Titan Comics 2021
Written by Jody Houser
Illustrated by Robert Ingranata
Coloured by Warnia K. Sahadewa
Lettered by Comicraft’s Richard Starkings
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Doctor Who: The Movie starring the Eighth Doctor!
Trapped in a parallel universe, Rose Tyler believed her adventures with The Doctor were over. Now, pulled by a mysterious energy into this reality, she must work with The Doctors (Matt Smith and Paul McGann) to end the rule of the warmongering Bad Wolf Empress!
I was overcome with nostalgia when I was reading this issue. It makes me want to rewatch the entire run of Doctor Who up until Rose leaves for good. That’s when I really kind of stopped watching the show. This issue is amazing for a plethora of reasons and among them is how the Eleventh Doctor refers to the Eighth Doctor as a child. That one made me laugh out loud. This issue is really where things really kick off as everyone starts to meet everyone else, okay Rose meets the Eighth Doctor last issue but they meet the Eleventh here so it’s still coming together this issue. Now I’m on pins and needles waiting for the two Rose’s to meet because that’s going to be a real treat. I’m also eagerly awaiting the reveal of how Rose is Bad Wolf because that whole story arc was rather amazing in and of itself.
God I love the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information are presented exceedingly well. The character development that we see through the dialogue. The character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a marvellous job in bringing us their personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story we are being drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery.
I am thoroughly enjoying the way that we see this being structured as well as how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I am also liking the way that we see the layers here open up new avenues to be explored. Whether all the avenues will be explored or not they all add this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.
I’m a huge fan and supporter of Roberta’s work. The linework is clean, crisp and strong while the varying weights and techniques that we see create this amazing level & quality of work in the attention to detail. How we see backgrounds is glorious and as they enhance and expand the moments as well as how they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story they do it with such style. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show such a masterful eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a brilliant eye for colour and how to maximise their effects.
While I may not watch the show any longer there is no way that I am going to pass up reading the comic series. This is so much fun and captures the spirit of the show, the personalities and the whimsy that we have come to expect. With some sensational writing and utterly brilliant characterisation alongside these breathtaking interiors show why this is a franchise to never miss when it comes out.