Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Vol. 7: War of Gods

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor (Titan Comics) #7

by Nick Abadzis, James Peaty, Georgia Sposito (Artist)

THE FINAL CHAPTER OF THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED YEAR TWO OF THE TENTH DOCTOR, AS PLAYED BY DAVID TENNANT!


The epic conclusion of the Tenth Doctor's Year Two adventures! On the Shining Horizon, Dorothy and Gabby become concerned about Anubis' behavior... portending the return of the terrible Sutekh!

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

112 pages, Paperback

First published June 13, 2017

About the author

Nick Abadzis was born in Sweden to Greek and English parents and was brought up in Switzerland and England. He is a writer and artist who likes comics (which means these days he seems to be known as a "graphic novelist"). His work for both adults and children has been published in many countries across the world.

He also works as an editorial consultant and has helped set up several best-selling and innovative children's magazines, including most recently, The DFC for David Fickling Books, the first British children's comic to feature original characters in nearly a quarter of a century. His storytelling contribution, Cora's Breakfast, was featured in The Guardian. His work has also appeared in The Times, The Independent on Sunday, TimeOut, Radio Times, and various other BBC publications and websites. Other clients have included Eaglemoss Publications, HarperCollins, Harcourt Education, Scholastic, Orchard Books, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and 2000AD. He lives in London with his wife and daughter.

Reviews

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Doctor returns to the Shining Horizon to finally deal with Anubis and Sutekh once and for all, before a creature that preys on sorrow tries to turn all of his lost companions against him.

All I can really say about this arc is 'at last'. The whole ongoing Osirans plot has been bland, and it ends fairly blandly too. The Doctor, Gabby, Cindy, and Dorothy work together to try and stop Sutekh from destroying the universe, and he Time Lord's his way out of it. It's fine as a conclusion, but I wish it hadn't taken this long to get there. The conversation between Cindy and Gabby about their feelings is probably the best part of the arc.

The one-and-done from Year Three that's included is pretty good, but if a monster wants to prey on the Doctor's lost companions, I feel like it should do more than just reach back to Rose - there's a whole 8 other lives it could have used as well. Fun to see Warren Pleece on art though, I didn't think he did much anymore.

It's a shame when you don't gel with an overarching plot, because it tars everything else by association. With Sutekh finally dealt with, hopefully Year Three proper will bring a new day for the Doctor and friends.

[Estíbaliz Montero Iniesta]

YOUTUBE / INSTAGRAM 

¡Y llegamos al último tomo del segundo año de aventuras del Décimo Doctor en cómic! La verdad, los cómics son entretenidos, pero hace varios tomos que ninguno me vuela la cabeza como los primeros que leí y sigo prefiriendo la serie de televisión, de lejos🙈. No obstante, como a veces hay que esperar bastante entre temporada y temporada, está bien tener las aventuras de los cómics mientras tanto.

En este caso, por fin llegamos al desenlace de la trama de Sutekh y Anubis que, no voy a mentir, se me ha hecho un poco liosa en algunos puntos, porque había que recuperar bastante información de tomos anteriores para no perderse y yo tengo memoria de pez (y los anteriores volúmenes salieron hace ya un tiempecito).
Al margen de eso, como fan de la mitología egipcia, me ha parecido interesante que entremezclaran a los dioses de dicha civilización con los alienígenas, porque ¿quién no ha escuchado las teorías de la conspiración sobre las pirámides?
Es cierto que sigo pensando que las largas explicaciones científicas pierden sobre el papel, porque en la serie al menos tienes el dinamismo de los actores dando el discurso, pero el final de la historia ha apelado bastante a sentimientos y emociones en varios de los personajes, así que más o menos se equilibra.

