IDW Publishing has been doing a great job of bring out new Doctor Who comics for fans who can’t get enough of the Doctor and his human companions. This issue is the second comic annual they have done featuring the 11th Doctor. While I have the entire 11th Doctor run so far, as well as the first annual, I never quite got around to reading them yet. I read this one because it was the first issue I got digitally, and it popped up after I finished my last digital comic, so I just kept reading.
This issue features 4 short stories featuring the 11th Doctor and continues with companions Amy and Rory. The first story is “In-Fez-Station”, continuing the play on the Doctor’s love of Fezzes. Because Fezzes are cool. The story was fairly well done, and featured a villain introduced in the new series. The use of the fezzes was well done, and the villains evil plot was thought out. I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t hated the art. I really dislike this style that is very angular with sharp edges. Most of the characters don’t look like themselves, and the eyes reminded more of the “no” Japanese katakana. But anytime the 11th Doctor is in a Fez is a good one.
The second story, “Time Fraud” I think I enjoyed the most. It introduced a new alien species, the Ra’ra’vis, who look like giant birds, and could fit in to Mesoamerican mythology. They also have phoenix-like qualities, and a particular celestial event called the Solstice of Pajaro allows them to rejuvenate the old and infirm. And maybe travel through time, which is what attracts the Doctor, and seemingly the Time Lords as well. The identity of the “Time Lords” isn’t too surprising, but the ending did have a nice twist as it tied into the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood: Children of Earth.
“Escape Into Alcatraz”, the third story, has the Doctor helping an alien friend who has a bounty on his head and will die without the Doctor’s help. This story reminded me a lot of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, as it had the Doctor setting up all kinds of things in the past that they could use such as changing the blueprints of Alcatraz, and having Rory and Amy leave “gifts” in their cell. It was competently done, but it didn’t really ring my bell.
The last story, “Eagle of the Reich” is a fairly standard take on Nazis. The Doctor was trying to take Rory and Amy to the Crystal Palace when it opened, but the TARDIS is instead drawn to it in the 1940s where a foreign archeologist is digging in the ruins. Guess who the archeologist works for? They find what she is looking for, but it isn’t what she thinks it is. The Doctor’s soccer skills come in use here, and this is the second reference to a phoenix-like race in the same issue! It’s another good reference too.
Overall, this was a fun issue to read. The stories were nice and short, and everyone was in character. The only downer of the whole issue was the art in the first story. Otherwise, this is a great book for Doctor Who fans.
