Reviews

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #1 (Titan Comics) review

The Tenth Doctor is back in a whole new adventure from Titan Comics! Is it worth getting into his TARDIS one more time?

By John Saavedra | July 17, 2014 | | 0

Ten is back: still fast-talking, techy, and smart as all hell. Oh, and his new favorite breakfast food is huevos rancheros.

The new Doctor Who comic series from Titan sends the Tenth Doctor back to New York City. The story, titled “Revolutions of Terror,” takes place after series 4 and before Tennant’s final four specials. We see a Doctor who’s been traveling alone for a while, but now he’s back on Earth and chasing a new threat.

Unsurprisingly, the first issue of the new series introduces a new companion.

Meet Gabriella, a young Mexican American woman who is stuck in Brooklyn. That’s often the story, isn’t it? A bored young woman can’t escape her hometown until the Doctor shows up and all hell breaks lose. The Doctor saves the day and the woman is so impressed that she gets into his time traveling police box to face even more dangerous situations. That’s Doctor pick-up moves 101. The best part of the whole shebang is that we know how the story always ends.

Gabriella is not Ten’s new companion just yet, but the arc is undoubtedly working towards that.

We get a sense that things are wrong almost immediately, as people begin to experience nightmarish visions on the day before Halloween — or Dia De Los Muertos since the story is set in Brooklyn’s largest Mexican neighborhood.

The story starts off with a far-out washing machine monster — it seems that Ten’s tenure was plagued with monsters on the sillier end of the spectrum — and ends in a subway disaster. Mashed in between are the creative team’s heavy-handed attempts to establish the neighborhood’s culture.

The characters introduced in the story are a little too stereotypical for my taste: a hysterical and extremely religious abuela, an overbearing father who values money more than his daughter’s happiness, and a sister who just wants to get married. Gabriella is different, though. She wants to get out of her one-dimensional neighborhood and go to college to pursue her dreams. She is the light at the end of the tunnel for what is otherwise a generic Mexican neighborhood.

(There’s also the occasional Spanish typo, which I wasn’t a fan of, but I don’t want to belabor the point.)

All in all, “Revolutions of Terror” does a good job of reintroducing the Tenth Doctor. Nick Abadzis’ dialogue for the Doctor is fantastic. I found it very easy to hear Ten’s voice in my head from panel to panel. Elena Casagrande’s drawing is in fine shape, as well.

Ten has some witty moments that are satisfying, especially when he’s debating with himself about whether his newest gadget should ding or buzz. Both sides win.

I was hoping that we would get a more complete story in this first issue, but it is without a doubt just a teaser for larger things to come. We do get a glimpse of some pretty scary monsters by issue’s end, and I’m excited to watch the Doctor kick their butts.

Until next time…

Read our review of Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor #1 here.