Written by Alan McKenzie, Simon Furman, Jamie Delano, Mike Collins, Grant Morrison
Artwork by John Ridgeway
Paperback: 186 pages
Publisher: Panini UK LTD!

The World Shapers sees out the end of the Sixth Doctor's tenure as the star of the strip.  The earliest stories are pretty good, but as the book goes on the strip seems to lose a bit of the focus that made the Doctor Who Magazine version of the strip such a joy from its debut up until this point.  I think it is "Salad Daze" which was the moment I was starting to lose interest in this book.  It is still fairly good up to there, which is about the halfway point...then it slowly devolves into mediocre to downright bad. 

For my money, the worst story in the collection is, unfortunately, the story that ended the Sixth Doctor's entire run in the strip, and the story from which the entire collection takes its name.  "The World Shapers" is exactly the kind of story I get bored by.  Instead of thinking of an interesting story or theme, the entire strip relies on continuity to seem interesting.  It's Jamie! The Voord! Marinus! Cybermen! The Voord are Cybermen? It's mixing together two monsters and claiming them as one, hoping that that twist is enough to hold up the whole story. It doesn't. I know Grant Morrsion went on to great success, but his work here is lame.  

While still a decent read with some great artwork and solid stories, I personally found the second volume of the Sixth Doctor comic strip run to be a bit more of a slog. I don’t really know why, but I think after the great run of stories featured in Voyager, it was hard to keep the momentum going. And the titular “World Shapers” was far too interested in delving into obscure continuities that it ended up souring the book for me. Not a bad collection of stories (for its first half anyhow), but it just can’t hold a candle to the first Sixth Doctor set, or even the Fourth and Fifth Doctor run. 

Written by Steve Parkhouse, Alan McKenzie
Artwork by John Ridgeway
Paperback: 172 pages
Publisher: Panini UK LTD

During his tenure, The Sixth Doctor struggled to connect on the television screen. But at the same time he was sort of bombing over the airwaves, on the pages of Doctor Who Magazine he was charming and fun to read. In many ways, he was still that same Doctor that Baker was playing on TV, but more palatable, and the fact that the art is black and white makes the coat easier on the eyes. I would say that for anyone that has ever listened to Baker's lovely Big Finish audios, the Doctor of the Comic Strip was much closer to that interpretation than the brasher TV counterpart.

The introduction of companion Frobisher, the shapeshifter who wishes to be a penguin, may seem like an oddball choice...but in the zany world of comics it just kind of works. The collection opens with his introductory tale, which also sort of wraps up the loose thread from the Fifth Doctor's tenure, by giving a bit of closure to the Dogbolter story.  

The book then goes into the "Voyager" storyline, which I personally find to be one of the finest comic story runs in all of Doctor Who Magazine. It just has beautiful artwork, a weird and ethereal plot, and in many ways surpasses much of what the TV show was doing at the same time. This entire plotline was also colorized and released in the 80s as a graphic novel, also titled Voyager.  The final story in the "Voyager" plot is also the final story by Steve Parkhouse, who had been with the strip since the Fourth Doctor. 

Unlike the 80s graphic novel of the same name, Panini's book continues on with the rest of the stories that came out in 1985, the rest of the book being written by Alan McKenzie. While the Parkhouse half of the book is definitely the stronger half, McKenzie's stories are still pretty solid, and still flowed as a series up through the final story of the book. 

The running storyline in the first half of this collection is great, and even the lesser second half of the book is quite entertaining. With the gorgeous black and white artwork by John Ridgeway and wonderfully weird adventures, it is a highly recommended read for fans who want to see just how good the ongoing Doctor Who strip can be.

Writers: John Barrowman, Carole Barrowman 

Artist: Neil Edwards

Publisher: Titan Comics 

FC - 32pp
On sale: December 20, 2017 

In this third issue of the Culling miniseries, Jack, Gwen, Shelley, and the Pilot, crashland in a cabin surrounded by dying Earth - courtesy of Sladen, who happens to kill whatever she touches. Unable to go outside without being instantly aged, the Torchwood team divides their time between formulating a plan and observing the possible benefits of having sex to keep warm. The banter is of the dull and obvious variety Torchwood, the television series, was always best at. If there were a cheeky charm to characters within Doctor Who having blunt discussions about sex, it wore off a long time ago.

