Review: Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Year Two No.5

Comics that break the 'fourth wall' (ie: address the reader directly) are far from original (The Beano has been doing it for at least 60 years) but Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Year Two No.5 offers us a new spin on it. In this latest offering from London-based Titan Comics, scriptwriter Robbie Morrison and artist Rachael Stott (with colourist Marcio Menys) give us a Doctor Who story that has the Doctor trapped inside a comic, telling us "Don't turn the page!". Naturally we do. Who could resist a Morrison/Stott comic? 

The story is set in contemporary London, at a comics store called Prohibited Sphere Megastore (yep, you get it). The Doctor and Clara are on a mission from UNIT to find out about energy fluctuations and disappearing customers. 

The tale moves along at a great pace, and the cause of the mystery is soon revealed; comics that suck the reader into the story, - literally, replacing them with brilliantly designed new Doctor Who monsters called The Boneless. And it gets even more bizarre from then on. 

Robbie Morrison is an excellent writer who doesn't waste a moment in his scripts, and combined with Rachael Stott's intricate and lively artwork the result is a fluidly told, enjoyable thriller. If you haven't read any of the issues in this series you're missing out on one of the best UK comics around. This is a complete story in one issue so give it a try. (If you don't have access to a comic shop or online sellers have sold out, this story will most likely reappear in a few months time in Titan's newsstand comic Tales of the Tardis: Doctor Who, available from WH Smith.)