Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor Vol. 5: The One

Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor (Titan Comics) series

by Simon Spurrier, Rob Williams, Simon Fraser (Illustrator)

The Doctor struggles to clear his name, and rediscovers more of what his War Doctor incarnation got up to during the Time War! Plus: the Squire uncovers her true past, and Alice cracks a temporal mystery. (While Abslom Daak uses his chainsword to bash things a lot) Guest-starring River Song, and the best jailbreak of ANY century! Collects: Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Year Two #6-10

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

125 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2016

Reviews

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor returns to places he never thought he'd see again as his quest to uncover the truth about the Malignant continues, while The Then And The Now is hot on his heels.

I've wanted an ongoing plot for these Doctor Who comics since I started reading them, and this year of the Eleventh Doctor's adventures has really delivered. With a paradoxical bounty hunter on his tail, every adventure here has added propulsion and we never lose sight of what the Doctor's after. Some issues lead to false conclusions, yes - but they're worth the detours since what we do find out helps push the characters towards the correct one.

I wasn't as big a fan of the Doctor's coldness towards Alice in this volume; there's a reason for it, though whether it's a good reason or not I'm not sure. It definitely sets up the final volume, but even when the Doctor's at his worst I don't think he's ever been this dismissive, especially to someone so obviously hurting. The addition of River to the cast is fun though - it's a shame it's short-lived.

The art's the art we've come to expect by now. Warren Pleece and Simon Fraser are joined by Leonardo Romero and Leandro Casco, but these trades have reverted back to making it difficult to see where one issue ends and the next begins, so they all kind of blur together.

Year Two barrels along nicely, with a few surprise locales that keep things interesting, even if the Doctor's being a bit of a dick.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Titan's best Doctor Who story to date just gets better.

Simon Spurrier has gathered together one of the best (and biggest!) TARDIS crews to date, and they all get great characterization and growth in this volume. He's even managed to make Alice interesting, which is amazing given how vanilla she was in the first story arc.

The continuity also continues to be amazing, with a focus on the Time War that actually becomes more important over the course of this volume.

I'm a bit frustrated that we still have absolutely no ending to this story, but Spurrier has nicely moved it along, so it hasn't dragged, so I guess it's a fine length.

[Kai Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent series. The Doctor like I've never seen him. Can't wait to read vol 6!

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weeeell... I suppose part of my ambivalence is that I got rather weary of the juvenile antics of the Eleventh Doctor, but to be honest that isn't much of an excuse ... As this barely sounds (reads) like the Eleventh Doctor. There's nothing really bad about it, but there's also nothing really good about it either.
One of the issues I have with this publishes offerings of the Doctor in comics, is that there's so darn much. So much, in fact, that it honestly feels like the is little inspiration for these stories and instead the publisher is just flooding the market with as much product as they can publish - rather like the typical strategy from Marvel or DC.
So, don't bother unless your a HUGE Whovian or if your favorite Doctor was Matt Smith, otherwise give it a pass.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This continues right from where volume 4 left off, and Year Two is shaping up to be a very ambitious storyline as The Doctor deals with consequences of the Time War that may have been caused by him. So the War Doctor's shadow definitely looms large in this story. Abslom Daak also raises an interesting point about how a man like The Doctor changes faces like a criminal would. Even Alice questions The Doctor and ends up having to make a big decision.

Amidst the throwbacks is Shada, which I actually hope we'll get again in the TV series. This comic is very meta in that The Doctor says his memory of "Shada" (the TV story with the Fourth Doctor) was erased. It would've been interesting if this story could've also somehow acknowledged the Eighth Doctor having gone through the events of Shada in the animated adaptation.

As for the art, it changes a bit at random points in the story. I wish that it were more consistent and also better. I feel like River Song wasn't really illustrated very well.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dang, this arc continues to get more intriguing and hits at a darker side to the Doctor's life, something we often get echoes of whenever references to the Time War come up. And this is really personified by how the War Doctor feels like a completely different entity versus the Doctors we've encountered over the years.

Now the investigation is joined by the ever-fabulous River Song as the Doctor tries to clear his name on the suspicion that maybe the crime that he was accused of was something the Master had actually done and had somehow framed him for. And it's easy to frame someone for a crime that took place in a time period that is somehow completely erased from your memory.

The arc raises many questions including the reasons behind some of the Doctor's increasingly unusual behavior. But things aren't quite resolved here and there is still more in this story for us to unravel.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-one-by-si-spurrier-et-al/

Next in the Year Two sequence of Eleventh Doctor comics from Titan, following from The Then and the Now, with Abslom Daak, the mysterious Squire and Alice the librarian now joined by River Song to work out what the Doctor was up to during the Time War. Some great references to past stories, though I’m a little uneasy with the somewhat harsher characterisation of the Doctor.

[Adam Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book continues the story begun in Volume 4 which finds the Doctor trying to clear himself for a crime committed during the Time War where his memory is vague and the whole thing is timelocked. Joined by his companion Alice, as well as Absalom Daak, River Song, and the mysterious Squire (an alleged companion from the Time War), the Doctor seeks to unravel this mystery.

The book once again features several solid mysteries with some mind-blowing Time Lord stuff that you couldn't portray on TV. There are some problematic elements. There's some frontmatter dedicated to a character profile of Daak which I'm not sure how it works. River Song is pretty quickly sidelined, and the Doctor spends much of the book being mean to Alice. Though, there's later an explanation for this.

The book's ending certainly doesn't wrap things up but it does make Volume 6 a must-read. Despite it's problems, this is a truly awesome ride and I'm looking forward to reading how it wraps up.

