Comic Info
Comic Name: Doctor Who—The Tenth Doctor
Publisher: Titan Comics
Writer: Nick Abadzis
Artist: Elena Casagrande/Arianna Florian
# of Issues: 5
Release Date: 2015
Doctor Who—The Tenth Doctor #1 Variant
Reprints Doctor Who—The Tenth Doctor #1-5 (August 2014-November 2014). The Doctor finds himself without a companion after being forced to leave Donna Noble. When he meets a young American girl named Gabriella Gonzalez, he finds himself in a race against time to save the Earth from alien parasites who have decided to consume it. Plus, the Doctor and Gabby make a trip to the stars to see the arts…but alien art has its dangers.
Written by Nick Abadzis, Doctor Who—The Tenth Doctor Volume 1: Revolutions of Terror presents the continuing adventures of David Tennant’s 10th Doctor by Titan Comics. The volume collects the two story arcs “Revolutions in Terror” (Doctor Who—The Tenth Doctor #1-3) and “The Arts in Space” (Doctor Who—The Tenth Doctor #4-5). The issues were also collected in Doctor Who—The Tenth Doctor Complete Year One.
When Doctor Who’s 10th incarnation regenerated into the Matt Smith character, I was rather depressed. The new series of Doctor Who had reinvigorated the character and Tennant proved to rival other Doctor Who greats like Tom Baker. With Doctor Who—The Tenth Doctor, we get a chance to see more Doctor Who adventures in a logical place in the character’s development…and it doesn’t necessarily just feel like an attempt to capitalize on the popularity as a result.
The two stories are very different. The first story “Revolutions in Terror” feels a lot like a David Tennant adventure with high stakes and a population unaware of the danger surrounding them. The art and the style of the comic really allowed me to see the Pravanores and Cerebravores and I could really imagine them being recreated in Doctor Who style.
Doctor Who—The Tenth Doctor #4 Variant
The second storyline is more of a classic Doctor Who storyline. It is much lighter, lower stakes, and has a setting that is reminiscent of pre-relaunch serials (though the TV show then wouldn’t have had the budget to pull it off). The story is a great way to introduce the style and the vision of the Doctor’s new companion Gabriella Gonzales who was more of a true companion in the first adventure.
Gabby really does feel like a Doctor Who companion. She has the backstory of a demanding family kind of like Martha but the creativity and energy of Rose. It is nice to see the Doctor with an American companion without having to endure a horrible fake accident like the Doctor’s companion Peri from the original series.
I would love to see some effort to really put these adventures into the true Doctor Who canon. A reference to Gabby or something would be a nice way to give a nod to readers who also enjoy the series. David Tennant was a great Doctor. It was very sad to see him go, but here, he’s been resurrected and it is a good thing. With a strong basis and smart writing that actually feels like Tennant could be in the story, I look forward to seeing where Doctor Who—The Tenth Doctor will go. I can’t say that the comic would have much appeal to those who don’t watch the show, but as a fan, it is great to have one of the best Doctor’s back. Doctor Who—The Tenth Doctor 1: Revolutions in Terror is followed by Doctor Who—The Tenth Doctor 2: The Weeping Angels of Mons.
