The Fall And Rise Of Captain Atom #1 - A Review

Transformed into a human dynamo, Captain Nathaniel Adam has tried to use his powers to do good as Captain Atom. The same powers that make him capable of amazing feats, however, also make him incredibly dangerous and a recent bout of illness has made him more unstable than ever!


If you aren't already a fan of Captain Atom, The Fall And Rise of Captain Atom is unlikely to transmute you into one. The script by Cary Bates tells us nothing about Captain Atom's origins beyond him being the result of an accident. It tells us even less about him as a person.

There's no characterization beyond Captain Atom being worried about hurting people by accident and some minor worries about dying. While this does inspire sympathy, it does not inspire interest. The out-of-sequence nature of the story doesn't help matters and it doesn't seem like Bates and co-plotter Greg Wiseman had any revolutionary ideas for the franchise beyond changing General Wade Eiling into a black man.


That being said, the art for this issue is outstanding. Will Conrad showcases a detailed, intricate style throughout. The colors by Ivan Nunes are fantastic, leaving the finished art looking like it was painted rather than sketched and then colored in.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #4 - A Review

The Sea Devils have risen! Luckily for UNIT The Doctor is already on hand to stop them from sinking Scotland into the ocean as the first strike in their bid for world conquest. But even with the aid of Clara Oswald and two problem-students psychically empowered by the special headsets he whipped up, this may be a fight The Doctor can't win...


This comic is perfect. I don't make that claim lightly but it is. Everything about this book perfectly captures the essence of a good Doctor Who episode. In fact, I'd love to see this one adapted for the small-screen as the actual return of The Sea Devils from the classic series.


Robbie Morrison has got the verbal tics of The Twelfth Doctor and Clara Oswald down cold. Rachael Stott and Ivan Nunes bring everything to life artistically in a vivid and exciting fashion. If you're any kind of Doctor Who fan, you should be reading this series.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #3 - Advance Review

Clara Oswald and her students have uncovered a hidden base underneath their school on Raven's Isle. Thankfully, The Doctor is on hand to save them and he knows the menace they're facing - his old enemies The Sea Devils! Unfortunately, that knowledge may not help them to stop the aquatic invasion...


Robbie Morrison's tale - Clara Oswald And The School of Death - proves a perfect combination of the mythology of the classic Doctor Who series and the spirit of the new. Morrison effortlessly explains the history of The Sea Devils for those readers unfamiliar with the baddies from the original series. Rachael Stott offers an astonishing splash page for this sequence, which gives a visual shout-out to Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor. The rest of the issue's artwork is equally impressive, with the color art by Ivan Nunes offering a vibrant variety of colors throughout.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #2 - A Review

When a colleague mysteriously disappeared after taking a job at an exclusive private school, Clara Oswald felt compelled to investigate things on her own. Naturally, The Doctor saw fit to get involved as well. Now, as Clara explores the school along with two misfit students who don't quite fit in with the insular environment, The Doctor will go exploring the nearby town, disguised as a rough old sea dog.


The Ninth Series of Doctor Who put forth the idea that Twelfth Doctor had begun letting his old selves come out to play. With that idea in mind, it seems that Robbie Morrison has written The Doctor as a combination of Jon Pertwee's super-spy and Tom Baker's mad Bohemian. That's as good an explanation as any for why the normal gruff Twelfth Doctor is now playing dress-up with a disguise kit and adopting a stuffed fish as a companion. The comedy works, however, and proves a welcome counterpoint to the Lovecraftian horror of what is going on at the Ravenscaur School.

The art by Rachael Stott proves a perfect match for Morrison's scripts. There is a sense of manic energy to Stott's work that serves the comedic scenes well and lends a sense of urgency to the dramatic moments. The colors by Ivan Nunes are well chosen with lighter shades utilized in the funny bits and darker colors being used for the rest of the book.

Doctor Who: The Four Doctors #5 - A Review

Ripped from time by a future incarnation of The Doctor, who had been driven mad by betrayal and bonded with the hive-mind race known as The Vrood, things were looking bleak for The Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors and their companions.  However, a twist of fate and a bit of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff have bought them the chance they need to escape the future Doctor's time-trap. Now if only they can work out how to set-up their escape without breaking all causality in the process...

