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.

The 25 Baubles of Pop Culture! Advent 2022 Day 19

We're looking at the best Doctor Who ornaments of all-time. So hop in the TARDIS and let's get started!

First up is this Kurt Adler ornament of the TARDIS- the Doctor's time machine and a very important character on the show. Based on the 11th Doctor's version of the Mark IV, this ornament is dusted with some festive snow and a wreath with lights up!

This year, Hallmark released an ornament based on one of the most popular incarnations of the Doctor- the 4th! Played by Tom Baker for an unprecedented 7th years, this version of the Doctor was most Americans first introduction to the long-running sci-fi series when PBS obtained the rights to air the series in the late 70s. Here, the Tom Baker Doctor is wearing his 12-foot long scarf and doffing his chapeau to all who pass by him on the family Christmas tree. Sorry, no Jelly Babies however.

When it comes to Doctor Who, after people mention the Police Box and the Doctor, they then refer to the monsters. The most popular monsters are the Daleks. And they're okay. But if you were to ask me my favorite baddies, I would choose the Cybermen all day. Those metal men with their color dead voices and stomping way of walking both scared and fascinated me as a child. To honor my devotion to them, I'm sharing this ornament of a Cyberman's bust, available for sale on the BBC website. I think they're made of blown glass. But I am not very sure. 

On the Etsy side of things, I really like this engraved wooden ornament from a seller known as ZenImperiumDesigns. It has the TARDIS surrounded by some glyphs that look like High Gallifreyan with a few of the tiny globes bearing images of Daleks, Cybermen and those frightening Weeping Angels. 

My favorite Doctor is the 5th Doctor. Played by Peter Davison, this version of the Doctor was my first real taste at Doctor Who. I was about 5 or 6 when I watched my first episode, which happened to be Tom Baker's last episode. When he regenerated into Davison, I was shocked but I liked how he was kind, friendly and adventuresome. Plus, with Adric, a young boy as a member of the TARDIS crew at the time, knowing that this Doctor liked kids made me feel that I could have been a part of the TARDIS at some point.

In honor of the 5th Doctor, I am sharing this polymer clay ornament from seller NerdyGirlsWonderland. It's got the Doctor's awesome tan and red cricket outfit, Panama hat and yes, a stick of decorative vegetable on the lapel!

Today's DIY ornament is fairly simple. You will need a small printed out sheet of paper bearing the lettering on the TARDIS door about being a public call box, scissors, some blue pipe cleaners, an ornament hook and some hot glue. Take the image of the sign and trim away any excess paper with the scissors. Hot glue pipe cleaners around the paper, making a frame. Then take the hook and glue the part that you would hang around the ornament and glue it to the back of the paper, leaving the hook part for your tree. Viola! Once you hang it from your tree, it looks like the Doctor has the chameleon circuits fixed and has turned the TARDIS into your family's Christmas tree!

Doctor Who: The Vault: Treasures from the First 50 Years by Marcus Hearn

Celebrating everything Doctor Who, just in time for it's 50th anniversary- which occurred 6 years ago!

I got this amazing book right around when Doctor Who turned 50th. I was born on November 24th. Doctor Who's first appearance on TV was November 23rd, 1963. So this was a birthday present. 

I remember that I read it through Christmas of 2013. But sometime in early 2014, I got off track and put this book away in my reading cabinet. I promptly forgot about it. that was until about a week ago.

BBC America was showing a massive marathon of Doctor Who episodes as a sort of countdown to the New Year's Day premiere of the newest season (12th) of the long-running time travel series. Around this same time, I was organizing my reading cabinet and I came across this book again. Seeing that I had made a pretty big dent, and I was excited for more Who after a year without any new episodes, I dug back in.

I've read several VAULT edition books. While the format of the Doctor Who vault is petty similar to them, there are some big differences. Most VAULT books have 'artifacts'; removable items that readers can examine. These are things like stickers or blueprints or even scripts. The Doctor Who book has tons of images of a lot of cool stuff. However, there is nothing removable here.

Another difference is the formatting itself. Most VAULT books are separated into chapters that resemble a museum exhibit. But here, each chapter is broken down by year or season. However, there are not 50 chapters. As there was little to no Doctor Who from 1990 until the early 2000s, those 'wilderness years' are lumped together. (Only 1996 in which the movie debuted on national TV is given a separate year entry.) Still, this is a pretty lengthy book about about 40 chapters. I think the shear volume was why I put this book aside for a while.

