As a diehard Dr. Who fan, I haven’t been too thrilled with the comic book spinoffs I’ve encountered. Aside from a great story by Roger Langridge a few years back (and if anyone knows where I can find a copy of it, I’d appreciate it — I only read a few pages and own the art for the last page, but man it’s good!), they tend to hit the notes but miss the tune completely. Something always gets lost when translating from one medium to another —– most comic book adaptations of film and television shows bear this out, and vice versa. However, a friend of mine recently sent me a link to an online Dr. Who comic that has been blowing me away from the start (thanks, Scott!). People, put down your work, your worries, your spouses and children and go to http://comics.shipsinker.com/2007/03/10/a-doctor-who-comic-the-10-doctors/ immediately!
I know I’ve come into this strip late, and for those of you who’ve been reading this for the past few years I humbly apologize. But let’s look at “The Ten Doctors”. First of all, this is one for the fans. This is one for the fans who know each and every incarnation of the Doctor by heart and revel in their idiosyncracies. This is a story that involves the first ten Doctors, their companions, their continuities. This involves the Time Lords and their High Council, and the Hand of Omega. We see the Master, the Sontarans, the Ice Warriors, Alpha Centauri, and even K9. And this is less than thirty pages in!!! In fact, there are nearly three hundred pages to this sprawling epic, and I’m not even halfway finished, but I had to rave about this — it’s just that good! So good in fact that you don’t really notice that this is all done in pencils and that the whole thing looks like it was drawn up in a high school notebook between gym class and history. If anything, the art style reminds me of Terry Moore’s work on Paradise Too, another underrated cartoon series deserving of a second chance. So yeah, the art’s a bit rough, but this guy nails each and every character dead on. And oh my God is that a great Tom Baker!
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