Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Three #10 - An Advanced Review/Preview

Leaving his companions Gabby and Cindy in the charge of his old friend Sarah Jane Smith, The Doctor left Earth to follow the trail of an unusual vortex anomaly. Having finally cornered the source of the odd energies, The Doctor makes a horrific discovery - the anomaly is a future version of Gabby, transformed into a time-sensitive entity of pure psychic energy! Can The Doctor avert Gabby's future before her future self kills him? Or worse yet, creates the mother of all paradoxes by killing her past self?







Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Three #10 brings the Vortex Butterflies storyline to a satisfying conclusion. The story is the culmination of the epic tale Nick Abadzis crafted around Gabby Gonzales and it is as touching as it is thrilling. Brought to life beautifully by Giorgia Sposito and Arianna Florean, the only reason not to read this issue is if you haven't read any of the series to date - a mistake that should be corrected as soon as possible.

The Final Analysis: 10 out of 10. A must-read for all Doctor Who fans!

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Three #10 will be released on October 18, 2017. 

 It can be purchased at your local comic book shop or on-line at Comixology.com.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Three #8 - An Advanced Review/Preview

Left in a London safe-house while The Doctor went off to investigate a vortex anomaly unlike anything he'd encountered before, Gabby Gonzales and Cindy Wu have both found a welcome confidant in Sarah Jane Smith. Originally come to investigate an energy spike apparently caused by Gabby's newfound powers, Sara Jane has proven all too eager and able to show the two young women around London and offer her advice on how to cope with life, the universe and everything. Yet could the girl's recent problems somehow be tied to the mystery The Doctor has rushed into?

This latest issue of The Tenth Doctor's adventures is a must-read for all fans of Sarah Jane Smith. Nick Abadzis has perfectly captured the character's voice and her relationship with The Doctor's latest companions is so instantly rich and real that one can hardly believe they met for the first time last month! The rest of the story is entertaining, though this book is more focused on relationship drama than cosmic crises.

The artwork proves just engaging. Giorgia Sposito proves equally capable of capturing the likenesses of the actors from the show as she is at depicting the exotic allure of outer space. And Arianna Florean's colors provide the perfect finish to every panel.

The Final Analysis: 10 out of 10! A must read for all fans of The Tenth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Three #8 will be released on August 16, 2017. 

It can be purchased at your local comic book shop or on-line at Comixology.com.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Three #4 - A Review/Preview

Trailing the strange red TARDIS that kidnapped Cindy, The Doctor, Gabby and Noobis soon find themselves in Ancient China. They befriend the sage Father Wu Wei and his son, Li, who tell them of The Red Jade General who rules the land with a metal fist. Gabby manages to infiltrate The General's citadel, finding not her best friend... but five-hundred women with Cindy's face!








This final chapter of Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth provides a satisfying conclusion to the opening arc of Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Three. Nick Abadzis' story puts a twisted spin on a classic villain as we learn the true nature of The Red Tardis/The Red Jade General. The artwork by Giorgia Sposito and Arianna Florean continues to astound. This book is a must read!

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Three #4 releases on April 19, 2017.
 Ask for it at your local comic shop or purchase it on Comixology.com.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Three #3 - A Review/Preview

The Doctor and his current companions - artist Gabby Gonzales, her best friend Cindy Wu and a newborn Osirian called Noobis - have just barely escaped from a terrifying dreamworld. The culprit behind their nightmares has escaped with Cindy, somehow shape-shifting into a red TARDIS and disappearing into The Time Vortex!








While most of Titan Comics' Doctor Who adaptations have been of the highest quality, I dare say The Tenth Doctor series is the one I have found most consistently enjoyable. It is a credit to Nick Abadzis' skill as a writer and researcher of the series lore that he can off-offhandedly solve a trivia problem that has vexed Whovians (i.e. the matter of how The Third Doctor claimed to speak several Chinese dialects when the TARDIS allows him to speak any language) with a mere throwaway line while still spinning an intricate and enjoyable story.

Coupled with the excellent artwork of Giorgia Sposito and Arianna Florean, this first chapter of Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth reminds me of some of the stories based on Chinese and Japanese mythology which appeared in Neil Gaiman's Sandman. This is due not only to the masterful use of the setting and the framing device of a teacher telling a student a story but the shifts in the art style as we see the tale unfold as it will be written down later.

This is a fantastic book that will be a hit with both fans of the TV series and all lovers of quality comics.


Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Three #3 releases on March 15, 2017.
 Ask for it at your local comic shop or purchase it on Comixology.com.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Three #2 - A Review/Preview

Life has become very strange for The Doctor and his companions. Suddenly nothing about their worlds made sense with The Doctor trapped in plastic body and Gabby having returned to New York and an ordinary life working as a waitress. Only Cindy - with a little help from her dog, Noobis - has realized that they are trapped in a dream world. Will that knowledge be enough to win them free?






