Doctor Who Series 2 Volume 1: The Ripper

Doctor Who Series 2 (2011) #1

by Tony Lee, Andrew Currie (Illustrator), Richard Piers Rayner (Illustrator)

The Eleventh Doctor era begins here! Join the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor and his latest companions, Amy Pond and her husband Rory Williams, as they travel to the far reaches of space — a planet populated by holograms — and the distant past — where they become embroiled in the Jack the Ripper murders in Victorian London

Genres: Doctor Who, Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Fiction, Fantasy

104 pages, Paperback

First published July 19, 2011

About the author

A New York Times Best-selling Graphic Novelist, Tony Lee was born in West London, UK in 1970. Informed by a teacher that he had a comic book style of writing, (a comment meant more as an insult), Tony decided that one day he would write for comics.

Tony has written for a variety of mediums including Radio 4, The BBC, commerical television in both the UK and US, magazines and both local and national newspapers. He has also written several award winning local radio campaigns. In 1991 he wrote for a small press comics publisher, of which only one project, The Cost of Miracles in Comic Speculator News was ever printed, and remains his first printed commercial comic work.

Moving away from comics, he went back into trade journalism and media marketing/creation. His small press magazine Burnt Offerings was a minor seller on both sides of the Atlantic, and was the first esoteric magazine to interview mainstream creators like Terry Pratchett and Pat Mills.

Since returning to comics in 2002, he has written for a variety of publishers including Marvel Comics, DC Comics/Zuda, Games Workshop, Panini Comics, Titan Publishing, AAM/Markosia Enterprises, Rebellion/2000ad and IDW Publishing amongst others, writing a variety of creator owned titles and licenses that include X-Men, Spider Man, Doctor Who, Starship Troopers, Wallace & Gromit and Shrek.

He is the writer of the ongoing Doctor Who series of comics from IDW, beginning in July 2009, and his award nominated, creator-owned miniseries Hope Falls was collected by AAM/Markosia in May 2009. His next book with them, From The Pages Of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula': Harker, was released in November 2009 to critical acclaim.

Added to this, Tony adapted Pride & Prejudice & Zombies into a graphic novel for Del Rey Publishing, with art by Cliff Richards - this was a New York Times #1 Bestselling Paperback Graphic Novel for May 2010 - he is also adapting Anthony Horowitz's Power of Five series into graphic format for Walker Books, the first - Raven's Gate is due out in late 2010, and he has adapted four Horowitz Horror books with Dan Boultwood for Hachette Children's Books.

His other book with Walker Books, Outlaw: The Legend Of Robin Hood (drawn by Sam Hart) was released in 2009 and has already been awarded a Junior Library Guild: Fall 2009 Selection, and 'best for 2010' awards from both the American Library Association and the New York Public Library in the USA, among others. In March 2010 it was announced that it was also a finalist for the Children's Choice Book Awards. The next in the 'Heroes & Heroines' series, Excalibur: The Legend Of King Arthur by Tony Lee & Sam Hart is scheduled for March 2011.

Outside of comics he is writing several books for children.

Tony is represented by Julian Friedmann of the Blake Friedmann Literary, TV and Film Agency.

Tony is also an accomplished Bard and performer, and has held the High Bard chair of the East Sussex Broomstick Rally on several occasions. His lecture Creating Gods for fun and Profit and his series of lectures on Bards and Ritual Magic were received to critical acclaim, and he still lectures occasionally in London, the Midlands and Sussex. As a Covent Garden Street Performer in the 90's, he performed 'The Scarlet Blade' Street Theatre show at the Edinburgh Festival and at locations across the UK, convincing members of the public to act out an insane pantomime for his amusement.

Added to this Tony is an accomplished storyteller and lecturer on writing, and has performed at libraries, events and schools around the world including the 2009 Edinburgh International Book Festival, a 2009 tour of India for the British Council, and in 2003 around the Wadi Rum bedouin campfire in Jordan.

