Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #0: The Many Lives of Doctor Who

Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor (Titan Comics) #0A

by Richard Dinnick, Giorgia Sposito (Illustrator), Pasquale Qualano (Illustrator)

The ultimate celebration of Doctor Who – a perfect introduction for new fans and a brilliant tribute for long-time Whovians!

When you die, your life flashes before your eyes – and the Doctor’s had a lot of lives! The Thirteenth Doctor relives unseen adventures from all her past selves!

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

64 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 26, 2018

About the author

Richard is a writer for TV, comics and books.

He is currently working on the TV show, Thunderbirds Are Go! and is a regular contributor to Titan's 12th Doctor ongoing comic - amongst other ranges.

His new Doctor Who book, Myths & Legends is published in June 2017.

In the past he has written audio drama scripts for franchises such as Doctor Who, Stargate, Sherlock Holmes and Sapphire & Steel.

His first novel Alien Adventures was published by BBC Children’s Books in 2010 and he has since gone on to write books and short stories for Penguin UK, Titan Publishing, Black Library, Running Press and Snow Books.

Reviews

[Stephen Robert Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This the finally moments of Peter into Jodi its a crazy ride backwards through the ages including all of the many lives of all of The Doctors along with the War Doctor even stinker is in it.
It may only be a short Graphic but It has great art work full of colour.

[Nemo ☠️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

a short, but fun, romp through all the doctor's fourteen (yes, fourteen!) incarnations! a small quibble i had was that i was expecting martha or donna as ten's companion but instead we got a randomer which was um??? why?? but anyway...

also, the master calling the doctor Theta Sigma? holy shit fuck me right UP!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Myles Likes Tacos and Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good volume to have on a coffee table or in the waiting room if you are a doctor. And by doctor I mean medical doctor, not The Doctor or a doctor of a useless arts PHD.

It has short 2 to 3 page stories of nearly every Doctor and in that short window it manages to capture the essence of each era leading to the build up for 13.

Jodie rocks btw, say what you want about writing decisions, she and her companions own the roles! I'll miss her

[bookstories_travels🪐 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Y para terminar este año tan raro y cargado de tantas y buenas lecturas, nada mejor que este cómic de Doctor Who al que llevaba mucho tiempo queriendo hincar el diente. Aunque en la contraportada lo presentan como una excelente forma de introducirte en el universo y lore de esta serie, creo que este volumen lo disfrutaran más los que ya lo conocen o son fans. Empezar con Doctor Who por aquí me parece un tanto lioso, ya que esta lectura generara, seguramente, más preguntas que respuestas, pues se trata de historias cortas del Doctor en las que no se explica nada de su mundo o historia, se parte de que el lector ha visto la serie o sabe de que se habla. En ellas conocemos aventuras de cada una de las trece vidas que ha pasado este personaje tan particular y complejo. Por lo menos las que hemos visto en la pequeña pantalla (si habéis visto el final de la duodécima temporada entenderéis...) acompañado de algunos de sus companions más populares.

Las historias son muy cortas, cada una tiene entre tres o cuatro páginas de duración. Son de temáticas muy variadas y entretenidas, y muy ágiles de leer. Pero al mismo tiempo se me han quedado en poquito o nada, en muchas de ellas faltaba alguna explicación o contexto para entenderlas y disfrutarlas mejor. No obstante este cómic es una lectura excelente y amena, En cada historia podemos ver cómo ha ido evolucionando el personaje del Doctor con cada uno de sus encarnaciones y aventuras, y las diferentes personalidades que ha tenido en cada una de sus vidas. El nexo entre todas las historias es que son recuerdos que nuestro protagonista rememora cuando se está regenerando de su duodécima reencarnación (encarnada en la gran pantalla por Peter Capaldi) a su decimotercer (o decimocuarto) rostro oficial (interpretada por Jodie Whittaker).

La idea me parece muy interesante, ya que podemos ver que se le pasa por la cabeza (que es mucho) al doctor en una escena que en televisión dura apenas unos minutos como mucho. Y como señalan en la portada de el tomo, es una excelente oportunidad para introducirte con la Decimotercera doctora. No obstante, debo reconocer que las historias que más he disfrutado son las del Doctor Who clásico con los primeros doctores. Las del Newho no me han emocionado especialmente, con excepción de la del Undécimo Doctor, en la que aparece el personaje de River Song, que me encanta. De hecho, la que más me ha desilusionado es la del Décimo Doctor, que sin ser mala se me ha quedado en nada. Sobre todo porque los cómic insisten en presentarnos a Cindy y a Gabriela con el Décimo, cuando a mí me gustaría ver algún cómic con Donna o Marta ( y ya de paso me encantaría ver también a los Pond sobre papel). Suerte que en los relatos de los doctores clásico estaban mis dos companions favoritos de esta etapa, Romana y Jaime. Por supuesto, Las dos historias que más me han gustado de esa época son las protagonizadas por el Tercer y Cuarto Doctor, mis favoritos de ese entonces, aunque la del sexto también me ha gustado.