My deceleration last month that the best days of this comic were over seem to have been premature. With Giorgia Sposito and Arianna Florean back on art duties for the entirety of this issue, things are back in fine form and looking fantastic. Nick Abadzis' excellent scripts - which read just like lost episodes of the David Tenant era of Doctor Who - are brought to life beautifully.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Three #1 - An Advanced Review/Preview

In another time... another world... they were heroes. Saviors of the Universe. Now, one of them is a homeless bum named Smithy with no memory of who he was. One of them is trapped in a hellish existence as a waitress. And one of them has started having their alone time with their girlfriend interrupted by a talking dog...


CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW TO SEE THE FULL TWO-PAGE SPREAD.

All good things must come to an end and it seems that time has come for Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor. While Nick Abadzis' story hooks are as strong as ever, they're not strong enough to overcome the horrible artwork by Valeria Favoccia. Ignoring her sloppiness, the awkward panel flow and the glaring neon shades with which she colors her art, her style is too cute for the dark tone of Abadzis' tale. The sections penciled by Giorgia Sposito are far superior, yet serve as a sad reminder of how good this book was during Year Two.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Three #1 releases on January 11, 2017.   Ask for it at your local comic shop or purchase it on Comixology.com.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Two #17 - A Review

The impossible has come to pass as Sutekh - the self-proclaimed god of destruction - has been reborn! Worse yet, he's backed by a plethora of other cosmically-empowered beings - all of whom have a grudge against The Doctor!  With the fate of all existence at stake, can The Doctor and his companions save the day?!


Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Two #17 brings this volume of The Doctor's adventures to a fitting conclusion. Nick Abadzis has outdone himself, crafting a narrative as rich as any devised by Robert Holmes in his prime. The outstanding artwork of Giorgia Sposito and Arianna Florean perfectly brings Abadzis script to life. If you're any kind of Doctor Who fan or a lover of quality comics, you should be reading this series!

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Two #16 - An Advanced Review/Preview

Sutekh The Destroyer is returned! Worse yet, he is not alone! Beings of destruction and oblivion from other realities - once banished by The Doctor - seek to use Sutekh's revival as a means to their own ends, though the only end that can come from Sutekh's rebirth is the death of the universe!




Titan Comics billed this War of Gods arc as "a story so big, we had to give it two extra issues". I'm glad they did so, for the tale Nick Abadzis weaves here is so complex that it doesn't bare thinking about it being cut for time, drawing off the rich history of the original Doctor Who series as well as the detailed continuity Abadzis has developed in his time on this book. Giorgia Sposito does a fantastic job bringing this all to life and matching the kinetic pace of Abadzis' writing with her own high-energy artwork. The colors of Hi-Fi provide the perfect finish to a great book that will please both fans of Doctor Who and lovers of a good comic.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Two #16 releases on November 23, 2016. 

Ask for it at your local comic shop or purchase it on Comixology.com.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Two #15 - An Advanced Review/Preview

Anubis, last of the Osirians, longed to join his people in a universe beyond this one. Yet the act of his departure might well destroy all of existence. The Doctor (with his companions Cindy Wu and Gabby Gonzales and the Earth actress Dortohy Bell) agreed to help Anubis achieve ascension in a way that would preserve the universe. Unfortunately, Anubis' father - The Doctor's old enemy Sutekh - has taken over his son and means to use him as a gateway to escape from the void in which he was imprisoned!





The minute Nick Abadzis brought The Osirans back into play last year, fans of the classic Doctor Who suspected we'd see the return of the villain from Pyramids of Mars. Thankfully, Abadzis has proven up to the challenge of building upon what many consider to be the greatest Doctor Who story of all time while putting his own unique spin on the idea of aliens masquerading as ancient gods on Earth. His fantastic script is equaled by the amazing art in this issue. The palettes utilized by Arianna Florean and Adele Matera are nicely varied from scene to scene and the action of the story flows neatly from panel to panel as illustrated by Giorgia Sposito.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Two #15 releases on October 19, 2016. 

Ask for it at your local comic shop or purchase it on Comixology.com.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Two #14 - A Review

Some time ago The Doctor agreed to help Anubis - the last of the Osirans and the son of his old enemy Sutekh - in finding a way to ascend beyond this universe without destroying it in the process. That promise has taken The Doctor and his companion CindyWu to the edge of the universe and beyond. Now trapped "off the map", The Doctor finds himself in a place with a sky full of darkness that glows, that is totally alien yet horribly familiar,..


With this issue Nick Abadzis' has crafted a mystery that could only be told through the lens of Doctor Who. Comparisons to Blink and Midnight are both apt and inevitable, given the weird nature of this tale. That's weird in the classical definition, incidentally! Call it what you will, but Abadzis has proven himself the equal of Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat in terms of his dialogue and plotting.

