Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor #5 - A Review

Once upon a time, Mickey Smith was an idiot. Time and travels with The Doctor changed that. Ten years later, "Mickey The Idiot" has a wife (another former companion of The Doctor) and together they are two of the few people on Earth capable of dealing with alien menaces independent of UNIT and Torchwood.

When strange energy emissions in San Francisco transform several people - including his wife - into gargoyles after briefly giving them super-powers, Mickey knows he needs to call The Doctor for help. There's just one problem - The Doctor who answers the call is the one from 10 years in his past, who still only knows him as Mickey The Idiot! So now Mickey has to help The Doctor save the day while keeping The Doctor ignorant of his wife's identity and staying out of the sight of The Doctor's companions. No pressure.


Unfortunately, this second half of The Transformed doesn't live up to the concept presented in Part One. Cavan Scott abandons the farcical humor of bouncing the 2016 Mickey Smith off The Ninth Doctor in favor of straight up action. This might work if the plot didn't require Rose and Jack to act uncharacteristically stupid, beyond the point of mere recklessness.

A large problem is the artwork, which seems uncharacteristically rushed.  While Adriana Melo's close-ups look fair enough, most of the action sequences are little more than sketches. Indeed, were it not for the color art of Matheus Lopes, I'd think I was looking at the rough sketches made before the final artwork!

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor #3 - Advance Review

The good news is that an attempt by The Slitheen to disrupt a peace conference on the planet Clix has failed. The bad news is that - in an attempt to strengthen the bond between the worlds involved - the Slitheen agent involved has been sentenced to death by hunting... along with their hostage Rose Tyler, who was wrongly identified as an accomplice!

Naturally, The Doctor is ready to move the stars themselves to save his companion. But a bigger problem awaits him, as someone besides The Slitheen is also out to ruin the conference in a most fatal way! An unthinkable alliance may be the only thing that can save everyone...

Everything about the Ninth Doctor series astounds me. Cavan Scott has perfectly captured the voices of each of the individual characters from the series. And the artwork by Adriana Melo and Matheus Lopes looks amazing!

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor #3 arrives in stores on June 29, 2016.

All-New Wolverine #9 - A Review

Laura Kinney doesn't work for SHIELD but she is willing to lend a hand when Maria Hill asks nicely and pays for her take-out. It seems they lost an agent investigating some new bio-weapon, which turned out to be pheromones meant to attract Fin Fang Foom. And the missing agent turns out to be an alternate universe version of the original Wolverine, from the future. And those facts are the least strange thing about the day the all-new Wolverine is about to have.


The cover may say this is a Civil War II tie-in but Tom Taylor keeps the script mercifully free of any reference to that event, save for gratuitous (and hilarious) cameos by Iron Man and Captain Marvel. This issue is high on laughs and short on drama, which is as it should be.

Marcio Takara's artwork is most enjoyable. The lack of backgrounds and pixelated skies in some panels threw me off a little bit but his character designs are good and the action of the issue flows well. And Matheus Lopes continues to impress with his color work.

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor #2 - Advance Review

Receiving mysterious messages from yourself is hardly the most unusual thing to happen on The TARDIS, but it does prompt The Doctor, Rose Tyler and the amnesiac Captain Jack Harkness to follow a strange signal seemingly sent by Captain Jack himself. The trail leads to a world where The Doctor - or someone very much like him - is a reality TV sensation. Now, as Jack and The Doctor are arrested for causing a public nuisance, Rose has tracked down the fake Doctor and discovered that he's one of their old enemies, The Slitheen, in disguise...



The Ninth Doctor is one of my favorite incarnations of The Doctor, so I was quite pleased when this monthly series was announced following last year's Ninth Doctor mini-series. I was doubly pleased when it was announced that Cavan Scott, who penned said mini-series, would be staying on as the writer for the monthly book. Scott's script feels just like a lost Series One episode. The artwork by Adriana Melo - while a little over-inked at some points - proves largely enjoyable and presents the action of the story well. And the colors by Matheus Lopes are well-chosen throughout.

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor #2 is due out May 25th, 2016.