Doctor Who: Series 2: Volume 4: As Time Goes By

Doctor Who Series 2 (2011) #4

by Joshua Hale Fialkov

1941. Casablanca. Murder. Sound familiar? The Doctor, Amy, and Rory in the setting for the classic film with a little side of the Silurians thrown in of course.

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

119 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 19, 2012

About the author

Joshua Hale Fialkov is the creator (or co-creator, depending) of graphic novels, including the Harvey Nominated Elk’s Run, the Harvey and Eisner nominated Tumor, Punks the Comic, and the Harvey Nominated Echoes.

He has written Alibi and Cyblade for Top Cow, Superman/Batman for DC Comics, Rampaging Wolverine for Marvel, and Friday the 13th for Wildstorm. He’s writing the DC relaunch of I,Vampire, as well as debuting the new Marvel character The Monkey King. This fall sees the launch of The Last of the Greats from Image Comics with artist Brent Peeples.

He also served as a writer on the Emmy Award Nominated animated film Afro Samurai: Resurrection, and as Executive Producer of the cult hit LG15: The Resistance web series.

Elk’s Run, Tumor, and Alibi are all currently in development as feature films. He has written comics for companies including Marvel, Wildstorm, IDW, Dark Horse, Image, Tor Books, Seven Seas Entertainment, Del Rey, Random House, Dabel Brothers Productions, and St. Martin’s Press. He has done video game work for THQ, Midway Entertainment, and Gore Verbinski’s Blind Wink Productions. He also wrote a Sci-Fi Channel movie starring Isabella Rossellini and Judd Nelson. Unfortunately, at no point in the film does Judd Nelson punch the sky and freeze frame. Joshua grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, went to college in Boston, where he got a BFA in writing and directing for the stage and screen, and then worked in the New England film industry, until finally deciding to move to Los Angeles to do it properly. He lives with his wife, Christina, daughter, Gable, and their cats, Smokey and the Bandit.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/joshfialkov

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joshuahalefia...

Photograph by Heidi Ryder Photography

Reviews

[Chad]

This certainly isn't going to bring in any new readers but fans of the show will definitely appreciate it. This takes place during the Eleventh Doctor's tenure with the Ponds. Fialkov nails the characters voices while giving us a spin on Casablanca. Matthew Dow Smith's art reminds me of Mike Mignola's during the 80's before he discovered the use of shadows.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship]

Ugh. It hurts my eyes to look at the illustrations!

The story was nothing special or memorable, and the problem is solved almost immediately after uncovering the evil "alien" plot.

Just skip this one.

[Adam Demers]

A very fun graphic novel that reads just like a fun episode of Doctor Who. If you are missing the Ponds in the latest episodes of Doctor Who this is a fun way to give yourself a new adventure with Amy, Rory and the Doctor. Joshua Hal Fialkov does a wonderful job writing in the voices of the characters and as I read the words I would hear their voices in my head. I'm a newbie to Doctor Who, so I'm sure I missed some inside jokes making this book a reread once I drive further in the Doctor Who Universe.

[Andy Hickman]

Doctor Who: Series 2: Volume 4: As Time Goes By
***
To be honest, I expected more. I love the film and so I had hoped to see interaction between the characters of 'Casablanca' but other than the Captain there was nothing else.
The straight-line rectangular images are difficult to get accustomed to.
- -
#1
Doctor - “'Come along, then, we haven't got all of time and space.”
- -
#2
Doctor - “... I reversed the polarity of the neutron flow -”

Police captain - “Ah! My strange friend again! Tell me you're not a rebel!”
Doctor - “I am, but more the James Dean / Marlon Brando type.”
- -
#3
Police captain - “... I saw that these are not animals. They're the very best and the very worst of what life has to offer. And what right do we have to decide their fate? That would make us no better than the so-called animals I was sent to destroy.”
- -
#4
Silurian - “... we've always known that the mentally strong would rule, the physically strong would enforce, and the politicians would be used as fertilizer.”

[Nicholas Whyte]

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3328732.html

This is one of the IDW Eleventh Doctor comics, and actually appears to be the only one I have. The Doctor, Amy and Rory wind up in Casablanca during the second world war, and as well as wandering Zelig-like in and out of the background of the famous film, they become caught up in a Silurian plot to take over the world. It's a neat trick to combine both Who lore and a well-known story from outside the Whoniverse, and I felt that Fialkov's narrative worked well. I wasn't always so happy with Smith's art, which inclines a bit to the abstract; I was really tempted to buy this by Mark Buckingham's lovely cover, with its homage to the film's famous poster.