 The centerpiece of the issue is Captain Jack testing his regenerative abilities by stepping into the dying path left behind by Sladen. He is instantly aged while simultaneously being connected with the Vervoids tool of destruction somehow.

This alerts Sladen not only to Torchwood’s survival of the crash but also her relation to Captain Jack. In a classic Torchwood scene of unwarranted emotion erupting from a character we hardly know, Sladen vows to kill Jack and Docilis. This promises an epic, but empty, confrontation to come.

The Culling is a big story with a small scope stretched across too many issues. Instead of taking advantage of the format to burrow into these characters, finding out how all of this is affecting them, what failure would mean to them personally, why they will push so hard to succeed, the focus is on humor that doesn’t land and spectacle that fails to propel the story forward.

Torchwood #3 knows its audience. The television series had a specific if uneven, voice that never wavered. That voice has carried over to the limited comic book series seamlessly. For a fan, it must feel like diving right back into this unique corner of the Doctor Who universe. To non-fans, it most likely feels like more of the same.

Written by Steve Parkhouse, Dez Skinn
Artwork by Dave Gibbons, Mick Austin, Steve Dillon, & Paul Neary
Paperback: 228 pages
Publisher: Panini UK LTD

The Fifth Doctor’s entire run of Doctor Who Magazine not only fits nicely into this one volume (titled The Tides of Time), but it also genuinely feels closer to a graphic novel. It features some great stories, from the tremendous opening number that is the titular "The Tides of Time" through the Stockbridge stories and into the adventures with Gus that close out the book. Steve Parkhouse had taken over the writing duties of the strip in the latter days of the Fourth Doctor's run, and he ended up being the sole writer during the Fifth Doctor's era and continued on through the first half of the Sixth Doctor's time on the strip. Having that singular voice for the strip certainly gave it something, and it did a lot to build up the internal continuity of the strip itself.

The stories collected in this volume introduced some recurring characters like Maxwell Edison, Shayde, and Josiah W. Dogbolter, and really found a way to mix big sweeping epic storylines (like the opening story) and smaller stuff with a bit of heart to them (like "Stars Fell on Stockbridge" which is possibly my favorite story of the volume). It's a good mix of Doctor Who stories, the kind that feel like they could genuinely take place in the universe the series takes place in, even if the Fifth Doctor seemed like he never had a moment to be away from his TV companions...I am willing to go with it and say, sure he managed to have a period away from Tegan or Nyssa or Turlough or Peri, and had a whole set of adventures before returning to pick them up and carry on with his TV adventuring.

Overall, I really enjoy this volume. Parkhouse had a vision for what the strip should be, and that vision took off once the Fifth Doctor took over, and he would reach the peak and end of his tenure during the Sixth Doctor's run. As per usual Panini did a fine job remastering these old black and white comics, and this collection is well worth a look from any fan of the comic strip, as I personally think it is one of the best.

Writer: Richard Dinnick

Artist: Francesco Manna

Publisher: Titan Comics 

FC - 32pp
On sale: December 6, 2017

One of the joys found in series ten of Doctor Who was the interplay between the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole. We were finally given a diverse trio of travelers with their own personalities who were able to play off each other masterfully. Instead of some mystery surrounding Bill, she’s just a delightful, spunky, intelligent woman who tests the Doctor by asking the right questions. Sometimes her youth, and Nardole’s insistence the Doctor stick to his vow make Doctor 12 prickly, but it’s a fun sort of prickliness.

    With the anticipation of Jodie Whittaker making her debut this Christmas, there is a bit of melancholy in the fact that this terrific Tardis motley crew will not be returning for series eleven. Luckily, Titan Comics has provided us with more adventures to help season ten fans cope with the loss.

    The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Year Three, issue ten sets readers right where they want to be - The Doctor, Bill, and Nardole creeping around a drifting spaceship trying to figure out what’s gone wrong. Why would a ship adrift in space not call for help? Although the Doctor should be getting back to Missy and the vault (and Nardole’s protests, he can’t let such a mystery let go uninvestigated.