This is a must for fans of Doctor Who. It's very British. But then again, so is Doctor Who itself. One thing that's a bit aggravating is how much detail is devoted to the show's ratings. I understand that the show spent a long time on the brink of cancellation. But couldn't all of that have been combined into one or two chapters and not spread out throughout the book? I found the production and fun facts parts of this book very interesting. But the devotion to viewership was a bit mind numbing. 

Maybe THAT"S why I put this book away for a while.

Lots of fun but sometimes bogged down in some boring details.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars. 

Doctor Who The Thirteenth Doctor: 2019 Holiday Special #1 (Family Comic Friday)

 If you were expecting a Doctor Who holiday special for 2019,  sorry, it already happened! The New Year's Day episode titled 'Resolution' was the only live action fun starring everyone's favorite Timelord! But that doesn't mean that Whovians will have to go without any further festive fun! Thanks to our friends at Titan Comics, we get not one but TWO! holiday specials in sequential art form! Join Family Comic Friday as we look at the Doctor Who The Thirteenth Doctor: 2019 Holiday Special #1 and 2!

(Please Note: Rating is for issue #1 only!)

Doctor Who The Thirteenth Doctor: 2019 Holiday Special #1 
Written by Jody Houser
Art by Roberta Ingranata
Published by Titan Comics
Retail: $5.99 each

After an adventure on an interstellar amusement park, The Doctor and her companions Graham, Ryan and Yaz all seem to have differing accounts of just what happened. This isn't a case of witness bias. The Doctor recalls Graham being eaten by a carnival game. But Graham thinks that 'The Doc' is bonkers. It was Ryan who got into trouble at a haunted house- and it almost turned him into a ghost!

This case of mixed-up memories has The Doctor alarmed. Going to the TARDIS memory banks, the Timelord discovers that the ship has no memory of ever going to such a terrible planet! Thus The Doctor and the gang will retrace their steps by going to the last place recorded in the TARDIS data banks: a world that only wants the Thirteenth Doctor to leave- AGAIN!

 By the end of the first issue, this band of heroic time (and space) travelers will encounter evil toy soldiers, a evil Santa wannabe and a hidden terror that will make the blood flowing through both of the Doctor's hearts run cold!

When I first heard of a Doctor Who holiday comic special coming to stores for the 2019 Christmas season, I was thrilled! But to find out that we're getting 2 issues! Holy Cow! Santa must have known that I had been really good this year!

The story starts off kinda slow. It really doesn't reflect the holidays until about the last third of the first issue. I'm really hoping that issue #2 will be chock full of festive fun!

The idea of the 4 members of the TARDIS having differing accounts of their previous adventure made for an intriguing mystery. Jody Houser (Stranger Things) has really set the stage for what I hope will be an exciting issue #2.  

Parents and guardians should note that while issue #1 is quite safe for the entire family, issue #2 promises a menacing creature that may be too scary for very young readers.

The Doctor's companions are some of the best we've had to grace the TARDIS since the Ponds and Houser really captures their energy and personalities very well. I only wish that the artist could have done the same with their likenesses.

Artist Roberta Ingranata (Robyn Hood) does a good job illustrating Graham and Ryan. But the images of the Doctor are hit-and-miss. Sometimes it looks like actress Jodie Whittaker. Sometimes the art looks like a random cosplayer dressed as the Thirteenth Doctor. but Ingranata's renderings of Yaz are just not good. Instead of reflecting  Indian-English actress Mandip Gill, many of the panels of Yaz look nothing like her! I was  very disappointed in that.

Issues with the artwork aside, I was pleased. Despite the BBC and Chris Chibnall being Scrooges by not giving us an official 2019 holiday TV episode, Titan Comics made off like Santa by gifting us with this two-parter. Even a Doctor Who special with flaws is better than no Doctor Who at all!

