Villordsutch reviews Doctor Who: Four Doctors #1…
August 15th is Titan’s Doctor Who Comics Day and kicking this shindig off is the launch of Doctor Who: Four Doctors. A weekly comic event from Paul Cornell (Fathers Day, Human Nature / Family of Blood) and with the art and colours being handled by the fantastic Neil Edwards and Ivan Nunes, this could be something rather brilliant.
With our opening chapter we are greeted with the downing of a Dalek ship as it trips a Chronic Mine, which instantly attacks all on board with accelerated evolution. As we pan back we meet the War Doctor and the Voord – the Voords are encased in Paradox shields; walking towards the recently downed vessel the War Doctor and the Voord leader discuss the possibility of retaining certain changes which have made the Voords stronger since the Time War began, and they hope the War Doctor will plead their case when eventually the High Council of Gallifrey reset the universe – to its original state – after the Time War.
It’s after this introduction we are dropped into Paris 1923 and Clara has seen something in the Doctor’s future which she needs not to happen. To prevent this she needs to stop a certain thing, that being the coming together of the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors. Knowing the exact location it is meant to happen she manages to meet with the companions beforehand and attempts to convince them of why it is a bad idea. However the Twelfth Doctor being who he is – which is always two steps ahead – has begun the unwanted reunion.
Issue #1 of Doctor Who: Four Doctors is an exciting opening to this series, and the main mystery in the story is clearly centred in the opening pages with the War Doctor. We’re seeing more of the Time War which even those older Who fans that have a dislike for NuWho are still extremely passionate about. When we reach the arrival of the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, the comedic elements of the story appear, their inflated egos erupting as each attempt to be the better Doctor. This brought a smile to my face, remembering the giddy moments from my childhood when a past Doctor would interact with a current Doctor and they would have sly digs at each other. Though very enjoyable watching the Doctors have a war of words, my mind was itching to see more of the War Doctor’s Time War adventures, and hopefully we shall get more of this through the following weeks.
With Paul Cornell being a seasoned Doctor Who writer you have an instant feeling of reassurance that he shan’t be delivering a generic sci-fi tale with Doctor, TARDIS and Dalek crammed into the story to make it slightly fan pleasing. We’re also given some brilliant artwork from Neil Edwards and a superb palette from Ivan Nunes, making Doctor Who: Four Doctors the comic you need to buy.
If you’re a Doctor Who fan then this is the cross-over event you’ve been waiting for.
Doctor Who Comics DayCheck out our recent interview with Paul Cornell here at Flickering Myth.
Rating: 8/10
Villordsutch likes his sci-fi and looks like a tubby Viking according to his children. Visit his website and follow him on Twitter.