Comics Review: "Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor" #1

- by Kazekun, 15 October 2014

The new Doctor hasn't been amongst us for very long. Despite having a couple of appearances before his regeneration, we're only halfway into the new season of the TV show and we're just getting to know this incarnation of the Doctor. But from what we do know, he's feisty, he's cranky, and he quite literally doesn't give a damn as long as you just let him do his job. Peter Capaldi is amazing as the Doctor, and Jenna Coleman continues to delight as the ever-loving Clara Oswald. But, how do the side stories hold up, I wonder? Titan Comics has now dipped into the world of Doctor Who comics, and here's where the Twelfth's colored adventures begin...

#1 cover.

Written by Robbie Morrison, with art by Dave Taylor, they bring their A-game with a wonderfully written and illustrated first issue. There is a lot to love here with the continuing adventures of Clara and the Doctor. Both characters feel as if they were taken right off the screen, except Clara could use a bit more brains. She does make a few amateur mistakes in this issue that she should know otherwise by now not to do. Plus, being a teacher, she just needs to be a bit smarter than the average companion.

Before I get too deep into things though, let me step back and give you a quick summary of the plot. On an icy planet known as Isen VI, Clara is being taught by the Doctor how to ski for an upcoming field trip with her students. As per usual when they arrive something is amiss and they must solve the curious issue at hand. There is an evil space corporation involved, a beast that may not be what it seems, and the Doctor is as snappy as ever. Ah, it's good to be home.

There's a sort of freedom that working on a Doctor Who title gives you -- in that you get to come up with so many silly and cool things and it just... works. Usually. In this issue we get to see something silly like animals stamped with trademark and dollar signs because they were man-made, but also those same animals all look freaking cool. So it balances out. 

I was happy to see Morrison really stretching his brain with imagination here for original characters and ideas. Although the “mystery” at hand isn't as fascinating right now as I think it could be. With it being a multi-part opening story, I was surprised when majority of the “mystery” was solved in this issue in order to set up a big bad for next issue. It just kind of threw me out of the story near the end.

One thing that I did notice right off the bat is that this issue was very much planned to hit the market after a certain episode of the show recently aired: “The Caretaker.” Immediately into the first dialogue we get from the Doctor talking with Clara over a subject, he references a revelation he made in that episode about her non-TARDIS life. It's not at all a detriment to the story, but unless you're watching the show you may wonder a bit of what's going on in that certain exchange. There are also a few other references to the current season, but again none of them are a detriment to the story which is a very good thing.

The opening page. Click to enlarge.

You also get to find out what the new Doctor thinks of his previous incarnation; it's pretty funny.

Finally, the art is a lot of fun. Everything is kind of rough, but also everything is very imaginative. Taylor really captures the “otherworldness” of the alien characters and Isen VI and his art is just nice to look at. If I had any complaint it's that yes, his style is a little rough, and could be more polished, but I think it works with the series. I think his style works better with natural looking world and the freaky looking animals, they just look really crisp and neat.

The Doctor is back in town.

Titan Comics has something good going here, and I hope the strong storytelling of issue #1 is an indication of what we're in for with the remainder of however long this series lasts.  I'm definitely excited for the next one, and I fully recommend picking this up. Robbie Morrison gets the Doctor, and that's the most important thing when writing a Doctor Who adventure.

Final Score: 4 Time Lord Incarnations out of 5


Looks like Titan Comics is really doing well with their Doctor Who comics! Have you read the first issue of the Twelfth Doctor's series? What were your thoughts? Let us know in the comments!

Tagged: comics, Reviews.

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