Ninth Doctor: Issue 2 - 'Doctormania Part Two' - (Ongoing Monthly Series)

WRITER - Cavan Scott
ARTIST - Adriana Melo
COLORIST - Matheus Lopes

LETTERER - RICHARD STARKINGS AND
COMICRAFT’S JIMMY BETANCOURT
DESIGNER - ROB FARMER
SENIOR EDITOR - ANDREW JAMES
ASSISTANT EDITORS - JESSICA BURTON & AMOONA SAOHIN

Published - 25th May 2016, TITAN COMICS
 

The TARDIS trio continue to be separated, as Rose finds herself caught in the machinations of some other members of the Slitheen family. Their dreadful plan on this occasion? To undo a conference on the planet Clix, which is designed to bring some peace and re-bolster the Raxas Alliance. And they have the perfect way to do this, by impersonating their foe - the Doctor!

Meanwhile the real Doctor and Jack manage to escape custody, and in the process are accompanied by investigator Estiva.  Some impulsiveness from the young semi-humanoid leads to bloodshed. In the process however, it becomes clear just where Rose is.  

And back on Clix the Slitheen's plot is soon uncovered, but the by-product is that an old and savage ritual is brought back from the annals of history. Rose's proactive nature may have led her out of the frying pan, and into the fire....

Intrigue, action and revelation are all that much more pertinent and effectual, now the initial scene-setting in Part One has been dispensed with.

Once again Cavan Scott is able to swiftly remind fans who first saw the Ninth Doctor onscreen over 10 years ago (or caught up on DVD/ Blu Ray), what a strong and engaging main protagonist he makes. Virtually every line of dialogue rings true. Thus, the many-talented Mancunian who helped 21st Century TV Who hit the ground running, once again has justice done to his A+ performances. Ecclestone's Doctor, despite the scars of the Time War, truly cherished all life across the Universe. This gives gravity to when one of the enemy Slitheen is shot down, in a mostly accidental way, by temporary 'assistant' Estiva.

Rose gets plenty to do in her storyline, and is likable and as engaging as the finest hours for the character in the 2005 TV run. She does suffer the rather standard and old-fashioned incapacitated fate at one point. But it is more a road bump in her way and she is basically proactive, bold and determined to get the just, and most peaceful outcome, to this newest adventure for her.

Jack is also quite well done here, if perhaps not having the same amount of development as in the Weapons of Past Destruction mini series. But there is still time in the conclusion or the ensuing stories of this monthly comic for some suitable character development to be done. He is of course a figure in the wider canon that was strong enough to justify his own spin off series (and indeed also now a separate Titan comic as well).

The art from Adriana Melo is decent enough. It is admittedly not close to the sleek and epic worthy miniseries visuals of last year, but still good enough to evoke memories of the Russell T Davies stories, when the natives of Earth encountered unscrupulous invaders who were prepared to kill in order to pose as replicas of their victims. To my particular tastes, the events of the story here unfold with undoubted clarity, but at the expense of any risks and notable visual creativity.

In any case, readers will find that the plot of this multipart comic is more than robust enough to bind events together. The allocation of three issues seems fair, although on occasion some twists verge on the predictable or rote. 'Doubles' of the Doctor is a story core as old as the missing Hartnell story The Massacre. However, it was a missed opportunity in the early episodes of the reborn TV era not to have the Slitheen pretend to be one of the protagonists. The particulars of those stories back then hinged on the need for these sharp-clawed beings to kill who they mimicked. In this story however, a new spin on the concept is achieved.

EXTRAS:

Another letters page is incorporated towards the end section of the comic. From times long ago, before the idea of an internet seemed credible, I found this a welcome part of a publication which often relied just as much on fan/reader reaction, as the fertile imaginations of the writers and art team.

Four alternate covers are also on display, both in a gallery collection, as well as full page splendour.