Titan Comics 2014
Written by Robbie Morrison
Illustrated by Brian Williamson & Mariano Laclaustra
Coloured by Hi-Fi
When UNIT scientist Paul Foster crossed from a parallel dimension to ours to reunite with his family, a crack was created in our universe. A horrifying group of body-hopping entities known as the Fractures spilled out of the void, determined to stop reality from rupturing. With panic sweeping the streets of London, the Doctor and Foster worked together to trap the creatures and return them to the void – but not without making a potent enemy of the Fractures, should they ever return... Now, Clara and the Doctor are off to 1960s Las Vegas for some rest and relaxation! But unearthly danger lurks under the desert city’s neon lights...
I have to say I’m more a fan of this than I am the televised adventures. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that this series has no “special effects” budget beyond the minds of Brian & Mariano so they can do so much more with their imaginations here, plus the work is just spectacular in it’s detail, vibrancy and tone, mood and emotions is all manages to emote. Case in point this issue’s opening with the myriad of different races and the gambling game they played which leads us directly to what’s happening now with the current Doctor and playing the same game with someone.
Of course how did we get to that moment well we’ll have to go back a bit and start the adventure in the Nevada Desert in 1963. Back in the days when the bosses ruled and you had to dig your own grave but this time around something goes wrong as a visitor arrives from outer space and unless I miss my guess he looks remarkably like the creature from the opening sequence but that can’t be possible now can it? Well leave it to the Doctor and Clara to be headed to a time when they will indeed be needed.
Now we the Wolfpack, is there really a legal reason why you can’t use Ratpack or their real names just an uncanny likeness to the real guys here? Well after Clara gets separated from the Doctor she actually ends up at the party the Wolfpack are throwing, so why is her dress so plain jane instead of like what we see on the cover? That’s colourful and playful not this solid purple number that’s a bit drab for the swinging sixties!
Meanwhile the Casino’s top dog has the Doctor for questioning when Mikey comes into the casino, he was the one who dug his own grave. Well he returns and has a surprise for the big boss man and let me tell ya it’s a doozy!
I love the writing Robbie is doing, the characterization the species both familiar and unfamiliar are used exceptionally well. Tying in real life fictionalized people and putting them in situations they’d never be in is fun to see and the dialogue, pacing and the sheer audacity of the story itself make for superb reading. Then with the interiors looking the way they do it’s an absolute and utter complete immersion into this Doctor’s adventures.