It wasn’t that long ago that it was announced that Titan had claimed the Doctor Who license from IDW after they had been publishing Who related comics for around six years, and that they (Titan) would be releasing comics based off of not only Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor, but of David Tennant’s Tenth. Fortunately for us, that time is now, and not only are we covering Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #1, but we’ve also covered Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor #1!
The story for The Tenth Doctor #1 has a feel not unlike the episode Blink, where it is a Doctor Who story, but we’re actually following and focusing on another character, while the Doctor is mostly in the background, and crossing paths; at least initially. Writer Nick Abadzis definitely seems to have the Doctor’s voice down, along with the sense and feel that became familiar during the Russell T. Davies era. Even capturing the Doctor walking around with another of his constructed devices, only the be unhappy that it doesn’t make a desired noise.
While being able to bring a familiar feel and vibe from a television show, into a comic isn’t always the easiest of processes, Abadzis avoids going straight to the familiar in terms of the monster in question, and is building his own, which is conjuring images of people back from the dead, devils, and more. Going back to that familiar feel, it even has that Doctor Who convenience factor, where this new monster is showing up around Halloween and the Day of the Dead festival.
I at first questioned this story and where it could be placed within the Tenth Doctor’s history, as we do not see a known companion, but we get that answer with a mention of Donna, which places it after Journey’s End, and was a nice, natural mention of an established character. Instead, our Sally Sparrow of this story is Gabby Gonzalez, who seems to be early twenties, is likable, especially against the angst of her family. With the established backstory for Gabby, its pretty clear that she’ll be traveling with the Doctor after this opening story arc, if the solicitations didn’t already make that clear: “After Donna’s tragic exit, the Doctor thought he was done with new companions. But Gabby Gonzalez is going to prove him wrong… if she survives the night!”
The art coming from Elena Casagrande might not be to my liking with books like this, as I’d like a little more realism, but has a good feel for the story, especially one panel where a picture of Gabby’s grandfather turns demonic looking. The scratchy look and feel to it I think fits, and the art is easy enough to follow. There was only one panel, towards the end of the book I had to take another look at to decipher what exactly I was looking at. I don’t doubt many will enjoy the art in the book, it just wasn’t for me, or maybe wasn’t what I was expecting. I’ll likely have a better feel for it once the second issue comes out.
All and all, The Tenth Doctor #01 is definitely a strong start for Titan, and has me looking forward to the stories they have down the road.
Both Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #1 andDoctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor #1 hit store shelves tomorrow, with the Twelfth doctor’s series coming in October.
Share on Tumblr