Por otro lado, la minihistoria que revisita a varias de las companions me ha gustado por el toque nostálgico y porque siempre me pueden cuando confluyen varios personajes que no se suelen ver casi nunca a la vez.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the worst story line, but certainly not the best either. While I do keep reading these continuing adventures from Titan Comics, I'm not particularly pleased with them. It's not that they're bad, they just are not all that engaging.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

I'm telling you right now, if anybody, and I mean literally anybody every tried to put fancy USB cords into my ears and nose, even to help me, I'm killing them on sight. Gabby is a lot better than me for allowing the Seeker to do that

[Erick M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

La conclusión a la historia de Anubis y su padre, Sutekh, fue bastante satisfactoria de leer. Los personajes logran hacer frente de manera satisfactoria y los sacrificios hechos nos llevan a lo que yo podría considerar una próxima conclusión para la serie. La parte de Cindy y Gaby hablando de sus emociones ees quizás el momento más tierno de la historia.
Con eso dicho, siento que que a la parte final le hizo falta unas 5 o 10 páginas más para cerrar bien, pues se siente algo apresurado. Uno pensaría que algo sobre eso se abordaría en la segunda historia, pero todo sucede tan rápido que no me llegué a preocupar demasiado por lo que pasaba.

Lo disfruté de manera general.

[tony dillard jr · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Year Two Adventures of the Tenth Doctor comes to a close in War of Gods.

I’ll admit, when IDW lost the rights to the Doctor Who franchise in 2014, I was upset as were a number of fans. Yet, I think the BBC did the right thing by switching Doctor Who over to Titan Comics. IDW’s writers had a bad habit of taking established stories, place them in a different setting, and pass them off as all-new. The publisher had an even worse habit of having each version of the Doctor regurgitate their most popular catchphrases ad nauseam.

If a Dalek was attacking the Eleventh Doctor, he’d yell ‘Fish Fingers and Custard!” for no reason at all. Everything was ‘Fantastic’ to IDW’s version of the Ninth Doctor- even a plague of oozing boils and foot fungus. Yet, the worst offender has to be the writers of the Tom Baker comics and their excessive love for Jelly Babies

Maybe the reason IDW had to go crazy with the tag lines were that the art wasn’t all that good. Almost all of IDW’s artwork on the Doctor Who franchise was poorly drawn. If not for the photos of the Doctor on the cover, you couldn’t tell which regeneration the book was about.

I am happy to say that bad writing and lousy art is not an issue with this collection of Tenth Doctor tales.

While continuing the Anubis story from Volume 6: Sins of the Father, this book also acts as an unofficial sequel to the 1975 classic Who episode Pyramids of Mars. Eisner Award winning writer Nick Abadzis (Laika) pits the Tenth Doctor against one of the classic foes of the Tom Baker era: Sutekh.

Sutekh or Set is the Egyptian god of disorder. He was last seen by Who fans in England attempting to rule the universe with an army of robot mummies. The Fourth Doctor developed a process to destroy the Egyptian deity. Surviving the Doctor’s assault, Sutekh spent quite some time in a pocket universe. It is during this banishment that the villain manages to recruit a new of foes to the Doctor in order to destroy the Time Lord. Featuring a number of memorable baddies from the TV series and Titan Comics, the Doctor and his companions Gabby and Cindy must stop the army of gods and monsters. Should they fail, Sutekh will achieve his ultimate goal: complete annihilation of the universe.

The soul and two hearts of the Tennant Doctor is very real here. You can feel his anger, sadness, and quirks throughout the book. Although this story is about a classic foe of the Doctor’s, it is a completely fresh feeling story. It also helps that the Tenth Doctor looks like the Tenth Doctor. Aiding Nick Abadzis in this feat are artists Giorgia Sposito and Warren Pleece.

Even the backup short (by Supergirl’s James Pleety) that features a gallery of Companions was exciting and new. Pleety’s story just didn’t dig deep enough into the loss the Doctor has felt over losing Donna or Rose. Plus, it would have been a nice twist to have Ten meet a future companion that he doesn’t know yet- like Amy or Bill.

If you were hesitant to give the Doctor Who Titan Comics a try- STOP! The company is really holding it’s own. The writers, artists, and editors truly seem to love and care for the franchise. The BBC was wise to trust Titan with the keys to the TARDIS.

