Here we go. The first edition of “Today’s Comic”. A comic review a day. Maybe I can enjoy my reading again, and get stuff done when I don’t have to review them all in one day. It’s going to take me time to adjust my layout, I think, but for now we’ll stick with the old one.
Doctor Who #7
IDW Publishing (January 2010)
WRITER: Tony Lee
ARTIST: Al Davidson
COLORIST: Lovern Kindzierski
LETTERER: Neil Uyetake
EDITOR: Denton J. Tipton
COVER “A” (shown): Paul Grist (artist) and Phil Elliot (colorist)
COVER “B” (also used in the incentive cover without titles): Al Davidson
The Doctor and his new traveling companions, Emily and Matthew, are checking out the wardrobe room. Suddenly, another ship ends up merged with the TARDIS, which will explode if the Doctor can’t find where the control room went to. The ship is an invading group led by the Advocate, who decides to tell Matthew all about Adric and Turlough, former Companions to the Doctor. (One can bet her version will be slightly off from the truth.) Meanwhile, Emily wants to wipe out the intruders, and the Doctor finds one of the old control rooms (the one from the TV movie).
What they got right: I was so happy to see Matthew and Emily were indeed going to be companions, and Lee’s kept their data handy. Both characters are in keeping with how they were when we last saw them, including Emily, who references her changing in the first arc of the ongoing. The character models match as well, but since the artist for that arc, Al Davidson, is back in charge, that’s not surprising. We get looks at the old control rooms and wall styles, and Davidson did his homework, even using the brickface areas that showed up in the show before (probably budget issues, and I wish I remembered which Tom Baker episode it was off the top of my head). We also get a bit of mystery (at least for me, as I haven’t watched the new series in a while) when Emily reaches for a gun (Lella revisited?) and the Doctor tells her “not that one–that’s reserved for someone. Someone who hasn’t turned up yet.” Makes me curious. Also, “the Advocate” or whatever her real name here, is a great foil for the Doctor, and he doesn’t even know she’s still alive, much less his enemy.
But what I really like, and it deserves its own paragraph, is that this story is set in the TARDIS. I enjoy those stories, as the TARDIS is sometimes a bigger mystery than the Doctor himself. In fact, if you were to ask me which classic Who episodes are must sees, The Edge of Destruction is high on the list partly because of how it gave us a glimpse into the nature of the ship (but mostly because of the characters), and the TARDIS was only depicted with two or three rooms at the time. Continuity porn is really done right in this issue, both visually as well as in the dialog. (Check the scene in the beginning, where the Doctor is wearing various bits of his old costumes.)
What they got wrong: Emily’s shirt and pants don’t match? Really, there’s not much negative here.
Recommendation: This could end up being the best IDW Who story yet, or a major letdown. Prior experience with this team, however, leads me to believe the former.
Best Scene of the Comic
Yeah, I’m thinking that I’ll do a “Best Scene” for each comic, with a “Best Scene of the Week” award as part of the Sunday Wrap-Up article. In other words, these are the nominees. And the nominee for this comic?
Oh, the mouse. I thought he was asking us if we wanted Mickey Smith back on board. 🙂
Usually, I’ll end it there. Just so you know tomorrow. 🙂
BW Media Spotlight 