We already knew that the Doctor kept himself busy in the two hundred or so years he spent wandering after he dropped off Amy and Rory from their honeymoon. Quite a lot of stories can fit inside that time. Coming out later this month, the first volume of Titan Comics’ Doctor Who, The Eleventh Doctor collects together the first five issues of these stories, featuring the Eleventh Doctor and his newest companion, Alice.
Life has become cold and dreary for Alice Obiefune after the death of her beloved mother. The forty-something library assistant can’t seem to drag herself out of a fog of grief, and things just get worse when she loses her job to cutbacks and her comfy apartment is scheduled for demolition to make way for a block of luxury flats. Everything is quite grey…until in a burst of obviously Oz-inspired technicolor she’s confronted by huge rainbow-colored alien dog being chased by a madman with a blue box.
Alice’s first mini-adventure ends with the Doctor faceplanting a pole and wandering off with a bloody nose. She has just enough time to decide that she’ll never find out what all of that was about when the TARDIS materializes in the middle of her living room. No, she’s not the center of a Cyberman invasion or infected by a mind-control parasite. The Doctor simply decided to track down the total stranger he’d met earlier in the day because, as he tells her, “You seemed sad.” What else could Alice do but take a break from her troubles and come along for a trip through time and space?
“You keep goldfish in here?”
“Not fish, more a highly intelligent aquatic race who’s world was destroyed. I don’t keep pets. I make friends. That one’s called Reg, actually…”
The first three issues of the story are drawn by Simon Frasier (best known for his work on the title Nikolai Dante), and the last two are by Boo Cook (Judge Dredd and Damnation Station).
I prefer Frasier’s technique for faces, but Cook’s sketchy style does lovely things with orbital science stations, aliens, and the view of distant planets from space. It took a little time to adjust to how each of them draw the Doctor (I’m always a little leery about comic-book adaptations of my favorite live-action characters anyway), and I thought Cook’s version was a bit heavy on the forehead, but both of them do an excellent job with capturing Eleven’s gangly, all-elbows-and-legs flailing as he runs from one near-disaster to the next.
The writers do an amazing job of portraying Eleven’s “voice” as well. Al Ewing (currently writing Mighty Avengers and Loki: Agent of Asgard), and Rob Williams (a little bit of everything, including Spider-Man and Star Wars) team up to write the first issue, and then alternate writing the other four chapters. They manage to pack an awful lot of clever dialog into these pages, and there’s something very cute going on with a familiar pop icon who gets dragged along for the ride. (You’ll know who it is. Think “Chameleon”. Chances are very good that the real-life inspiration for the character is a Doctor Who fan himself, and if the TV show doesn’t get them to agree to at least a cameo appearance then they’re missing a real opportunity.)
The stories cover the range of what you’d expect to see in a season of Doctor Who. There’s a “murder” mystery, a detour in time caused by the TARDIS trying to prevent a paradox, and a couple of monster stories where the gigantic alien ends up being less monstrous than some of the other people involved. We also meet a couple of mysterious figures who can offer you whatever you want most (even if you don’t remember what that is), and take a quick trip to a fantastic amusement park where everyone is happy and having a wonderful time. Or else.
“Honestly, has anyone ever tried to throttle you with that bow tie?”
“Well, THIS one happens to be a clip-on. And also…yes, hence the clip-on.”
Williams and Ewing have created a great character in Alice. She’s adventurous and having a wonderful time, but not at all star-struck by the Doctor. And while she’s not nearly as take-no-prisoners as Donna Noble (I mean, really, who could even compare?) she’s still willing to call the Eleven out when she thinks he’s being patronizing. That’s Library Assistant, thank you very much. Plus, she has no problem with pointing out that, while the Doctor may not keep pets, it’s not much better for him to treat his companions like strays that he’s finding a home for.
But probably the best part of Alice’s story, and the part that made me like her right away, was how she becomes a companion in the first place. It wasn’t when the Doctor made her a cup of tea, gave her a sympathetic ear, and invited her aboard the TARDIS (where her reaction was another alternative to “It’s bigger on the inside.” I love it when writers do that.) It was the moment the Doctor came charging across the street yelling “Come on, we’re losing him!” And Alice does what I’m sure a lot of Doctor Who fans would want to do in the same situation: fire off questions on the run, and otherwise just join in the chase.
The cover art is by Alice X. Zhang, professional illustrator who does the BEST Doctor Who artwork in the history of fan art.