[Sean Goh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The storytelling blew me away.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Nice to see the conclusion to Anubis. Glad to see the Doctor, Gabby, and Cindy again.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

War of Gods concludes Year Two of Titan Comics Tenth Doctor series. The story picks up immediately from where the previous volume ended - with Sutekh taking over Anubis on the Shining Horizon space ship. Sutekh had hidden a splinter of himself in Anubis and now sought to take over. There is a flashback to the aired episode, "The Pyramids of Mars", with the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane, and it's explained that Sutekh hid himself in a pocket universe, rather than dying. Sutekh also gathers several other evil beings, such as the Great Nocturne from the last volume, in order to absorb their energy, though they think at first that Sutekh will release them. One being is used to stop up the tunnel between the Shining Horizon and the pocket universe. Sutekh threatens all: Gabby, Cindy, Dorothy, the Doctor, and Anubis. However, The Doctor and company are able to stop Sutekh, and Dorothy sacrifices herself. Anubis survives and is made young and innocent by exposure to Dorothy's abilities. The story is well-told, with great art, and concludes the year-long arc.
The second story in this issue is a bit problematical - the Doctor and Gabby are in the TARDIS - with no mention as to what happened to Cindy. The TARDIS is pulled off course by the Randomizer, and lands in modern London. The Doctor tries to leave immediately - but he and Gabby hear a scream for help. They confront hologram monsters, and the real monsters behind them who are trying to invade Earth after their prison was weakened by Sutekh's actions. The Doctor is tortured with visions of seeing those he cares about getting hurt: Martha, Rose, Donna, even Gabby. Some of what the Doctor sees is memories - some is actually happening in the moment. The Doctor talks the human conduit into rejecting the monsters and they are pushed back into their prison.
The problem with the second story, besides a story that comes off as too simple, is the truly appalling art. The Doctor doesn't look right at all - actually looking more like the Eleventh Doctor than the Tenth. Gabby also doesn't look right. Everyone in the story, including the guest characters, has a long, lean look that's distorted. The story tries to make a point about the Doctor's fear of loss, but it falls flat in a story that doesn't quite work. I also missed Cindy who disappeared for no reason.
Still, overall 3.5 Stars out of 5 and this volume is recommended for the first story, which, as usual, has lovely art, a great story, and excellent characterization.

[Adam Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book brings Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Year Two to an end with issues 15-17 and also includes Issue #5 of the Year 3 series.

Sutekh has returned to menace Anubis and our heroes in a final showdown and he has some allies. The art is very good and brings the scale of it to life beautifully, and the story is okay. To be honest, I think the Osirian storyline has dragged on far too long and outlived its usefellness. This storyline has been running since the Third Volume of Year One off and on.

Issue 5 is a one shot featuring a monster trying to feed on the Doctor’s pain. The art is substandard. Gabby doesn’t look like herself at all, and the story’s been told before and a little bit better.
Overall, this is an okay volume but just okay. I hope Year 3 brings a better fresh start for the Doctor.

[Eren · Rating 3 out of 5]

