Courtesy of Titan Comics Courtesy of Titan Comics
So this is the first Doctor Who comic that I’ve ever read, and while I consider myself a junior Whovian, I’m not quite familiar with the Eighth Doctor. This is why I was excited to read Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor #1 out now via Titan Comics. I wanted to become familiar with this version of our favorite Gallifreyan.
The Doctor returns to his cottage to find that a young local artist named Josie Day has set up shop in his place and has been painting to her heart’s content (and rearranging a few of this things in the process). She’s struggling to make it big, but she has been able to sell a few paintings to a few of the locals who have her pieces hanging in living rooms and even the local pub. At first, The Doctor is consumed with finding his copy of Jane Eyre for his next trip, but when Ms. Fellowes, one of the local women, comes bearing unfortunate tidings, the three of them have to investigate the strange phenomenon affecting Josie’s paintings coming to life and wreaking havoc in the town. Now, The Doctor figures out the reason for this, naturally, and it has to do with Josie herself. After resolving the issue of the paintings, The Doctor and Josie embark on an adventure that will take them to Lumin’s Word in the second issue of Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor, but also to figure out why Josie is dripping in animae particles.
To be honest, this first issue was just “meh” for me. It’s standard Doctor Who but I guess I’ve been spoiled by the exploits on the show because there wasn’t anything especially fascinating about the first issue. The story was relatively predictable and while I’m sure that writer George Mann has much more exciting fare under his sleeve for the series, I was left hoping that the second issue would be more exciting, as opposed to looking forward to it because the first issue was so good. I’ve read several of Mann’s works, so I’m not a stranger to his writing style. I just felt that to start, the first story could have been more titillating. I will say that Mann did an outstanding job of making The Doctor utterly charming in a roguish sort of way. I just felt that there wasn’t much adventure, not compare to some of the The Doctor’s past exploits.
Now the art is a totally different story. Artist Emma Vieceli and colorist Hi-Fi brought this comic to life despite the less than captivating story with vibrant colors and shading techniques that really make the reader focus on the characters’ actions or what they are saying, which kept things light and added a badly needed sense of daring to the story.
So, as a Whovian, I’m still in for this comic miniseries starring the Eighth Doctor, but I do hope that forthcoming offerings are a bit more invigorating to read.