[Jeni Enjaian]

While none of these collections I have ever read, including these three, have ever been favorites, I want to continue reading them and diving back into the Doctor Who universe. The collections (1st and 3rd above) that work the best for me are the ones that read far more like an episode of the show rather than as a comic book installment, especially, for example, the whole weird aliens masking as Egyptian gods in the 11th doctor collections.

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second volume of Year Two is much improved on the first, with interesting (and obscure) classic lore, River Song, the War Doctor, and several cool twists all making for a satisfying read. The Doctor was also better portrayed (if in an extra manipulative mode) and they addressed Abslom Daak's personality shift (though he still feels off). Good stuff. (B+)

[Rob Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having not read the previous volume I was not familiar with many of the characters featured in this book. I lost track in some places as the story suddenly switches to a new location. I was looking forward to interactions between Eleven and the War Doctor but the latter doesn't appear until the very end.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much better than the previous volume. The story problems I had have been rectified. Seems to be headed in a good direction now. Vol 4-6 are certainly one long story. There's a ton of companions in this. I liked the addition of River Song but man is she drawn poorly. She looks like the Doctor's grandmother. The art team on this is definitely not the greatest.

[Becky-Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed some parts. Others were a little hard to follow. I love that River Song is in this one and that there are mentions of the master.

Has an interesting storyline. Going to a planet that is a prison for evil timelords and stealing the masters Tardis - Love it!

I really liked that we saw more of the war Doctor!

[Dan Patmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read these, it's often in full awareness that they aren't great but pass be time in amusement. This reeeeeallly captured my attention.

And I'm so cross that I hadn't realised the story line didn't end here else I'd have already ordered the next volume......

I want to know what happens!!!!!

[Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely to see River Song and learn more about the Time War & The War Doctor. Not the most exciting and engaging story, but still a worthwhile read for any fan of the show. Some of the illustrations are UGLY, some are STUNNING.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm confused. They seem to be ignoring things that 10 went thru. In relation to the Master and the daleks. I mean how many times have they come back from obscurity without fail?

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very uneven. The war doctor stuff was intriguing, but ended on a cliffhanger

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the War Doctor in the series, which was much more fun. But let's see how this goes.

Poor River Song. The artists rarely did you justice.

[Natira · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*

[Ned Netherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed that and the cliff hanger means I am definitely getting Vol.6

[Ade Couper · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a big fan of the 11th Doctor, & a big fan of graphic novels. I've read several Doctor Who graphic novels, but this one seemed a bit "meh"- not bad, but didn't really keep my attention....

[Демьян Саченко · Rating 5 out of 5]

And then things get worse

This book is just as brilliant as the first volume, but holy crap does it get dark for a Doctor Who story. And it will get even darker before the end.

[Braedon Percy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I miss the eleventh doctor so much after reading this, ugh

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oof. No, I don't think I liked this collection very much... the Doctor was far too cruel and to me it didn't seem necessary. There were other ways it could have been plotted.

[Ian Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is a bit confusing but fairly interesting and certainly in the spirit of the TV series. But the art is awful - inconsistent, messy and fundamentally unable to tell a story.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark and dynamic, this series is full of bold choices with strong narrative payoff. It’s a shame some of the likenesses are inconsistent in the art.

[Debra Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Doctor enlists River to help him escape a prison and Alice needs to get back to the Time War.

[Zack Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume starts off with the Eleventh Doctor story from Free Comic Book Day 2016, which is really nice for Abslom Daak's character and does some nice character development.

Then we have a two-part story set on Shada. There was some nice stuff about the Doctor's memory being wiped after he first visited (a reference to the unfinished Fourth Doctor story, Shada). This issue also saw an appearance of Roger Delgado's Master, though only briefly.

I felt this two parter was a little slower than the rest of the volume. Even so, it was enjoyable and I could really feel the series coming together. After this story, I read the rest of the volume in one sitting, which shows just how intriguing the rest of it was. I felt like the lack of The Then and The Now in the later issues really helped the story be more enjoyable. Though it was somewhat present, it was less of a nuisance than I found it to be in previous issues.

I really liked the lead-up to the Squire's death. I thought that this was a really interesting route that Doctor Who doesn't frequently do (except for the Eight Doctor's companions who are rather unlucky).

The art was on-par with the previous issues and used the same style. Though I wasn't a huge fan of it at first, it grew on me as the story went on and I'm beginning to enjoy it. The only thing I'll say is that I don't think River Song looked too much like Alex Kingston, but I think she's a hard character to capture in art.

The last comment I'll make is that I wasn't the biggest fan of some of the Doctor's comments. He kept referring to Alice as "Librarian," which she is, but it seemed to almost come off as an insult. It doesn't seem to be based on fondness since he never called her that in the previous five issues. I found this to be annoying and a little out of character for the Doctor.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this volume and I think it definitely improved on the previous volume with pacing and I can't wait to see where it goes next!

[Shaun Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Things have plateaued a bit in this second volume of the Eleventh Doctor series 2 comics. The yarn is still enjoyable, and the writing still compelling, but whereas the first five issues really kickstarted things, this middle section suffers from simply being the middle section. The first two are great, the third is good, the last two seem like padding to stretch the story out for the full season. Here's hoping the resolution to come is as good as the set up was, in which case I may have to edit my ranking...

[Alex Sarll]

Because Spurrier likes his protagonists devious, truculent and unreliable, the War Doctor is looming almost as large in this run as its supposed hero - and even he skirts pretty close to the limits of heroism here. But with no guitars and no Smuggy McSmugface in sight, I'll still happily take this over last year's series, let alone this year's drought.