Titan Comics Graphic Novel: Empire of the Wolf

Writer: Jody Houser

Artist: Roberta Ingranata

Colorist: Warnia K. Sahadewa

Letterer: Richard Starkings of Comicraft

Publisher: Titan Comics

Summary: The 8th and 11th Doctors both meet Rose Tyler and an alternate version of her called the Empress. They team up to fend off a Sontaran invasion.

Review: When I saw this on Hoopla last year, I knew it would be perfect for reviewing as part of my celebration of the 60th anniversary. I was not expecting an alternate version of Rose, so it was a nice surprise. (Although in hindsight, the title “Empire of the Wolf” should have been a giveaway). Jody Houser is usually a pretty good writer when she’s writing stories with female leads, and she did a good job of writing Rose. Her “Empress” version wasn’t that well-developed.

Roberta Ingranata is a pretty good artist on here as well. I liked the way she depicted the Sontarans.

Overall, this wasn’t the best multi-Doctor story, but I did enjoy it.

Grade: B

Thirteenth Doctor Comics Vol. 4: Time Out of Mind (Titan Comics)

Writer: Jody Houser

Artists: Roberta Ingranata, Giorgia Sposito, and Valeria Favoccia

Colorist: Enrique Eren Angiolini

Letterers: Richard Starking, Comicraft

Companions: Graham O’Brien, Yazmin Khan, and Ryan Sinclair

Publisher: Titan Comics

Summary: The Doctor and her friends go to an intergalactic fair, but things aren’t what they seem. They’ve had their memories altered, and are imprisoned. But things gt even stranger when they are rescued by…an elf?

Review: I actually saw this on Hoopla not long ago and decided to review it now even though it’s out of order because it’s Christmas-themed. This story is a lot of fun. I like how it starts with neither the Doctor, her companions, nor even the reader knowing what is going on. I like stories like this. It also has a cool twist I didn’t see. My only critique is that not every main character gets a chance to be useful.

If you’re bummed that we never got a Christmas episode during Whittaker’s era, this is worth a read.

Grade: B

Thirteenth: Legend of the Sea Devils

Writers: Ella Road & Chris Chibnall

Director: Haolu Wang

Producer: Nikki Wilson

Series: 2022 Easter Special

Companions: Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill) and Dan Lewis (John Bishop)

Summary: The Doctor and companions encounter the Sea Devils and the legendary Chinese pirate Madam Ching. Ching is searching for the Flor de la Mar, a Portuguese ship that sunk in the Indian Ocean in 1511 in order to pay ransom for her crew.

Review: I was excited about this one. The Sea Devils haven’t been seen since “Warriors of the Deep” , and “The Sea Devils” is one of my favorite stories from the Pertwee Era. Plus, it has pirates, so that’s always fun. I also liked that they didn’t change how the Sea Devils looked. You don’t need to change every monster for modern audiences.

The guest stars were pretty cool. Madam Ching was a fun character, and it was a nice change that the show didn’t go crazy about having another historical figure. The Sea Devils were great. Dan had some funny moments. Even seeing the Murka again was a nice surprise, especially given how infamous that was.

My first problem with the show is the length. Normally, the specials are longer than the usual episodes, but this episode feels rushed. Also, I’m sorry, but Yaz continues to bore me, and making her fall in love with the Doctor isn’t helping.

Other than that, I enjoyed this story. Now to wait for the next special.

Grade: A

Thirteenth Doctor Comics Vol. 4: A Tale of Two Doctors

Writer: Jody Houser

Artist: Roberta Ingranata

Colorists: Enrica Eren Angiolini and Shari Chankhamma

Letterers: Richard Starkings & Sarah Hedrick

Publisher: Titan Comics

Companions: Graham O’Brien, Ryan Sinclair, Yasmin Khan, and Martha Jones

Summary: The Thirteenth Doctor and companions want to go to Woodstock, but the TARDIS takes them to London instead of New York. To make matters worse, they meet the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones while they are being chased by the Weeping Angels during “Blink”.

Review: I wanted to like this one. Jody Houser is usually a great writer, not just for the 13th Doctor, but also Valiant Comics’ Faith, which I’ve recently started reading. The art is great as well.

My main problem with this is it recycles “Blink”. Now, I love “Blink”, but this story doesn’t give the 13th Doctor or her companions much agency. Graham, Ryan, and Yaz don’t get to do much. Martha is all right, but this feels like it’s only an adventure for the Doctors. The companions all feel superficial. Thirteen can’t help much because she doesn’t want to create a paradox.

Overall, this felt like a waste of time. I’m glad Houser played it safe with only two Doctors, but the whole story feels like it was forced on her, and doesn’t play to her strengths.

Vol. 5 has also been published, and I’ll review that later this year because I want to do that before Jodie Whitaker leaves the show.

Grade: D

Thirteenth: Eve of the Daleks

Writer: Chris Chibnall

Director: Annetta Laufer

Producer: Sheena Bucktowonsing

Companions: Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill) and Dan Lewis (John Bishop)

Series: 2022 New Year’s Special

Summary: The Doctor and companions battle the Daleks in a shrinking time loop caused by Flux, and confined to an apartment complex. Caught in the loop are two friends named Nick and Sarah.

Review: After all of the crazy puzzle pieces that made up Flux, it actually was nice to have an episode with lowered stakes. It still managed to be exciting in the process.

Nick and Sarah were a good addition to the cast. I liked the way they played off each other.

Dan is once again the MVP for the episode. I love how he continues to be unfazed. I suspect he won’t be in Series 14, so I’ll miss him more than Yaz.

