Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary special rebooted the Doctor with a fresh set of regenerations – did anyone really think the BBC would stop the series from making them more money? Peter Capaldi is the first actor to play the Doctor in this new line, and his character brings a bit of darkness back into the series.
Enter the first issue in a series of comics based on this new incarnation. The Doctor (number 12) tricks Clara into visiting a jungle planet where all is not as it seems. While it appears as a utopian vacation spot, the surface runes riot with earthquakes, magma, and more. Once the duo are captured by the owner of this planet they find out there is something wrong with the way it was terraformed and their adventure begins.
For a fist issue – like most comic first issues – it contains some hits and misses. The Doctor’s speech half resembles Capaldi and half a generic character. Some of what he says fits in with this new “dickish” incarnation, but the rest is generic – I found it hard to read the lines in his voice. The same goes for Clara. It just doesn’t quite sound (read) like her at all.
The artwork is cheap, boring, and uninspired. The characters rarely look like their real-life counter-parts and most of the time we don’t get to see any angry eyebrows. Something tells me this was either a rush job or most of the budget went into the cover. In fact the cover is a stunning painting of The Doctor, which features his angry Scottish eyebrows and angry eyes in all their elegant glory.
The story is intriguing enough that I’ll see it through a few more issues. It has potential, but I can see why it wasn’t adapted into a TV episode. I hope the artwork and dialogue both increase in detail.
I recommend this issue for Doctor Who fans, but no one else.
