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.)

Morrison and Stott's Doctor Who No.2 in stores today

One of the most talented new artists to emerge on the comics scene in recent years is Rachael Stott, who first came to reader's attention by illustrating the Star Trek/Planet of the Apes mini-series for IDW. Her fluid style and attention to detail has already earned her the respect of her peers and fans alike, and she's currently wowing Doctor Who fans with her work on Titan Comics' 12th Doctor comics. 

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor No.2 (series 2) will be on sale in comics speciality shops today. As it's written by Robbie Morrison, the imaginative author of 2000AD's Nikolai Dante series, you're already guaranteed an enjoyable and well scripted story but add Rachael Stott on art and you've hit the jackpot. 

For those of you who don't live near a comics shop, never fear. The story will soon be reprinted in Titan's newsstand edition of Doctor Who Comic. But for those of you who do shop at Forbidden Planet etc, pick up a copy of Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor today. (And issue 1 too if you don't already have it.)

To read a preview of the first few pages, visit Comic Book Resources at this link:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/comic-previews/doctor-who-twelfth-doctor-2-point-2-titan-comics-2015    

The new Doctor Who Comic is here!

Today saw the launch of Titan's new Doctor Who Comic in UK newsagents (although so far I've only seen it in WH Smith). I was surprised to see that the format is A4, rather than the US format of the Titan and Panini comics. Also, Smiths are displaying it in the young children's comics section with The Beano, Dora the Explorer, Angry Birds Magazine etc rather than alongside Doctor Who Magazine, 2000AD, and the aforementioned other Titan and Panini comics. I can't help feeling its intended age group may pass it by as Doctor Who Comic is aimed at a more sophisticated reader than the juvenile titles it's sharing its shelves with but presumably Titan have good reasons for doing it. 

The comic itself is a squarebound 84 page publication with exactly the same paper quality that Titan's CLiNT comic had. The content repackages the first issues of the recent individual Doctor Who comics that are sold in specialist comic shops. So we get long episodes featuring the 12th Doctor by Robbie Morrison and Dave Taylor, the 11th Doctor by Al Ewing, Rob Williams and Simon Fraser, and the 10th Doctor by Nick Abadzis and Elena Casagrande. Excellent value for £3.99 considering each story would cost around £3.00 each in its original format. 

These are top quality stories by top people in the comics industry, most of whom are based in the UK. I'm reluctant to call this publication a 'reprint comic' in the same way that, say, The Mighty World of Marvel is because the strips have only very recently appeared in their original format a few months ago, also by the same publisher. I'd rather consider this a 'British edition' than a reprint, in the same way that books have editions in different countries. But I suppose most will still regard it as a reprint comic so each to their own of course. 

In any case it's good to see another comic on the UK newsstands. Let's hope it proves to be a success! If you have trouble finding it in newsagents you can subscribe to it here:
http://titan.subscribeonline.co.uk/subscriptions/doctor-who-comic?offerCode=DWC1TM

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By the way, to correct an assumption a few have made, this new comic does not replace Doctor Who Magazine or Doctor Who Adventures, nor does it feature the same strips. They're three different publications by three different publishers. 

Titan launch new Doctor Who comic

Titan Comics have today launched the first issue of Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor. This is a new companion title to their recently published Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor and Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor ongoing comics. 

Written by Robbie Morrison (Nikolai Dante, White Death) and with stunning artwork by Dave Taylor (Judge Dredd), Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor is in the standard format of American comics and on sale in comic speciality shops (not newsagents or supermarkets). 

(Please note that this is not related to Panini's Doctor Who Magazine which continues to publish every four weeks.)

Here's the press release from Titan.....

DON’T MISS THE STUNNING DEBUT OF THE TWELFTH DOCTOR’S ALL-NEW COMICS ADVENTURES!

Offering shocks, surprises, and galaxy-shaking revelations, seasoned TARDIS pilot Robbie Morrison (Drowntown, The Authority, 2000AD, Nikolai Dante) and New York Times-bestselling artist Dave Taylor (Batman: Death by Design; 2000AD) mark the start of their first five-issue run by diving headfirst into the console room and pulling all the levers they can – spinning the new Doctor off to his most challenging destination yet!

Freshly regenerated and with a new head full of unanswered questions, the Doctor (as played by Peter Capaldi) whisks Clara Oswald (as played by Jenna Coleman) away to a strange and distant world.

Clara thought she was in for an evening of marking essays on the Metaphysical Poets, followed by going out on a date – or at least trying to. You know, normal stuff.

Instead, she’s facing down exotic flora and fauna in her best dress, backing up the Doctor on a trek through traumatically alien undergrowth – and she doesn’t even know what the Doctor is searching for, or what will try to kill them should they find it!

New Face! New Doctor! New Beginning! Get in on the ground floor of this amazing ongoing series!

Now read the first four pages of issue 1 with this special preview:

Many variant covers have been printed for this first issue. See them all here: 

http://titan-comics.com/news/issue-1-variant-covers-for-doctor-who-the-twelfth-/

Robbie Morrison and Charlie Adlard interviewed

Back in 1998 writer Robbie Morrison and artist Charlie Adlard collaborated on White Death, a graphic novel set in the harrowing times of World War One. The book was re-released in 2002, and is now out of print. However, a new hardback edition is set to be published by Image Comics next month, and you can read about it here:
https://imagecomics.com/content/view/the-horrors-of-world-war-i-in-white-death

Robbie and Charlie were recently interviewed about the book at the Edinburgh Book Festival and you can watch it on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmfe0yPt2r4

White Death can be ordered from Amazon UK by clicking here.

Comics in the news

Just a brief post today to highlight a few items on comics that were in the national news this week. 

White Death, the 1998 graphic novel by Robbie Morrison and Charlie Adlard is set for a smart new reissue in August. The BBC News Scotland website recently interviewed the creators about the production of the book. A very interesting look behind the scenes of how a comic is put together:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-27156304


The hugely successful Peppa Pig magazine for pre-school children was in the news on Tuesday. Its popularity has led to Disney to allow publisher Redan the license to package magazines featuring Mickey Mouse and Marvel Super-Heroes for the American market.
http://www.shropshirestar.com/shropshire-business/2014/05/13/disney-delight-for-peppa-pigs-shropshire-publisher/


...and finally, on Monday, London's Leicester Square was inundated by 250 X-Men cosplayers in an attempt to achieve the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of X-Men characters in one place:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=izbPGq_Vru8

Thanks to Debbie Tate and Yel Zamor for the links.