Doctor Who: The Fourth #5 releases on September 28, 2016.
Ask for it at your local comic shop or purchase it on Comixology.com.
Showing posts with label Fourth Doctor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fourth Doctor. Show all posts
Monday, September 26, 2016
Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor #5 - An Advance Review/Preview
With Sarah Jane Smith petrified and the alien creature that inspired the myth of Medusa poised to escape its prison into Victorian London, it will take all of The Doctor's cunning to save the day. But can even he contend with a vengeful holographic guard (who resembles the god Zeus) that stands poised to kill everyone in the vicinity in an effort to contain its prisoner?
Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor #5 provides a satisfying conclusion to a mini-series that perfectly encapsulated the spirit of the Tom Baker era of Doctor Who.The script by Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby presented a classic gothic horror tale worthy of Robert Holmes at the height of his powers. This was well-matched by the spooky, sinister artwork by Brian Williamson and Hi-Fi. This is the perfect comic book for classic Whovians or fans of the new series looking for a suitable introduction to the Fourth Doctor era.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor #4 - A Review
The good news is that The Doctor has identified the alien menace that is threatening Victorian London. The bad news is that Sarah Jane has already fallen victim to it! And the worst news is that another alien menace has taken control of The TARDIS in The Doctor's absence!
With this issue, Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby manage a rather neat trick. Before now they've proven capable of emulating the style and cadence of a classic Tom Baker Doctor Who story. With this issue, they tie the realm of Classic Who into the modern era, with The Doctor making reference to the familiar concepts of "quantum locking" and "fixed points in time" from the newer series. Yet the story still retrains the aura of a Gothic Horror novel that pervaded so much of The Fourth Doctor era. The whole thing is, in a word, brilliant.
Brian Williamson's artwork equals the quality of the writing. Williamson goes beyond simply caricaturing the actors from the show and crafts images of uncanny realism. He also proves capable of designing some truly horrific alien monsters that blend seamlessly into the action.
With this issue, Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby manage a rather neat trick. Before now they've proven capable of emulating the style and cadence of a classic Tom Baker Doctor Who story. With this issue, they tie the realm of Classic Who into the modern era, with The Doctor making reference to the familiar concepts of "quantum locking" and "fixed points in time" from the newer series. Yet the story still retrains the aura of a Gothic Horror novel that pervaded so much of The Fourth Doctor era. The whole thing is, in a word, brilliant.
Brian Williamson's artwork equals the quality of the writing. Williamson goes beyond simply caricaturing the actors from the show and crafts images of uncanny realism. He also proves capable of designing some truly horrific alien monsters that blend seamlessly into the action.
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor #3 - A Review
The mystic Lamp Of Chronos (really, a piece of cheap third-party technology stealing an ancient Time Lord design) has sent Sarah Jane and Professor Odysseus James into the past. More worryingly, it's sent them into a cavern full of incredibly realistic statues! Now, The Doctor and Professor James' daughter Athena must race against time (and the aliens known as The Scryclopes) in order to save them!
Thus far, Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby have done a fine job replicating the aura of a classic Fourth Doctor story. They continue to do so, though this issue - much like many episodes of the Tom Baker era - is a little light on action compared to the opening chapters. Still, it is an enjoyable read and the artwork by Brian Williamson and Hi-Fi continues to impress.
Monday, April 18, 2016
Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor #2 - An Advance Review
The Doctor and his current companion - journalist Sarah Jane Smith - landed in the middle of Victorian London and a mystery! People are disappearing and Sarah Jane vanished not long after arrival, taken into the company of the mysterious Lady Emily and her cyclops attendants! Thankfully, The Doctor is not alone, having been rescued from assault by the self-proclaimed time-travel expert Professor Odysseus James and his daughter, Athena, who are also investigating the mysterious disappearances...
