Review: Doctor Who: Sonic Boom by Robbie Morrison, Mariano Laclaustra, Rachael Stott, et al.

Collection published: 2017
Contents originally published: 2016-17
Acquired: March 2020
Read: July 2021

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor, Vol 6: Sonic Boom

Writer: Robbie Morrison
Artists: Mariano Laclaustra & Rachael Stott, with Agus Calcagno & Fer Centurion
Colorists: Carlos Cabrera, Hernán Cabrera & Rodrigo Fernandes, with Juan Manuel Tumburus
Letters: Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt

I had some initial issues with Robbie Morrison's earlier contributions to The Twelfth Doctor series, but his final volume shows that he's totally worked out the kinks. This contains two stories, one three issues long and one two. The first is "Terror of the Cabinet Noir," with another between-Clara-and-Bill temporary companion, in this case Julie d'Aubigny, a real seventeenth-century opera singer-- among many other things. I don't remember taking much notice of Mariano Laclaustra's art before, but this is gorgeous and well-suited to the story. Both the twelfth Doctor and Julie sparkle in their repartee. The plot isn't going to set your world on fire, but I really enjoyed reading it.

The second is kind of goofy, and not as good as it probably should have been; the Doctor confronts the writer and artist team behind Time Surgeon, a comic series based on his own exploits (mentioned back in vol 4). I wish it had been a bit more meta and playful. Still, Morrison and artist Rachael Stott effectively communicate Twelve's dripping disdain for the entire set-up, and he gets some good jokes you can imagine Peter Capaldi nailing.

from Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #12 (art by Mariano Laclaustra, with Fer Centurion and Agus Calcagno)

I read an issue of Titan's Doctor Who comic every day (except when I have hard-copy comics to read). Next up in sequence: The Twelfth Doctor: Ghost Stories

Review: Doctor Who: The School of Death by Robbie Morrison, Rachael Stott, et al.

Collection published: 2016
Contents originally published: 2016
Acquired: September 2018
Read: March 2021

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor, Vol 4: The School of Death

Writer: Robbie Morrison
Artists: Rachael Stott, Simon Fraser
Colorists: Ivan Nunes, Marcio Menys
Letters: Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt

Previously, I have claimed to be of two minds about Titan's Twelfth Doctor ongoing. Well, I may be of two minds about the series overall, but I am of one mind about this installment! This is its best volume yet; most of the book is given over to a four-part story about the Doctor and Clara investigating strange goings-on in an exclusive boarding school. Morrison just gets the regulars; his Doctor is acerbic but also goofy, as seen by his attempts to go undercover here. His Clara is witty and attractive. Rachael Stott is a strong complement on art, also capturing the vibes of the two leads, and making a very action-heavy script perfectly accessible. Yes, it's got the Sea Devils in, but it's not overly nostalgic, and it's just fun. This is a daft plan carried out in enjoyable fashion; the twelfth Doctor with kids is always entertaining, and you can imagine Capaldi pulling off everything here with style. Big moments, good characters-- everything you might want from a tie-in comic to an ongoing show.

(I will say the inclusion of a character based on Christel Dee is bizarrely distracting. Like, she's a well-known official personality. She can't also be a cute cameo; it'd be like Rary Gussell turning up.)

from Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Year Two #1
(art by Rachael Stott)

The Boneless of "Flatline" fame turn up here in an interesting one-issue story about comic books. Neat idea that felt to me like it didn't quite come off; needed to be more playful with the form of the book itself, and to have more to say. I also found the "people have been vanishing for weeks but the authorities are ignoring it" aspect pretty contrived. Like, close your comic shop if it's started killing people off! But I still enjoyed it. The short story about the K-2 robot and Osgood is decent enough, too. Hopefully the series going forward is more Robbie Morrison and Rachael Stott, and less George Mann!

I read an issue of Titan's Doctor Who comic every day (except when I have hard-copy comics to read). Next up in sequence: The Eleventh Doctor: The One

Review: Doctor Who: Hyperion by Robbie Morrison, George Mann, Daniel Indro, Mariano Laclaustra, and Ronilson Freire

Collection published: 2016
Contents originally published: 2015
Acquired: September 2018
Read: October 2020

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor, Vol 3: Hyperion

Writers: Robbie Morrison, George Mann
Artists: Daniel Indro, Mariano Laclaustra, Ronilson Freire
Colorists: Slamet Mujiono, Luis Geurrero
Letters: Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt

I'm of two minds about Titan's Twelfth Doctor ongoing. I find the plots very uninteresting. Evil fire monsters who are ancient enemies of the Time Lords invade the Earth, blah blah blah. It's Doctor Who at its most generic, which is a shame, because on screen, the Peter Capaldi era was Doctor Who at some of its most inventive and clever. In his three seasons, we only got three alien invasion stories by my count, and all of them (the 2014 Missy/Cyberman two-parter, the 2015 Zygon two-parter, and the 2017 Monks trilogy) did really interesting and clever stuff with the concept, and mostly used alien invasions as a way of exploring other issues: mortality, xenophobia, compliance and resistance. The Hyperion storyline does nothing like that; these are just stompy alien fire monsters who want to burn down the Earth and drain the sun, and the human guest characters are about as complex as a bad drawing. Plus there's this really clunky bit where the Doctor leaves in the middle of a crisis to get the stuff he needs to defeat the aliens from other times and places, which I think creates more problems than it solves.