Tony currently lives in London with his fiancée, Tracy.

from: http://www.tonylee.co.uk

Reviews

[usagi ☆ミ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, Rory. Never change (though I am quite pissed about how I got spoiled re: his future on the show, but don’t mind me). The idea of Rory checking his email and letting in all of his spam as holograms had me in stitches. We honestly need an episode like that since the ones in season six so far haven’t been the happiest of episodes as of yet. Regardless, I love these two (semi-new) companions and the fact that they’re (technically) the first husband and wife to be companions on the TARDIS. This story (since I was only sent the first issue out of the four or five that are going to be in this collection when published) is definitely reinforcing that love.

Well, now that we’ve seen the contents of Rory’s spam inbox in the form of holograms (I can’t decide which is better – the talking stapler (which is supposed to be the MS Word talking Paperclip) or the bellowing bittorent demon (probably supposed to be a sendup of demonoid), we know what kind of internet habits he has. Even though most people still get those emails for the little blue pills and whatnot. I love that all of the spamograms turned into actual monsters/demons and threatened to eat all of our heroes. But most of all, I love how the spamograms turn into actual beings with feelings and thoughts and desires, not unlike humans. Just, you know, not entirely solid of body.

But of course, as with nearly every episode of the series, there’s the Moral Dilemma. Or Moral Problem. Or Questionable Moral of the Day. Here, it’s whether or not Holograms are sentient enough beings so that they can be free and have their own planet and live their own lives, not being subject as servants to the whims/orders of others. I think the author here definitely has an interesting point that we all need to think about, especially with the advent of Watson (the new chess-playing supercomputer) – do AI entities have enough sentience to be given and treated as beings with ‘free will’? It’s not something explicitly brought up (aside from the Stapler’s plea for the Doctor to do something), but it’s still given as a take-home for all of us to think about long after we’re done reading this issue of comics.

And again, this is why I love “Doctor Who” – it manages to NOT stuff the Moral of the Day(tm) down our throats, but introduces it in a sometimes so roundabout way that we don’t even notice until we’re done watching that particular episode, or that entire season. It gives us something to ponder on afterward, and for us to work out the answer for ourselves.

This is a great volume definitely not to be missed if you’re a fan of Eleven, Amy, and Rory. And I guarantee that you’ll want to be facebook friends with the Stapler, afterward. I know I do.

(posted on shelfari, librarything, goodreads, and witchoftheatregoing.wordpress.com)

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first time reading a book/graphic novel about Doctor Who, which I've recently become slightly obsessed with. It wasn't as funny or exciting as watching an episode (probably because I couldn't watch the amazing actors bring the story to life) but it was entertaining nonetheless. There were several collaborating artists so I didn't love all of the illustrations but most of them were pretty cool. Also, I'm not super familiar with Jack the Ripper history, but if you are I think you'd really enjoy this super nerdy sci-fi explanation of events. If you want a nice Doctor Who break at work, this definitely fits the bill. And now I have the theme song stuck in my head... :)

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor, Rory and Amy travel to Victorian England and get involved in the Jack the ripper murders.
(Spoilers) it was a alien.

Nice mix of mystery and sci-fi and Tony Lee does a nice job of giving all three characters something to do.

This would have made a good TV episode.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-ripper-by-tony-lee-et-al/

this unites a one-shot, where Rory’s spam emails come alive in the Tardis,with a three-parter, where the Doctor, Amy and Rory get mixed up with the police investigation of Jack the Ripper. It’s a bit dubious, frankly, to adapt the very real femicidal atrocities of the Ripper murders for a Doctor Who story and to make an anthropophagic alien the secret killer. Doctor Who doesn’t go to the Holocaust, or even Ireland much, and this isn’t so very different.

But Tony Lee (as usual) captures the characters well, and the first bit with living spam emails is sheer fun; and the Ripper story is superbly illustrated by the art of Tim Hamilton, who I don’t think I had otherwise come across, but I shall definitely look out for now.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

DOCTOR WHO: SERIES 2. VOL. 1 – THE RIPPER

“Doctor Who Ripper's Curse #1 (Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor Archives #2)” by Tony Lee, Matthew Dow Smith (Illustrator)

It was an ok series. Fun to observe the engagement of the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory with others in their references to pop-culture figures, literary characters, and historical people.
The aliens were rather ghastly!