Doctor Who The Thirteenth Doctor: Holiday Special 2019 #1 debuted in stores and digital platforms earlier this month. Issue #2 will debut on December 18th, 2019!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who: The 12th Doctor #16

The Doctor and Clara are about to celebrate the holidays whether they want to or not. In classic fashion, the TARDIS has taken her crew to the most mysterious setting of all- festive holiday party. Everything looks straight out of a Hallmark Channel Movie. That is until Susan, the long lost granddaughter of the Doctor appears bearing a cup of eggnog and Christmas cheer.

Found in a grab bag, this comic book was a pleasant surprise. A perfect read, especially for fans of both the classic and modern series. Mariano Laclaustra was on point with the artwork in this special. There's so many Easter eggs, you forget it's a Christmas special!

Cavan Scott (Star Wars Adventures: Tales From Vader's Castle) and George Mann (Tomorrowland) pull out all the stops in this story which is a sequel to a First Doctor story. Nope- I'm not telling which. 

In a year which will not see a Doctor Who Christmas special, this 2015 adventure is a much needed boost of Time Lord holiday fun!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars!

Riffing on the TARDIS: A Review of Rifftrax Live The Five Doctors

For many it was a weekly ritual. You grab a bag of cheese popcorn, some generic version of Dr. Pepper, dim all the lights in your house, and watch Mystery Science Theatre 3000. If you were a super-fan of the show you called it MST3K. Then you allowed hosts Joel or Mike with their robot sidekicks to take you on a cinematic journey. Mocking some of the worst films ever made, the gang would point out plot holes, continuity errors, and bad acting all the while making you laugh.

Currently MST3K has returned for a new season on Netflix. While this series has garnered some very high praise in its revival, the reboot doesn’t have any of the original cast. For many, that can be a major bummer. Not having Netflix is another a huge downer, but that’s a discussion for another article. Thankfully, for those fans devoted to the original series there’s Rifftrax.

What's a Rifftrax?

Rifftrax takes what MST3K did best- finding cheesy movies, the worse you can find (La lala), and tearing them to bits. Second MST3K host, Mike Nelson started Rifftrax in 2006. But it wasn’t until 2012 when Bill Corbett ("Crow" MST3K seasons 8-10) and Kevin Murphy ("Tom Servo" MST3K seasons 2-10) became partners in the company that Rifftrax really took off.
On its website, Rifftrax has an impressive selection of films that they mock. There’s classic B-movies such as Samurai Cop and the Brian Bosworth bomb, Stone Cold. Thanks to Kickstarter, Rifftrax has even been able to obtain rights to films like 1998’s version of Godzilla. Along with the a large portion of the original MST3K shows, Rifftrax’s also provides commentaries you can listen to in conjunction with watching blockbusters such as Rogue One and even the original Mothra. But let’s get back to their Kickstarter projects.

Kickstart those Laughs

Earlier this year, Rifftrax held a mystery Kickstarter project. Due to terms of the licensing agreement, Nelson and company were forbidden to reveal what the film they were going to be skewering unless they obtained complete funding for their project. Well, the Rifftrax guys destroyed their goal and the project was revealed- the guys would be putting their comedic spin on a classic episode of Doctor Who! The BBC apparently did not want to get any hopes up until they knew that the Rifftrax folks could obtain funding for the licensing rights. As a result, Rifftrax put on a special show live last week from Nashville TN where the episode was aired in theaters around the country. Last night was an encore performance of that classic Doctor Who event.

The episode in question was "The Five Doctors"- the 20th anniversary episode of the long-running BBC series. That episode has a slew of classic Doctors and companions joining forces against a rogue Timelord who is stealing all of the Doctor’s past regenerations from the time stream. The 1983 episode stars Peter Davison, Jon Pertwee, and Patrick Thornton as the Fifth, Third, and Second Doctors. 

Blake’s 7 actor Richard Hurndall assumed the role on the First Doctor for the late William Hartnell. Meanwhile, Tom Baker decided to forgo his chance to reprise the role of the Fourth Doctor. So never before used footage from the abandoned episode "Shada" was used instead.

The Rifftrax guys did a fantastic job allowing the fans to laugh at the episode and follow along more of what was happening at the same time. Occasionally, the screen would cut in half allowing viewers to see the episode while watching the shenanigans of Mike Nelson and company. Thankfully, these cuts all happen during lulls in the action. Every once in a while, you hear the commentators giggling at their own jokes but for the most part, it ran rather smoothly.

