The second issue of the 8th Doctor limited series is here. We pick up with the Doctor and his new companion Josie as they leave Earth behind in their first adventure together aboard the TARDIS. Is it good?
Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor #2 (Titan Comics)
The opening finds the Doctor and Josie already in danger as the sky of Lumin’s world is crashing down deadly crystal shards. For some reason they decide not to get back into the TARDIS and wait it out by, I don’t know, having lunch or something, but instead run through the war zone looking for answers.
War Never Changes
In the first issue the Doctor and new companion Josie find a book with mysterious coordinates to four different worlds, supposedly left by one of the Doctor’s former incarnations, though he doesn’t remember writing them and has no idea what they’re for. Lumin’s world is the first stop and unfortunately that’s the last time the over-arching story of the series is mentioned. The tale hits the right beats for a Doctor Who adventure: An alien menace that’s pursuing another alien race for unknown reasons, a life threatening situation for companion Josie, and the Doctor’s weary attitude towards war and anyone who would fight rather than find a peaceful solution. The art is nice, if not memorable and most of the dialogue is okay, except for the occasional grandstanding by the Doctor.
We get to see more interaction between the Doctor and Josie, since they had just met the last time, but the relationship between the two isn’t really developed further and it seems liked a missed opportunity. The 8th Doctor has the least amount of screen time of all the Doctors and any chance to expand upon what make his personality unique would be welcomed. Josie’s character goes from being an unknown, someone introduced to the story by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time in the first issue, to being a completely noble and self-sacrificing companion in this one. That’s great; I’d love to meet someone like that, but how did she get there? What’s the backstory? The character has a cool modern design and you want to like her, but for now she’s just a silhouette mimicking the Doctor’s own values.
Is It Good?
It could be better. I want the mystery to pull me along, have me chomping at the bit to see what happens next, but we’re given very little of that. It’s a one off story and the it’s fine for what it is, but it’s neither ground breaking nor informative of the Doctor or Josie’s character or motivations. Completest fans of Doctor Who might want to pick it up, but everyone else could probably skip it and not miss much story wise.
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