As the week draws to a close, we’re just about a fortnight away from Christmas. But if you’re still struggling to find something for a friend or family member who loves Doctor Who, the DWC is here to lend a helping hand.
Throughout the past few days, our Gift Guides have covered audio, DVDs and Blu-rays, hardback books, paperbacks, clothing, and toys and games. Today, we close with comics – or more accurately graphic novels, the collected formats of comic books. Here goes!
The Lost Dimension Volume One
This year’s epic crossover from Titan Comics saw the Doctor – quite a few incarnations of him, but largely focusing on the four most recent, i.e. the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth – come up against a shocking new foe that he’d encountered before. Yes, you read that right. A new foe that he’s encountered in the past.
That enemy is the Void, the space between dimensions which we first heard about in Series 2, notably Army of Ghosts/ Doomsday.
The first volume is set to be released on 15th December 2017 in the UK, just in time for the festivities (as long as you have a speedy delivery service/Amazon Prime!), and collects together Doctor Who: The Lost Dimension Alpha, The Ninth Doctor Special, The Tenth Doctor #3.9, The Eleventh Doctor #3.10, and The Lost Dimension Special #1 and #2. It’s primarily written by Cavan Scott, George Mann, and Nick Abadzis, as well as Katy Rex, Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby, with art from numerous talented folk including Rachael Stott, Iolanda Zanfardino, Adriana Melo, and Mariano Laclaustra.
However, it’s not available in the USA until February 2018, so careful when you place your order. The second volume is released in the UK on 30th January 2018.
Doctor Who: Doorway to Hell
There’s nothing like unwrapping a present on Christmas morning to be greeted with a Doorway to Hell!
This is the latest collection of Twelfth Doctor comics from Doctor Who Magazine, the 25th in total although you don’t need to worry: you needn’t read the graphic novels in order.
If you’re buying for someone who loves 1970s Doctor Who, this should come as a surprise treat – as it brings back Roger Delgado’s Master! It’s probably not something other mediums would dare (well, considering the First Doctor has been recast, at least we hope other mediums wouldn’t try to replace Delgado), but in comics, they get away with it. In fact, it’s quite a thrill to see Peter Capaldi’s Doctor, who has recently been facing Missy (Michelle Gomez) and John Simm’s Master on TV, come face-to-face with a much earlier incarnation of that rascally Time Lord.
Written by Mark Wright, this includes a few different stories, with art by Staz Johnson, Mike Collins, John Ross, and David A. Roach.
Doctor Who Archives: The Eleventh Doctor Volume One
Before Titan had the license to publish official Doctor Who comics, IDW had the privilege – and they did a good job. It’s a shame they’re pretty hard to get hold of…
Fortunately, the Doctor Who Archives range republishes these stories so they’re not lost to the vortex. It’s an odd quirk of licensing that allows Titan to reproduce IDW stuff, but hey, no one’s complaining!
Here’s a good place to start a solid collection: The Eleventh Doctor Volume One, which once more teams the bow-tie-wearing alien up with Amy Pond and Rory Williams in a series of nuts adventures. It starts off with a madcap tale featuring a buxom blonde girl, a muscle-bound scuba diving instructor, and a floating cartoon stapler. Sound ridiculous, and it is. But it works.
This first book collects together 10 stories by an array of talent, including Tony Lee, Mark Buckingham, Dan McDaid, Paul Grist, and Matthew Dow Smith.
Revolutions of Terror
This is the debut volume of Titan’s Tenth Doctor comic, pairing David Tennant’s Doctor up with a new New York-based companion, Gabby Gonzalez. And we also meet her friend, Cindy Wu, who eventually gets promoted to “Full-time Companion” status too.
The action kicks off in Gabby’s home city, where there’s something very strange going on with the laundromat. Meanwhile, the Doctor is reeling from losing Donna Nobel at the end of Journey’s End – he’s not on the lookout for a new friend, but is prepared to grant Ms. Gonzalez a “one-off” trip…
Here’s the synopsis:
Two strangers: the Doctor, charming, eccentric Time Lord with a past as dark and heavy as a black hole; Gabriella Gonzalez, waitress and wannabe artist with a future dragging her down like lead chains.
Hurled together by a wave of psychic horror haunting New York, they embark on an epic new adventure across time and space, brought to life by Nick Abadzis (Laika) and fan-favourite artist Elena Casagrande (Suicide Risk)!
Abadzis nails the Doctor’s character, especially his pitch-perfect dialogue, and he and Casagrande create a fantastic new companion in Gabby; Arianna Florean takes over art duties for the second storyline in this book, making this an ideal place for fans to start a comic collection.
Evening’s Empire
This is another graphic novel from Panini, the makers of Doctor Who Magazine – except this is something extra special.
Evening’s Empire was an unfinished comic strip story starring Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor and Sophie Aldred’s Ace, written by that era’s Script Editor, Andrew Cartmel.
Only the first installment was published in DWM, back in October (dated November) 1991, but the rest was abandoned until the Doctor Who Classic Comics Autumn Holiday Special in September 1993. However, this book, released in January 2017, is the first publication of the full story as originally intended, with brand-new artwork from the original artist, Richard Piers Rayner.
You don’t just get one story, of course; further ones are written by Dan Abnett, Scott Gray, Marc Platt, and Andy Lane. These other strips are:
- The Grief
- Ravens
- Memorial
- Cat Litter
- Conflict of Interests
And that’s it for Christmas 2017. Our week of recommendations comes to a close, but naturally, we’ll keep you up to date on all merchandise throughout the year. So for one last time: what’s on your festive wishlist?