Doctor Who : The Tenth Doctor Complete Year One

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor (Titan Comics) #1-3

by Nick Abadzis, Robbie Morrison, Elena Casagrande (Illustrator)

The collected Year One comic adventures of the critically acclaimed Tenth Doctor, as played by David Tennant!

Two strangers: the Doctor, charming, eccentric Time Lord with a past as dark and heavy as a black hole; Gabriella Gonzalez, waitress and wannabe artist with a future dragging her down like lead chains.

Hurled together by a wave of psychic horror haunting New York, they embark on an epic new adventure across time and space when a left turn in the Time Vortex strands them in the bomb-besieged trenches of World War I!

And it’s not just the churning mud or the constant bombardments they have to worry about... the fearsome Weeping Angels are here and feasting on the futures of the soldiers on all sides!

There’s barely time for Gabby to catch up with her best friend Cindy Wu before a cosmic terror causes chaos across the city! When an aging Hollywood star is empowered by an extraterrestrial artefact, the Doctor, Gabby and Cindy are swept up in their biggest adventure yet!

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

368 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 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

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There's always more to learn, Gabby, more to see. Realizing that is just the beginning of wisdom."

There's so much to say. So much I want to say. I guess, I could maybe (just maybe) be satisfied with saying that it was brilliant (because 10), but I need to elaborate on some points.

First, let me just say that you can never go wrong by giving me some Doctor Who material to watch/listen to/read (although, I've yet to try out one of the novels -which is... somewhere not too far down on my list). Sure, some are obviously much better than others, but ultimately, I'm always entertained to some extent and there's always at least a little something to save the day for me. I like how the creators of each kind of material use the particularities of each of them to do things that you can't really do with other kinds. (I'll get back to this further down.) And I appreciate the effort they make so that people can pick up wherever they want without having to watch/read all the previously released materials.

Side note: When I received it in my mailbox, I was surprised by how massive this book is! (I was expecting it to be regular-comicbook-sized, not... encyclopedia-sized.)


So. This book. Year One of 10's (Titan Comics) adventures. 10 has always been my favorite Doctor (although I do have a soft spot for 12 and I feel like I'm gonna love 13), which is why I decided to start this huge series of Titan Comics books with this one. This is set after the TV series ultimate 10/Tennant season with Donna (and after The End of Time, I think?), so we're catching up with a broken Doctor (yeah fair point, he's always been kinda broken...), with no companion by his side.

Side note (bis): The cover art is so gorgeous. (I mean, that's why it caught my attention in the first place.)


The first arc of this book (part one of Revolutions of Terror) is him -yes obviously- saving the Earth and meeting his soon-to-be new companion(s) in the process. (Or maybe it's the opposite? Meeting a new companion while saving the Earth in process. I kinda like to think of it that way instead.) Speaking of new companion, meet Gabriella "Gabby" Gonzalez, a young woman from a Mexican family, working in the family's restaurant and laundromat, trying to escape her father's "chronically traditional" grip on her life. Or maybe just trying to escape her not-interesting-enough life. I'm not too sure whether I like her or not yet, but I do like how her background shaped her personality and more specifically her excitement about what the Doctor's bringing into her life.

I wasn't particularly in awe of the story for this first arc, but I feel like the choice of "enemy" suited 10's era, and some bits of it showed how hard it must have been for him after he left all his old companions behind (among others, his reluctance to drag Gabby into all of this). Then, since this is a comic book, there's the art. Elena Casagrande's art in this case. I quite like her style, especially facial expressions. And everything is sublimated by Arianna Florean's colouring (the change of global tones depending on where you are looks great).

We then move on to the second arc (part two of Revolutions of Terror), which picks up straight after the first one, with Gabby's first trip with the Doctor away from Earth. Taking everything into account (aka. both story and art), this is my favorite of the book. Story-wise, it's not extraordinary (I mean, this arc is quite short, so it's quite a simple one), but there are interesting turns, and I feel like it serves more to show Gabby's persona. The choice of who/what they meet is clearly aligned on Gabby's artistic side. Even more so since it's written from her POV.

