Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Vol. 1: Weapons of Past Destruction

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor (Titan Comics)

by George Mann, Blair Shedd (Illustrator)

The Ninth Doctor is BACK with a brand-new miniseries: WEAPONS OF PAST DESTRUCTION! Leaving World War II behind, The Ninth Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack discover that Time Lord technology, lost in the wake of the Time War, is being sold on the intergalactic black market! Now the threat of a NEW temporal war brews on the horizon, with the Doctor and his friends caught between the twin threats of the Unon and the Lect – two species with intertwined histories who are jostling to replace the Time Lords on the universal stage. Can the Doctor stop history repeating itself?

Collects The Ninth Doctor #1-5

Genres: Doctor Who, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fiction, Time Travel, Media Tie In

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 3, 2015

About the author

George Mann is an author and editor, primarily in genre fiction. He was born in Darlington, County Durham in 1978.
A former editor of Outland, Mann is the author of The Human Abstract, and more recently The Affinity Bridge and The Osiris Ritual in his Newbury and Hobbes detective series, set in an alternate Britain, and Ghosts of Manhattan, set in the same universe some decades later.
He wrote the Time Hunter novella "The Severed Man", and co-wrote the series finale, Child of Time.
He has also written numerous short stories, plus Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes audiobooks for Big Finish Productions. He has edited a number of anthologies including The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, The Solaris Book of New Fantasy and a retrospective collection of Sexton Blake stories, Sexton Blake, Detective, with an introduction by Michael Moorcock.

Reviews

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of the Doctor! I have been since the 60’s. So a graphic novel with Rose and Jack, too? Right up my alley.
The art in this novel was excellent and it is a great story with lots of humor and excitement.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had mixed feelings about much of the various Titan Comics series of Doctor Who and unfortunately this one is no different. On one hand I was thrilled about this adventure with not only the Ninth Doctor & Rose Tyler, but also the irrepressible & hopelessly charming Captain Jack Harkness ("Well, Hello There.")! And it was a riotously good read. On the other hand: why exactly does Jack look like he's 16, Rose look like she's 12 & and the Doctor look like he's 20? don't get me wrong, the art is lovely. It's just the age thing. Really, they all look silly in how youthful they appear. But otherwise a good solid story and I could hear Christopher Eccleston's delivery coming through loud and clear. Yep, it felt like the Ninth Doctor.
If you a Whovian (and who isn't these day it seems) you'll probably enjoy this. If you're a Ninth Doctor fan? What are you waiting for? Climb aboard the TARDIS and hit the temporal ether! In other words: "Run!"

[Evelina | AvalinahsBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are lovely, the coloring is absolutely wonderful, and the personality of the 9th Doctor is very well retained. Definitely enjoyed it!

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ninth Doctor, Captain Jack, and Rose find themselves in the middle of a war between two races - one of which wants to police the use of time travel technology, and the other that wants them to do anything but.

As an introduction to the Titan Doctor Who comics, this one gives me high hopes for what else is out there. The characterisation of the Doctor, as well as Rose and Jack, is really spot on - Eccleston's Doctor's rage at himself, the Time Lords, and the Time War in general is extremely raw, and it shines through in his actions when he's confronted with it all once again. There's a great segment that shows off some later continuity from the Eleventh Doctor's tenure that makes the way the Ninth Doctor acts make far more sense in context now, while Jack's choices really show why he was never going to be a permanent companion - he and the Doctor just don't approach problems in the same way.

Blair Shedd's artwork is very nice too - the Doctor, Jack, and Rose all look like their respective actors without the action feeling photoboxed or too static, and the designwork for the alien creatures (aside from one squid dude who is literally a squid and that's it) is pretty neat. Rachael Stott, who I'm not a massive fan of, does some fill-in pages during the later issues, but they're few and far between so I barely even noticed the change.

A solid story, some good continuity and character work, and some lovely artwork sets the bar high for Titan's Doctor Who comics - let's see if they can keep it up.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler and Captain Jack Harkness begin a new adventure. Set somewhere in the latter stages of 'Series 1', this sees the Doctor find Time Lord technology for sale. It eventually transpires that two rival races are at war and for the Doctor it all seems to familiar.

I have to start by saying that Scott nails the characters here. The Ninth Doctor is probably my favourite incarnation and this really feels like him. Rose and Captain Jack also feel exactly like they do on screen.