Technical Difficulties

That wasn’t the case with the opening act. On some episodes of MST3K, they would start off the show by viewing a classic educational film and mock it. Being that Doctor Who is British, the Rifftrax folks went across the pond to bring us Play Safe. According to Kevin Murphy, in the early 70s there was a big problem with kids playing near power lines and inside of substations. So the British government created this film as a way of warning kids of the dangers of high voltage. While there were plenty of laughs made at dumb kids playing with electricity for the first 2-3 minutes, the Rifftrax guys had trouble seeing the monitors and kept asking the tech crew for help. But once it was cleared, it was smooth sailing the rest of the night. Needless to say, the electrocution of little Timmy was a running joke for the duration of the event.

It was great getting to laugh without being reminded of all the crap going on in the world. Only a few jokes were topical.  There was one joke about the next Doctor being cast as a woman. Several jokes about the quality of 2017 summer blockbusters came at the expense of features like The Dark Tower. But the Trump/ Clinton jokes were kept to just one! The Five Doctors was a great event to just escape everything for a little bit. Even my wife said that for 2 solid hours she forgot about work.

Coming Attractions

The next big Rifftrax event is in the fall. On October 25th, theatres nationwide will be airing the Rifftrax Halloween Special showing of the original Night of the Living Dead. Until then, if you need some laughs, you can view a number of features and shorts in the Rifftrax library at prices ranging from $1.99 to $9.99 per episode. Just don’t forget your cheese popcorn and Dr. Pepper knock-off sodas.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Adventures, Year Two, Volume 7: War of Gods

The Year Two Adventures of the Tenth Doctor comes to a close in War of Gods.

Time Lord Troubles

I’ll admit, when IDW lost the rights to the Doctor Who franchise in 2014, I was upset as were a number of fans. Yet, I think the BBC did the right thing by switching Doctor Who over to Titan Comics. IDW’s writers had a bad habit of taking established stories, place them in a different setting, and pass them off as all-new. The publisher had an even worse habit of having each version of the Doctor regurgitate their most popular catchphrases ad nauseam.

If a Dalek was attacking the Eleventh Doctor, he’d yell ‘Fish Fingers and Custard!” for no reason at all. Everything was ‘Fantastic’ to IDW’s version of the Ninth Doctor- even a plague of oozing boils and foot fungus. Yet, the worst offender has to be the writers of the Tom Baker comics and their excessive love for Jelly Babies

Maybe the reason IDW had to go crazy with the tag lines were that the art wasn’t all that good. Almost all of IDW’s artwork on the Doctor Who franchise was poorly drawn. If not for the photos of the Doctor on the cover, you couldn’t tell which regeneration the book was about.

I am happy to say that bad writing and lousy art is not an issue with this collection of Tenth Doctor tales.

A Classic Who Villain Returns

While continuing the Anubis story from Volume 6: Sins of the Father, this book also acts as an unofficial sequel to the 1975 classic Who episode Pyramids of Mars. Eisner Award winning writer Nick Abadzis (Laika) pits the Tenth Doctor against one of the classic foes of the Tom Baker era: Sutekh.

Sutekh or Set is the Egyptian god of disorder. He was last seen by Who fans in England attempting to rule the universe with an army of robot mummies. The Fourth Doctor developed a process to destroy the Egyptian deity. Surviving the Doctor’s assault, Sutekh spent quite some time in a pocket universe. It is during this banishment that the villain manages to recruit a new of foes to the Doctor in order to destroy the Time Lord. Featuring a number of memorable baddies  from the TV series and Titan Comics, the Doctor and his companions Gabby and Cindy must stop the army of gods and monsters. Should they fail, Sutekh will achieve his ultimate goal: complete annihilation of the universe.

Feel The Doctor’s Pain

The soul and two hearts of the Tennant Doctor is very real here. You can feel his anger, sadness, and quirks throughout the book. Although this story is about a classic foe of the Doctor’s, it is a completely fresh feeling story. It also helps that the Tenth Doctor looks like the Tenth Doctor. Aiding Nick Abadzis in this feat are artists Giorgia Sposito and Warren Pleece.

