Grant Morrison's Doctor Who #1(2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Grant Morrison's tenure on Doctor Who Magazine was a brief one spread from 1986-88. Working for Marvel UK, Morrison wrote 3 stories. The two-part 'Changes' and 'The World Shapers', a three-parter illustrated by John Ridgway (2000 AD). These tales featured the much maligned Sixth Doctor portrayed by Colin Baker. Morrison's third and final story, 'Culture Shock', was a single-issue adventure starring the penultimate classic Doctor, Sylvester McCoy's Seventh. Transformers' Bryan Hitch was the artist of that work. 

In 2008, IDW Publishing obtained the rights to produce comic books based on the BBC flagship sci-fi franchise, Doctor Who. Immediately, IDW began releasing reprint series based on Marvel's Doctor Who stories beginning with tales starring the Fourth and Fifth Doctor. That series, titled Doctor Who Classics, introduced stories that hadn't seen print in the United States in almost a quarter of a decade. 

Fans were indeed rabid for these reprints. Soon somebody remembered that Grant Morrison had done a run of Doctor Who stories and the combined fan base of Whovians and Grant Morrison devotees clamored for their release. If IDW went in order of Doctors, it would probably be another couple of years before the tales of the Sixth and Seventh Doctor were reprinted. That just wouldn't do! So IDW Publishing rushed a two-issue miniseries to print to meet the vocal demand. 

'Changes' and 'Culture Shock' comprise the first issue. Issue #2 collects all 3 segments of 'The World Shaper.' 

In 'Changes', the TARDIS detects an intruder aboard. The Doctor isn't very worried as TARDIS security measures will prevent the use of lethal force aboard the vessel. That all changes when the stranger overloads the TARDIS circuitry disabling the safety features. Guest starring human companion Peri Brown and the shape-shifting Whifferdill companion Frobisher, who appears regularly as a penguin.

The Doctor goes solo in 'Culture Shock' when the Timelord intercepts a psychic plea from a primordial collective. One should note that the TARDIS is featured in this story and many Whovians consider the TARDIS to be a character until itself. If one considers such a tale to not be a Doctor Who solo adventure, my apologies.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #34 (Written by Grant Morrison, Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Captain America: Man Out of Time

Back around 1963, when Kirby and Lee revived Captain America, he was clearly a man out of his own time, but he seemed okay with being stuck in the modern day world. Yes, the death of his partner Bucky haunted him, but Steve Rogers seemed content to keep the American Dream he fought for during World War II alive. It helped having both Baron Zemo and the Red Skull survive the fall of the Third Reich to keep Capt.motivated to protect the 1960s from fascism.

  Well what if Steve Rogers wanted to get back to the 1940s?

   In Man Out of Time, after the Avengers free Steve Rogers from being frozen, Captain America thinks that everything he's witnesses is a Nazi trap. Over time, the hero learns that he is in fact 70 years into the future and makes it his duty to get back home. To prevent Capt from altering the timeline, the President orders the Avengers to make Rogers a member. Captain America seems to be fitting into his new role quite well. But when Earth’s Mightiest Heroes face the time travelling villain Kang the Conqueror, the baddie grants Steve Rogers his ultimate wish.

  Awaking in 1945 Brooklyn, Steve learns that the war in Europe is over, the campaign in the Pacific rages on, and American mourns the loss of it's hero, Captain America. This puts the good Captain in a awkward position: should he make his presence known and enlist in the conflict with Japan, stroll off into the sunset and live the rest of his days in hiding, or get back to the future?!

This unique look at Captain America's earliest days back from the frozen brink was very clever and well thought out. I liked that the editor's decided to include a reprinting of Capt's first modern era tale from Avengers #4. It really rounded out the story as a whole.

Mark Waid, whose recent run on Daredevil has made the Man Without Fear one of my new favors characters, was behind this story and he did another fantastic job. The art by Jorge Molina was pretty good but the covers by Bryan Hitch were superb. Just look at the amazing job on Man Out of Time's cover; the renderings of every President since FDR were quite good! Hitch should be asked to do the portrait of whomever is elected POTUS in November for the National Gallery!

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.