“Doctor Who Ripper's Curse, Issue #1
The Eleventh Doctor is initially accused of being Jack the Ripper!

“Doctor Who Ripper's Curse, Issue #2
“September 1888! The start of the FOOTBALL LEAGUE! … beginning what becomes a national pastime!”

“Doctor Who Ripper's Curse, Issue #3
“A POINTY STICK? What is this man, a WIZARD?”

“Doctor Who Ripper's Curse, Issue #4
“Botheration.”
- - -

[R J Royer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's see here, The Doctor, Rory and Amy chasing spam email on a planet of holographic people and then chasing an alien shapeshifter that is really Jack the ripper? What could be better?

True to form, as Doctor Who graphic novels go, you get two rather decent stories and some good art. None of them could work on television but oddly enough they great in the graphic novel format.

[BookWormBen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dialogue featuring Amy, Rory, and the Eleventh Doctor was fantastic! It's everything and anything they would have said on the show!

However, the story very much on the bland side, compared to the incredible Titan Comics stories of the Eleventh Doctor. Fun for fans of this trio, but nothing more.

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable and easy to read. :)

Interesting take on Jack the Ripper, plus you can never go wrong with doctor who. :D

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent I guess. Good to see the old gang again.

[Maëlle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 11th Doctor, my favorite one 🖤

and Jack The Ripper, a story that I found passionate.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I thought this would be good and ended up being mostly disappointed. I'm not sure why it starts out with a completely different story then the Ripper arc, something about landing on a planet where people are just projected holographic images of what is essentially email spam? I have no idea, it made very little sense, even for a DW plot. I was also not excited that the angle the author/author's (seriously, like 23 people worked on this graphic novel which explains why the plot made little to no sense and the art style changed about 10 times) decided to take by making Jack the Ripper a giant reptile monster thing, throwing in the same idea of image masking used in Vampires in Venice with the fish people. I don't think the monsters were meant to be related, I think it was just super lazy writing in this case.

I also don't understand why the art style changes midway through the story. I liked the first style much better then the style used on the Ripper angle, which just looked like a painting gone runny half the time. I don't know how you can make Karen Gillan unnatractive but that artist did it. Also her shirt changes from red to blue in the first two pages which no explanation and it bothered me through the entire story. C'mon, one of the half a million artists/writers working on this couldn't catch that? That's just bad editing.

The story itself was basically ridiculous. A giant fish type monster diguising itself as a human and preying on women for their adrenale glands? What? And they all just happened to be prostitues? I didn't realize ladies of the night had the best adrenaline in town but whatever. I would have much prefered to see a human angle taken instead of going down the lazy, a-typical Who writing point of 'Oh it was an alien the whole time!' I mean I know this is a science fiction story about a time traveling alien but it doesn't always have to BE about aliens. It was lazy plot development in my opinion.

At one point near the end of the novel, the Doctor and Rory jump forward in time to ask a Jack the Ripper tour guide how many women in total were murdered in the event that Amy (of course) gets abducted and her name gets re-written into history as being one of the Ripper's original victims. So they jump back in time (How the TARDIS actually got these time points correct is beyond me) to save Amy. Which...ok, really? Isn't that just lazy time traveling? You have to jump forward to find out the end and then go back to re-write it? And isn't that kind of against everything the Doctor stands for as far as 'spoilers' and 'events that are supposed to occur' and all that other time traveling Rule Book mojo? It just was not well thought out. At all.

Basically a disappointment all around for my first ever Doctor Who graphic novel journey.

[Chris H-C · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. Nothing too special. The initial story was cute, the longer thread about the Ripper was beautifully drawn.

Neither story revealed anything about the world, the characters, the canon. It just seemed to be stories "with" the characters instead of stories "about" the characters.