The script by Emma Beeby and Gordon Rennie is a total delight! They're perfectly captured the cadence of a Robert Holmes-penned Doctor Who episode. Not does this issue replicate the weird horror of the era, it also captures the wit and humor so well you can't help but hear Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen's voices as you read it.
I greatly enjoyed Brian Williamson's previous work on Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor and he's in fine form here as well. Williamson utilizes a detail-oriented style, with heavy inks that suits the gothic aura of The Fourth Doctor. The colors of Hi-Fi complete this picture perfectly.
The script by Emma Beeby and Gordon Rennie is a total delight! They're perfectly captured the cadence of a Robert Holmes-penned Doctor Who episode. Not does this issue replicate the weird horror of the era, it also captures the wit and humor so well you can't help but hear Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen's voices as you read it.
I greatly enjoyed Brian Williamson's previous work on Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor and he's in fine form here as well. Williamson utilizes a detail-oriented style, with heavy inks that suits the gothic aura of The Fourth Doctor. The colors of Hi-Fi complete this picture perfectly.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Doctor Who: The Roots Of Evil - A Review
When The Doctor's current companion - the warrior woman Leela - expresses a desire to go somewhere with trees, The Doctor is all too happy to oblige. The TARDIS takes them to The Heligan Structure - a massive moon-sized space-station that is composed of one massive genetically engineered tree!
The Doctor only knows of The Heligan Structure by reputation but it seems the tree's settlers are familiar with The Doctor. And all of them bear names like "Vengeance-Will-Be-Ours-When-The-Doctor-Dies-A-Thousand-Agonizing-Deaths" or "Agony-Without-End-Shall-Be-The-Doctor's-Punishment.". This leaves The Doctor feeling quite unwelcome even before people start threatening to kill him or plotting to torture him. And that is before the station itself seems to come alive and start trying to destroy him... and everyone else!
The Roots of Evil is a fun little story that perfectly captures the feeling of a Fourth Doctor/Leela story. One can hear Tom Baker's voice while reading Philip Reeve's dialogue for The Doctor and the entire script has a dark humor common to the stories of the era. The novel's twist for just why the people and their home hate The Doctor so much is an honest surprise and it, as well as some references to the New Doctor Who series, will be sure to tickle the funny bones of younger fans. This story is a must-read for all fans of the series, particularly Fourth Doctor fans.
The Doctor only knows of The Heligan Structure by reputation but it seems the tree's settlers are familiar with The Doctor. And all of them bear names like "Vengeance-Will-Be-Ours-When-The-Doctor-Dies-A-Thousand-Agonizing-Deaths" or "Agony-Without-End-Shall-Be-The-Doctor's-Punishment.". This leaves The Doctor feeling quite unwelcome even before people start threatening to kill him or plotting to torture him. And that is before the station itself seems to come alive and start trying to destroy him... and everyone else!
The Roots of Evil is a fun little story that perfectly captures the feeling of a Fourth Doctor/Leela story. One can hear Tom Baker's voice while reading Philip Reeve's dialogue for The Doctor and the entire script has a dark humor common to the stories of the era. The novel's twist for just why the people and their home hate The Doctor so much is an honest surprise and it, as well as some references to the New Doctor Who series, will be sure to tickle the funny bones of younger fans. This story is a must-read for all fans of the series, particularly Fourth Doctor fans.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Doctor Who: Festival of Death - A Book Review
The G-Lock - a way-station in hyerspace notable only for being the site of a mysterious mass disappearance back in 2815. Now, nearly 200 years later, The G-Lock is home to the galaxy's most popular theme-park ride - The Beautiful Death - which claims to offer tourists a glimpse of The Great Beyond.
None of this is of much interest to The Doctor and Romana until they find themselves in The G-Lock in the aftermath of a great disaster. To The Doctor's delight, he is credited with having saved the population of the G-Lock from total destruction by a horde of zombies. At least, he's delighted until it is pointed out he hasn't actually saved everyone yet and that the bureaucrat running the G-Lock has just issued a "kill-on-sight" order for a saboteur wearing a long scarf.
