Adventures of Supergirl #8-13 - A Review

I hadn't reviewed the last few issues of Adventures of Supergirl because I wasn't quite sure how to go about it. Sterling Gates is a great writer but the story he was telling was ill-suited to the shorter format required of DC Comics' digital-first releases. Several issues featured little in the way of action and were largely devoted towards exposition. This made summation of individual comics difficult and they read far better in one sitting than they did in bimonthly installments.

That being said and having now read the whole of the final story arc, I am prepared to say this is easily the best Supergirl story told in any medium in years. The story - centering upon a villain called Facet - was thrilling and brilliantly tied-in to the earlier issues of the series in some surprising ways. Gates drew upon the full rich history of the Kryptonian culture and the DC Universe cosmos, further developing the setting while offering up some thrilling Easter Eggs for long-time fans.


This series was blessed with some great artists who utilized a variety of unique styles. I greatly enjoyed Cat Stagg work on Issue Ten, where he utilized a photo-realistic style that captured the look of the actors from the show. I also enjoyed Emma Vieceli's work on the final story arc, which I think looked even better than her recent work on Doctor Who. Hopefully this series will return along with Supergirl's second season but I think it would be better off as a monthly periodical rather than a weekly digital release.

Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor #5 - A Review

The Doctor's list of places to visit brings him to the final destination - a luxury spaceship, where the richest of the rich come to be reborn into clone bodies. Unfortunately, it seems the synthetic bodies are not quite so devoid of sentience as was believed. And their tragic existence has uncomfortable ramifications regarding the life of The Doctor's companion Josie Day!


I'm sad to see this mini-series end. George Mann was already one of my favorite Doctor Who writers and Emma Vieceli's work here has made her into one of my favorite artists. Hopefully Titan Comics will see fit to continue the trend started with the Ninth Doctor mini-series and turn this into a monthly book as well.

Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor #4 - A Review

Briarwood House. 1932.  The Doctor and Josie Day are still following The Doctor's "to-do" list, uncertain of just where they are going and why they are going there. Still, the fancy party they find seems safe enough, though Josie tempts fate by saying the whole thing reminds her of an Agatha Christie novel and those always have a murder. This is true enough, although said murders are not orchestrated by faeries nor do they involve animated trees...


Emma Vieceli's artwork for this issue is breathtaking. The is a light, airiness to her style that suits the ethereal nature of this story. This is most evident in the sequence in which the history of The Nixi is related, with Vieceli's art given a unique sepia-tone finish by Hi-Fi.


Once again, George Mann writes a top-notch story that blurs the line between magic and advanced science, like many classic Doctor Who stories. Mann has quickly become one of my favorite Doctor Who writers. I hope time permits his working on more of these mini-series for Titan Comics in the future.

Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor #3 - A Review

There's no such thing as magic. The Doctor will be the first person to tell you that. But his eighth incarnation does enjoy a good magic show. If nothing else, it gives him a mystery to solve trying to figure out just how the tricks are done.

Yet the mystery The Doctor and his current companion Josie Day uncover when then attend a Victoria era magic show will involve unraveling more than simple conjuring tricks. For the magician known as The Silversmith seems to be changing the people who travel through his magic mirrors...and stealing their reflections!


George Mann easily matches Steven Moffat as a writer. At the very least, the two are equals in the field of "taking an irrational childhood fear and building a horrific story out of it." As The Weeping Angels play upon our fears of statues coming to life when we aren't looking and taking people away, so too does The Silversmith play upon our fear and fascination with our own reflections. The science of how this is possible is hand-waved somewhat but no more than the "magic" in classic Doctor Who tales such as Battlefield.

The art by Emma Vieceli is a delight.  Vieceli fits an amazing amount of detail into her panels without anything ever seeming cluttered or overdone. And the colors by Hi-Fi lend an extra level of vibrancy to Vieceli's lively work.

Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor #2 - A Review

The Doctor got more than he bargained for when he returned to Earth in search of a missing book. Not only did he find a new companion in artist Josephine Day but he found a brand new mystery to investigate!  The lost book contained a list of four space-time coordinates, the meaning of which he couldn't remember. It was a perfect excuse for an adventure.

Unfortunately, the first set of coordinates took them into the middle of a war zone between the crystalline Spherions and the cat-like Calaxi. Naturally, The Doctor would rather not get involved but has little choice after Josie is wounded by one of the Spherion's horrific weapons. Unfortunately, The Calaxi care little about Josie's plight and care even less for The Doctor's desire to negotiate a peaceful solution.


George Mann perfectly captures the essence of the peace-loving Eighth Doctor. It was rather shocking - given what we know of this Doctor from various media - to see the man he became in The Night of The Doctor and this issue does a fine job of establishing that divide for those newer fans who might not have been exposed to the comics and radio plays that established the better part of his character. This issue retroactively foreshadows some of his later incarnations' antipathy for guns, soldiers and military thinking as well as The Time War.


The artwork by Emma Vieceli proves equally astonishing. The character designs are great and Vieceli's Shojoesque style proves a good fit for depicting the bishōnen Eighth Doctor. The aliens look suitably exotic and the colors by Hi-Fi are amazing.

Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor #1 - A Review

When you travel around as much as The Doctor does, it's easy to lose track of little things like checking up on your house. So when he stops in on Earth to search a little place he kept back when he was younger but looked older, he is surprised (but not displeased) to find a young artist named Josie Day squatting in his house. This - and the book he came to find - are quickly put aside, however, as The Doctor discovers two things - Josie has visions of the many monsters he has fought in the past and the paintings she's made of said monsters are coming to life!


This is the first comic since Titan Comics took over the Doctor Who license to center upon a Classic Series Doctor. The Eighth Doctor is - paradoxically - both the longest-serving incarnation of the character and yet one of the least solidly defined. He had only one television appearance and numerous books, comics and radio plays, whose place in canon is debatable.

Thankfully, George Mann ignores all that baggage, saying only that The Doctor is recently returned to Earth after a long period of traveling alone and focusing on the one aspect of the Eighth Doctor that is solidly confirmed - his personality being that of a Romantic. Mann has experience writing The Doctor across multiple media and that experience is in evidence throughout this issue. Josie Day is established as a spirited and likable young woman and her going for a ride on the TARDIS at the issue's end is all but assured even before she saves the day.

The artwork by Emma Vieceli and Hi-Fi is a perfect match for the bright and cheerful spirit of The Eighth Doctor. The colors by Hi-Fi are vibrant and Vieceli's style shows influences of both traditional Western comics and Shojo manga. The only real fault with the artwork is that the word balloons are oddly placed at times and it becomes tricky, at these points, to know who is speaking first. Despite that hiccup, this is a great comic and a must read for all Doctor Who fans.