10.Doktorun Titan Comics'den çıkan yedinci cildi, aynı zamanda üç sene süren bir maceranın da ikinci senesinin finali olarak karşımıza çıkıyor. Bu ciltle beraber, serinin ikinci yılını da tamamlamış, geriye sadece bir sene bırakmış oldum. Önceki ciltte giriş yaptığımız konu artık bu ciltte iyice ilerledi ve her şey rayına oturarak bir sonuca bağlandı. Sonuç beni tatmin ettiği için bu cilde olan sevgim biraz daha arttı ama yine de ilk ciltlerdeki hikayeleri bulamıyoruz nedense artık.
Geçen ciltte Doktor, yol arkadaşları Gabby ve Cindy ile; daha önce karşılaştıkları Antik Tanrı Anubis'in çağrılarına kulak vermişti ve daha önceki sebeplerini bir türlü anlamadıkları bir çok şeye tanıklık etmişlerdi. Doctor Who evreninde hiçbir şeyin tesadüf olmadığını bildiğimiz için, bunların altından bir şey çıkacağını zaten biliyordum ki, altıncı ciltte bunun mesajı verilmişti. Korkulan tanrı Sutekh, güçlenerek geri dönüyor ve kendisiyle beraber bir çok yok olmuş tanrıyı da getiriyordu hiçlikten. Bu geri dönüşü önce, Osirian'ın şu anki yöneticisi olan oğlu Anubis'i ortadan kaldırarak taçlandırmak istiyordu. Tabii ki evrene ve gezegenlere hakim olmaya çalışan Sutekh, daha önce de Doktorla karşılaşmıştı ve onu iyi bir şekilde tanıyor.(Klasik seride Tom Baker ve Sarah Jane ile bölümleri var oraya da gönderme yapılmış.) Bu yüzden her iki taraf da attığı adımları son derece doğru yapmaya çalışıyor. Biz de Doktor ve yol arkadaşlarına katılarak bu Sutekh macerasına ve onun istilasına, onu çok da güçlü görmeden karşı koymaya çalışıyoruz.
Sonlara doğru beni şaşırtan bir iki şey oldu ve kaç cilttir mesajları verilen konu burada son buldu. Bu yüzden biraz daha rahatladı içim, en azından daha sonraları problem çıkarabilecek bir şeyin önüne erkenden geçilmiş oldu, zor oldu, fedakarlıklar yapıldı, Dorothy'ye çok üzüldüm mesela. Ama diziyi izleyenler de böyle şeylere denk geliyordur illa ki. O yüzden bu konulara yakışan bir final olduğunu düşündüm bu cildin. Cindy karakterini de Gabby'den daha çok sevmeye başladım neredeyse, çok işe yarar bir yol arkadaşı olmaya başladı.
Bu ciltle de Titan Comics'in 10.Doktor David Tennant ile olan ikinci yıl maceralarını da tamamlamış olduk. 2021'de kalan üç cildi de okumayı dört gözle beklemeye başladım bile. Cilde puanım 5 üzerinden 3.5 oldu.

[T.O. Munro · Rating 3 out of 5]

I plucked this off the shelf of a local RPG/warhammer game shop. I didn't realise it was the final part of a graphic novel series so I had a bit of catching up to do.

The nature of the Dr Who franchise is that it's a bit immersive anyway and I enjoyed this stories reference to one of the memorable fourth Doctor stories The Pyramids of Mars. Indeed looking that original story up on Wikipedia provided some useful context to fix this re-emergence of Sutekh vengeful Osirian and Egyptian god who the fourth doctor had trapped in an unending time corridor.

The story twists and turns with a fair few deus ex machina moments, or near deus ex machina which reminded me of the 4th Doctor story where the Dr survived being strangled to death because of his handy Timelord breath bypass system!

In this manifestation Sutekh is set to return to obliterate all life and I did enjoy his monologues on his proposed gift to the universe of death and oblivion to negate the terror of choice and the tyranny of hope.

Sutehk's promise of a 'mercy killing' to the universe out of its misery makes an interesting counterpoint to this description of hope that I have read on Twitter

People speak of hope as if it is this delicate, ephemeral thing made of whispers and spider's webs. It's not. Hope has dirt on her face, blood on her knuckles, the grit of the cobblestones in her hair, and just spat out a tooth as she rises for another go. (Joan Halifax) @jhalifax

Besides the various technological sleights of hand there are the companions in danger, the foiled plans and the noble sacrifices that characterised much of the old Dr Who series (where everyone who wasn't a regular might as well have walked on set wearing a red shirt!).

A quick fun read.

[Pablo Rodriguez Perez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Con este tomo se termina de recopilar el Año Dos del Décimo Doctor en los comics de Titan Books. Después de un (bastante largo) camino sobre la trama de Anubis, llega a su conclusión nada mas ni nada menos que con el regreso de su padre Sutekh, que luego de estar exiliado en la nada, decide regresar con unos cuantos dioses aliados más.
Mientras que el último volumen parecía tener una mejora en cuanto a la narrativa del guión, este me pareció que pasa sin pena ni gloria. La resolución del conflicto no me parece que este a la altura de lo que venía planteando. Por ahí no es malo, pero tampoco memorable. Y en este aspecto, el dibujo no creo que aporte tampoco. Las escenas de Sutekh podrían lograr mucho mas impacto si no fuese porque el dibujo es chato, plano, o casi sin vida.
En conclusión, me hizo debatirme si la historia para TV de Russel T. Davis para el 15vo Doctor, no estaba mejor desarrrollada que estos comics.... y es mucho decir.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doctor Who, Tenth. Year 2
WAR OF GODS. Volume 7.
Sutekh gets way too much speech time. Could have been better, but hey, it’s a Titan comic on DW, so I am thankful.
#15 - "I am PROUD to call you my.. my FRIEND, Doctor." - Sekmet.
#16 - "The ONLY song that is ETERNAL is SILENCE." - giant ghostly pink reptile thing.
#17 - "Tell him I LOVED him too. More'n he'll EVER.." – Dorothy
#3.5 - Not much you can do with a story in a single stand-alone issue. Kind-of cameo by Donna makes this a 2 star. “I’m sorry, Martha, but I can’t stick around. There’s someone else out there that I need to find… That’s our story in a nut shell.”