The artwork is great here, with decent likenesses, although it did feel a little like our leading three had been photoshopped all the way through. The landscapes and aliens looked stunning.

I did have a bit of a problem with the plot. I mean, it's fine in itself but it feels a bit off compared to the Ninth Doctor stories we saw on TV. This is all about the legacy of the Time Lords and other than the Ninth Doctor's character, mythology like that was given a backseat. There are no human characters other than the leads and Earth is nowhere to be seen. In terms of plot, it doesn't feel very Ninth Doctor-y.

This story must have done something right because it's lead to an ongoing series. It's not quite fantastic, but it's lovely to see the Ninth Doctor again, especially when he is characterised so well.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Nice to see a story with the Ninth Doctor.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOO HOO! Nine, Rose, Jack


My favorite team!

This is definitely the best of the new comic series. When I saw we were getting new adventures with old companions I think I screamed! The characterizations of all three are FANTASTIC with Jack's sexual innuendos and all!

We finally get a glimpse of the adventures that took place between episodes 'The Doctor Dances' and 'Boom Town'. If you recall, in 'Boom Town' the three land in Cardiff to recharge and they meet up with Mickey. It's clear they have gone on quite a few adventures between the two episodes, it is absolutely brilliant to play around in that time frame.

As for the story itself, it was pretty good with two warring species, a trip to the black black market, and Rose ending up on a different side than the Doctor. Of course, as always, the artwork is atrocious with some absolutely painful Rose faces.



YIKES!

Overall this is a must read for any fan of this team. Out of all of the modern Doctors the most deserving of more stories is definitely Nine. The writing does them justice, and I was actually giddy to see them together again, even if it is only on paper. I am too excited for more!

[Scotty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love seeing the Ninth Doctor back. This story was just okay. I would bump it an additional half star for including Captain Jack though.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

Extra half star for Jack Harkness

[Alex Sarll]

Goodness but this captures the feel of 2005, where you didn't quite know what could and could not happen in post-Time War Who, where this chippy bastard with the ears at once wasn't at all what you expected and yet was inarguably the Doctor, where Rose had yet to get overexp(R)osed and Captain Jack was still fun. Even the slightly heavy-handed resonances of the plot, with attempts at forging a New Galactic Order instead lapsing into new tyranny, and contraband time weapons from the War - the tone is dead-on, though the budget to realise the space battles on screen would have been prohibitive. It's not perfect - early Jack is charming enough to get away with 'Don't touch what you can't afford' once, but not twice; mechanical beings opening each speech with identifiers such as 'Question:' or 'Information:' has never made a lick of sense, and that doesn't change here. Nevertheless, among Titan's current Who comics, this is second only to the excellent Eleventh series.

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4 stars

Man, I just love an Alex X Zhang cover! How did we Whovians get so lucky to have so many!

Lots of pop culture references. I love that Doctor Who does this, because most of the companions are from modern day earth and have access to the same media we do. I kid you not, in another Doctor Who graphic novel Ace was wearing Starfleet earrings. Yep. Star Trek Starfleet. United Federation of Planets Starfleet. Here's my review of that graphic novel where I inserted pictures of said Star Trek earrings.

Speaking of pictures... I may or may not have screenshot all the references in this comic that I recognised. Come on, give me a break. I only have two more weeks worth of Kindle before I'm back to haphazardly describing the images in physical copies or scrounging through sketchy websites (dodging the porn) looking for digital copies. So here are seven of those pop culture references in this book. (They are not spoilery, plus I put them out of chronological order to avoid disclosing anything else about the narrative):


Ah yes. Well done Rose, correct terminology. Come on Doctor, get with it.

I mean, do they or do they not look like one of the bajillion Stormtrooper variants?

Anyone calling anyone "Spock" in any media makes me smile

Trust the American to make the Wizard of Oz reference

I have actually read this book, and I propose its alternate title should be "How To Manipulate People Without It Actually Feeling Like Manipulation"

What is it with Americans and this movie? They act like The Wizard of Oz is the pinnacle of all cinema.

