Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Three #11 - A Review

Stumbling across a powerless cargo ship in the middle of deep space is par for the course when The Doctor takes The TARDIS out to run a simple errand. It turned out to be far worse than a dead battery, however, as Bill quickly discovered the ship's cargo included 500 Heavenly Hosts and the ship's crew were mysteriously disappearing. Has this batch of Hosts gone bad?  Or is there something even more sinister on the ship?


Francesco Manna's artwork continues to be the worst aspect of this series. As in last month's issue, the level of detail varies wildly from panel to panel as does the quality of inking. Some pages such as the one above, are well-done. Others, like the one below, feature backgrounds that are ornately displayed with characters that seem to have escaped from a quick sketch! Another problem is there's often very little relation between a character's expression and the mood indicated by the dialogue.


I'd like to say that Richard Dinnick has redeemed himself this month after a rather static and cliched opening. Unfortunately, this issue sees The Doctor spending most of the issue pushing buttons while Bill gets into trouble. Cliched? A bit. And I'm afraid I jinxed myself with a comment in last month's review that has me actively dreading the next issue.

The Final Score: 5 out of 10. Competently done, mostly, but only the most devout of Whovians can stomach this one.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Three #10 - A Review

A space station adrift. A suspicious lack of crew. A prime target for investigation, if you are The Doctor.







If you commanded a creative team to craft the most cliched Doctor Who story possible, they might come up with something close to Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Three #10. Granting that the series was built on certain tropes, one expects better of Richard Dinnick than the standard "starbase under siege" story. The one saving grace is that, despite the word "Angel" in the title, the story does not involve the return of played-out Weeping Angels.

The artwork by Francesco Manna is surprisingly uneven, given his excellent work on the Dejah Thoris/Irene Adler team-up series. While doing a good job of caricaturing the cast, the level of detail used in rendering the characters frequently differs in individual panels. There's also some proportion problems, with Nardole looking like a small child next to The Doctor at one point. The colors by Hi-Fi, however, are fantastic.

The Final Analysis: 4/10.  This team could and should have done better.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Three #7 - An Advanced Review/Preview

Following an unexpected detour to a barren Atlantic island in the 9th century, The Doctor and his companion Bill Potts found themselves caught in the middle of a stand-off between a group of Viking settlers and a team of Martian Ice Warriors. Thankfully, The Doctor was able to convince both sides to work together against a common menace - the sentient virus known as The Flood!

It beggars coincidence that two of The Doctor's old enemies should encounter each other in this place at this time. When another monster from The Doctor's past emerges, he can hazard a guess as to who is responsible. However, that knowledge may not be enough to save The Doctor and his allies even if he is correct!





The artwork fails this final chapter of The Wolves of Winter. Three artists working on a single issue rarely produces a quality work and the old adage about too many cooks proves accurate here. Even if the visual continuity weren't shattered by the wildly varied styles at play, there's no comparison between the levels of quality presented by the artists involved.

It's a damn shame because Richard Dinnick's story is a brilliant one and it deserved a better presentation. Weaving together the strands of older Doctor Who tales as the base for his own epic, Dinnick has managed the near-impossible. The Wolves of Winter is that rare continuity-driven story that is easily accessible to new readers. Fans of Classic Who and New Who alike will enjoy this Twelfth Doctor tale... if they can just get past the artwork.

The Final Analysis: 6 out of 10. Richard Dinnick wrote a great story but they should have let Brian Williamson draw the whole thing.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Three #7 releases September 20, 2017. 

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

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Three #6 - An Advanced Review/Preview

Unexpectedly arriving at the site of a Viking expedition, The Doctor and Bill were stunned to find they were not the only recently arrived visitors from the heavens. The good news is that the other new arrivals - a party of Ice Warriors - are not looking for a fight. The bad news is they've come to Earth to dispose of a threat from their home-world of Mars - the sentient, water-traveling virus known as The Flood!




