Comics Review
Doctor Who The Ninth Doctor#1 Review
Ninth Doctor Returns
Tripwire’s Contributing Writer and Doctor Who maven Rob Cave reviews Titan Comics’ Doctor Who The Ninth Doctor#1, which kicks off their ongoing series…
Doctor Who The Ninth Doctor#1
Writer: Cavan Scott
Artist: Adriana Melo with Mateus Lopes
Titan Comics
One thing is clear from the outset of this comic – writer Cavan Scott knows Doctor Who, and knows how best to grab his audience’s attention. On the very first page he dumps us right in the middle of the action with the Ninth Doctor running from a monster with Rose and Captain Jack Harkness in tow. It might not be revolutionary, but it works and the sequence that follows efficiently indicates to attentive Who fans everywhere that we are reading a story set just before the events of the TV episode Boom Town, a great gaping continuity gap full of unseen adventures merely hinted at on screen. Rightly or wrongly, it is just the sort of thing that tantalises Doctor who fans, and teasing fans, in a very much affectionate and playful manner, is at the core of this book. There are plenty of references to Who fandom, (particularly the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year), to the continuity of the time war and to that almost forgotten subplot about the gap in Captain Harkness’s memory back during his Time Agent days. There are even a few pointers that go even further back to the classic series, with fake versions of the Chumblies from Galaxy Four and Jon Pertwee’s Whomobile. Importantly, this is all done with a very light touch. You don’t need to have watched all 50-odd years of Doctor Who to understand what’s going on, but I’d be lying if I said my enjoyment wasn’t enhanced by these little nods to the past.
But what really sold this tale to me is the way the creative team really captures the flavour, the mood, the essence of the first series of what is often referred to as Nu Who, even down to the villain revealed at the end of the issue. Adriana Melo’s art is dynamic and is full of the same energy that made the Ninth Doctor’s sole season such a rating success, that her flowing rendition of Rose’s hair reminds me very much of 90s X-Factor artist Larry Stroman’s work is just a personal bonus for me.
So what we have here is in many ways the ideal spin-off comic, one that expands and enriches what we have already seen in the televised adventures, and that captures its energy while remaining exciting enough in its own right to make you want to find out what happens next after the big reveal cliff hanger, what more could you want than that? Well, maybe having the next issue right now.
ROBERT CAVE
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