The Crew Gets Into A Heap Of Trouble In Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #2

There are elements that are essential to any Doctor Who story- excitement, emotion, timey-wimey antics, and a little whimsy. Often new writers to the franchise struggle with that, but in the second issue of Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #2, the creative shows their grasp on the Doctor and her world.

Jody Houser, Rachael Stott, Georgia Sposito, Valeria Favoccia, Enrica Eren Angiolini & Richard Starkings pick up with a time jumping heist that can only happen in Doctor Who. It all works towards a strong debut for this series.
The Doctor, Graham, Ryan and Yaz are surrounded–the Grand Army of the Just exercising their authority, and time jumping burglar Leon trying to remain stable. This leads to the TARDIS crew’s arrest, and a desperate escape. However, their trust in their new companion might be entirely misplaced…

Houser spins a fun story. The Grand Army of the Just is a complete cipher to us, but we are well aware that Leon is not the altruistic scientist he claims to be. It adds a layer of tension for us the readers, while the Doctor and gang are several steps behind us. It leads to an issue full of the hallmarks of classic who but really would only work with the Thirteenth Doctor and her companions.

Stott, Sposito and Favoccia’s line art really makes the story click. Last issue Stott struggled to balance the show’s characters with the comic’s, but she’s able to find a better balance here, while filling the pages with energy. Sposito and Favoccia’s pages aren’t a jarring change in their portion of the issue, which is perfect for a mid-issue change.

Any Doctor Who fan will enjoy this issue, and with the finale just airing this week, it’ll keep fans satisfied until the show returns in 2020.
Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #2 is available now from Titan Comics.