ADVANCE REVIEW! Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #1

Will this be a welcomed addition to Titan’s Doctor Who series’? Or will this be something fans should avoid? Read on to find out.

The official description from Titan:

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!

Titan’s third Doctor Who series finally reaches our comic stores. Unlike the other two series this one has little resources to work off, as having only featured in seven (eight after tonight) full episodes the Twelfth Doctor is still finding his feet. Nevertheless the creative team manage to work with this, and there are immediate references to current episodes. And though the amount of references in a short space of time seemed more than coincidental, it’s nice to know where this story falls.

Robbie Morrison overall does a good job of getting this story off the ground, as though it’s got a long way to go before it becomes a must have, it is certainly intriguing enough to capture my interest. The thing that stood out the most in Morrison’s script was the character personalities, capturing Peter Capaldi‘s take on the Doctor brilliantly (considering how many episodes have aired). He also gives an intriguing presence, with the final page really adding intensity. Despite this I feel the issue needed something to give it that extra bit of spark, with there being little memorable bar the last page.

Rounding off the British creative team is artist Dave Taylor, and though for the most part he does a fabulous job, there is one minor gripe that overshadows most of the positives. And that’s character likeness. Though it’s not entirely hard to tell which character is which, the likenesses are off slightly, with Clara looking a little flat faced, and the Doctor looking younger than the actor who plays him (sorry Peter). Taylor does however give us some amazing scenery, with this jungle planet being a wonder to the eyes. He also gives some fluid layouts, with the overall vibe being energetic. Combine this with the vibrant colours of Hi-Fi and you get enthralling visuals, that are let down purely on character likeness.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #1 is a great starting off point for the Twelfth Doctor’s Titan adventures, as though it has a lot of work before becoming amazing, it sets a wonderful premise. It also leaves on an explosive cliffhanger definitely has me hooked for the next issue. Recommended.