Titan Comics 2020
Written by Jody Houser
Illustrated by Roberta Ingranata
Coloured by Enrica Eren Angiolini
Flats by Shari Chankhamma
Lettered by Richard Starkings & Comicrafts Sarah Hedrick
P R E V I O U S L Y . . .
Thirteen and fam have found themselves in swinging ‘60s London! That would be groovy – except the Tenth Doctor is stranded with Martha in the same time and place. But a deadly paradox might be the least of their problems – there’s something else strange going on – it’s almost as if they’re being watched...
Oh how I am enjoying this! The fact that we actually get a nod to the first adventure with Rose, the continuation I suppose with the Ninth Doctor. I immediately saw that when they were having tea and congrats to Roberta for her subtle manipulations so that they are nearly invisible but the trained eye can detect them. This is the Doctor so the utilisation of the environment is key to keeping the story moving forward and giving the reader clues and this is handled to perfection!
So I find it odd that The Doctor wanted to call the whole thing off. I mean if anything that's the most un-Doctor like thing to do though it is nice that Yaz was there to pull them back to reality. It is a nice way to further introduce us to her companions and if, like myself, you aren't all that familiar with this crew it is a wonderful moment. The story & plot development that we see through the sequence of events unfolding as well as how the reader learns information is presented beautifully. I like that we have this amount of set-up time an nothing really feels rushed, in the series instead of a mini it means more time can be spent on making sure everything is told as it should be. The character development is superb and that we get this chance to get to now these people is done so that we want to see more and more. The pacing is great and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way makes for some intriguing reading.
I said it before and I will say it again Jody, Roberta and company may just influence me enough to give her first appearance a shot. I haven't watched much Doctor Who since Matt Smith's companion Amy Pond left. See these ladies make me want to re-immerse myself in the Who world. This is the power that writing possesses.
Roberta is such an amazing artist and illustrator. She has a way with the linework and utilising the varying weight within them to bring this mindbogglingly exquisite attention to detail. It isn't just in the linework that we see this as the colour work does that as well. The Tardis and it's symbols and such are pure colour which is utterly gorgeous to see. The talent on display here is phenomenal. The way we see backgrounds being utilised and how the work within the composition in the panels bring us this great depth perception, scale and overall sense of size and scope to the book. 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 colour work too, as I mentioned earlier, is beyond expectations. To see the hues and tones within the various colours utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is rendered sensationally well.
The way that this is being told feels like an episode of the show while simultaneously feeling like it's own entity. This is a sensational display of storytelling and how it can entertain, thrill and influence the reader while it also engages the readers' mind.