Even the backup short (by Supergirl’s James Pleety) that features a gallery of Companions was exciting and new. Pleety’s story just didn’t dig deep enough into the loss the Doctor has felt over losing Donna or Rose. Plus, it would have been a nice twist to have Ten meet a future companion that he doesn’t know yet- like Amy or Bill.

If you were hesitant to give the Doctor Who Titan Comics a try- STOP! The company is really holding it’s own. The writers, artists, and editors truly seem to love and care for the franchise. The BBC was wise to trust Titan with the keys to the TARDIS.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 105

 

  It's a very happy day here at Casa Madman- Doctor Who returns today!

  I've been watching Doctor Who since I was a little guy. I'd come home from pre-school or kindergarten and every day at 5pm on PBS, I'd watch the adventures of the Doctor and his TARDIS as he battled monsters, robots, and baddies galore.

   So in honor of tonight's season premieres, let's look at Doctor Who in the year I was born.

   In 1977, the Doctor was the bohemian Tom Baker. With his unruly hair, wicked sense of humor, and extremely long scarf, Baker was and still is a fan-favorite. (His replacement, Peter Davison is MY Doctor. But Baker is clearly in my top 5!)

    The Fourth Doctor's companion in 1977 was the warrior Leela. Played by Louise Jameson, she added a bit of sex appeal to the series as she ran around most of the time in a leather bikini. But she was fierce and could kick serious butt.

    Another companion of the Doctor was his robot dog, K-9. He was oh so faithful to the Doctor, calling him master and using his lasers to save the Doctor when the chips were down.

    One of my favorite things about the show was the theme song. I'm addicted to every version and variant of it. So before I go, I just had to share with you the theme as it would've been in good ole 1977.

    Enjoy...

   

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 5

     You can't have a modern day Christmas without Christmas Specials. Though the one I am looking forward to the most is the Doctor Who Christmas Special, I have fond memories of some classics over the years. A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Grinch, and of course, the puppet classic, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer which is essentially the granddaddy of them all.
    So for today's advent, I present to you a Doctor Who version of the account of the massive snow storm that spawned the need for Rudolph to guide Santa's sleigh: 'How the Puppet Doctor Saved Christmas.'
   Enjoy...

Doctor Who #15 (2011-2012)

  The penultimate issue of this series of Doctor Who. It's not without thrills, chills, laughs, and a shocking twist or two. Unfortunately, the twists were telegraphed a mile away...
   But hey- Nazis and Silurians!!! 
   Worth Consuming!

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who #13 (2011-2012)

  In the last storyline of this series, the Doctor and the Ponds arrive in Casablanca to go Fez shopping. But instead of the present day, the TARDIS materializes in the middle of World War II and that means running afoul of Nazis! Almost immediately Rory is falsely arrested in order to be framed for murdering a jailed dissident. As the Doctor and Amy race to save her husband a deadly mist envelopes the city, leading the Timelord to uncover a plot involving one of his oldest and most lethal foes.

  A great opening chapter. The writing is quite good but the art is awfully abstract. Why IDW wouldn't use an artist capable of doing more photo-realistic renderings is both a mystery and probably why they lost the rights to Doctor Who to Titan. I know reusing the same stock photos over and over for the incentive covers didn't help one bit!

  Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who #12 (2011-2012)

  A companion-less Doctor materializes on the North Pole just in time to rescue Santa from a trio of robots intent on stealing the Jolly Ole' fat man's magic bag of gifts. While the magic sack and Santa are saved, his reindeer are a little worse for wear and cannot make the Christmas Eve trek. So the Doctor hooks up Santa's sleigh to the TARDIS and a night of fun, adventure, and cookies begins! ( I only wish there was a scene where the Doctor is seen giving a gift to one of his famous monster foes like some slumbering Sontarans or sleeping Silurians.)
  My Holiday 2016 comic book readings began with this issue of Doctor Who and it was a good start to it! Plus, since I only had the photo variant cover, this was quite the surprise. Other than a very hard to find and very expensive holiday special from Marvel in the 1980s, I was not aware of any Christmas themed Doctor Who Comics! 
    Titled 'Silent Knight', this issue goes full GI Joe #21 as there are no words or sound effects in this story at all with exception of a small Christmas wish from the Doctor on the very last panel. Even though I'm feel that comics without words is a waste of money, since this was a special holiday Who, I was extremely thrilled with it. In fact, it was a treat so nice, I read it twice!