The artwork proves equally excellent. Giorgia Sposito does a fine job depicting such impossible ideas as a dark sky that glows. She also possess a fine gift for visual storytelling, as seen in the pages where The Doctor explores the strange world on his own. The colors by Arianna Florean are well-chosen for their respective scenes and complete the artwork perfectly.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Two #14 - A Review

Some time ago The Doctor agreed to help Anubis - the last of the Osirans and the son of his old enemy Sutekh - in finding a way to ascend beyond this universe without destroying it in the process. That promise has taken The Doctor and his companion CindyWu to the edge of the universe and beyond. Now trapped "off the map", The Doctor finds himself in a place with a sky full of darkness that glows, that is totally alien yet horribly familiar,..


With this issue Nick Abadzis' has crafted a mystery that could only be told through the lens of Doctor Who. Comparisons to Blink and Midnight are both apt and inevitable, given the weird nature of this tale. That's weird in the classical definition, incidentally! Call it what you will, but Abadzis has proven himself the equal of Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat in terms of his dialogue and plotting.

The artwork proves equally excellent. Giorgia Sposito does a fine job depicting such impossible ideas as a dark sky that glows. She also possess a fine gift for visual storytelling, as seen in the pages where The Doctor explores the strange world on his own. The colors by Arianna Florean are well-chosen for their respective scenes and complete the artwork perfectly.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Two #13 - A Review

A quick trip home has done little to sooth the nerves of The Doctor's current companions. Cindy is still reeling from the death of her first love and Gabby is coming to realize the emotional cost of being a time-traveling saver-of-worlds like The Doctor.

Unfortunately, their rest is cut short by unfinished business. Anubis, last of the Osirans, has grown impatient waiting for The Doctor's help in joining with the last of his people. And an old enemy may be ready to strike against them all!


The only real flaw with this series at this point is that it has become as complex in terms of continuity as the original Doctor Who show! The most recent issues - drawing off of several previous story lines - are inaccessible to new readers. It is a minor point, but one I have to consider as a critic when pondering Stan Lee's dictum that every comic should be written as if it was someone's first. A synopsis on the title page helps but the sad truth is that new readers won't get as much out of this book as those who have been reading since the first issue.

That being said, as a Doctor Who fan who has been reading since the first issue, Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor is easily the best of the monthly books Titan Comics has produced since winning the license. Writer Nick Abadzis has crafted characters and continuity as rich as any to be found on the original television series. He's perfectly captured the spirit of David Tennant's Doctor, giving him scenes where he revels in the simple pleasures around him - such as Gabby's mom telling his fortune. And he has effortlessly utilized aspects of the original show - such as the Ancient Egypt inspired Osirians from Pyramids of Mars - making them accessible to those younger Whovians unfortunate enough to have missed the Tom Baker era, even in reruns.


Abadzis' scripts are backed by some equally impressive artwork. Though this issue is light on action, things never seem dull or slow-paced. This can be attributed to the dynamic pencils, light inks and vivid colors utilized by the art team, which give this issue an energized feeling throughout.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Two #12 - A Review

An evil being of living sound arrives on Earth, determined to reproduce. The only thing standing in its way is The Doctor and his companion, Gabriella Gonzales. Empowered by knowledge that allows her to take her gift for art and imprint her creations in reality, Gabby thinks she's ready to help The Doctor in a whole new way.  But is she truly prepared for everything that comes with helping people on the same scale as The Doctor?


The creative team outdid themselves on this issue. We've seen Nick Abadzis' take on the Tenth Doctor get angsty but we've yet to see the ennui that infused his character.There is a sense of that here as The Doctor tries (and fails) to talk Gabby out of following down the path so many of his companions have and becoming yet another weapon in his arsenal. And the artwork more than equals the script in terms of quality. This book truly feels like a lost episode of the RTD era of Doctor Who.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Two #11 - A Review

It's the height of The Jazz Age in New Orleans. Visiting this era has been a wonderful two-week vacation for Gabby Gonzales and her best friend Cindy Wu, who has found romance with a young trumpet player named Roscoe Ruskin. But The Doctor is distracted by something and practically has to be dragged out of the TARDIS for dinner every night.

It is on one of these nights that something strange happens which robs Roscoe of his ability to play. When it is revealed that Roscoe is the latest musician to be struck down by this "plague", The Doctor springs into action,. Could this be another attack by the living songs known as The Nocturnes? Or is something similarly sinister at play?


If this issue of Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor has a weakness, it is that isn't easily accessible to new readers. This is the risk you run when a skilled writer is on a series long enough to develop their own complex mythology. I've loved Nick Abadzis' work on this book and the way he's utilized the long history of Doctor Who while adding his own unique elements to the series. That being said, this particular issue is a little too self-referential and the summary page at the start doesn't explain several aspects of the story so far that might confuse new readers.

I have no quibbles about the artwork, which remains as excellent as ever. Guest artist Giorgia Sposito proves a capable replacement for Elena Casagrande, easily capturing the look of the established cast and The Doctor in particular. The action sequences of the issue are well blocked. And the color art by Arianna Florean and Azzurra Florean captures the wild spirit of the time period, adopting a muted tone during the moments in which it seems the magic of the music is being drained away.