[Nick]

The story itself might only have earned three stars, but for the clever blending of the story with that of the film Casablanca. In this case, the Doctor, along with Amy and Rory, stop in to 1940s Casablanca so that he can buy a new fez, but things take a turn for the weird as they realize that part of the original story has become quite alien. This would be a terrible jumping-on point for new readers, but is a treat for those engaged enough to recognize the aliens right off.

[Doris Raines]

IS THERE MORE TO THIS STORY?.?.

[Shawn]

A quick Doctor Who story. The art is nothing special and the story gets a little disjointed at times. Fun enough to kill some time.

[Shannon Appelcline]

Series 2 of IDW's Doctor Who has generally been somewhat exciting, but this one stands out from the pack, largely due to the writing by Joshua Hale Fialkov. He creates an interesting and fun story by mixing the movie _Casablanca_ pretty fully with an exciting adventure of Doctor Who and the Silurians. He also manages to get Amy and Rory's characters (and speech) down just right. The result feels a lot like what we've seen on the screen, and though I'd prefer for the comics to have their own context and build upon it ... this is almost as good.

[Emily Green]

As Time Goes By is the first Doctor Who comic I’ve read, and I have to admit that I was not all that impressed. The witty repartee between the characters does not translate so well onto the page, and the usual foe of the Nazis, even when shared with the most native of all earthlings, the reptilian Silurians, does not make them new. Reading about Rory, Amy, and the Doctor as comic book characters is a bit of a novelty, but the comic is more of a parasite than a symbiotic creation.

[Ian Williamson]

Very much an improvement on the last volume. Especially with one overarching storyline that could be fleshed out. The story wouldn't be out of place as a midseason two-parter. Although following similar story tropes, it remains smart and funny. My main issue with this volume is how quick and neat the ending becomes, in a way similar to pushing a big reset button. The artwork is exceptional and helps keep the tone light and fun around an era that was anything but. GERONIMO!!!

[Thebruce1314]

I really enjoyed this storyline. The characters are true to the show, and I could easily picture this being an episode. My only complaint is that I don't care for this loose-lined art style, but that's a personal preference. Loved the extra concept art at the end! And if you're a fan of Casablanca, all the better to appreciate some of the jokes.

[David]

I love the 11th Doctor. He's my favorite Who. Most of these comic books featuring him have been very entertaining, but this one, a riff of the movie Casablanca, is very slight. It didn't really need 100 pages to tell the story.

[Joshua]

Was a good series involving old Casablanca during 1941 just as World War 2 was kicking off. I always love anything involving Doctor Who. I can't wait to start reading the book The Wheel Of Ice in the Doctor Who book series.

[Demian Katz]

This one didn't do much for me; I'm not a fan of the new-series Silurians, the art style was not to my taste, and I've never actually gotten around to watching Casablanca, so likely some references were lost on me.

[Aaron]

Great little stand-alone tale! I'm not deep into the Dr Who mythos, but I definitely enjoyed this.

[Emma]

It was alright: not good, but not horrible. Sort of like watching a bad episode of Doctor Who.

[Mj Keskeys]

The art leaves something to be desired, it's close to a knock off Mike Mignola style, but the writing captures the characters so perfectly, I could hear the cast in my head as I read the book.

[Ruth]

I'm going to miss Amelia and Rory.

[Shannon]

Not really all that good. The story was lame and the artwork was awful. I've read better Doctor Who graphic novels.

[Melissa]

Would have given it 4 stars if the artwork had been better. But the dialogue was witty and snappy and more than made up for the lack of art detail.

[Kaethe]

I loved it for riffing on Casablanca and building a Who story in the interstices. Didn't love the art style, though

Library copy.

[James Bowman]

A decent Eleventh Doctor tale mashing up the Silurians and Casablanca. (I've never fully watched the latter, but I gather there are a lot of nods to it in the story.) (B)

[Eric]

Simple and fun. The first story line I've read in this comic series that actually felt like it could have been an episode on TV.

[Andrew]

This one was a single story, with Matthew Dow Smith on art for the whole book. It was a good story, and held together pretty well. Very nice art from Smith.

[Ray (user2637)]

The art style is not my favorite.