[Cornerofmadness · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a side note, it’s amusing to know that growing up all my friends were huge Dr. Who fans but I never cared for the 1960-1970’s Who. The twenty-first century Who sees the reverse of that. Anyhow, this is the eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory in graphic novel form. The sad truth is I’ve been out of the comic book collecting for a couple years now and I’m not sure if there is a monthly comic or if this graphic novel is the only form but I suppose it doesn’t matter.

It opens with a short story, that’s quite amusing. Rory tries checking his email inside the Tardis causing all of the various ‘characters’ in his spam folder to come to holographic life (like all the various ‘princes’ who need your help to get their money out of their beleaguered countries). This causes the Tardis to shut down for repairs just in time for intergalactic pirates to show up.

The bulk of the story (self contained, no cliffhanger thankfully), is as the title promises, Dr. Who visits London during the height of Jack the Ripper’s active period. They get bonus points for working in the misspelled note written on the wall and giving it a reason for being misspelled.

What happens if Jack is not a doctor or royalty? What if Jack isn’t even human? That’s the problem facing the Doctor, Amy and Rory went they realize what time period they’re in. Worse, after a spirited debate over changing history, Amy knows she can not just let Mary Kelly become the Ripper’s last victim. Too bad for her, this desire brings her to the Ripper’s attention.

It was fun. It could easily have been an episode. It felt true to the characters. The art was doing by several people with several different takes on how to draw the characters. I thought it was well done. I enjoyed this graphic novel.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I am significantly more fond of the Tenth Doctor than I am the Eleventh Doctor, I have got to say I enjoyed this comic so much more than the Tenth Doctor Comics series. The art was better, the characters were consistent, the stories were funny and interesting. I honestly have not one bad thing to say about this.

The first story is a hilarious spin on "spam" email, filled with laugh out loud characters and situations. My favorite aspect of this story is the helpful, upbeat stapler which constantly follows around Amy, Rory, and the Doctor asking if they need assistance like the beloved/hated Clippy from old school Microsoft Word. The ending was a little cheesy, but the overall story was so good that it didn't bother me one bit.

The second story in this volume is yet another take on "Jack the Ripper". I really liked that the volume mixed a very light-hearted story like the spam emails with a very serious story like the Ripper. The contrast was fantastic and matched the different art styles perfectly. The first story was more traditional comic book art, whereas the art in the "Ripper" story looked almost like water colors. This felt fitting for the story setting, reminding me of old paintings and the past.

The plots and character dialogue of both stories felt consistent with the situations, personalities, and speech patterns from the show, and the art very accurately portrayed their likenesses. The only exception to this would be some panels of Rory, which in my opinion look nothing like him.

Overall this was a nice, quick, diverse collection of Eleventh Doctor stories and art. I loved the contrasting tone and art of the two stories. I hope this is the start of a pattern, and the rest of the comics in this series are just as good!

[Elizabeth (Miss Eliza) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will start with a mini rant, which may go longer, we'll have to see. I've never thought that the concept of THE DOCTOR works for comics. The authors are given an infinite canvas and just go all silly. They can do anything and this just ends up being dumb. A show like Doctor Who needs some restrictions. There needs to be boundaries. For the show it's what is possible to do in under an hour for the television. For comics it's anything goes. So, here we get a dopey little story about the TARDIS being infected by 3-D holograms of spam email. Yes, that is all there is, because for some reason the part I really wanted to read about Jack the Ripper wasn't included in this electronic galley. So instead I got a stupid little story that made me not want to pick up the rest of the book, good job IDW, seeing as you just lost Angel, you might want to try and step up your game. Also, the little talking stapler was cute, but very dated... how long ago did word kill him?

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was initially disappointed when I found out I missed this at my local comic shop. IDW made this available through NetGally, which I appreciate, (but only 1/4 of the whole thing, which means that I cannot give you my opinion of the WHOLE thing because my review copy was so short).

