The Twelfth Doctor - Complete Year OneBookmark and Share

Saturday, 25 November 2017 - Reviewed by Ken Scheck
Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: The Complete Year One (Credit: Titan)
The Twelfth Doctor Complete Year One
Writers: Robbie Morrison, George Mann & Cavan Scott
Artists: Dave Taylor, Brian Williamson, Mariano Laclaustra, Daniel Indro & Ronilson Friere
Publisher: Titan Comics
Published: December 5, 2017

Titan Comics first year of adventures featuring the Twelfth Doctor (and Clara) are collected together in a lovely book with an admittedly daunting page count.  At around 400 pages, it is almost intimidating.  And when the first story is rather humdrum it looks even more daunting.  But luckily, from the second story on, it is firing on all cylinders, and becomes quite the enjoyable read which is rather hard to put down. 

Like I said, the opening story is mediocre, with a standard Doctor Who story mixed with mediocre (sometimes downright bad) artwork, and it had me a tad concerned about what I was in for.  But the second story had better artwork and a more interesting story.  The likenesses, as well as the voices, of our characters shined a little brighter.  And by the time we get to the third story, The Fractures, it has hit it's stride. 

I won't pretend the entire book is without flaws after that, "Gangland" only sort of works, but what Doctor Who series is ever without a dud or two.  And that is really key to this books success, it feels like a season of the current show. Much as the Third Doctor's mini-series felt like a story plucked out of his era...this Twelfth Doctor ongoing series feels very much like the modern show. There are some wonderfully creative stories, monsters, and sci-fi concepts...and some of the art is just downright tremendous. 

The ongoing arc throughout the book is seeded in the opening story, and is teased throughout each story, and comes back to bite the Doctor and Clara in the big four-part conclusion. The Hyperions that play the role of the big baddie of the book are a really cool alien concept.  Beings that are basically walking suns that went mad...only in Doctor Who can you come up with something that unusual and have it feel at home in this universe.

Despite a rocky start, "The Twelfth Doctor - Complete Year One" is a triumph.  It's a good read, one that I think even casual fans could find enjoyment in.  It doesn't feel full of references, and it doesn't require that you've seen any specific episodes. Obviously being familiar wit hthe Twelfth Doctor, and probably a bit of background from his first series at least might help you understand the characters voices a bit better, but I would say this is an entertaing collection of comics. Certainly recommended if you, like me, hadn't yet had a chance to jump into Titan's ongoing Twelfth Doctor stories, or just prefer the omnibus collections.  





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