Doctor Who: The Fifteenth Doctor: The Prison Paradox

by Dan Watters, Sami Kivela (Illustrator), Valentina Bianconi (Colorist)

The Doctor and Belinda start in a spectacular new adventure as they encounter new foes and new friends aboard an inescapable prison facility in a forgotten part of the universe.

The Doctor continues his adventures through time and space alongside a team of allies from the universe, fellow prisoners held captive in a maximum security space prison! Each has a story to tell and a role to play in uncovering the mysteries of their incarceration.

ANNIE THE The Adipose are a parasite race, only able to reproduce through the death of others. When discovered they are euthenized or imprisoned to prevent interplanetary epidemics. Existence as a parasitic lifeform.

H-8 THE A ship of Theseus of pilfered cybernetics, H-8 doesn’t remember what part of him is biological anymore, or what species he started out as. A hulking being obsessed with firepower, he’s bristling with weapons – including a Dalek gun attached to his arm! Despite this, he’s surprisingly affable. You’d like him. Weapons theft.

FELIK THE Embarrassed by her family’s history, Felik fled them to become the pirate scourge of two galaxies. Endlessly hunted by her own kind. Piracy.

MEEZAN THE An aquatic squid being made entirely out of twisting tentacles; Meezan is the last of her kind and very sad about it. After her underwater planet became a desert, she returned to try and flood it. Which was not taken well by the land-dwelling species that had come to settle here. Attempted terraforming without a permit.

Doctor The Prison Paradox #1-4

Genres: Doctor Who, Comics, Graphic Novels

112 pages, Paperback

Published July 21, 2026

About the author

Dan Watters is a UK based comic book writer. His first book, LIMBO, was released through Image Comics in 2016. He has since written THE SHADOW at Dynamite Comics, and ASSASSIN’S CREED and WOLFENSTEIN for Titan Comics.

Currently he is writing the relaunch of LUCIFER for Vertigo’s Sandman Universe, as well as DEEP ROOTS for Vault Comics. Deeply rooted in London Town, and firmly of the Devil's party.

Reviews

[TJ, the Librarian. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good ideas and it’s good to have more 15th Doctor content, but the lack of use of Belinda here is glaringly not great. It was a little too formulaic and wrapped up quickly too. 3/5 stars.

[Alex Sarll]

If they'd done this on TV, you'd at least understand where the Mouse's money had gone: a prison on the edge of a black hole, impossible to escape, to which the Doctor consigns himself on a rescue mission, teaming up with assorted alien miscreants and questing through specialised containment environments on his way to the mad governor. It still doesn't necessarily add up to a great deal, but there are some clever moments along the way and a pleasingly Moffat-esque conclusion.

[Daniel Cork · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Watters is a writer who previously impressed me with his Doctor Who comic 'Everyone Must Go!' which I absolutely adored. So, it's safe to say I've been wanting to read more from this writer and to see what his future Doctor Who works will be like. When 'The Prison Paradox' was announced I was a little unsure but also very intrigued, so fingers crossed it's also a really good read.

A prison on the edge of a black hole with some of the universes most dangerous criminals in captivity. Belinda has been kidnapped and shipped off the Shadow Proclamation there. The Doctor is following after her, where he comes across a group of criminal misfits who are willing to help him save Belinda and break out of the prison. The Warden sees all however and he's a little too interested in Belinda and her fictional stories of a planet called 'Earth'.

Dan Watters has written a brilliant and exciting prison-escape comic that is filled with lovely ideas, spectacular atmosphere, a terrific cast of characters and a story that will keep you on the edge of your feet. Dan Watters has a skill to really make you care for characters despite it being a comic format which usually doesn't work for me, but his talent for this sort of thing shines through. I absolutely loved this comic and now want to read his Circuit Breaker story!

Overall: A brilliant story I loved from start to finish. 10/10

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, who wouldn't enjoy reading about the Doctor busting into a prison to rescue a companion and making friends along the way? That aspect was great. I'd have rated this much higher if Belinda hadn't been present. That's all she did, by the way... be present. Her character was criminally underused.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Word of the day: spaghettification

[Sara Habein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just ok, but maybe I missed whatever story came before it that would've made it feel more of an "ending" to something. Still, the voice of the Fifteenth Doctor is written well.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

That's some solid Doctor Who right there. Sure, it's a bit by the numbers. But it's fun and the characterization is right. Can't ask for much more.

[Jennifer Baratta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whovian read this

So the Doctor goes to another prison space Station. Of course finds trouble and allies and of course causes some mischief.

[Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Belinda is the damsel in distress this week. The stench of ‘I had to write this with a companion without knowing who the companion is’ was mega smelly. But hey, there’s good stuff in this story outside of some glaring production issues.
I really enjoyed this team of characters joining the Doctor, not because they’re likeable or developed, but because they simply look cool! With comics I extend the creative license of my judgment quite far - not all comics need to be thought provoking. A lot of comics exist to be action adventure character design portfolios (I stay away from those comics mostly).
The ending, in which all of said characters’ deaths are revealed to not be deaths was also lovely. There was a strand of a character arc between the Doctor and the Slitheen character. The themes of ‘change’ and ‘friendship’ ending up being integral to the ending of the story between these two characters. We see the Slitheen learn to have hope they can escape the prison, breaking free of their nihilistic thinking. It made the ending feel triumphant despite how boringly lacking the villain was.
I’m also a sucker for underwater sequences, of which we have one! I’m also a sucker for Adiposes and loved our lil one in this story too.
Overall, decent, fun, but nothing special.

[Ronak Shah]

Yet another "the power of friendship shines through in the end" serving for this bleeding-heart Doctor Who fan. And I ate it right up.

The Doctor enlists the help of a rag-tag group of extraterrestrial prisoners. The central conceit lies in the narrative structure… and especially its execution.

Each part takes a deep dive into the (usually sympathetic) backstory of a different prisoner working with the Doctor and simultaneously explores the nature of their biology -- and usually the two are linked. It's gorgeous to see the Doctor bring out the best in people.

Some really nice ideas and concepts are explored. (Embarrassed to admit that I don't know how many of these ideas are based in hard science, though.)

It ties in with the Series 15 series arc too. Nobody remembers planet earth or humans.

Several old monsters and world-building elements appear. Staples like the Zygons, the Shadow Proclamation, etc. Both Classic Who as well as Nu Who fans will be satisfied.

I was thoroughly expecting this to be another run-of-the-mill Doctor Who story. I read this on my flight back to India from the UK… By 'this', I mean parts #1, #2 and #3. I wasn't really expecting this to grab me as powerfully as it did.

Can't wait for the last part to drop. Bit unsure how it'll wrap everything up neatly because there's still one prisoner left whose backstory hasn't been explored yet (and he's the most interesting prisoner too). And we still haven't learned about the antagonist's motivations.

Hope it sticks the landing, but so far it's a definite 5/5 from me.

Edit (June 7, 2026): It did NOT stick the landing. What a lazy and terrible conclusion!