This one you might want to read from behind the couch.
Creative Staff:
Story: Robbie Morrison
Art: Brian Williamson
Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Color: Hi-Fi
What They Say:
Molly’s father was killed in a terrible accident. UNIT scientist John Foster suffered the same fate. But are they really gone? Both play a part in the universe-hopping new arc! The Doctor and Clara race against time to both stop a dreaded new peril – The Fractures – in a bid to stop reality unraveling around them.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
It might sound a bit hyperbolic, but Doctor Who traumatized several generations of Britons. Stories abound of children watching the show from behind their couches, afraid—yet delighted—by the latest alien or otherworldy threat the Doctor and his companions faced.
While the previous five issues of this series certainly contained horror elements, they were just that—elements. In this new storyline, horror takes center stage in traditional Who fashion. This is one comic you might want to read from behind the couch!
Paul Foster, a theoretical physicist working for U.N.I.T., died in a car wreck, leaving his wife and two daughters. However, death may not be as permanent as it once was as Paul appears to his youngest daughter Molly out of some sort of dimensional rift. He tells her to keep his existence a secret from the others for the time being.
Meanwhile, the Doctor and Clara return to Earth just in time to stop it from exploding or imploding or doing something equally unpleasant thanks to a device left behind by Foster—a Reality Bridge. The Doctor investigates the damage the machine may have done while Clara leaves to teach her English class. Coincidentally, Paul’s oldest daughter, Lisa, is one of Clara’s pupils.
Meanwhile meanwhile, something nasty and vile enters the world, possessing three humans. They call themselves The Fractures and because of Paul’s meddling with the fabric of reality, his family has “forfeited” the right to exist.
It’s taken me a while to warm up to Morrison, but the more issues he writes, the more I enjoy his work. One of my chief complaints about his writing is that he never seems to capture the Doctor’s voice. Well, in this issue he finally manages to get it right, and half the fun of the issue is reading the exchanges between the Doctor and Clara (the part about English class is particularly great).
Morrison also manages to capture the spirit of the show in the comic without making the issue read like a story board. He and Williamson do a great job of the telling the story and using the medium to do so. However, Williamson’s art is inconsistent. While he does render the actors’ likeness well (although Kate looks a bit off to me), there are times when his style is a bit too line-heavy and busy. Paradoxically, his characters are also too light. They seem to possess no weight or depth and seem far too separate from their surroundings. He excels, though, at drawing the monsters. The people possessed by the Fractures are grotesque and frightening thanks to the art.
The only other issue I have with this title other than the art is the solicitation. The solicitation mentions a John Foster who is different from Paul; however, there is no John Foster in this issue, and it’s clear that Paul worked for U.N.I.T. I wonder if the story changed or if the solicitation is giving something away. Either way, it’s a bit confusing.
In Summary:
Doctor Who, The Twelfth Doctor has fought an uphill battle over the course if six issues. It started rough, but each issue read better than the last and the series gradually captured the spirit of the show. This issue feels like the beginning of a proper Who story, and even though the art leaves something to be desired at times, the overall issue is sound and should please fans of the Twelfth Doctor.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Titan Comics
Release Date: March 18th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