  Very Much Worth Consuming

  Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.
    

Doctor Who #9 (2011-2012)

 

The Doctor takes the Ponds to a space station known for their exotic fruit smoothies. While there, they encounter a group of religious fanatics who believe that a gigantic space squid will emerge and signal the end of the universe.  Naturally, the Doctor tries to dissuade the crowd of their fears. And of course Amy and Rory are in trouble,  suspected of being terrorists by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  But what do you make of the gigantic space squid that just appeared outside the space station? He looks pretty angry and very well could spell the end of all existence…

   A fun story that was classic Doctor Who. The art was pretty good in this issue. Some images of Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Arthur Darvill actually look like themselves!

   An all-around perfect Doctor Who comic!

  Worth Consuming

  Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who (2011-2012) #7

     After a Sontaran battleship crashes into a space station sitting atop a temporal rift, the crew of the TARDIS find themselves trapped in time. The Doctor is being hounded by rogue robot dinosaurs. Rory, mistaken to be Billy the Kid, is about to by hanged by an old west mob, and Amy is on the run from the Nazis. In all of these realities, the Sontarans have been fused into the timeline as enemies. It looks like all hope for these travelers is lost until they each are rescued by a mysterious woman named Lisa.
    Why are there Sontarans everywhere? What is Lisa's role in this time-warped caper? And is that the TARDIS on the horizon?
    Another fun chapter in IDW's 2011-2012 run of 11th Doctor adventures. With the crazy cliffhanger, I can't wait for the next chapter to see what hi-jinks will occur next! It's a timey-wimey wibbly-wobbly brain teaser that can only be attributed to one man- show-runner, Stephen Moffat!

    Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
    

In need of a Doctor...

 
 This has been a tough year...
   An election that wouldn't end...
   Deaths of beloved celebrities like Bowie, Wilder, and Prince...
   And no Doctor Who all year!!!

   Well, I can't take it anymore. I'm jonesin' for some new Who!!!

   Thankfully, on November 19th, BBC America will be airing an animated version of a lost Doctor Who episode from the Patrick Troughton era and in less than 2 months we'll have an all-new Christmas special.
  
    So in high anticipation of the forth-coming Doctor Who episodes, I'm going to be reading a lot of Doctor Who comics and books. So, stay tuned over the next few days for a smattering of reviews of further adventures of a Timelord and his TARDIS.

Unofficial Doctor Who: The Big Book of Lists

  Written by Doctor Who fan-blogger, Cameron K. McEwan, this is a great unofficial book of lists pertaining to all things Doctor Who. Past and present, all of the Doctors, companions, and a good chunk of all of the episodes are covered here. As with any book that is written without the expressed permission of the the creators/ owners (in this case the BBC), there's some repetition. I guess that is excusable since this is a book filled with top 10 lists. But it can get a little boring.
    There's not so much extra stuff devoted to spin-offs like Torchwood or Who works that aren't really canon, such as the two feature films starring Peter Cushing (Star Wars) or anything really directed at the novelizations and comics. Maybe a volume 2 will cover this?
    I saw this book when it first came out in stores in April of 2015. It's a visually stunning piece with photo-realistic renderings of all the Doctors and some classic monsters and companions by Doctor Who official merchandise artist Andrew Skilleter. But why does my Doctor, Peter Davison, have to has his light blonde hair tinted green? No, it's not because of the celery he wears on his lapel either!
     The book also comes with a quiz in the back. I mostly glossed over it. It's comprised all of famous sayings, but I was getting tired or going back and forth to see if I got the answers right. Maybe I'll quiz my wife on these, however. She's a budding Whovian and she loves a good quiz or two.
     At $23 new, it's a little expensive for something that isn't officially licensed Who. But if you can find in on sale, like I did for $5, it is Worth Consuming and a great read at your own pace without getting bogged down in details kinda book.

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who: Hunters of the Burning Stone (Doctor Who Graphic Novels Volume 17)

  Hunters of the Burning Stone collects a trio of comics from Doctor Who Magazine starring the Eleventh Doctor. 

