Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #15 - A Review

The alien Hyperions are just moments away from activating their fusion web and incinerating the Earth! The only thing that can stop them now is The Doctor, with a little help from UNIT and some "borrowed" alien weaponry. But not everyone may make it out of this battle alive and whole...


The artwork for this issue is not up to the usual high standard. Daniel Indro's pencils are sloppy and his choices for some of the character poses and expressions are... unusual. The coloring by Slamet Mujiono, coupled with Indro's thin inks, leave the Hyperions looking like orange blobs rather than menacing men of living fire.


Robbie Morrison's writing for this issue is also uncharacteristically lazy. The final battle reminds one of the Classic Who era for all the wrong reasons, with everything being solved by a bunch of people armed with special guns. To say this seems a little against the spirit of the show is putting it mildly. The conclusion is sweet enough, with a nod to one of my favorite Christmas specials of the New Who era, but this is still a disappointing conclusion to what had been a promising story.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #13 - A Review

The Doctor and Clara have returned to Earth just in time for an invasion by the Hyperions. They've fought these living suns before but it took all of their collective cunning to deal with one of them when they had the element of surprise on their side. Even the full resources of UNIT and the power of the office of President of The Earth may not be enough to get them out of this one...


Reading a Robbie Williams Doctor Who story is always a treat. His work on The Tenth Doctor series was a perfect encapsulation of the David Tennant era of Doctor Who and his run here is proving to be equally adept in portraying The Doctor of Series 8. The Hyperions are a worthy addition to The Doctor's rogues' gallery and many of the sequences - such as The Doctor's appointing Clara Minister of Hugs and ordering the execution of an annoying politician who suggests surrendering to The Hyperions - are hilarious.



Daniel Indro's artwork is a little busy at times and his inks can be a little too thick. Then we get sequences like the above page - in which The Doctor explains the menace of the Hyperions - and you marvel at his ability to fit such fine detail into such a relatively small space. The colors by Slamet Mujiono are skillfully applied as well.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #12 - A Review

When a strange craft destroys the International Space Station and vaporizes Lake Windermere, the call goes out for The Doctor. But UNIT can't get a hold of him and their soldiers are utterly helpless as more spaceships surround the Earth, saying only two words - Hyperios Rises.  Little do they know that The Doctor is already in the thick of it, coping with twitchy townsfolk and zombies made of ash!

One can't accuse Robbie Morrison of thinking small with his scripts for this series. When the destruction of a space-station is just the pre-credits sequence, you know we're in for something big. Yet despite the global scale of this story and the intense action, the best moments are those in which The Doctor and Clara play off of each other or interact with other characters.


Daniel Indro and Slamet Mujiono were partnered together for Robbie Morrison's turn on Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor. They do the same stellar job here that they did there. Indro has a highly detailed style, which suffers somewhat in the long-shots but looks utterly amazing in the short distance and close-ups. And Mujiono's colors prove well-chosen.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #9 - A Review

Trapped in the No Man's Land between the German and English forces of World War I, The Doctor and his current companion - Gabby Gonzales - have had a trying time of it. The Weeping Angels have made a banquet of the soldiers presumed lost to the bombings and battling.  And now, in the maze of trenches and tunnels under the desecrated earth, The Angels have The TARDIS!


Robbie Morrison brings what has been a delightful story to a satisfying conclusion. This issue, combined with the three parts preceding it, constitutes one of the most well-written Doctor Who stories I've seen in any medium. The epilogue at the end also proves to be a fitting tribute to every soldier who has ever given up their lives for the lives of others.


The artwork proves the equal of the story.  Arianna Florean and Elena Casagrande make use of a cartoonish style in depicting the artistic Gabby's personal journal entries.  Different, but no less effective, is the more realistic style used by Daniel Indro, though his inks are overly heavy at times and threaten to obscure the original pencils.

Doctor Who : The Tenth Doctor #8 - A Review

Bad enough being stuck in the middle of No Man's Land in WWI. Worse to be surrounded by an army of The Weeping Angels with The TARDIS disappeared!  Not even a friendly Scottish soldier named Jamie can lift The Doctor's spirits, as he struggles to figure out a way to get himself and a rag-tag group of survivors to safety.


This tale by Robbie Morrison has been a real wonder. Not only has he managed to breathe new life into The Weeping Angels, he's done it by exploring the most horrific element of the angel's touch. Through a series of vignettes, we've seen the fates of several of the soldiers the angels have caught and suffice it to say not all of them were lucky enough to find a fresh start with a nice young lady five decades earlier. Morrison has also created a number of memorable supporting characters in this surprisingly short arc, including Scottish soldier Jamie Colquhon and Captain Fairburn, who may well have been a match for Brigadier Lethrbridge-Stewart!


The artwork by Daniel Indro is equally impressive.  Indro has prefectly captured the likeness of David Tennant and his panel flow is bold and innovative, yet simple to follow. The color art by Slamet Mujiono is also praiseworthy, with some scenes that seem to have been painted!

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #7 - A Review

The Doctor and his newest companion - aspiring artist Gabby Gonzales - find themselves trapped in the chaos of WWI.  With the TARDIS seemingly blown up in the middle of No Man's Land and the sonic screwdriver now in the hands of the British Army, it will take all their cunning to avoid being shot as spies.  And then there's the problem of the army of Weeping Angels, who have found the front-lines of WWI to be a most agreeable feeding ground.


Author Robbie Morrison turns what might have been yet another siege story where The Doctor butts heads with oblivious military minds into a truly ripping yarn.  There are a number of lines here that will bring David Tennant's voice into the reader's head unbidden. Morrison even offers up a explanation of The Weeping Angels on the off chance there's someone reading this comic who has yet to be exposed to them on the show... unlikely though that may be.


The artwork by Daniel Indro is rough yet serviceable.  Indro's gritty style is a good fit for the story, which does not shy away from depicting the horrors of war or the terrible fates awaiting some of the time-lost soldiers.  However, his inks get a bit heavy at times and obscure the original pencils.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #6 - A Review

The Tenth Doctor had intended to take his newest companion - aspiring artist Gabby Gonzales - someplace nice and beautiful. But as we all know The TARDIS sometimes takes The Doctor where he needs to be instead of where he wants to go. And where he needs to be is the front lines of World War I, where a group of Weeping Angels is making a meal of the approaching British troops.


Robbie Morrison proves to be as skillful in capturing the essence of The Tenth Doctor as he's been in portraying The Twelfth Doctor. He also does a fine job of establishing the supporting cast for this story, creating a truly touching tale for the first soldier to fall prey to The Weeping Angels. Morrison also manages to convey the true horrors of war without slowing the story down a step.


For the most part, artist Daniel Indro matches Morrison in terms of quality on the issue's artwork. Indro has a fine sense of dramatic pacing and a good sense of proportion. The only real flaw is that some of his pages are over-inked, with there being a few occasions where the line work is completely obscured by shadows that seem too thick for the scene in question.