race that is very advanced and long-lived (he's almost 1000 years old). He travels through time and space in the Tardis,  a complex machine that looks small from the outside - but it's huge on the inside.

   He's usually accompanied by one or more "companions" - friends and fellow adventurers. They help those in need, seek out adventure and new discoveries.

   The character has been portrayed on TV over the years by 13 actors - after each actor finished his run, The Doctor is "killed" and regenerates in a new body - a different actor.

   On the original series, different doctors would occasionally meet - an easy stunt for a time traveler - and those stories were always entertaining, watching different personalities meeting, working together or jousting verbally.

   And that's what this comic mini-series is all about, as the 10th, 11th and 12th Doctors (the most recent three) team up with their companions to face what may be certain death, as they face the most unbeatable foe of them all.

   (Who's the fourth doctor in the title? That would be telling!)

   It's a fast, funny adventure with terrific art. The plot's a bit twisty, and probably doesn't bear close examination - but it's all in good fun.

    If you're a fan of The Doctor, you'll definitely want to catch this series.

Grade: A-

----------------------

 

Doctor Who: Four Doctors #1

   I love it when The Doctors gather together!

   One of the real advantages to a time-travelling adventurer like Doctor Who is that he can team up with himself!

   To make it a little easier on the viewer (or the reader), this generally takes the form of meetings between the different actors who have stepped into the ever-changing role (when it's time for an actor to leave the series, the character "dies / is killed" and regenerates into a new form).

   Typically the Who's are gathered together to battle a huge menace, but this time around, the menace seems to be - The Doctors themselves!

   There's also a delightful meeting of the minds of the Companions in this story by Paul Cornell, which manages to capture the different characters and meld them together ingeniously.

   The art by Neil Edwards is solid, especially considering the difficulty in caricaturing so many famous faces in one story. The occasional falter is easy to forgive, especially considering how much fun he squeezes into this issue.

   If you're a fan of Doctor Who, this is a must-have. You'll smile from start to finish.

Grade: A

-----------------------

Doctor Who: The 12th Doctor #6

   I've been doing some volunteer work with a local youth group, and I've noticed an interesting trend lately. A surprising number of them - especially girls - are big fans of Doctor Who.

   Perhaps it's just further proof of the growing interest in science fiction, or perhaps it's an indication of the quality of the TV show.

   Whatever the reason, it's certainly great to see, and gives us hope that we'll be enjoying the adventures of the Doctor for years to come.

   Which brings us to the Titan Comics version of the the Doctors, which have also been impressive for both their quality and their skill at "capturing" the personalities of the different actors who filled the role.

   This issue starts a new story arc as the Doctor and his companion Clara start in the middle of an alien invasion on a distant world, and then return to Earth to find a bigger mystery - one that involves a resurrection, a strange new menace, and the possible end of life as we know it.

   It's a fun, fast-paced adventure by writer Robbie Morrison and artist Brian Williamson. They capture the show and the characters perfectly, and they even give us a cliffhanger than just needs the music cue (Oooooweeeeeoooooo) to fit in.

   Fans of the show - like my kids - should be following this comic, too!

Grade: A-

----------------------

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #7

   One of the (not so) secret reasons for the success of Doctor Who is the character's amazing gallery of villains - and one of the more compelling of the modern additions to that list is the Weeping Angels.

   They look like statues of angels who are hiding their eyes, but they're actually assassins who moves at amazing speed - but only when you're not looking.

   So the key phrase from their origin episode was: Don't Blink.

   And they don't kill their victims - they relocate them through time, so the victims often die - eventually - of old age.

   The Doctor who introduced the characters on the screen (in one of the best episodes of the series, despite the fact that the Doctor himself played only the smallest part in it) stars in this version of the comics series - the Tenth Doctor, David Tennant.

   This adventure is set during World War I, a prime setting for soldiers to disappear mysteriously - and that's what happens, as the doctor and his assistant, a beautiful artist named Gabby, run into the latest incident / attack by the Angels.

   It's a fun (though grim) story, and writer Robbie Morrison and artist Dsniel Indro do a good job of capturing the manic energy of #10.

   It's great to see these characters back in action again!

Grade: B+

-----------------------

   

Doctor Who (The Eleventh Doctor) #7

   Give the creative team on this issue of Doctor Who (the Eleventh Doctor) credit for trying something different on a series that is famous for being different.

   It's so different, I'm not sure I can explain it.

   The story is told in reverse, one page at a time (but not one panel at a time). The supporting characters have no idea what's going on, but the Doctor does, of course, as he works to saves the Tardis from destruction - and an alien planet.

   It's a lot of fun, and it captures the personality of the Matt Smith incarnation of the Doctor - but it is a bit of a strain to keep up with a story that's (mostly) running in reverse.

   Kudos to writer Rob Williams for crafting a story that had to keep him up nights working out the twists. Artist Simon Fraser crafts some high-energy art here - the only criticism is that his take on the doctor is a bit off in a couple of panels.

   Still, it's a fun story and makes good use of the medium. And it's always fun to see #11 back in action!

Grade: B+

----------------------