The conclusion to Paul Cornell's latest Doctor Who epic is something of a headache to navigate. Despite this, it's an enjoyable Gordian knot most Whovians will enjoy unraveling. And Ninth Doctor fans can rejoice, for while their favorite Doctor doesn't quite take part in the action, Cornell reveals a fantastic reason for why he and Rose Tyler didn't show up in this adventure.


The artwork continues to impress, though Neil Edwards does seem rushed at times in this final chapter. There are some points where the inks are too heavy and the details a little indistinct - though this critic suspects the latter may be due to a printing error in his copy of the issue.  Regardless, there is more good than bad in this issue's visuals and it proves a wonderful conclusion to a great story. The Four Doctors is a must-read for all Doctor Who fans!

Doctor Who: The Four Doctors #4 - A Review

In a far future, a probable Doctor driven mad by loneliness allowed himself to bond with the alien hive-mind known as The Vrood.  Now, as part of a plan to ensure that his past comes to pass, he has captured Three Doctors and one companion in order to assure his timeline becomes the accepted one. Two of The Doctor's companions remain free but are their destinies already set in stone?


The artwork on this series continues to impress. This is some of the finest work Neil Edwards has ever produced from the character designs of the cast to the layouts of the action sequences. And the colors by Ivan Nunes prove the perfect finishing touch.


As for the story, he plot thickens further in this latest issue and it does so in some truly surprising ways. I must say again that Paul Cornell has truly outdone himself with this series. Next week's conclusion cannot come fast enough!

Doctor Who: The Four Doctors #3 - A Review

The three Doctors and their companions have escaped from The Reapers but now they face a greater problem. Despite Clara's best efforts to stop them from walking into a trap, they've walked into a trap. Because regardless of the incarnation, The Doctor's first response to being told something is a trap is to find a big stick and poke it.

Unfortunately, this trap turns out to be a Continuity Bomb - a piece of Dalek technology that rips the victim out of space and time and deposits them in an alternate reality changed by a single decision. Thankfully, the bomb was unable to focus on one Doctor. Unfortunately, this still leaves everyone trapped in limbo, seeing a number or horrifying alternate pasts rush by as The Doctors must make a horrible and risky choice... choosing which reality to make real in the hope of escape!


The idea of The Continuity Bomb is precisely the kind of novel touch I expected Paul Cornell to introduce in this series. Such originality is Cornell's bread and his butter is an encyclopedic knowledge of the Doctor Who mythos. Fans of the show will be particularly interested in this issue's brief glimpses of the universe where The Tenth Doctor rules all reality as The Time Lord Victorious, the timeline where The Eleventh Doctor allowed River Song to save his life by making all of time happen at once or the dark future where The Twelfth Doctor has been driven mad by loneliness and distrust...


Neil Edwards continues to impress.  The artwork on this series has looked amazing in every respect, from the likeness of the established cast being captured to the panel flow of the action scenes. The colors of Ivan Nunes complete things perfectly.

Doctor Who: The Four Doctors #2 - A Review

Clara Oswald's efforts to prevent a meeting of The Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors that would end the universe only seem to have brought it about. And a sudden short when Ten and Twelve touched one another has summoned The Reapers - the antibodies of reality, who eat paradoxes out of existence. Only for some reason they seem to be more interested in Eleven than anyone else...


It's no surprise that Paul Cornell's script for this issue draws deeply from the well of Doctor Who's rich mythology. After all, Cornell co-authored The Doctor Who Discontinuity Guide back in the BI (Before Internet) days and has a knowledge of the show's history that is second to none.  Yet Cornell also sprinkles the book with the goodly helping of humor common to his stories, finding unexpected angles such as the playfully loony Eleventh Doctor being forced to be the responsible one as Ten and Twelve start arguing and Twelve lamenting that he's now "Scary Doctor" to Ten and Eleven's Posh and Baby.


Neil Edwards proves a perfect playmate for Cornell.  This is a manic energy to Edwards' action sequences and he perfectly captures the likenesses of the characters from the show. All in all this comic is a must-read for all Whovians.