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should've just skipped this volume based on the title of this alone. I don't care for this long convoluted Egyptian Gods plot one bit and it did go on and on and on. There was a vague hint of something actually happening between the companions, that Cindy loved Gabby? Has a crush, perhaps, but that was so quick and so vague it was hard to catch.

The stand-alone issue was interesting as you get to see a snapshot of past companions, but it was too brief for much emotional impact.

The art was nice, at least?

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay we've been building up to this repeat encounter with the Osirans within this title for a while now and it was both suitably epic but also somewhat shallow? We gathered a number of players to both challenge the Doctor and support him in one way or another but the actual confrontation was not all that direct because of course it's a Doctor Who story and the resolution needed to be somewhat clever.

But as this is a Tenth Doctor story we got an ending that was also emotionally powerful and a little sad. But such is the way of these things, I suppose.

[Ashley Beery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am so glad this story line is over (hopefully, fingers crossed). It has dragged on far to long to the point to where it was boring and tedious. I just felt it was all lackluster and was starting to lack plot. The ending was subpar and the storyline was just flat. The artwork at least was okay. I prefer year one to year two by far. Also, the little special comic at the end, was meh. The artwork was shoddy and it just felt like a rehashed story.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Sutekh stuff titled "Old Girl" wraps up here. Might have gone on a bit long. And then there's a one-shot titled "Revolving Doors" involving an interesting Lovecraftian-like villain called the Reach. But it all wraps up too quickly when it could've been stretched out. The ending with Gabby asking The Doctor what he would've done had he not made it out alive of course results in him deflecting and refusing to answer the question, which feels in character.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/war-of-gods-by-nick-abadzis-et-al/

Really good climax to a multi-volume Tenth Doctor story, involving the Osirans and all the recurring characters from the previous installments of this sequence. Also includes a less impressive story bringing the Tenth Doctor to London to meet his previous companions (or are they).

[Shaun Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the mechanics of the finale fell just a bit flat for me, this is still a satisfying wrap up to season 2 of the tenth Doctor adventures. The big bad returns and does it in style, so well written that I heard dialogue from the show as I was reading this. Solid art throughout. Can't wait to get into season 3. For a more detailed review, visit www.travelingthevortex.com

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story line with Anubis and Sutekh finally comes to an end. It was quite good too. I liked how it built off an old arc of the TV show from the era of the 4th Doctor. I just wish we could have gotten here sooner. It felt like a lot of wheel spinning in previous volumes so that they could end Year 2 on this. The stand alone issue Year 3 is solid too, with Warren Pleece on art even.

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid conclusion to Year Two, with some neat callbacks to the past. The conclusion is a bit abrupt, but it was still fine. (The backup story had an interesting premise but was unfortunately too short as a single installment.) (B+)

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Anubis storyline meets its climatic end. Although we all know Sutekh isn't gone, dang it. I must say, I've become more interested in the Osirans since the 15th Doctor's tenure, so these volumes have definitely scratched that itch.

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor, Gabby, and Cindy help Anubis from damaging the world.

[Anika Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great conclusion to this part of the storyline.

[Natacha Lalande · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was somewhat interesting, i won it in the giveaways but i'm not a comics girl by nature. The graphics are well done tho. I was mostly excited as David Tennant was my favorite doctor.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best storyline but okay for rainy day reading.

[Ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I highly ship Gabby and Cindy's relationship.

[Halley Hopson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars!

Yet again the first sorry was mostly fine and then the second one HURT MY HEART and was fantastic.