And that's where the particularities of the material I mentioned earlier comes into use. This is the thing I loved most in the entire book. Not only is it written from Gabby's POV, but it's actually presented as her diary -written in the style of a letter to her best friend Cindy. (You can see an example of it over there.) Not the entire arc is presented that way, actually most of it is in regular comic style, but the "diary" pages are so a-do-ra-ble! Not only the doodles, but also all of Gabby's notes. And so, the art switched from doodles to regular to some kind of in between style (actually pretty much also regular style, but the colours are less vibrant and details are a bit less defined, so it feels like it's in between).


The second part of the book (previously released as a collected edition Volume 2: The Weeping Angels of Mons), and third arc, brings us into an entirely different atmosphere.

"1914: An Austrian archduke in a funny hat is assassinated in a country that the vast majority of people had never heard of until that moment... giving the bickering, prevaricating, power-hungry governments of the Earth an excuse to invent something new, something truly mind-blowing... A World War! The first World War!"

Yes, we're back on Earth, during World War I. In terms of story... well, as the title says, it's the Weeping Angels. I don't think I have much to say about it, we all know what a weeping angels story looks like. This one is no different. (I mean, yes, obviously the story is different from previous ones, but the essence remains the same.) I hate weeping angels stories. I mean, I love them plot-wise, but they're always super emotional. Too emotional. Always some interesting characters too.

As for Daniel Indro's art... it was okay. I mean, technically, it's great, but it's just... not my kind of art. It does suit both WWI and the weeping angels perfectly though. And I appreciate how it features, once again, a (very) small part in Gabby-doodle-style. The one thing I really didn't like was how Gabby looked waaaaay too much Caucasian for her character. Great work on the colours from Slamet Mujiono who succeeded in making it colouful all while keeping it in a brown/grey-ish atmosphere as to fit the story.


We then have some kind of interlude with two very short but cute stories. (The laundry one is very... Doctor-definitely-not-in-control-of-his-TARDIS-y.) The art for the first one was kinda disturbing at first as it's much more colorful than the rest of the book (and especially after WWI), but it looked nice (and the earmuffs are cute).

And finally, the last arc/part (previously released as a collected edition Volume 3: The Fountains of Forever). I don't really know if I liked the story, like some aspects of it were definitely interesting, but others... not so much. I'd say that the conclusion of it (although, it is really the end?) was much less fascinating than the rest of the story. Similarly to the the first part (two first arcs), I feel like it kinda serves to discover more about not Gabby this time, but her friend Cindy (who, according to the Lost Dimension crossover I've read earlier this year, is going to travel with the Doctor and Gabby later on?). And we're back to Casagrande/Florean art, so I don't really have anything to add to what I've wrote earlier up. (Except maybe that I found Cindy's reaction to Dorothy's rejuvenation being drawn in minimalistic doodle-ish style (while the rest of them were drawn in regular style) positively hilarious.)

"Doctor, I don't know whether to thank you... or curse you. But I'm glad to know you're on our side."

Oh, I forgot to mention. I said that the books are usually written so that even non-initiated can pick up, but that doesn't mean that they forget about the fans. Quite the opposite actually, as you can see references dropped from time to time. (Okay, there was something about bow ties that I wanted to quote here, but I can't remember when it was and can't find it by merely flipping through the book, so I guess I'll have to do without it.)


I'm not sure yet if I'm gonna go for 12's Year One (because 12 and Clara ♡ and because I've just caught up with the BBC TV series just about two weeks ago and I miss 12 already), or one of the crossovers Four Doctors and The Supremacy of the Cybermen. Or... now that I think about it, I still have Jenny's audiobook waiting for me. Yes, Jenny, this sounds like a good next journey...