In order to save millions of lives, prevent the destruction of the space-time continuum and stop Ramona from giving him yet another lecture about the consequences of violating the First Law of Time (or is it The Second?), The Doctor must go back in time to a slightly earlier point and figure out what he's done. He must then figure out how he did what he's done. He also has to figure out how to do what he's already done without causing a paradox.
There's just one problem - once he's done that, he still has to actually do what he's already done even if it kills him. And it will. Confused? So is The Doctor. Except for the part about his imminent but heroic death.
In his introduction to this reprint edition of Festival of Death, Jonathan Morris admits "a clear and obvious debt to the works of Douglas Adams" This is a bit of an understatement. Indeed, to say that Douglas Adams was an influence upon this book would be as great an understatement as saying that Matt Smith was an influence on the sales of bow-ties over the past three years.
There's several direct tributes to "The Guide", with a supporting cast that includes a suicidally depressed computer named Eric and a space-hippie lizard named Hoopy. But do not make the mistake of thinking this book is a simple pastiche of the Adams' style, packed with in-jokes for the fanboys. While Morris perfectly emulates the Adams style of humor he does it while tackling an original plot more complex than all five books in The Hitchhiker's Trilogy put together.
That being said, fans of Adams' work will notice a lot of the same themes dominate the plot of Festival of Death. The plot centers around an Adamsesque concept - a theme-park ride through the afterlife. As in most of Adams' fiction, the most dangerous villains are not the mad-scientists or the world-conquerors but the bureaucrats who destroy the universe a little at a time with every bad decision they make. There's also the classic theme of technology not working properly and everything designed to be idiot-proof underestimating how very good idiots are at hastening entropy.
Morris perfectly captures the characters from the show and fans will undoubtedly hear Tom Baker and Lalla Ward bickering in their head as the story progresses. The plot is a complex affair and was something of an anomaly when this story was first published in 2000, with The Doctor rarely indulging in "Bill and Ted" antics such as deciding to go back in time after being captured to provide the means for his escape in the present. Modern Doctor Who fans shouldn't have any trouble keeping up. Indeed, this novel might be a good introduction to The Fourth Doctor for fans of the New Series who have yet to be exposed to the Classic Series.
Bottom Line: If you're a fan of old Who, new Who, Douglas Adams, funny stories or stories involving Time Travel, you'll want to give Festival of Death a try.
None of this is of much interest to The Doctor and Romana until they find themselves in The G-Lock in the aftermath of a great disaster. To The Doctor's delight, he is credited with having saved the population of the G-Lock from total destruction by a horde of zombies. At least, he's delighted until it is pointed out he hasn't actually saved everyone yet and that the bureaucrat running the G-Lock has just issued a "kill-on-sight" order for a saboteur wearing a long scarf.
In order to save millions of lives, prevent the destruction of the space-time continuum and stop Ramona from giving him yet another lecture about the consequences of violating the First Law of Time (or is it The Second?), The Doctor must go back in time to a slightly earlier point and figure out what he's done. He must then figure out how he did what he's done. He also has to figure out how to do what he's already done without causing a paradox.
There's just one problem - once he's done that, he still has to actually do what he's already done even if it kills him. And it will. Confused? So is The Doctor. Except for the part about his imminent but heroic death.
In his introduction to this reprint edition of Festival of Death, Jonathan Morris admits "a clear and obvious debt to the works of Douglas Adams" This is a bit of an understatement. Indeed, to say that Douglas Adams was an influence upon this book would be as great an understatement as saying that Matt Smith was an influence on the sales of bow-ties over the past three years.
There's several direct tributes to "The Guide", with a supporting cast that includes a suicidally depressed computer named Eric and a space-hippie lizard named Hoopy. But do not make the mistake of thinking this book is a simple pastiche of the Adams' style, packed with in-jokes for the fanboys. While Morris perfectly emulates the Adams style of humor he does it while tackling an original plot more complex than all five books in The Hitchhiker's Trilogy put together.
