Doctor Who Week: Checking Out The Fifteenth Doctor’s Only Comic Book Adventure
by Tony Thornley
Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor has been one of the most unique incarnations of the Time Lord to date. So far though, he’s only had one comic adventure, but it’s a doozy.
Debuting last year from Dan Watters, Kelsey Ramsay, Valentina Bianconi and Comicraft, Doctor Who: The Fifteenth Doctor was a five issue limited series from Titan Comics. The story is set midway through Gatwa’s first season, with the Doctor travelling with Ruby Sunday.
All that’s left of Earth is the last shopping mall. The planet has been evacuated, but the stubborn few have remained on the planet. In those precious moments, a familiar blue box appears. But the Doctor and Roby are about to face a terrifying foe that only has one goal in mind… to make the Last Time Lord scream…
Doctor Who has all the right ingredients for comics. The storytelling can be bigger and grander, while diving into any situation or genre. Watters opts for post-apocalyptic horror, and really its such a great place to start.
The monster at the core of this story is the Scream Sommelier. It’s a weird foe with a fantastic name, but even better is the visuals. Ramsay’s design for the creature is unsettling and weird, giving it a sense of familiarity that makes its wrong-ness jump out. Yes, this is a psychic vampire, but its design is that of a near-human. It could almost pass (and it does around the mall’s inhabitants), but the more you look at the design, the more you see the monster behind the face.
Those two things set up a great comic adventure. Watters takes all the hallmarks of Doctor Who, putting the Doctor and his companion in an impossible situation. The supporting characters are all interesting (especially the mute little girl, Maria), and the Sommelier is a great monster.
Ramsay is turning in some great art as well. Her work has a mixture of far out whimsy that good Whoniverse stories often have with some really good scares. She captures the spirit of the characters, while not being devoted to photo realism. The only moment that falls short is the integration of the Susan Twist cameos, which doesn’t look enough like Twist for it to have the right impact.
This is a great read, especially right before tomorrow’s finale. It was a fun little adventure that makes me want to read more from this creative team.
Doctor Who: The Fifteenth Doctor is available in collected edition from Titan Comics, with singles still available digitally or in back issues at your local comic store.
