Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #1
Writer: Nick Abadzis
Art: Elena Casagrande
Publisher: Titan Comics
Titan Comics is back with another fun issue of Doctor Who. The Doctor and his new companion take on some new monsters in this issue by Nick Abadzis and Elena Casagrande.
At the conclusion of a fantastic #1, the 10th Doctor and Gabby found themselves on the run from a horrific monster on a subway car. The reader is thrust directly into the action, which is a fun way to start this issue. The Doctor is his usual quippy self, while Gabby fills the companion role to a tee. The only confusing this about this scene is when a random guy jumps off the subway (or did the Doctor push him?). We don’t know what happens to the guy, which made me wonder why he was even included.
A good Doctor story needs a strong element of action, but also explanation. This issue leaned more toward the explanation as to what is really going on with these monsters that are popping up randomly. Abadzis does a good job of voicing David Tennant’s Doctor with the usual science-fiction dialogue as he explains Pranavores and Cerebravores, and how each feed off the good and bad emotions. The Cerebravores are attacking in a plan to take over the world. Classic Doctor Who.
As a stand-alone issue, this is pretty dialogue heavy, but if you’re use to Doctor Who, you know there are these moments. As a collected edition, this story should be pretty good with great pacing. Now that we know what the Doctor and Gabby are up against, I hope next issue will return to the action and character development that was present in the first issue.
Elena Casagrande is such a good fit for this book. She has a great grasp on who the Doctor is, and can also draw a pretty menacing monster. Her work is fluid and easy on the eyes, while keeping the pacing and emotional level in her art dynamic and thoughtful. Here’s hoping she’ll stick around for a while.
Overall, Titan Comics has a good team working on this book. It’s hard to judge this issue by itself, but I think paired with the rest of the story, it will be a great story to hand to those people who are new to Doctor Who.
Rating: 7/10
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Jeff Jackson
The Comic Book Clergyman
jeff@comicattack.net
@FrJeffJackson