   The first story has the Doctor, Amy, and Rory on a tour of the Doctor's 1,000 Favorite Places To Visit. He means to take the Ponds to modern day Prague but winds up behind the Iron Curtain prior to the fall of the Iron Curtain. Things couldn't a more dangerous turn as Rory ends up kidnapped by Soviet agents and Doctor reveals that history could be altered as the fall of the Berlin Wall isn't a fixed point in time.

   Then take a look at a holiday adventure from Amy and Rory's childhood. It's a fun adventure filled with the dastardly Krampus, some evil elves, and a mysterious schoolgirl named Mels! Don't skip the last page of this story it is is such a beautiful goodbye to the Ponds after the events of 'The Angels Take Manhattan.'

   Lastly, the Doctor is reunited with his very first companions, schoolteachers Ian and Barbara. It's DWM's take on the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who and it was a surprise filled journey full of Easter Eggs, cameos, and much more. 

   These are the rarest of the Doctor Who comics to find. Published from the British publisher Panini Press, unless you find a comic book store willing to carry these imports, you have to either go on Amazon and hope the price is right or you get lucky like I did and find it at a used book store for a decent price. 

   Though all three of these stories are stand alone reads, they all continue a storyline that starts in the companion piece The Chains of Olympus. I do feel like maybe I should have waited until I found that book and read that one first- but it's British Who comics and like a kid at Christmas, I couldn't wait to tear into this this. I was a bit lost at times but this was worth it!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who: The Companions by John Nathan-Turner

    The Companion. A staple of the series Doctor Who. It's the crew member of the TARDIS that anchors the Doctor, completes him, and makes Whovians dream that one day we'll hear the melodic whine of the time ship's grinding brakes in hopes that it will be our turn to travel through time and space.

   This 1986 book covers every companion to grace the interior of the TARDIS. Written by (at the time) showrunner John Nathan-Turner, it's filled with lots of insider information about the creation of the characters and the process in casting the talent to portray them on the small screen. However, if the companion isn't from Nathan-Turner’s era, you'll get very little information on your favorite companions. But that wasn't a problem for me as my Doctor, the Fifth played by Peter Davison, features heavily in this book. But it does make for an incomplete compendium on the companions of the first six Doctors. Especially those who traveled with the Hartnell, Troughton, and Pertwee Timelords...

   The book also boasts several painted covers of some past companions. Several were quite good renderings of the actors. A couple were okay but did feature some awesome monsters. And then there is the black and white painting of Elizabeth Sladen’s Sarah Jane Smith… if not for a listing of subjects in the front of the book, I would not have a clue who the artist was going for.

    Doctor Who: The Companions was printed in the UK. I'm sure over there this isn't a hard book to find. But anything classic Who is rare here in the States and I was thrilled to find this at the Doll Book Exchange last month.

  A must for classic Who fans- especially of the Fourth, Fifth. And Sixth Doctors!

  Worth Consuming!

  Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who: Free Comic Book Day 2015 (Family Comic Friday)

This week's Family Comic Friday focuses on the classic British sci-fi series, Doctor Who. Now, you might be saying 'Wait a minute Madman, Doctor Who isn't for kids!" And you'd be wrong! When the show first aired in November 1963, not only was the show aimed at kids- it was an educational series to boot. One week, the Doctor would fight crazy aliens, the next he'd take his little blue box, the TARDIS, somewhere back in time and meet cavemen or Marco Polo. Eventually, the aliens and monsters episodes would prove to be more popular and the time travelling adventures would be phased out completely, unless the Doctor went back in time to meet someone like Shakespeare and battle some aliens posing as the three witches from Macbeth.

    Though Doctor Who is a little scary and a little violent, at it's very heart, this is a kids show. I started watching about 1981-82. This was when the first Peter Davison (The Fifth Doctor- My Doctor!) episodes as the Doctor were airing on PBS in America. I was 4 or 5 and I'd come home from Kindergarten and plop myself right in front on the tube and watch me some Doctor Who. I loved it!

   The series went away from American airwaves about 1986 and stopped being made altogether in 1988-89 in Britain. Years of waiting and rumors of the Doctor's return meant having to get your Who fixes by either watching old episodes on VHS or finding a novelization of his new adventures. We got a small glimmer of hope with a 1996 TV movie on FOX, no less. But it was another 9 years before the TARDIS would rematerialize on the airwaves. 