Todo esto aparte, “Las Muchas Vidas Del Doctor” es un libro que hará las delicias de cualquier fan de esta serie tan longeva, es una lectura muy variada, rápida e interesante, cuyo único “pero” es que es demasiado escueta. También es muy variado el arte , el diseño y los estilos de dibujo de cada historia, ninguna de las historias tiene desperdicio. Mil y una veces gracias a la editorial Fandogamia por traernos al español las historias del doctor en forma de cómic con tan buena relación calidad precio.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hurrah for a FEMALE Doctor Who! and in my lifetime! Like I never could have seen this in my lifetime being a thing, as sad as that sounds, so with much love, I read issue #0 which is a bit of an introduction and sendoff all at the same time as I got to say goodbye Capaldi and hello Whitaker.

It starts with The Twelfth Doctor's final moments into the regeneration into the Thirteenth. Told via flashbacks encompassing all the previous incarnations, including the War Doctor, this issue takes the reader along pivotal memories of each, asking the big question of "Who is the Doctor?" This is a nice intro into the various doctors, as told through one writer and 10 different illustrators, I found that this issue could be really useful to new fans as well as a refresher for people like myself that got caught in the middle from past to current.

[Estíbaliz Montero Iniesta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un gran cómic que incluye una minihistoria (énfasis en mini, para que no os hagáis ideas equivocadas) de cada una de las reencarnaciones del Doctor antes de llegar a la Doctora, interpretada por Jodie Whitaker.

Yo lo recomiendo para aquellos que ya sean fans de Doctor Who y hayan visto la serie (por lo menos las temporadas más modernas) o sepan mucho de este mundo a través de otros cómics o libros. En caso contrario, para fans muy nuevos o gente que desconozca el mundo de Doctor Who, no es el mejor lugar por donde empezar porque podrías llevarte spoilers y probablemente resultará algo confuso.

¿Pero para whovians acérrimos? Una manera fantástica de rememorar las diferentes encarnaciones del Doctor y a sus compañeros, así como detalles sobre el Amo, el Doctor de la Guerra, los Daleks...

Un cómic muy entretenido y cuya lectura se lleva a cabo muy rápido.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is essentially a collection of short stories each following one of the incarnations of the Doctor and each drawn by a different artiest and like the Time Lords featured each is different and brilliant in their own way. As you might of guessed this was written to build up hype for the latest and first female Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) who is frankly worth it as such each story has a reference to her in some way such as incorporating the number thirteen into the dialogue, the topic of Time Lords changing gender or giving female companions, aliens or England's first real life female doctor some time to shine.
In short I'd recommend this to anyone hoping to find something to get them even more excited for the Thirteenth Doctor or who loves Doctor Who comics in general.

[Namratha · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the new Doctor starts regenerating, she starts getting glimpses into her past incarnations, old and trusty companions, familiar villains and some unseen (by us) adventures.

This is a super-quick read and lays the emotional foundation for the newest Doctor.

[Landra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Homenaxe ao doctor e todo polo que pasou e unha pequena intro a doctora de Jodie :]
Lindo

[ValeryVal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Justo al final de su vida, el 12avo Doctor le pasa su conocimiento al Doctor venidero. Es tiempo del cambio, de la regeneración... ¡Y menudos conocimientos le comparte! Este pequeño cómic sirve de prólogo a las historias del 13avo Doctor y es un bonito repaso por todas las vidas anteriores del Doctor, por todas las enseñanzas que ha aprendido en el largo camino.

Cada Doctor (incluyendo el de la guerra) cuenta una mini aventura con un estilo de dibujo diferente pero unido por un mismo narrador. Aunque corto, resulta interesante ver qué valores el 12avo Doctor prioriza en el poco tiempo que tiene: cuida tu TARDIS, protege la Tierra, no dejes de aprender, el Amo es prácticamente indestructible...

Bonito y corto, perfecto como tentempié antes de empezar las nuevas aventuras de la Doctora.

[Minnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ich weiß nicht genau, was ich mir erhofft hatte, aber ich bin schwer enttäuscht davon. Doctor Who ist und wird immer meine Lieblingsserie bleiben.
Dieser Comic ist eher eine Art Anthologie mit zusammengewürfelten, kurzseitigen Abendteuern der jeweiligen Doctoren zur Vorbereitung des neuen Doctors. Das hat mich sehr gestört, hätte ich doch viel lieber ganze Auflösungen und mehr Tiefe in den Geschichten gehabt.
Ich werde wohl keine Doctor Who Comics mehr lesen aber die Serie weiterhin gucken 🙄

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor: Right now, I’m a stranger to myself. There’s echoes of who I was and a sort of call towards who I am. And I have to hold my nerve and trust all these new instincts. Shape myself towards them. I’ll be fine. In the end. Hopefully. I have to be. Because you guys need help. ‘Cause there’s one thing I’m certain of, when people need help, I never refuse. Right. This is going to be fun! (The Woman Who Fell To Earth)
And this graphic novel explores how the Doctor "chooses" during regeneration. There are 13 vignettes or "echoes" from past lives as her persona and appearance form that touch on key concepts that drive this Doctor: hope, trickery, protectiveness, friendship, preparedness, gender fluidity, cleverness, clemency, healing, non-violence, persuasion, confidence in self and others, helping/saving, childlike wonder.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet, a collection of 4-5 page stories each featuring one of the original 13 Doctors (1-12+War). They're not long enough to really make an impact, but it's nice to revisit everyone, and I'm glad they used some of the Tenth & Eleventh's comic companions rather than the obvious ones (I think they might have used the Eighth's too? I'm not familiar with Josie).

The artwork's kind of all over the place since some artists pencil different Doctors rather than one per Doctor, but nothing stands out as particularly bad. I think the Fourth's was the most jarring since it's very cartoony compared to everyone else.

This is billed as Volume 0, but it's really just a one-shot dressed up in trade dressing.

[Isabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think the art style reflected well the characters and there were some companions that I had no idea about (11th had a companion named Alice?? what the fork?). Still, a nice introduction to the thirteenth doctor.

[Veronic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ❤️ the doctor!

[NewWorldGod · Rating 3 out of 5]

5/10

[Geno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gran cómic para fans de Doctor Who que da un repaso a todas sus regeneraciones a través de unas ilustraciones preciosas.

[Nicolas Lontel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un recueil de treize petites BDs de 4-6 pages chaque sur chaque Docteur (incluant le War Doctor) avec un fil narratif qui mène vers la régénération de la Treizième Docteur. Un seul scénariste, Richard Dinnick, mais 9 dessinateurs et dessinatrices.

D'entrée de jeu, c'est assez évident qu'avec juste 4 pages, tu ne peux pas faire quelque chose d'exceptionnel chaque fois, donc nous sommes évidemment déjà propulsé au cœur de l'action, les ellipses sont nombreuses (beaucoup de "soon") et des fois, c'est un peu dur à suivre ou à comprendre. Je dois avouer avec tenter de comprendre en lisant et relisant et relisant la nouvelle avec le deuxième Docteur sans comprendre la logique derrière, mais c'est le seul avec lequel j'ai éprouvé un problème.

Dans l'ensemble, ce n'est vraiment pas si mal! Des BDs toutes vraiment différentes les unes des autres (historiques, futuristes, sur une autre planète, sous l'eau, en guerre, à la jeu de carte (?!?), présent, réflexif, etc), beaucoup de nouveaux extraterrestres (seuls les Daleks font une apparition notable, et encore...), plusieurs allusions, évidemment, à l'intratexte de l'univers de Doctor Who que ce soit visuel ou textuel et une bonne dose de comédie. Le style des dessinateurs semblait vraiment très bien s'adapter aux Docteurs et à l'action décrite (étoiles pour le Quatrième et Septième!).

