Villordsutch reviews Doctor Who: Tenth Doctor #4…
In exchange for the invaluable assistance she offered defending New York – and to say sorry for dropping into her life like a tornado! – the Doctor has promised Gabby one trip – just one trip! – in the TARDIS. With the whole universe laid before her, all of time and space, where will Gabriella Gonzalez choose to go? What will they find when they get there… and can one trip in the TARDIS ever be enough? More importantly, the Tenth Doctor has been hurt by the fate of his companions before – and recently! With Donna still fresh in his mind, can Gabby convince him that he shouldn’t travel alone, for just a little while longer?
It’s our second Tenth Doctor story already from Titan Comics, and with our first giving us a full-on sprint of energy our next tale – rather wisely – from Nick Abadzis easies off on the throttle for the opening of this episode, so we can be introduced a bit more to our new companion Gabby; it’s done rather splendidly too.
Gabby, via the means of cartoons and diary entries, has begun to log her first journey with the Doctor and with him noticing that she is a bit of an artist, he decides to take her to a art gallery namely the Louvre III Gallery, which is found on planet Ouloumous. She’s in rapture of the planet as well as the gallery but when the Doctor notices a main exhibit is missing, he begins to investigate and upon visiting the artist it starts to go horribly wrong for both of them. They are both mistaken for the worst type of people in the art world. Becoming hunted through the grounds of the artists home by the Ultimate Apprentice ,they are soon split up and their lives close to and end.
Nick Abadzis gives us a brilliant introduction to Gabby making her fully aware of her surroundings and full of passion for this journey she has suddenly found herself upon. In a truly brilliant scene where she steps from the TARDIS and falls to the ground, she smiles and a tear falls out of happiness and with that the Doctor helps her stand. Everything she sees is new and full of wonder, she absorbs it and it’s fantastic to her. However, this newfound instant trust she has could come to unravel horribly I feel.
The stand-out in the comic however is the crossing of the artwork in the first ten pages between main artist Elena Casagrande and Gabby sketchbook artist Arianna Florean. I really enjoyed this break from the normal look of a Who comic, especially with the fact as it flowed so well together with the main art.
A good start to our second Tenth Doctor story and an excellent start to properly introducing our new companion Gabby.
Villordsutch likes his sci-fi and looks like a tubby Viking according to his children. Visit his website and follow him on Twitter.
Originally published November 6, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