The Daleks were pretty menacing in this. In fact, I think this is their best story they’ve had in a long time.

Of the threw New Year’s specials, this one is definitely the best.

Grade: A+

Thirteenth: Flux Part 6: The Vanquishers

Writer: Chris Chibnall

Director: Azhur Saleem

Producer: Nikki Wilson

Companions: Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill) and Dan Lewis (John Bishop)

Summary: The Doctor is captured by Swarm and Azure, who want to exploit Flux for the universe’s destruction. The Sontarans have taken over Earth. How will this all end?

Review: For years, many Whovians have debated whether Doctor Who should return to the serial format of Classic Who. I’ve often thought it’d never work. Often Classic Who would have stories I thought should’ve been shorter. “Flux” has made me reconsider my position.

The Vanquishers is a great conclusion to this arc. I was worried that all the different threads would grow more confusing as the story progressed, but the conclusion actually wrapped up well, leaving some things that can be likely be touched upon in the upcoming specials.

This was probably the best of the three series in the Whittaker era. Shame it took three series to finally get good.

Grade: (of “Flux” as a whole): B+

Thirteenth: Flux Part 5: Survivors of the Flux

Writer: Chris Chibnall

Director: Jamie Magnus Stone

Producer: Nikki Wilson

Companions: Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill) and Dan Lewis (John Bishop)

Summary: The Doctor once again encounters Tecteun, the woman who raised her (as was revealed in the previous series) She learns Tecteun is in charge of The Division, and they created The Flux.

Meanwhile, her Companions have travelled to 1904, in order to evade assassins. Dan tries to leave a message on the Great Wall of China for Karvanista, but he can’t help without time travel.

Kate Stewart has met with The Grand Serpent, and we learn he has been infiltrating his enemies through time, including UNIT. The Grand Serpent has now planted the seeds for another Sontaran invasion.

In the final cliffhanger ending, Swarm and Azure catch up to Tecteun and disintegrate her.

Review: Yeah, a lot happened in this part. If there’s one thing I may have a problem with, it’s the rumor going around that Chibnall may be revealing the Doctor’s parents soon. I don’t like that idea. Chibnall really seems obsessed with revealing every facet of the Doctor’s past. I don’t want to know what she was like before the show started. I’ll address this in an editorial, because I want to see if this happens in the final part.

Chibnall, to his credit, seems better at writing a story in a serial format, rather than the arcs of the previous series. I don’t hate him, but I won’t say he’s the best writer ever.

Next time, I’ll review part 6, and then give my thoughts on The Flux as a whole.

Grade: B-

Thirteenth: Flux, Part 4: Village of the Angels

Writer: Chris Chibnall

Director: Jamie Magnus Stone

Producer: Nikki Wilson

Companions: Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill) and Dan Lewis (John Bishop)

Summary: The Doctor and companions find out that the Weeping Angels who have been plaguing a village are in league with the Division.

Review: It’s finally happened! The Weeping Angels are creepy again. For years, Doctor Who has been trying to top “Blink”, but hasn’t really done it. Moffat kind of did a good job with “Angels in Manhattan” until you see The Statue of Liberty as a Weeping Angel. “Resolution” saved the Daleks and this episode has saved the Weeping Angels. And the cliffhanger for this one has to be one of my all-time favorite cliffhangers.

Two more parts to go. You’ll see my review of “Survivors of the Flux” on Friday.

Thirteenth: Flux Part 3: Once, Upon Time

Writer: Chris Chibnall

Director: Azhur Saleem

Producer: Nikki Wilson

Companions: Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill) and Dan Lewis (John Bishop)

Series: Series 13, ep. 3

Summary: The Flux is erasing history, and the Doctor stalls the Division by hiding Yaz and Dan in different eras. She also once again meets Ruth, the “Fugitive Doctor” from last series.

Review: I’ve been criticized for reviewing each episode in this series individually, rather than waiting for the whole series to air completely. This is because the episodes are all part of a larger story, like the serials were aired in Classic Who. You’d just see something like “The Androids of Tara” and “Part 2” for a title back then. So why am I doing this? Well, I’d like to bring up that when Stephen King originally wrote The Green Mile, it was published in six separate novellas, rather than the one novel it is today. And each of these novellas was reviewed on its own.

For me, this was probably the most intriguing part so far. One thing I love about this story is how the Doctor isn’t giving speeches. She’s taking charge. I like that Ruth has come back and how crazy the time jumps got.

This wasn’t the best part of the overall story, but I still enjoyed it.

Rating: B

Thirteen: Flux Part 2: War of the Sontarans

Writer: Chris Chibnall

Director: Jamie Magnus Stonw

Companions: Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill), Dan Lewis (John Bishop)

Series: 13, ep. 2

Summary: The Doctor, Yaz, and Dan have traveled to the Crimean War and have invaded, having been attracted by The Flux.

Review: Unlike the previous episode, this one feels more straightforward. It doesn’t focus on the things going on in the background.

Dan is becoming a funny character. I like his relationship with Karvanista, and how he reacts to suddenly being in the middle of a war. Not to mention fighting Sontarans.

I thought it was a nice change when Mary Seacole was introduced. Usually when a historical celebrity is introduced, the whole story seems to be about them. Here, we’re just told a little about her and the story moves on. Same thing with Joseph Williamson. For once, I actually had to look up historical figures on Wikipedia!

Craig Els is doing a great job as Karvanista. I like that he’s even incorporated quirks dogs often have. (Like that tilt they do when you talk to them, or how they shake water off when they get wet.)

I’m liking how things are coming together. It really does feel more like Classic Who.