I do have one critique of this comic. It is a bit of Rose, Jack or the Doctor get stuck somewhere “dies” rinse and repeat and doesn't really diverge from this. But there are also robot centaurs so that makes up for it.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

FANTASTIC 👏 🙌 simply brilliant!! 🥰

[Aaxel ✧ˊˎ˗ · Rating 4 out of 5]

comic series with nine, rose and jack? one of my favourite tardis team? it's not a want, it's a NEED.

art style is cute, tho not really up to my taste. the plot and the humour? loved it

[Emilija · Rating 4 out of 5]

2019 52 Book Challenge - 12) A Graphic Novel

This was pretty cool. The art was fantastic, the characterisation of the Doctor, Rose and Jack was awesome, and the plot was pretty decent too.

[Dominique · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love nine <3 :)

[Amber Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't generally do comics and I haven't seen Doctor Who in a while but I **love** the 9th doctor, Rose, and Jack so this was fun. I'll probably try a few more.

[Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

god i missed nine

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doctor Who comics are always fun little blasts. I really like the subtle exploration of relationships in this one, where we see how close Team TARDIS got in between those two episodes. Exciting and thrilling, the themes and contents are very on brand for the Ninth Doctor’s era, making for a very consistent canon and characterisation. Love the copious amount of NineRose content we get in this. Keen to read the rest!

[Iza · Rating 3 out of 5]

The comfort❤️‍🩹

[George Nash]

It has been a while since I watched the ninth Doctor Who I don't remember him being so chatty it was a fun Doctor Who story that was fun to read and the art work was right on key

[Helen (they or he) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Ninth Doctor isn't my favourite but I really love this trio. I'm not really a fan of the art style but the writing and the plot is good, albeit a little twisty. (Too twisty, actually. Would've preferred a simpler plot.)

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never thought I'd enjoy graphic novels and haven't read one before this one, but I have to say that I really enjoyed it. Maybe because I love Doctor Who so much, but this was like watching the show. I loved how I could actually see the scene, instead of imagining it, which made it a lot easier to read...and faster. The Doctor, Rose, and Jack were drawn pretty well, though sometimes I thought Rose's expressions were a little strange. The storyline was very interesting and seemed to mostly fit the mannerisms and characteristics of the TV show version. If you've always been curious about graphic novels and love DW, I'd recommend you read this book.

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor, Rose and Jack come up against aliens who want to fix time now that the Time Lords are gone.

[Eren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Geçen sene büyük bir ilgiyle başlayıp bu senenin başında bitirdiğim, Titan Comics'den Doctor Who evreninde geçen Onuncu Doktor'un çizgi romanlarından sonra, seriye diğer Doktorlar ile de devam etmek istedim. Onuncu Doktor'un on tane cildi vardı ve hepsini okumuştum. Bu evreni sadece dizileriyle takip etmek istemiyorum çünkü en çok sevdiğim evrenler arasına girdi çoktan. Benim için yeri çok ayrı. Ben de diğer Doktorların maceralarını merak ettiğim için, diziden de ilk tanıdığım doktor olan Christopher Eccleston'un sadece bir sezon canlandırdığı Dokuzuncu Doktor'un maceralarına başlamak istedim.

Bu Doktor'un, Onuncuya göre daha az cildi var ve daha kısa sürede biter diye düşündüm. İlk cilt, 5 sayıdan oluşuyor ve bu 5 sayıda sadece bir hikaye anlatılıyor: Weapons of Past Destruction. Hikayede Doktor'un yol arkadaşı olarak diziden tanıdığımız Rose Tyler ve Kaptan Jack Harkness var. Jack ile İkinci Dünya Savaşı zamanında tanışmışlardı ve bu da o bölüm ile diğer Slitheen bölümünden öncesinin arasında geçiyor. Tardis, büyük bir gemi tarafından vakumlanmaya çalışıyor ve ekibimiz bunu çözüp dönmeye çalışırken Rose orada kalıyor. Doktor ve Jack, Rose'un peşine düşmeye çalışırken yolları bir pazara düşüyor. Rose burada 4 gün çalıştırılmış oluyor ve işin ilginç tarafı bu uzay pazarında Doktor'un gezegeni Gallifrey teknolojisinden aletler satılıyor. Buna sinirlenen ve gizemi çözmeye çalışan Doktor, olayların arkasını araştırıyor ve Centauros ırkına benzer Unon denilen bir ırk tarafından kuşatılıyorlar ekibimiz. Bu ırk, zamandaki çatlakları ve hasarları onarmaya çalışırken aslında yanlış bir şey yapıyor ve işler sarpa sarıyor. Arnora adındaki yetkili kişi de bunu çözmeye çalışırken kötülük yapıyor ve biz de bu işleri yoluna sokmaya çalışan ekibimizi okuyoruz.