As a Doctor Who trivia buff, I love it whenever the media outside of the show attempts to build upon the mythology and link certain elements. In this case, everyone's favorite Martian frienemies - The Ice Warriors - are finally given a connection to the menace from The Tenth Doctor's penultimate adventure, The Waters of Mars. Yet this second chapter of The Wolves of Winter proves a ripping yarn on its own merits and shows Richard Dinnick to be a skald as skilled at spinning tales as he is recanting history. Paired with the amazing art of Brian Williamson and the colors of Hi-Fi, this book should be on every Whovian's pull list.

The Final Analysis: 10 out of 10.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Three #6 releases August 23, 2017. 

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

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Three #3 - An Advanced Review/Preview

Lost and lonely following a loss he can't define, The Twelfth Doctor returns to his old companion Hattie Munroe - a 40th century rock star whom he met once before she hit it big. In need of an escape from her own success, Hattie agreed to go get some fish and chips for old time's sake. Little did they realize they'd wind up stuck in the middle of a British sea-side town under siege by strange swamp monsters and psychic attacks!

This second chapter of Beneath The Waves is vintage Doctor Who. George Mann's script builds the tension of the story beautifully. The artwork by Marian Laclaustra and Fer Centurion looks fantastic throughout, presenting some truly astonishing visuals. This is one Doctor Who comic that every fan of the show should be reading.

The Final Analysis: 8 out of 10.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Three #3 releases May 17, 2017. 

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

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

The Doctor's plan to take comic creators Sonny and Val off on a tour of the Universe was all going so well... until they landed on a planet of Mindmorphs intent on stealing their minds! Will the creative duo be able to channel their talents in order to save the Doctor? Or is this partnership, and the minds of all on the planet, beyond saving?






The first thought I had upon reading this issue was "Oh, so this is The Doctor vs. the giant brains from Futurama?" The second thought I had upon reading this issue was, "Holy crap! That's awesome! The Doctor is fighting the giant brains from Futurama!"

In fairness, the idea of intelligence-draining aliens has been a standard science-fiction trope for years as has the idea of human ingenuity overcoming alien logic. Robbie Morrison's script for this issue may not be the most unique Doctor Who has ever seen. What it lacks in originality, however, it more than makes up for in wit and execution. It's a fun read, plain and simple.

Rachael Stott's artwork helps contribute to that exciting aura of enjoyment. Her pencils and character designs are as bold and bright as The Doctor himself, made bolder still by Rod Fernandes' colors. Hopefully they'll continue to hang around for Year Three because this is one fantastic-looking book!

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #14 - An Advanced Review/Preview

I can't really say a lot about the latest Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor issue without giving away the game. As you can guess from the preview above, there's a bit of metatextual humor at play but Robbie Morrison's script goes beyond this loving parody to tell a story with heart. That story is brought to life with equal care by Rachael Stott's stunning artwork and Rod Fernandes' colors. If you haven't been reading the comic-book adventures of The Doctor, this is a great issue to start with.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #14 releases February 1, 2017. 

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

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #13 - An Advanced Review/Preview

The year is 1695 and a Darkness rules France. Literal Darkness, as it happens - an alien intelligence of living shadow. The Doctor and a feisty lady he had occasion to meet - the hard-drinking, sword-fighting, opera-singing Julie D'Aubigny - have made haste to warn The King of the plot against him. Unfortunately, The King has already been given over to The Darkness...





Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #13 proves a worthy conclusion to a fantastic story-line. Those fans who were left wanting more by this year's Christmas special and the long wait for Series Ten will find this book the perfect thing to satisfy their cravings. Robbie Morrison weaves a wonderful tale that is well matched by the artwork of Mariano Lacustra, Fer Centurion and Hernan Cabera.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #13 releases January 4, 2017. 

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

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #12 - An Advanced Review/Preview

Newly arrived in 17th Century Paris, The Doctor has noticed that several things are amiss. For one thing, Cardinal Richelieu is still alive and kicking some fifty years after he was meant to have died. For another, humans don't normally bleed darkness out of their eyes. In the face of that, a hard-drinking, sword-swinging red-haired virago of a soprano demanding a duel over The Doctor insulting her singing is the least of his problems. Yet Julie D'Aubigny may prove to be a grand companion for The Doctor... assuming she doesn't kill him first!