Through only one story, it's a fitting and necessary take in the Who-verse. Strange things are happening on the Tardis, thanks in part to Amy's husband, Rory. His cell phone is linked to the Tardis. While trying to access his email he inadvertantly downloads some spam into the Tardis.

Spam emails actually materializes into the Tardis. The Good Doctor is busy trying to deal with some scroungers who won't leave him alone.

It's a very cute story that I could see translating well into an episode or a short. I recommend it to fans of all ages, but I don't think you have to be caught up on the show in order to enjoy it.

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has two completely different kinds of stories. The first has a problem onboard the TARDIS when Rory and Amy try to check the email on their phones: their spam appear as holograms. The tone is light, quite silly. The second has the same group traveling to Victorian London to deal with Jack the Ripper. Natasha and I were both amused by the first, but I enjoyed the second more than she did. Well, I have been reading up on Ripper Lore for thirty-some years. Although there is violence in the second story, the identity of the killer as an alien monster removes the usual difficulties with the tale, and makes it much "cleaner" and more suitable for younger readers.

Entertaining stuff, fun for the whole family. Fans of Doctor Who will appreciate how very like the actors the characters sometimes look, and how true their voices remain. Those who are not yet fans will enjoy the accessibility of the graphic novel set up.

Library copy.

[kierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fan of Doctor Who I always expect a lot from any episode or graphic novel or even tiny youtube video. And this is because I am never disappointed in it. And when I looked at the first few pages of the Ripper, I thought that the illustrator was a mess. Doctor looks like Doctor, Rory looks exactly like Rory and Amy is a bit weird, but still looks more or less like Amy. But the style of this artist? No, I didn't like it at all, because I expected so much more.
But in the end, when you start reading the Ripper, everything from the shows comes back - the humor, the characters, the style of storytelling. And, honestly, as long as all the characters look like the actors from the series, Hamilton's style of drawing doesn't matter at all.
So I guess it's <4.5> stars for this one.
Great read.

[Demian Katz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of Doctor Who's recent "celebrity historical" stories -- they're generally too obvious and too smug. Doing a Jack the Ripper comic in that style does not strike me as a good idea. As one might expect, the story drops the obligatory names in the obligatory places, but the explanation it provides for the murders is about as by-the-numbers as it could be, and there aren't enough flourishes to compensate for the fundamental lack of creativity. They should have left well enough alone.

The Ripper story is preceded by a lighter and shorter tale involving spam on a planet of holograms. Perhaps a more inventive premise, but handled in a way that's silly without being funny.

Combine mediocre writing with inconsistent artwork, and it adds up to a volume that you can safely ignore.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first jaunt in the TARDIS in comic book form, and I have to say it was enjoyable. Off to a good start and looking forward to new adventures with the Doctor and the Ponds. I don't know how much non-fans of Doctor Who will get out of this, but it is certainly something that fans of the television series will enjoy. I read this as individual comic issues, Doctor Who #1-4, and it is structured very much like the old series, with each individual issue ending in a cliff-hanger (I can just hear the ending theme music striking up as I get to that last page). The pacing is fast and very similar to the new series. There are even some nods to the usual television antics of running through corridors although this time it is the streets of Whitechapel.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Matt Smith taking over as the Eleventh Doctor, there is a new series of comics. The first of which is Doctor Who: The Ripper by Tony Lee.

Although The Ripper will mostly be about the Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory going against Jack the Ripper, the first issue (and the only one included in the NetGalley preview) is an introductory adventure involving a planet inhabited by holograms. Put that together with the TARDIS and email spam and imagine the consequences.

The artwork is good. The characters look like the actors in the series. It took a page for me to recognize Rory but I was more taken aback by all the other weirdness going on inside the TARDIS.