That being said, fans of Adams' work will notice a lot of the same themes dominate the plot of Festival of Death. The plot centers around an Adamsesque concept - a theme-park ride through the afterlife. As in most of Adams' fiction, the most dangerous villains are not the mad-scientists or the world-conquerors but the bureaucrats who destroy the universe a little at a time with every bad decision they make. There's also the classic theme of technology not working properly and everything designed to be idiot-proof underestimating how very good idiots are at hastening entropy.
Morris perfectly captures the characters from the show and fans will undoubtedly hear Tom Baker and Lalla Ward bickering in their head as the story progresses. The plot is a complex affair and was something of an anomaly when this story was first published in 2000, with The Doctor rarely indulging in "Bill and Ted" antics such as deciding to go back in time after being captured to provide the means for his escape in the present. Modern Doctor Who fans shouldn't have any trouble keeping up. Indeed, this novel might be a good introduction to The Fourth Doctor for fans of the New Series who have yet to be exposed to the Classic Series.
Bottom Line: If you're a fan of old Who, new Who, Douglas Adams, funny stories or stories involving Time Travel, you'll want to give Festival of Death a try.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Doctor Who - Prisoners of Time #4 - A Review
It's been a few months since I picked up Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time. As you may recall, I was less than impressed with the first issue and the cost of the issues ($3.99 each) left me thinking I might be better off waiting for the inevitable trade collection. Still, the Tom Baker incarnation of The Doctor is my favorite and my Friendly Local Comic Book Shop saw fit to set aside a copy of this issue for me. So I decided - why not? I'll give it a go again. And I'm quite pleased to have done so.
Visually, this book is a definite improvement on the first issue. I found the style reminiscent of that used for depicting the adventures of The Fourth Doctor in the old Marvel UK Doctor Who comics. The established characters are all well caricatured and the action of the issue flows well from panel to panel. Hats off to Gary Erskine and Mike Collins for a job well done!
In terms of story, this issue is on par with the first and continues the idea of telling previously untold tales of The Doctor's past with elements from the new series being added in. The plot focuses upon The Fourth Doctor, his best friend K-9 and his current companion - the savage warrior woman Leela. The trio must locate a stolen jewel before the planet they are visiting is torn apart by the Judoon mercenary police officers who have been brought in to locate the gem at any cost. The script by David and Scott Tipton is fun and well-paced, perfectly capturing the spirit of all the established characters.
I'd rate this comic as a Must-Read piece of work. The artwork is good, perfectly capturing the feel of a classic Doctor Who comic. The story is action-packed and interesting. Really, there's no good reason not to get this comic if you're a fan of Doctor Who in general and The Fourth Doctor and Leela in particular.
Visually, this book is a definite improvement on the first issue. I found the style reminiscent of that used for depicting the adventures of The Fourth Doctor in the old Marvel UK Doctor Who comics. The established characters are all well caricatured and the action of the issue flows well from panel to panel. Hats off to Gary Erskine and Mike Collins for a job well done!
In terms of story, this issue is on par with the first and continues the idea of telling previously untold tales of The Doctor's past with elements from the new series being added in. The plot focuses upon The Fourth Doctor, his best friend K-9 and his current companion - the savage warrior woman Leela. The trio must locate a stolen jewel before the planet they are visiting is torn apart by the Judoon mercenary police officers who have been brought in to locate the gem at any cost. The script by David and Scott Tipton is fun and well-paced, perfectly capturing the spirit of all the established characters.
I'd rate this comic as a Must-Read piece of work. The artwork is good, perfectly capturing the feel of a classic Doctor Who comic. The story is action-packed and interesting. Really, there's no good reason not to get this comic if you're a fan of Doctor Who in general and The Fourth Doctor and Leela in particular.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)