Writer Jody Houser is back with artist Roberta Ingranata for the second year of the 13th Doctor’s adventures at Titan Comics with “Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor: Year Two” #1. This issue teams the protagonist with the 10th Doctor who just so happens to be one of the most celebrated heroes in the history of the show. Houser’s script combines two different versions of the celebrated character and brings some of the popular companions together as well. Will Houser and Ingranata be able to craft a successful jumping on point for newer readers looking to check out the property in comic book form? Will the script be able to team several doctors together in a thoughtful, coherent manner?
Written by Jody Houser
Illustrated by Roberta Ingranata
Colored by Enrica Angiolini and Shari Chankhamma
Lettered by Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Sarah HedricksEisner-nominated writer Jody Houser and Witchblade artist Roberta Ingranata return for a brand new story in the 13th Doctor comic series. An epic adventure spinning off the new season starting in the new year, starring Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. With her pals, Ryan, Yaz and Graham, the Doctor encounters a familiar foe, and it’ll take a familiar face to stop them!
“Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor: Year Two” #1 features a solid structure and great personality. The issue juggles a lot of characters and heady concepts. Writer Jody Houser does a great job integrating the cast members of the issue across different moments in the television show. Houser introduces the 13th Doctor immediately and explores her new traveling companions. Houser gives each cast member an interesting personality in only a few pages within the first issue. The script switches protagonists early on to the 10th Doctor to give readers a good idea of the status quo in the series. Houser captures the novelty of pairing two Doctors together and manages to keep the script feeling focused all the way through the issue.
Houser’s script finds great moments between the intersection of the different properties. Houser takes the opportunity to introduce the 13th Doctor to Martha Jones. In the 10th Doctor’s portion of the story, Martha Jones has an important role to play. Houser is able to introduce the interactions and conversations between the 10th Doctor and Jones incredibly well. The characterization and dialogue are true to the television series. Houser’s script even finds a place to fit within the continuity of older Doctor Who stories. Houser also imbues Martha with a stoic personality, giving her an occupation in retail making her character incredibly relatable. Martha’s squabbles and chemistry with the 10th Doctor is electrifying. In the brief moments between Jones and the 10th Doctor, they have a conversation filled with subtext. There is even a hint in the dialogue that Jones and The Doctor disagree quite frequently. The Doctor is more focused on finding the Tardis while Jones is trying to leave her job.
Ingranata’s art is an incredible asset to the issue. The more grounded and minimalistic aesthetic is perfect for Doctor Who. Ingranata’s interior art doesn’t get caught up in the minutiae of likenesses for the property. The artwork depicts the basic features of the characters and allows some imagination to fill in some of the detail of the character from the television show. In some moments, Ingranata’s artwork doesn’t carry across all the detail required in a scene. There are also a few more basic expressions that are depicted without key facial details. It almost feels as if Ingranata might have been rushing through some of the pages when comparing some of the more simplistic characters with each other.
Ingranata’s pencils can be inconsistent at points as well. Certain moments in the story capture significantly more details than overs. I look forward to seeing future issues depict more monsters and action scenes. Houser’s script allows for minimal action and doesn’t provide Ingranata’s pencils the opportunity to strike very many striking visual sequences. Ingranata captures emotion well between the combinations of characters in the issue. Even if some of the detail on the faces can be lacking, Ingranata will still capture the emotion from the figure properly. I will be curious to see if Ingranata is able to draw action scenes with some of the precision and detail lacking from the issue.
The striking art in the series is a perfect complement to the script. Houser and Ingranata both attempt to strike a more casual tone in the story despite how important the script in “Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor: Year Two” #1 is. The issue pairs two generations of Doctors together in a logical manner. The chapter melds several supporting cast members together and brings important companion member Martha Jones back to the “Doctor Who” cast. The story has an unlikely protagonist at the heart of the issue and still manages to juggle a couple of different plot points. The subdued nature of Ingranata’s artwork melds really well with Houser’s script. In future installments, I would like to see Ingranata hone her artistic ability and provide more detail and context in the illustrations. I hope Houser is going to be able to continue the momentum from this chapter with a more traditional set of Doctor Who villains and story beats.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – “Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor: Year Two” #1 packs a clever script and elegant pencils into a non-linear script.