But writer Robbie Morrison really gets the voices of Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara. I can imagine Capaldi saying these lines, and can hear how he would balance warmth and coldness in that way only he can do. So even if the experience of reading the overall story was meh, the experience of reading any individual page was usually pretty enjoyable, so long as the Doctor was on it. (On the other hand, George Mann, who pens a single-issue story about Victorian vampires, writes a pretty generic Doctor.) So far the best this series has been is the Las Vegas story in vol 2, which was fun and inventive just like the twelfth Doctor's era on screen. If Morrison can do more stuff like that and less stuff like this, he can do something really interesting, I reckon. I hope so.

I read an issue of Titan's Doctor Who comic every day (except when I have hard-copy comics to read). Next up in sequence: Four Doctors

Review: Doctor Who: Fractures by Robbie Morrison, Brian Williamson, Mariano Laclaustra, et al.

Comic PDF eBook, n.pag.
Published 2015 (contents: 2015)
Acquired September 2018
Read May 2020

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor, Vol 2: Fractures

Writers: Robbie Morrison [with George Mann]

Artist: Brian Williamson & Mariano Laclaustra
Letters: Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt

This volume contains three stories, thankfully largely ignoring the tedious "Hyperion" storyline introduced in volume 1 of The Twelfth Doctor, except for small references. The first story is a tie-in to the "new UNIT" era, with Kate Stewart; I found it dull. I think it's supposed to be scary, but neither writing nor art really carries an element of fear, and I found the motivations of the villains confusing and unconvincing.

The second story was, even if not as strong as some of Titan's tenth and eleventh Doctor stuff, the best twelfth Doctor comic yet. It's the first of these comics to really capture was worked about Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman on screen, as the Doctor and Clara swan through 1960s Las Vegas, battling gangsters being aided by aliens. Lots of colorful art and colorful characters, and great ideas, I really enjoyed it.

The whole book ends with a brief short focusing on Clara, which didn't make much of an impression.

I read an issue of Titan's Doctor Who comic every day (except when I have hard-copy comics to read). Next up in sequence: The Eleventh Doctor: Conversion

Review: Doctor Who: The Weeping Angels of Mons by Robbie Morrison, Daniel Indro, and Eleonora Carlini

Comic PDF eBook, n.pag.
Published 2015 (contents: 2014-15)
Acquired September 2018
Read December 2019

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor, Vol 2: The Weeping Angels of Mons

Writer: Robbie Morrison

Artists: Daniel Indro & Eleonora Carlini
Colorist: Slamet Mujiono
Letters: Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt

The Weeping Angels seem to me to be a uniquely televisual monster. Their whole gimmick is that they don't move if you can see them-- so you need a medium that clearly delineates movement. It's particularly clever, because Weeping Angels aren't just frozen when characters see them, but when you the audience are looking. Big Finish have done okay by them, but it's definitely been diminishing returns, and the way Big Finish must indicate movement by stings of music is often inadvertently hilarious, and people have to say things like, "Gosh, that statue wasn't there a second ago!" aloud.

Comics, I think, start out from even more of a disadvantage, in that in a comic nothing is moving when the viewer is looking at it. Possibly a clever writer could make use of this somehow, but judging from The Weeping Angels of Mons (not to mention Terrorformer), Robbie Morrison is not one. This is a generic Doctor Who pseudo-historical. Plus, if you think about it, a Weeping Angel actually isn't that scary in terms of what it does: yes, it plucks you out of time... so that you can live a long and fulfilling life! Most of the tv and audio episodes featuring them manage to get around that, but this one's setting flags up the problem. If you're a soldier in the trenches of World War I, this is actually a step up! Again, a clever writer could probably make something of that, but this story does not.

from Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #7 (art by Daniel Indro)

One of the real high points of Titan's first Tenth Doctor volume was the Doctor's new companion, Gabby Gonzalez, who felt like a real person with a distinctive voice. Unfortunately, there's none of that present here, where Gabby could be literally any young female companion. This isn't just a writing problem, but an art one, as she suddenly looks like a generic non-Hispanic white woman.

Review: Doctor Who: Terrorformer by Robbie Morrison, Dave Taylor, et al.

Comic PDF eBook, n.pag.
Published 2015 (contents: 2014-15)
Acquired September 2018
Read November 2019

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor, Vol 1: Terrorformer

Writer: Robbie Morrison

Artist: Dave Taylor with Mariano Laclaustra
Colorist: Luis Guerrero
Letters: Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt

If I ever become Grand Czar of Doctor Who Tie-Ins, I would have a stamp made for rejecting proposals, and it would read, "IF YOUR BORING NEW VILLAIN IS AN ANCIENT ENEMY OF THE TIME LORDS, IT'S STILL BORING." This volume opens with "Terrorformer," a painfully by-the-numbers Doctor Who story with cartoonish characterization, and a terribly uninteresting villain that I'm sure we're doomed to hear more about going forward.

It continues with "The Swords of Okti," about the Doctor and Clara unravelling some kind of plot by an evil family and evil aliens across past and future India (picking up on some of the hints in the Moffat era that future India is a space power). This has its moments, but suffers from some weird tonal shifts; a guest character's dad dies, and moments later she's grinning widely and bantering about jelly babies.

I didn't think much of artist Dave Taylor's stiff, plasticky faces, especially the somewhat caricatured villains in the second story.