There is much to admire about this latest Twelfth Doctor story. The lightly inked and vividly depicted colors craft the aura of an oil-painting. This matches the swashbuckling tone of the story quite well and Julie D'Aubigny has immediately proven herself to be the most interesting of The Doctor's companions in some time. In saying that, I must confess a bias to companions from Earth's past and a personal wish we had more characters like Jamie and Leela in the current series. Regardless, this is a great issue of a great series.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #12 releases on November 30, 2016. 

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

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #10 - An Advanced Review/Preview

A spooky old house full of antiques might get The Doctor's attention on a slow day. A spooky old house full of antiques leaking temporal radiation will definitely get his attention. Of course The Doctor has no explanation for why the insides of the house keep changing or where a young mother's husband and children have wound up. Then the answer hits him - the house was holding a TARDIS that was near death! And unless they can find an exit soon, they'll be trapped at ground zero of an explosion that will destroy The Earth and a good chunk of the dimensional space around it!





While the revelation behind the mystery house in last month's issue was a tad predictable, George Mann made it an amusing read. That amusement carries into this issue, with a unique twist on the old Doctor Who cliche about everything ultimately devolving into people running down corridors. Thankfully, Rachael Stott proves quite adept at depicting people running down corridors and many of the background visuals in this issue are quite striking. The colors of Rodrigo Fernandes help bring the finished artwork to life.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #10 releases on October 19, 2016. 

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

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #9 - An Advanced Review/Preview

The Doctor and his latest companion - 41st century punk rocker Hattie - were enjoying a jam session when The TARDIS detected something strange. It led them to a spooky old house that was leaking temporal radiation. It smelled dangerous and looked like a trap, but The Doctor loves a good mystery and dove into the house in search of  adventure.





While readers are likely to solve the mystery long before The Doctor manages it, George Mann still crafts an entertaining romp in Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #9. Despite the Gothic under-trappings, the tale told here is a light, amusing one well-suited to Rachael Stott's art style and the vivid colors of Alexandre Siqueira. This book will be a welcome treat for all Whovians as we anxiously await the beginning of Series Ten.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #9 releases on September 28, 2016. 

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

Doctor Who: Supremacy of the Cybermen #2 - A Review

Banished from Gallifrey by The Doctor's Twelfth incarnation, the Time Lord President Rassilon has formed an unthinkable alliance with The Cybermen. Granted the power to travel through time, The Cybermen have begun to propagate themselves through time and space, threatening prehistoric Earth, the Sontaran Empire and even Gallifrey itself! Thankfully, The Doctor has a habit of arriving wherever and whenever he's needed... but now the universe needs four Doctors to save it!




The good news is that the artwork in the second issue of Supremacy of the Cybermen is far more consistent than it was in the first issue. The bad news is that the artwork is now consistently awful.

Ivan Rodriguez is easily the worst artist to be employed on any of the Doctor Who comics since Titan Comics took over the licence. At best, his artwork resembles off-model coloring-book pages. At worst, they resemble animation cels from The Legend of Zelda CD-i games. Colorist Nicola Righi doesn't help matters, with her bright-hued palettes being so inappropriate to what is meant to be a dark, disturbing story that it makes even those pages handled by Walter Geovani look terrible!

The most damnable part of this remains that there is a great Doctor Who story underneath all the rushed, shoddy artwork. George Mann and Cavan Scott are two fantastic writers and it's a damn shame they couldn't be teamed with artists who could match their vision. Maybe we'll get lucky and Walter Geovani will pencil the next issue by hmself?

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #8 - A Review

The secret behind the space colony called The Twist has been revealed!  The Twist's human population were created by the alien Foxkin,who discovered the dead colony and cloned new human settlers before turning to hide in the underground places of The Twist. The Foxkin hierarchy wish to stay hidden, fearing that humanity will turn to violence if they discover the aliens in their midst. It is not an unjust fear but The Doctor - with the aid of rebellious Humans and Foxkin alike- will attempt to stop the oncoming race war through the power of punk rock.


By all rights, this should be a laughably silly comic. The idea of The Doctor fighting bigotry with a concert in order to stave off the worst impulses of two societies ruled by hatred and fear respectively should not work. And yet, under George Mann's pen, the idea not only works but is elevated into the sort of legendary story that defines the Doctor Who oeuvre.


