Reviews 

“Doctor Who” #1

By | November 20th, 2020
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Two years ago, Titan Comics did a reboot of their Doctor Who comics line, ending the various series following different Doctors to focus on Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor.  Now, we’re back with a new “Doctor Who” #1 but it’s really the continuation of the story from the previous “Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor” season that ended in May.  Confused? So are we.  Questionable naming conventions aside, let’s see if this new story fills the TARDIS shaped hole in our hearts.

And after the spectacle that was “Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious,” those are some big shoes to fill.

Cover by Peach Momoko

Written by Jody Houser
Illustrated by Roberta Ingranata
Colored by Enrica Eren Angiolini
Lettered by Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Sarah Hedrick

Doctor Who returns with the comic debut of an iconic 70s TV villain!

After narrowly escaping the Weeping Angels and the Autons in 1960s London, the Tenth and Thirteenth Doctor must team-up once again to save present-day Earth from being overrun by a race of aquatic villains.

Who else can they turn to for help but Rose Tyler, leader of the human resistance!

Since it’s been a hot minute (or appropriately, 262,800 hot minutes — that’s the total minutes in six months, the timespan between the last “Doctor Who” ongoing series and this one), time for a quick recap of where things are. The Weeping Angels and Autons fell at the hands of Ten, Thirteen, and their respective companions in 1960s London.  Everyone parts ways and leaves for their respective timelines avoiding that dreaded paradox that could cause catastrophe.

Or so they thought.  Thirteen and the fam return to a London under destruction. Things are bad. Very bad.  Seems that Earth just was a “little bit conquered by aliens,” which could be the understatement of 2020.  As if that wasn’t enough, this wasn’t an alien invasion from say, two weeks ago.  Try centuries ago.  The Sea Devils have charge of the Earth, enslaving the remaining humans to do their bidding. In the darkness, though, there is a spark of the flame of resistance in the form of Rose Tyler. And if that wasn’t enough the Tenth Doctor also drops in, hoping to make things right.   It can’t get any more out of sorts than it already is now . . . can it?

The choice of the Sea Devils is not the first time they’ve appeared in comics; that was back in 2016’s ‘Clara Oswald and the School of Death, part of the “Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor.” Fans with clever eyes also caught a brief appearance by them in the Series 12 finale “The Timeless Children” as part of the memories that the Doctor used to conquer the Matrix. Thus, there’s some familiarity with them amongst modern readers, but there’s also enough explanation given to bring the newest fans up to speed.  Houser honors series history and canon without getting too steeped in it, itself a subtle and superb way to capture the widest audience possible. So far, this does not appear to be an aquatic-centric story (the Sea Devils do come from the sea, after all – – it’s in their name), so I am intrigued to see how Houser explains the backstory of their appearance on Earth.

Even in the depths of despair, the Doctor finds room to slide in a joke or two around work-life balance for the Sea Devils. (Doctor as a trade unionist? It’s always good to have an alternative career path.) Jodie Whittaker’s balance of humor and insecurity is part of what makes her so endearing, and I love that this ends up on the page so well.  What will be interesting to see is if the events of the Series 12 finale – – that one that challenged the essence of the Doctor’s identity – – make it on the page. And in this I’m not looking for actual follow through on those events, but that growing questioning of reality, that growing insecurity.  How does a Doctor who’s unsure of everything she’s ever known about herself put that aside to fight terrors of the moment?

At the same time, there is a bit of “trotting out the greatest hits” vibe to this debut, as we get not only Rose Tyler as a Mad Max-esque hero, but her parents in the work force dormitories, and then the Tenth Doctor.  On paper, this teeters on a case of “too many cooks spoiling the broth” – – too many people and not enough space to let them play integral parts to the story. But Houser showed from the last series that she can balance a large ensemble cast, so I have faith she will continue to do so in this new arc.

Continued below

The smartest decision Titan made was bringing this creative team, particularly Roberta Ingranata and Enrica Eren Angiolini, together to reboot their Doctor Who line in 2018.  Their next smartest decision was keeping the band together into this new era of the comics.  They add a consistency to the look of the series, particularly in characters.  It’s difficult to translate a person from screen to page. And while it’s not perfect (proportions of facial features to the whole face seem just a bit off-balance), Ingranata captures the look of the human players quite well.   As for the Sea Devils, they look just as you would expect from the 1970s, right down to their large round-ish eyes, which does make them feel more like The Dark Crystal-era Muppets than terrors of the deep.  I must remind myself, though, that the Sea Devils are from a Doctor Who era with a shoestring budget, so I shouldn’t expect too much in their look. But this is also comics, where there is room for experimentation that TV may not allow, so I hope there is a canvas to have a little more fun with them.

Throughout the Doctor Who line, Enrica Eren Angiolini has been a superstar with her paintbox of colors, bringing the TARDIS to life on the page in new ways.  But her skill isn’t limited to the bright and bold.  She infuses life – – and therefore, hope – – in this post-apocalyptic London with just the right touches of light. It would be very easy to bathe the cityscape in shades of grey to get that dystopian tone, but she puts in hints of white and orange here and there to add texture and shape to Ingranata’s backgrounds and that subtle symbol of hope. Light will overcome this darkness.  And if you loved when she played in the paintbox in previous series, don’t fret: several pages feature intricate, glorious backgrounds.  They’re a visual feast, but not so much so that they draw you away from the action.

“Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious” was large scale in ways not thought possible, and this creative team rose to that occasion.  Now, when they have a moment to get back to their main story, they ride that momentum into the future.

Final Verdict: 8.5 – Titan knows a good thing when they see it, and since it hasn’t been broke, there’s no need to fix it when it comes to their Doctor Who line.  (Well, except for that choice of series name.)


Kate Kosturski

Kate Kosturski is your Multiversity social media manager, a librarian by day and a comics geek...well, by day too (and by night). Kate's writing has also been featured at PanelxPanel, Women Write About Comics, and Geeks OUT. She spends her free time spending too much money on Funko POP figures and LEGO, playing with yarn, and rooting for the hapless New York Mets. Follow her on Twitter at @librarian_kate.

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