Sam Thorne reviews Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Volume 1…
I think it’s fair to say in retrospect that the first season of Jody Whittaker’s tenure as Doctor Who was somewhat of a mixed bag. More than anything else, it seemed that there were too many companions and not enough screentime meaning that every character, The Doctor included, felt half-baked. However, the first volume of Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor from Titan Comics might give us a chance to delve a little deeper into what make these characters tick. Leading us on our journey this time through Volume 1 is star writer Jody Hauser (Mother Panic, Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows), flanked by returning Doctor Who penciller Rachael Stott (Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor, Star Trek).
The story in volume #1 is your standard cross-time caper. Two scientists invent a device known as a vortex manipulator, as we learn later, it’s a somewhat primitive time travel device (compared to the tardis, at least). On their maiden journey through time, the two scientists are captured by an alien kingpin known as The Hoarder. He injects one of them with a poison, promising the andidote only when the two scientists agree to travel through time to steal him various valuable artifacts, treasures, and even children. The Doctor et al stumble across a fracture in time, rescuing one of the scientists, before formulating a plan to bring down The Hoarder once and for all.
I think the most glaring problem in The Thirteenth Doctor is how closely the dialogue mimics the BBC one show. Once again, any attempt to generate a serious, poignant or heroic moment is thrown to the roadside in preference of polite chit-chat, bad jokes and constant attempts to make The Doctor feel modern and quirky. At one particular point, when the doctor addressed her companions with the phrase ‘come on fam’, I couldn’t help but wince a little. Besides the tone, it’s also quite hard to distinguish any of the dialogue coming from an individual companion. Yasmin, Ryan and Graham feel wholly interchangable, which again is a problem that affects both the comic and the show. This cluttered cast of companions severely limits the breathing room for any one character, The Doctor included.
As for the narrative itself, it was fine if not a little unexciting. The majority of the volume was taken up by heavy exposition and small talk, while the close of the story arc was on fast forward with it climaxing in just under four pages. It also makes The Doctor seem somewhat ineffectual when the villain happily removes himself from the story, with little to no encouragement. At its core Doctor Who is about time travel, obviously, but heavy use of the ‘lost in time’ trope for its first featured story might have been a little too on the nose. All in all, while I personally did have problems with the content and pacing, it was still an okay read. I was expecting a little more from Jody Hauser on this one, as she had cemented herself in my eyes as a writer who goes off the beaten path and usually tries something a little different, but I’d struggle to say that this first volume doesn’t feel generic.
The pencil and colour work were strong, as they always are on Doctor Who titles. I suppose it’s good praise for Rachael Stott that the only negative thing I could ever think of to say about her pencilwork, is that her work often looks a little too realistic. Sometimes this can go too-far, leaving the characters looking a bit caricaturish.
While the resemblance to the actors is uncanny, Stott’s facial expressions can sometimes be a bit too…enthusiastic?
I’m sure this boils down to more of a personal preference more than anything else though. The pencilwork was generally great throughout.
Overall, Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor is impressive because of how well it reflects and mimics the show. However, I was hoping Hauser’s writing would go a little deeper than what we’ve seen from the BBC showrunners so far, but I can’t say that this was the case. The story was forgettable and quite generic, with not much attempt to add more flesh, background or interest onto the barebones of the Thirteenth Doctor and her companions.
If you enjoyed Jodie Whittaker’s first season on Doctor Who, you’ll love this, but otherwise it’ll be a lukewarm read.
Rating: 6/10
Sam Thorne
Originally published April 29, 2019. Updated April 28, 2019.
