Titan Comics 2017
Written by George Mann
Illustrated by Ivan Rodriguez
Coloured by Dijjo Lima
Lettered by Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
Together, the Doctor, Lucy, and Grant defeated the nefarious forces of Harmony Shoal. The world saved, and his love for Lucy reciprocated, Grant put away the costume, and the Doctor left Grant and Lucy to their new life together.But the Doctor is terrible for picking at loose ends…
Well when I got to reading this I wasn’t sure what to expect, after all it was Doctor Who Ghost Stories and I was hoping that this would be about ya know ghosts. So that it’s an adventure that focuses on the twelfth Doctor with a guy who has superpowers well it certainly came as bit of a surprise. Now i’ve made no secret of the fact that i’m not a fan of the Twelfth Doctor but hey it’s got a superhero so…
So the book opens up with Grant in his superhero identity of the Ghost is stopping a bank robbery when the Doctor shows up. Seems that the Doctor needs Grant’s help and he goes about it asking in his usual way. Meaning he gives no thought to anyone other than himself and expects to be followed blindly. I will say I’ve come to really enjoy George’s writing since i’ve discovered him and this is no exception. He’s got this way of nailing the verbal mannerisms of his characters in ways that just immediately put you at this ease in reading their adventures as if you are seeing them on the telly.
With this story of course it’s a little different for me because for the first time i’m seeing a costumed superhero in the pages of a Doctor Who story. I love the way that George is able to mix & match and blend the genres into this story that works incredibly well. I mean Grant and his wife are raising a little girl and her characterisation here is utterly delightful. I mean she’s the perfect foil to the Doctor because her stepdad’s a superhero and is nonplussed by what the Doctor has to offer. So their interaction for me is some of the best writing i’ve seen.
Also I have to say that Ivan and Dijjo do some great work here as well. The whole tone, mood and feel of the interiors here is more superhero than Doctor and I like it. We still get this nice attention to detail here but the linework, heaviness and overall structure, is decidedly comic books and that kind of instant familiarity is great. The use of page layouts through angles, perspective and use of backgrounds here really bring the reader into the story very nicely.
While I may not be a fan of this particular version of the Doctor I am a fan of the other characters involved along with George’s writing and the strong interior artwork. It’s a nice change of pace to the usual Doctor story and that in itself is a great reason to give this a go. I can’t say enough though that the real reason to read this is because of the writing, dialogue and characterisation George brings to the table!