Bir cildin tamamında bir hikayenin işlendiğini ilk kez gördüm bu seride, hikaye uzundu zaten. Ben olayların zincirlemesini pek beğenmedim açıkçası, biraz uzatılmaya çalışılmış gibi geldi bilerek. Konu bütünlüğü vardı evet ama biraz zorlama geldi her şey, bu yüzden tam oturtamadım içeriği. Ana düşmanımız da hoşuma gitmedi, yaptıkları şeyleri de çok benimseyemedim. İlk cilt olduğu için bir giriş maksadıyla yapmışlardır diye düşünüyorum ama uzun sürdüğü için biraz havada kaldı bazı şeyler benim için. Kısacası beni pek tatmin etmedi bu cilt, ama devam edeceğim. Sevdiğim şeyler ise, dizide bu ekibin kısa maceralarını bu şekilde onları hikayeye dahil ederek devam ettirmeleri... Üçünü de gerçekten çok özlemişim ve özellikle Jack'in konuşmaları falan çok yerindeydi. Doktor ve Rose içinse biraz daha yol istiyor sanki, dizideki havalarını verdirmeleri için. Yine de bu ekibi okumak keyifliydi benim için.

Şu an bu ciltle giriş yaptılar ve çok tatmin olmadım ama ileriye yönelik beklentilerim var. Bu cilt 2015 yılında çıkmış ve ikinci cilt 2016'da çıkmış. Bakalım o nasıl olacak. Cilde puanım 2.5 oluyor.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

An original adventure featuring the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Ecclestone) and his companions Rose Tyler and Captain Jack Harkness, set between the episodes 'The Doctor Dances' and 'Boom Town'.
The Doctor and his friends find themselves caught between the warring factions of the Unon and the Lect, leading them to discover a black market where Gallifreyan weapons are being sold. The Doctor then has to intervene to prevent a new Time War from erupting.

This is the perfect story for the Ninth Doctor to tackle, being the one who is the most damaged by end of the Last Great Time War. You really get a sense of his horror at the possibility of a new Time War but also how jaded he is by his role in ending the last one and his determination to prevent it from every happening again. Due to when this story was released, it can also incorporate the lore of 'The Day of the Doctor' in a way that couldn't have happened in the Ninth Doctor's onscreen tenure.

Far more than the story, however, what this book absolutely nails is the depiction of the three main characters. The Doctor, Rose and Jack all feel exactly like their onscreen versions and the dialogue for each played out in my head in the voices of Christopher Ecclestone, Billie Piper and John Barrowman. Their relationships with each other are also done brilliantly and served to remind me just how much I enjoyed the brief run of episodes in Series 1 that featured this trio.

Unfortunately, the book is spoiled somewhat by one recurring plot device. At various points throughout the story there are fake-out deaths for all three main characters, who immediately turn out to be fine.
Doing it once would've been fine but as soon as you start repeating that trick it completely erases the emotional impact of the other characters thinking their friend is dead but also means that for us, as readers, there's no real stakes because we can be sure we're about to find out that the character has been transmatted to safety or somesuch. It's a cheap way of trying to force tension and emotional pathos into the story and almost never works.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *

[Stefan Grieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is a fun interlude between the later episodes of the 9th doctor era, although it benefits from the fact it was written after the doctor who 50th anniversary, for certain details written about this characters past is well incorporated. I think the characters voices are mostly spot-on, the fun, sassy back and forth to be expected of 9, Rose and captain Jack. The art is close to the feel, style and aesthetics (although a lot more colourful and glossy compared to a lot of the grimness of that series), and benefits from a limitless budget. It will be enjoyed by new fans due to it's quality I suppose, but long term fans of the new series (not necessary the classic) will appreciate all the alien cameos and plot point of canonical doctor who lore (there is even a visual reference to series long mystery 'Bad wolf')
Although the story is gripping and action packed, I feel the main plot has strands that has been done before, not just in doctor who but in sci-fi in general, with themes of different sides to a war and points of view that has been tackled in similar ways for decades. There was just enough twists in it though to keep it engaging and not to much of a cliché driven plot.
However, altogether it was fun and engaging, great art, action and dialogue and fan pleasing nods to the lore of the recent series.
Also it had a reference early on to my home city, Wakefield, and it's great Rhubarb Crumble, which I think was fantastic!