   From when Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor advised his future companion Rose and us to "Run!" in 2005, three other actors have assumed the role. David Tennant's Tenth Doctor is by some considered the best Doctor of all-time. I would have to agree (though I am very fond of the Fifth Doctor.) Tennant's successor, Matt Smith is my wife's favorite and really the incarnation that helped make the series become more mainstream and more universally kid friendly. Currently, we are at Doctor #12, played by elder statesman, Peter Capaldi. His Doctor is a little more obtuse, grouchy, and very original series Doctor Who, but the kids and established fans love him anyway!

    If you want to catch up on any of the new Doctors in comics, Titan Comics is where it's at. Concurrently, they run 3 different Doctor Who series containing all-new adventures of the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelveth Doctor. At this year's Free Comic Book Day, Titan offered a book that featured 3 short stories starring the Tennant, Smith, and Capaldi Doctors. Let's take a look at them individually:

   The first story starred the Capaldi Timelord as he and his companion Clara travel to a planet that's seen some odd storms brewing. When the Doctor discovers that the lightning in the storms is alive, he must rescue the creature before it overloads the power core of the planet's research station. The art was very good with great renderings of the Doctor and Clara. But, the story jumps around a little as if the script was deemed too long and edited for time. Only, those cuts removed vital information to making this a very coherent tale.

   Next up is Matt Smith's Doctor as he and his companions travel to London, 2015, where all of the residents are going ga-ga for Free Comic Book Day. The Doctor uncovers an alien plot in which the menace is using his comic to control the London populace. This was a very funny story. The only issue here was that the Doctor travels with 3 all-new companions and this short tale doesn't give very much time for the reader to adequately become familiar with them all.

    Lastly, we have the Tenth Doctor and his new companion Gabby. It's laundry day in the TARDIS and when the Doctor accidently leaves his handy sonic screwdriver in his coat pocket, it turns the dirt on his clothes into a rampaging gunk monster. The best story of the book- it had fun, adventure, and most of all hearts (as Timelords have 2 of them compared to humans who only have the one.)

    This Free Comic Book Day offering has me excited to start diving into these series; especially the Smith and Tennant books. One very awesome teaser at the end of the book was that Titan is to start publishing miniseries based on the 10 other versions of the Doctor with Eccleston's incarnation being first up.

    Another cool announcement (and the reason I choose this book for today's Family Comic Friday selection) is on August 15th (2 weeks from tomorrow), Titan will be hosting the second annual Doctor Who Comics Day at various comic book shops and libraries around the globe in celebration of the release of the first Titan Doctor Who Crossover event. Be sure to check the Doctor Who Comics Day page for more details. And then check with your local comics retailer or library to see if they are participating in this event. Hopefully, they are and you can pick up some free goodies, meet some fellow Whovians (fans of Doctor Who- DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU IT'S CALLED 'DWEEKS' AS THAT'S COMPLETELY FALSE!), and have to some fun!

   So, what are you waiting for- check out these fantastic comics today and become the newest companion to the Doctor!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating:  12th Doctor tale: 8 out of 10 stars.
               11th Doctor adventure: 9 out of 10 stars.
               10th Doctor story: 10 out of 10 stars.
    AVG Rating: 9 out 10 stars.

Doctor Who #5 (2011-2012)

 The Doctor, Amy, and Rory hope to make it to 1966 Wembley in order to catch England winning the World Cup. Well, they make it to Wembley but just not at the right time thanks to the trusty machinations of the TARDIS. The trio arrives in Wemble's Woods during medieval times only to find a tribe of Vikings poised to overtake the area and later conquer London and all of England. Oh, and the Viking's are going to take Amy and Lord Wemble's wife as brides.
 
   In true fashion of the Doctor, it's up to him to save the day. Only he's not going to do with with swords or shields or even his sonic screwdriver. Instead, he's going to challenge the Vikings to a little game of football with Rory as goalie. Just don't tell the opposing team that Rory sucks as goalkeeper.

   Another great Doctor Who offering by IDW Publishing. The art is amazing and the plotting is fantastic. I've now read through 2 single-issue tales and a multi-issue affair and I must say I like them all equally. I hope IDW continued to mix it up like this as the format works very well.

    I really love the football variant cover B, too!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.