Doctor Who #8 (IDW Vol. 3) - A Review

Doctor Who #8 begins with a helpful recap for those who might have missed Issue #7.  It's a nice touch which harkens back to the classic days of comics and it doesn't seem at all awkward as it comes from The Eleventh Doctor talking to himself out-loud about what's just happened and how he can deal with it.  It sounds very much like Matt Smith and Joshua Hale Fialkov deserves praise for that nice touch.  Sadly, that's one of the few things I can praise him for.


I mentioned in my review of the previous issue that the drama of the story rang false, given that the main problem (i.e. The Doctor is trapped on a dead ship in Earth orbit surrounded by flesh-eating monsters that thrive on darkness) came about because of a completely unexplained event that flew in the face of established characterization (i.e. The TARDIS sealing itself so The Doctor couldn't get into it).  That problem continues in this issue, when we find out the Vashta Nerada still managed to get inside The TARDIS despite it sealing itself so they couldn't get inside. 

How?  Because the story says they need to so there's a little more drama after The Doctor and his Special Guest Companion Cosmonaut Alexey Leonov solve the problem of moving a dead rocket out of Earth orbit and into the gravitation pull of the inert TARDIS.  It's a minor point, but it does make the whole story feel forced.  Honestly, the story would have worked just as well without the Vashta Nerada being involved at all.


Thankfully, the art team is still top-notch.  Andres Ponces and Horacio Domingues doe a bang-up job of caricaturing Matt Smith.and a young Alexey Leonov.  Inker Ruben Gonzales utilizes just the right amount of shadow to highlight and darken everything.  I may grouse about the plot of the book but I have no complaints about the artwork.

On the whole, this issue is worth picking up if you already got last month's issue.  You have to know how the story ended, right?  However, if you're a newbie Whovian who is just getting into the comics, I'd advise you to download the first two issues of the current series instead of this two-parter. 

Doctor Who #7 (IDW Vol. 3) - A Review

Had I been fully paying attention when I picked up my most recent haul of comics this past weekend, I probably would have skipped this particular issue of Doctor Who.  Why?  Because had I looked at the cover for longer than a second, I might have noticed before I got home that this issue was written by Joshua Hale Fialkov.  The same man whose Casablanca-themed story "As Time Goes By" drove me off this title last year.  But I picked it up.  I read it.  And generally I liked it.


The plot of the issue has The Doctor - currently traveling solo - answering the distress call of a 1960s Cosmonaut spaceship.  He's arrived several seconds too late to save the first man to successfully attempt a space-walk from an encounter with the Vashta Nerada - the flesh-consuming shadows from Silence In The Library. Complicating matters is the fact that the other Cosmonaut on board the failing ship is Alexey Leonov - the man whom history records as being the first man to walk in space... on a later trip.

Fialkov's take on The Doctor continues to bother me somewhat, being the same idiot man-child Matt Smith occasionally - but not always - plays at being.  A bigger problem is the portrayal of the TARDIS.  And yes, the TARDIS is an active player in this issue. 

The main drama of the issue comes from The TARDIS sealing itself off, without instruction, leaving The Doctor and Leonov trapped on the Russian ship with a limited amount of power and life-support.  This troubles me somewhat as this sealing happened when the Doctor and Leonov were two seconds away from entering the TARDIS.  This leaves the main drama of the issue seeming incredibly forced.  I will credit Fialkov with having a unique storyline this time and in breaking with the usual British-centered view of Doctor Who to explore the reality of a real-life historical figure who has been largely ignored by Western historians.
 

While I may quibble about Fialkov's take on The Doctor, I have no complaints about the artwork.  Reminsicent of Mike Allred though somewhat more photo-realistic, Horacio Domingues and Andres Ponce do a fine job of depicting the action and caricaturing The Doctor with their pencils.  Inker Ruben Gonzales keeps the shadows mercifully thin throughout most of the book, adding to the horror once the darkness does become apparent.

All in all, this isn't a bad issue to pick-up if you're a Doctor Who fan looking for further adventures in print form.  The artwork is enjoyable and the story is well-paced despite whatever issues I may have with how goofy The Doctor is written and the forced-drama of the TARDIS sealing itself against "its' thief".  

I Vampire #1 - A Review

The New 52 has seen several oddities among its’ new titles. Far from being a solid line of superhero books, we have seen new series from a wide variety of genres – from war stories to westerns. Even so, it was surprising to see such an obscure story as I, Vampire – a series which barely lasted two years as part of the House of Mystery anthology book - be given a (pardon the pun) revamp. Then again, with Twilight, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries still being a popular part of the cultural zeitgeist, I suppose it only makes sense for DC Comics to tap into a market hungry for more dramatic tales of blood-sucking beasts.

Most of us have had issues with an ex. I would guess, however, that few of us have had our issues reach the point of causing a potential global catastrophe. Such is the case for Andrew Bennett – the titular hero of I, Vampire. A vampire who has still – somehow – maintained his conscience and code of honor in the wake of his vampirism, Andrew has awoken to discover a city in chaos. Andrew’s lover and vampiric child – a woman named Mary – has apparently grown tired of life in the shadows and has become convinced that with her powers she can take over the world, even with all the superbeings standing in her way. Dubbing herself The Queen of Blood, Mary has raised an army of vampires and set upon the human world. As the book opens, Andrew has set about trying to stop her…

I’ve never read anything by Joshua Hale Fialkov before, although I heard good things about his Elk’s Run series and what I’ve read here would encourage me to seek out more of his work. While the idea of the vampire hero trying to reign in his more blood-thirsty kin may not seem original to today’s audiences, the original I Vampire came at a time when such a concept was quite novel. Fiakov makes the concept his own, presenting both Andrew and Mary as sympathetic characters. Indeed, Mary – who took her vampirism as a gesture of empowerment at a time when few women were allowed any control over their lives – comes off as somewhat more likeable as Andrew, who merely wishes to be left alone… right up until we see just how depraved her vampiric nature has made her. Fiakov also does a good job of establishing the ground rules for vampires in this reality - i.e. as in Dracula, they can shape-shift into various forms and sunlight doesn’t kill vampires but it does make them unable to use their powers and they don’t like it much.

There have been a lot of dark, washed-out books to come out of the New 52 line but in this case I think the style is appropriate. Don’t expect any of Stephenie Meyer’s pretty-boys or even a fair but vicious Ann Rice vampire here. These vampires are feral beasties and Andrea Sorrentino’s pencils reflect that clearly, with even the human-looking Andrew appearing to be slightly “off” compared to the normal humans. Sorrention’s inks leave most of the individual figures obscured in heavy shadows, with thick outlines that threaten to overtake them. This creates an effect that is reminiscent of the art of Mike Mignola. Colorist Marcelo Maiolo complements this with a palette of greys and browns that further place this book in an world of half-shadows and weak lights, with the only white being the pale, unnatural skin of the vampires.

All in all, I enjoyed this title. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but I think fans of The Walking Dead or Hellboy will enjoy the artwork. Likewise, fans of stories where the vampires are real monsters will appreciate the story, so I’d recommend this to fans of Buffy & Angel, American Vampire and the old Forever Knight TV series. Twi-hards need not apply.