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good beginning for the line of comics that I'm probably going to be either more nitpicky about or more forgiving of than any other. (Cos Nine is my Doctor and series 1 is my favorite series of Nu!Who.) While none of the main three look 100% like their real life counterpart, they're all really well done and their personalities are on point.

The most important thing to me when it comes to people writing the Nine, Rose, and Jack era is that the writers remember the order of the Doctor's priorities. Rose is always the most important being in the universe, then anyone in Rose's immediate vicinity (since their safety effects hers), and then the rest of the universe. As long as that hierarchy of priorities is adhered to, the writers can do very little wrong in my estimation. And these writers remembered that perfectly, so I enjoyed every panel of this first entry.

Also, loved the Romana mention. She *would* definitely have told the Doctor to study horse over mammoth and it totally would come back to bite him all those incarnations later, lol. And if Romana was still around, he would totally never let her live it down that her advice almost got him killed.

But this was a great first outing from Titan for a Doctor that some writers never manage to get right. But Titan seems like they understand how he works, and that bodes well for what I'll see going forward. On to the next entry!

[Andy Hickman · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Vol.1 – WAEPONS OF PAST DESTRUCTION” by Cavan Scott, Blair Shedd (Artist)

FANTASIC story and brilliant illustrations and artwork.
One of the best Doctor Who graphic novels / comics I have read.
*****
- - -

#1

Great start to a 9th Doc series with Rose and Jack as companions. The illustrations and colours are … FANTASTIC!

“If you believe the Doctor … (and I do) .. He's seen all of space and time. Stars born … and stars die. Every life form under every sun.”
- - -

#2

“He'll catch me. I know he will.
I knew from the moment he grabbed my hand, back on Westminster Bridge. Back on Earth. The Doctor will catch me if I fall. He'll never let me go.”

“I've got her!”
- - -

#3

“What are you after? The lost city of Sakkrat's post-code? Colonel Sanders' secret ingredient?” - The Doctor
- - -

#4

“I've been in tight scrapes before. Heists, cons, jealous husbands, jealous WIVES, come to think of it. But getting caught in a SUPERNOVA? That's new” - Jack

“The Lect are scum!” - Borga
“That's an ugly word, Borga. I'm not keen on ugly words. Ugly deeds usually come next.” - Doctor
- - -

#5

“Idiots setting themselves up as gods. Building their silly little utopias on lies. Killing anyone who disagrees.”

“Chaos clings to him like an old lover.”
- - -

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is actually the first Doctor Who graphic novel I've read, despite being a lifelong Doctor Who fan, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect beforehand.

Turns out there are a lot more explosions and action than the typical TV episode. Not entirely a bad thing, but takes some getting used to!

It's always fun to see a story with the 9th Doctor, Jack and Rose. They're a great trio that always bounce off each other with witty dialogue. They're the perfect TARDIS team to adapt into comic form, really.

The story itself takes some interesting twists and turns, and manages to cram a lot into 5 issues without feeling bloated or rushed. However, there were a few tropes that were used multiple times, to diminishing returns. Eventually, the story's links to the Doctor's recent past is what gives this story a good emotional core, even if the elements aren't fully explored.

As I continue this comic run, I really hope to see some slower, less explosion-y stories to counterbalance the bombastic ones like these. But this is a fun opening to this comic run, and I can't wait to read the rest!.

[Danielle Hays · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started rewatching Doctor Who lately and when I stumbled upon this comic at the library where I work, I thought it would be a match made in heaven. Sure, I haven't loved comic books in the past, but it's Doctor Who. How could I not love it?

Oh. That's how.

I don't know why, but it just didn't gel with me. The art was nice, though there was something about Nine's design that didn't work. I loved Rose's art, though! And it was nice to experience another adventure with Nine, Rose, and Jack all together. We didn't get enough of Team Tardis in the show.

There was just something about the story that didn't work. Plus, my eyes just sort of glazed over all of the technobabble. I feel like a record on repeat, because all I can think to say is that it didn't work for me. But I mean that; there was nothing inherently bad about it and I think if it was an episode on the show I could have really dug it.

Comic books just really are not my thing.