[Jacquie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Jack the Ripper mystery! With plenty of detectives, aliens, and Rory being awesome Rory. The best part about this was the shorter story at the beginning which starts off with Rory checking his email via "the magic phone", which if he had done it properly would have allowed him to see all the email he'd ever receive. But instead he gets every piece of junk mail, and the TARDIS doesn't have a spam filter strong enough to deal with it. So a disgruntled Doctor is surrounded by holographic spammers trying to sell him insurance and little blue pills, and a pop-up cartoon stapler that follows him around offering assistance. XD It is pretty much the best thing ever.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a dynamic comic introduction into the Eleventh Doctor's adventures! And these are not in the broadcasted show. The first was a humorous tale of the trouble of advanced technology, spam, and alien pillagers (called Scroungers). I honestly want a floating cartoon stapler now (A parody of the Microsoft paper clip assistant, maybe?). As the Doctor finds out, floating cartoon staplers are cool. The next longer story deals with the identity of Jack the Ripper. It also involves the questioning of how far you can push the "fixed point in time" problem. Can't wait to read more the exploits of the Doctor in any of his regenerative forms!

[Ian Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

To quote the ninth doctor 'FANTASTIC', Tony Lee has crafted one of the best doctor who storylines not only in this format but gives the novels and TV stories a run for it's money. A mixture if light hearted comedic story and then a dark and gritty story set in real history, playing on one of the worlds greatest unsolved mysteries. Lee has the characteristics of our three heroes to perfection. The artwork varies in quality for me, it does help build the atmospheric tension of the story but it makes it difficult to work out which secondary characters are which. The short story in issue one works better from an artwork point. Bring on volume two....GERONIMO!!!!!!

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collects 4 issues of the Doctor Who comics featuring the 11th Doctor. The first issue, a one-shot, is a silly little story featuring a planet of holograms and spam emails coming to life. The last 3 issues are an arc about the truth of Jack the Ripper, which I enjoyed more. The story deals with the typical problem of wanting to stop a horrific event from happening but not wanting to alter reality, and it handles it fairly well. At times, the artwork was a bit too dark, and I couldn't always distinguish the characters from one another. And the writer relies a bit too much on the now - clichéd sayings of Matt Smith's Doctor. All in all, though, enjoyable.

[Alex Sarll]

Oh dear. Poor old Tony Lee produces the second-best 'Doctor visits Whitechapel in 1888' tale, which given the other one was by the mediocrities Tucker and Perry, is not a great result (the novel in question, 'Matrix', does at least have a rather wonderful suggestion as to who the Ripper really was - here it's all just aliengs with big teeth, again).
That said, the single-issue story also included here, in which Rory gets the TARDIS clogged with spam, is quite fun. Nonsense, but good nonsense. And that's always been fine in Who.

[Gabriel Wallis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like almost all things Doctor Who, and the "Doctor Who: The Ripper" graphic novel didn't let me down. I wouldn't say it's the best graphic novel I've ever read, but it sure was entertaining. It's always interesting to see the different "theories" out there surrounding the Jack the Ripper murders, and Doctor Who's "theory" was just as entertaining as all the rest. Jack the Ripper ended up being a large lizard man, who had absolutely no qualms about killing, and he hailed from a different planet. So... entertaining, right?

[Sarah Brehm · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world of comics/graphic novels is still relatively new to me, but I'm finding myself enjoying them quite a lot. Doctor Who: The Ripper starts out with a fun, nonsensical story about spam emails sort of coming to life. The we get into The Ripper story which I found highly entertaining and spot-on with the characterizations.

Also, all in favor of Floating Cartoon Stapler being the next companion?

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

IDW uploaded the first issue to NetGalley, so it never got to the Ripper storyline, unfortunately, but it was still cute. I'm looking forward to reading the other issues when this volume comes out in August.

Update:

Finally got my hands on the volume. It was cute and a quick read. Not essential to understanding more about the characters or the show, but a good way to get a Doctor Who during the hiatus.

[Hillary Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

well i love doctor who, and i love the artwork in this series... so it's a match made in heaven for doctor who fans who also like serial killers... i mean, "like" here meaning "interested in how their minds work in order to feel safe and be able to identify one... that false security that we all cling to, i suppose." "liking" serial killers seemed as though it needed a bit of a qualifying statement.
glad i got that sorted out.

anyway, it was great fun. i recommend it.