Titan Comics 2015
Written by Nick Abadzis
Illustrated by Eleonora Carlini
Coloured by Claudia SG Ianniciello
The Doctor and Gabby are back in the TARDIS after surviving a life-threatening, time-warping, multi-Doctor event! From the treacherous trenches of World War I to facing Anubis, the Last Osirian, the pair have already experienced great dangers – and astounding wonders! – on their travels through time and space. But their greatest adventures are still yet to come!
Nick’s writing of the first year was amazing and i’m super thrilled that he’s back for year two! Thankfully there’s no time wasted in getting right into a new year and a new story. By that I mean we aren’t dwelling on how we left the series, though that whole Egyptian thing was phenomenally well done. Eleonora and Claudia’s interiors are a welcome sight as well they keep that high brow comic book going with such nice attention to detail it’s just incredibly delightful to see.
So here we are on Wupatki and it seems that Gabby’s time is running out and she’s waiting for the Doctor’s last second save. Nothing unusual there as it’s always the journey never the destination that’s fun to read. This planet is a rarity in the universe and to know why you’ll have to hear the Doctor’s explanation for it but it’s really something else. Also the indigenous life forms and the way the cities are built well that’s half the fun of creative minds. That they can bring this to life always thrills me because it’s familiar yet outside the box and they make the fantastical ordinary.
As always even on just a pleasant journey to another world the Doctor stumbles upon a crisis that needs his immediate attention. This time around there’s a mysterious attack upon the peaceful planet by way of a virus. Who and why are what the Doctor must figure out along of course a way to stop it and reverse the effects it if he can. So in other words your typical Doctor Who story. These never get old, not with new species, planets and threats to be faced by foes new and old.
Nick’s grasp on the Tenth Doctor is utterly uncanny. He’s got that thought process down pat and seeing him in action well there’s no greater thing for a Tennant fan. That as a reader you’d and a someone who has all his episodes you’d like to think you can think like him but the reality of it is that it takes a mind like Nick’s to show how wrong you are. It’s the Doctor has these special synapses in brain that fire differently than our own and no matter how hard we try we can’t compute as well as he does.
Eleonora does a magnificent job as well with how the Doctor looks. His slightly tasselled hair that aww shucks expression and that hypnotizing smile it’s all here. Plus her vision for these new life forms and their subsequent descriptions well yeah it’s makes this all the more believable.
Fun, adventure and more than a little quirky this is classic science fiction storytelling. There isn’t a reason in the world why fans of the show and those who aren’t shouldn’t be enjoying this.