    The writers with Titan comics continue to impress with their uncanny ability to reproduce character’s voices. Again, Bill sounds like Bill, as does Nardole and the Doctor. This is particularly astonishing given the limited number of episodes writer Richard Dinnick had as source material. From the moment we see everyone in a panel speaking, it feels as though we’ve been dropped into a brand new episode of the series.

    Also very impressive is the artwork of Francesco Manna and the colors of Hi-Fi. The dying ship resembles the set designs of many modern Who ships, primarily the space station from Oxygen. In one fantastic panel in which the Doctor runs through a corridor (naturally) and the red light washing over him temporarily changes the color of his clothes to somewhat resemble Doctor Three’s classic ensemble. Intentional, or not, the effect reminds us that this is the same character.

    The surviving crew of the ship doesn’t get an awful lot to do, but we’re endeared to them immediately. Given their situation (almost everyone is dead, several operational systems are busted, and they will certainly die) and their commitment to helping each other to stay alive, you can’t help but root for them.

Side characters are important in Doctor Who. Unfortunately, they can sometimes be underwritten, or sidelined entirely in favor of overly convoluted plotting, resulting in many of them serving as nothing more than fallen bodies to be counted by the end of the story. Thankfully this is not the case here. Each side character is clearly defined and unique, with a livelihood all their own. All of which, one can assume, will be explored in future issues.

As the final page reveals the dangerous cargo being carried through space, the promise is made of a massive conflict to come.

    The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Year Three, issue ten offers genuine humor, mystery, and tension, which would have been right at home in series ten.

Writer: Nick Abadzis

Artist: Giorgia Sposito

Publisher: Titan Comics

112pp
On sale: December 19

Before sacrificing herself to save everyone, Dorothy (the hand of Sutekh) tells The Doctor to give Cindy and Gabby some room. “Stop making them chase through the universe after you all the time and let them understand where they are,” she says. She then advises he not abuse their trust in him. So The Doctor decides to provide them with a little perspective from the best source possible - Sarah Jane Smith.

    VORTEX BUTTERFLIES allows The Doctor’s friends to take a breath, reflect, do some soul-searching. The story serves as a much-needed repose for readers as well. After so much intensity, it’s nice to just sit with these characters a while and go through these issues alongside them.

Everyone has their own method of working through grief. Gabby is taking art classes, desperately trying to cope with the sight of her dead best friend, a hard thing to do even if it was only a clone. Cindy is embracing life in London, developing a bond with Sarah Jane, and attempting to understand why Gabby is so distant. Adorable Anubis is discovering love on Aramuko. The Doctor is off, as usual, doing his own thing and trying to cure the Tardis of a mysterious illness.

    Thanks to the magic of time travel in comic books, we’re able to revisit The Doctor’s most enduring companion. Including the wisdom of Sarah Jane Smith was a stroke of genius. Who better to to teach these girls how to embrace the moment than a woman who had seen so many wonders of the universe and had to build her own life afterward? Georgia Sposito’s likeness of the character is perfectly spot on, and Rick Abadzis so captures Sarah Jane’s voice that one could easily imagine the late Elisabeth Sladen speaking his words.

    Legacy is important in Doctor Who. Having the latest incarnation face-off against classic foes like Daleks and Cybermen gives the franchise a sense of unparalleled continuity. Seeing an old friend takes things to the next level. It reminds the audience, even if they understand this on an intellectual level, that the person in the long brown coat is the same as the one in the frilly shirts or extensive scarf. The Doctor is one individual with many faces, and all of the Whoniverse is one place.

    If WAR OF GODS is about choices and consequences, VORTEX BUTTERFLIES is about acceptance. Gabby and Cindy have to accept that their magical lives with The Doctor is dangerous and exciting, but it won’t last, and it’s important to not let their personal lives pass them by. The Doctor must accept that not looking back isn’t always an option. Sometimes you get so busy running away from something that if you don’t take a quick glance behind you, someone you love might be lost.