The gang’s all here!
Creative Staff:
Story: Jody Houser
Art: Roberta Ingranata
Colors: Enrica Eren Angiolini
Flatter: Shari Chankhamma
Letters: Richard Starkings of Comicraft
What They Say:
Doctor Who returns with the comic debut of iconic 70s TV villains!
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 both the Skithra and the classic aquatic villain, the Sea Devils!
Who else can they turn to for help, but Rose Tyler: leader of the human resistance!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
When I reviewed the first issue of this new series, I was a bit disappointed in how it all started. For me, the joy of these Doctor crossovers lies in seeing the Doctors interact, and seeing the Companions react to different versions of their Doctor. I’m happy to say that issue three brings the gang together, and gives us a tight, fast-paced adventure that ties into previous Who stories from both the television show and the comics.
When last we left our heroes, the Sea Devils had taken over the Earth, spurred by the Skithra, whom you may remember from the Nikola Tesla episode from the previous season. Thirteen and Fam have rescued a renegade Skithra queen and now try to unravel the timey-wimey mess that led to this whole invasion.
Meanwhile, Ten rescued Rose Tyler, the leader of the human resistance, who has no memory of her time aboard the TARDIS whatsoever. She’s angry and determined, and full of trauma, and it must break the Doctor’s heart to see her like that.
Thankfully, both Ten and Thirteen realize that they are both in the same timeline, and they manage to pool their forces. The story doesn’t give them much time to interact in any way other than in terms of fixing the timeline, but perhaps that’s best, given the Doctor typically doesn’t get along well with other versions of him/herself.
The story dives pretty heavy into the events of the Tesla episode, and there’s great fun to be had seeing the Doctor and Fam revisiting an adventure. Typically, the Doctor moves forward and rarely looks back. What I found even more enjoyable, though, was the revelation that this tied into a storyline from The Twelfth Doctor Adventures Year Two where Clara went undercover at an elite (and strange) boarding school in Scotland. You don’t have to know that to understand what’s going on, but it’s a deep cut that I quite enjoyed. In fact, I almost wish that Twelve and Clara had shown up as well, but that might be me being a glutton for more Doctor.
The issue moves along at a brisk pace, neatly folding in exposition into the action, and never slowing down. Even if you hadn’t seen the Tesla episode or read the Twelfth Doctor comic, you know everything you need to understand the current situation. It’s smart writing and plotting, and it’s very impressive.
Jody Houser has the unenviable task of writing characters whom we know very well. Not only do they have to act in character, there is also a certain rhythm and cadence to their speech that House has to recreate, and she does so beautifully. You can practically hear the actors’ voices when the characters speak.
Equally daunting is the task of visually representing them. Roberta Ingranata must make sure that the characters are recognizable, but at the same time fluid and expressive. I’ve seen plenty of comics based on franchises where the art looks like Xeroxes of the actor’s faces—lifeless and unexpressive. At the other end of the spectrum is art that bears little resemblance to the actor for the sake of creating a more expressive and emotive character. It’s a very fine line that the artist must walk to make the characters recognizable, but also functional actors, and Ingranata does that very well here.
In Summary:
Doctor Who Comic #3 is a fast-paced, fun romp with the Tenth and Thirteenth Doctors that ties back into the show and previous Doctor Who comics. Although I wasn’t crazy about how the series started, it’s really firing on all cylinders now. Dr. J gives it an…
Grade: A
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: Titan Comics
Release Date: 13 January 2021
MSRP: $3.99