The artwork for this series continues to astound. Backed by two able assistants, Mariano Laclustra's pencils have never looked better. And the color art by Carlos Cabrera gives this issue the appearance of having been painted. The final effect delivers some of the most glorious artwork ever seen in a Doctor Who comic.

Doctor Who: Supremacy of the Cybermen #1 - A Review

In 2006, The Doctor and his companions Rose Tyler and Captain Jack Harkness return to the London of Rose's time to find The Cybermen are three days into an invasion of Earth...

Meanwhile, in a null zone in 24th Century Deep Space, The Doctor and his companions, Gabby Gonzales and Cindy Wu, discover that the largest shopping mall in the universe has been taken over by cyborg Sontarans...

Earlier, on a prehistoric Earth, The Doctor and his companion Alice Obiefune - in the middle of retrieving some long-extinct fruit for The Doctor's friend Madame Vastra - learn that The Silurians of that time have become physically enhanced by some kind of technology...

And near the end of Time itself, The Doctor arrives on the planet of Karn, seeking a path to Gallifrey in order to investigate what is causing tsunamis that threaten to pull apart the whole of the space time vortex...



The first chapter of Supremacy of the Cybermen proves to be something of a mixed bag. The script by George Mann and Cavan Scott is fantastic, establishing the setting and the various Doctors and their companions with great efficiency. The action sequences are all thrilling and the dialogue is true to form for all the characters involved.

The problem lies in the artwork, which I'm sad to say is mediocre at best. With three artists and two colorists at work on this book, there's very little sense of uniformity between the various sections. This would be bad enough with great artists utilizing dissimilar styles but the sections involving the Ninth and Eleventh Doctors are outright amateurish. The characters look off-model, continually caught with their faces in odd expressions, with Jackie Tyler looking the same age as her daughter in some panels and like a melting wax figure in others!

Is it worth suffering through for a good story?  So far, yes. But art snobs may do well to avoid this trip on the TARDIS.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #7 - Advance Review

A trip to a punk rock show on the 41st century space colony known as The Twist has led The Doctor to another adventure. Following a strange running man and dragging bass player Hattie along for the ride, The Doctor has uncovered a conspiracy - one beyond simply seeing an innocent man framed for murder - that may shake The Twist to its very core! And it involves the odd fox-like people who live in the tunnels underneath the streets of The Twist.


George Mann has done it again! The story for this series is classic Doctor Who goodness, filled to the brim with references to the classic series while still being easily accessible to new readers. And the artwork is the finest we've yet to see from Mariano Laclaustra, Carlos Cabrera and the rest of the art team.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #7 is due out on June 29th, 2016.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #6 - Advance Review

Companions come and go, but the departure of Clara Oswald  has left The Doctor feeling even more melancholy than he usually gets after being left alone. Still, there are things one can do more easily when traveling alone, which leads The Doctor to expand his horizons and go to see some of the best bands in the history of the universe. Of course, being The Doctor, he can't help but get involved when he sees a man running through a crowd as if all of Hell was chasing after him, nor can he help dragging along 40th-century punk bass-player Hattie for the ride.




I was astonished by the artwork for this issue. I found Mariano Laclaustra's previous work on other Doctor Who comics to be uninspired at best. Looking at this issue, however, I now think the previous problems may have been due to the color artist rather than Laclaustra's pencils and inks. The finished artwork for this issue is, in a word, stunning and that's due in large part to the color art by Carlos Cabrera and Thiago Riberio. So if you ever doubted the power a colorist has to influence a comic, look to this issue and the above splash-page of the world known as "The Twist" for the proof.

The story is equally excellent. Admittedly, I'm a bit biased as a fan of George Mann's work to date, but this issue proves that Mann is as capable of crafting original characters as he is writing established ones like Clara and The Doctor. Hattie is an interesting figure from what little we've seen of her in action, so far, but it seems likely she'll be a worthy addition to Titan Comics' line of original comic-book companions.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #6 is due out on May 25th, 2016.