[Andy Hickman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doctor Who : The Tenth Doctor Complete Year One!!

Nick Abadzis, Elena Casagrande & Arianna Florean, “Doctor Who, Tenth Doctor: Vol.1 Revolutions of Terror” (London: Titan Comics, 2015)

Great start to the series.

“Revolutions of Terror” QUOTES:
Doctor: “There's an oncoming storm. Go home, lock yourself in, draw the curtains and read some good books – You obviously do. Come out in a couple of days...”

Doctor: “Earth doesn't just exist in spatial or temporal dimensions, y'know. Every planet has life and an atmosphere has a psychosphere, too. Earth is covered in psychic fault lines, all held in a mild telepathic field ...”

“The Arts in Space” - The Doctor and Gabby go visit the creative genius Zhe. But things are not as they should be.
…
Doctor Who, Tenth Doctor: Vol.2 The Weeping Angels of Mons (collecting Doctor Who: Tenth Doctor # 6-10)

Great volume involving several character arcs.

#6
“There WAS a school of Sontaran painters that did a very nice line in apocalyptic landscapes. Before they were EXECUTED for artistic tendencies.” – Doctor

“It’s a steampunk nightmare in there! You can’t move for knobs and levers.” – Gabby referring to the Tardis console
..
#7
“It’s too wet for heaven or hell. Looks more like SCOTLAND if you ask me.” – Wullie
.
#8
“We’re only safe as long as we can see the Angels. If we can’t, it means they’re HUNTING us again.”
.
"THEY SAY IF YOU'RE TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL, YOU'RE SAVED FROM THE HORRORS OF WAR."
.
#9
“Our Father, who art in heaven .. hallowed by thy name .. lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. A-amen.” – Army chaplain facing the Weeping Angels
.
#10
“Sometimes, the noise of the world is DEAFENING.” - Doctor
.
“If there’s one thing I hate. It’s BARBARITY that justifies itself with BUREACRACY.” – Doctor
….
Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: Vol.3 The Fountains of Forever (#11-15) (by Nick Abadzi)

Collection (#11-15) review:

Cool new characters with å returning villain.

Dorothy (multiple): “Doctor … You are an adept, present in the here and now, and yet not. You move through this reality like smoke, a beautiful, dangerous idea. You are a very complicated space/time event.”
Doctor: “I bet you say that to all the boys!”

“The primates indigenous to this blue world are an inventive species – I remember them – but it seems they are still unenlightened, lacking nuance in their thinking.
They choke the planet with rudimentary industrial processes.”

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Doctor Who. I'll just start by saying that. I also love comics. Judging from that, you can probably guess if i liked this book or not. Although there were a couple of stories that lost me and a couple of references that i didn't get, this book was awesome. I finished it fairly quickly, which usually means its a small book, or that i'm really enjoying it. I thought it was good that they used a completely new companion, instead of bringing back an old one. Would definitely recommend this book to anybody who is a fan of Doctor Who.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A big version of the first year of the Tenth Doctor in Titan comics.

Some really good stories and the introduction of a new character. The weeping angels story was a real stand out.

A very good read.

[Halley Hopson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories in this rounded out to 4.5 stars but I loved it so much I’m rounding it up. HIGHLY recommend to any Doctor Who fan!!


Issue #1 Revolutions of Terror -

1st Story - 4 stars
2nd story- 3.5 stars

Issue #2 The Weeping Angels of Mons -
4.25 stars

Issue #3 Fountains of Forever - 4.5 stars

[Angela C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a treat! A gorgeous humongous book filled with several different doctor who stories. I gave it four stars because I do wish the collection felt more familiar to the series (companions that I would know, more monsters that I know). Absolutely loved the weeping angel story!

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this the art is amazing and I love the new companion. This captured everything that is doctor who for me and I cant wait to read more.

[Robin Wilson]

A lovely compendium of the Tenth Doctor's comic books...