Je m'y attendais un tout petit peu, mais la question de la place des femmes dans l'histoire (ou les histoires) y est quand même un peu abordé dans quelques BDs sans toutefois traverser tout le récit; j'ai quand même apprécié ce geste. La BD avec le Dixième Docteur et Elizabeth Garett Anderson était particulièrement remarquable à cet égard avec cette dernière effectuant le gros de l'action pendant que le Dixième Docteur est incapable de bouger ou d'effectuer que ce soit (encore pire que dans The Christmas Invasion, il ne fait littéralement rien dans la BD). Bref, on sent définitivement l'influence de la Treizième Docteur dans les récits, mais on a un bon récit pour chaque Docteur. Ça vaut le détour pour les personnes qui connaissent bien les différents Docteurs, probablement cool pour ceux qui en connaissent seulement quelques-uns, peut-être beaucoup trop obscur pour les nouvelles venues en 2018 toutefois.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor Who The Many Lives of Doctor Who" is a series of vignettes and short stories, one per Doctor, plus a War Doctor Story, a story with River Song, and a few pages with the 13th Doctor. Each of the stories adds to the idea of the Doctor regenerating into who she will be, for example, the number 13 comes up several times, though in the Doctor's Doctor's pages she mentions she isn't actually the 13th Doctor. The Fifth Doctor story as the Fifth Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa, and Turlough in the cloisters on Gallifrey where they are supposed to be chasing down a renegade Time Lord. But when they find him, he talks the Doctor into helping him use some Gallifreyan tech so he can regenerate. The Doctor agrees, and the other Time Lord regenerates into a woman. We also see both the fourth Doctor, with Romana and the Seventh Doctor, with Ace, solving a problem by meeting someone earlier, which they will do after they did it. The graphic novel itself is very short, and some of the vignettes are only a few pages, while others are full, albeit, short stories. I enjoyed this graphic novel though, and it whetted my appetite for the next two graphic novels in Titan Comics 13th Doctor series. The only flaw in the book is it's almost too short. Recommended.

[Jill Jemmett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story takes place during the Twelfth Doctor’s regeneration into the Thirteenth Doctor. He thinks back on each of his different regenerations as the Doctor. It’s a great recap of the entire series.

I loved that each version of the Doctor was illustrated by a different person. They all had distinct personalities, so they were all illustrated differently in this book. Some of the ones that were more quirky, like the Fourth Doctor, had more of a cartoon drawing, while more serious characters, like the Ninth Doctor, has more realistic graphics. My favourite illustrations were of the new Thirteenth Doctor, because they were so realistic that they looked like photographs of her!

I’m not as familiar with the Doctors from the original series, but I could recognize some of the characters. I wish there were more of my favourite characters in the recent Doctor stories. For the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, other characters were in their stories who I think are from their comic series. I wish there were more recognizable companions with those Doctors.

This is a great introduction to the new Doctor!

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent romp through the adventures of all incarnations of our favourite Time Lord. Normally attempts to do stories with ALL the Doctor's incarnations tend to fail due to overcrowding, but 'The Many Lives of Doctor Who' was well partitioned with each Doctor getting their own [short] little adventure.

Titan always blows me away with its artwork, and their book was no exception. Every panel was packed with glorious colour. Each Doctor's story seemed to be drawn by a different artist, all of whom were exceptional. I want to direct particular praise at Mariano Laclaustra's work on both 'The Path of Skulls' with the First Doctor and 'Crossing the Rubicon' with the Seventh Doctor, and Giorgia Sposito on 'Harvest of the Daleks' with the Twelfth Doctor.

The artwork for the Fourth and Eighth Doctors were the only let-downs but I don't want to moan about this beautifully atmospheric piece. The tales are sporadically narrated by the future Thirteenth Doctor, and these little glimpses of dialogue are great for setting up her character.

[Alec · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a bit of fluff, really. It's crux is the question "who is the Doctor?", in a way that tries to add to the 13th Doctor in a way that, frankly, can't outdo Peter Capaldi's final speech from the show(not that it tries to). However it's not really a fantastic exploration of that question either, as I said at the start, it just amounts to some fluff stories for the Doctors, one apiece. Some interesting worlds they've built, some funny tales, but they're all just small self-contained stories that are light-hearted fun. 7 outwits the Master, 4 gives some paper to chicken people, 2 catches cards in some weird game, 9 prevents Samurais from getting alien weaponry, the list goes on. There were some weird illustration moments going on, like 8 having blonde hair and some panels copied from stills from show(9 doing the "what're you gonna do, moisturize me?" pose looks incredibly incredibly awkward). But it's a fun little romp for what it is, just doesn't amount to one whole story that's super satisfying. It plays it quite safe, I suppose.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is perhaps what one might have expected from the title "The Road to the Thirteenth Doctor." As the Twelfth Doctor regenerates into the Thirteenth Doctor, there are memories of each of the thirteen incarnations that preceded the Thirteenth Doctor. My favorites were the art for the First and Seventh Doctors, as well as the ending where the Thirteenth Doctor's face appears. Some of the different art styles were great. My least favorite was the one used for the Fourth Doctor's story, which seemed Disneyfied, for lack of a better term. I also feel like the War Doctor was depicted pretty well, whereas he felt like a passive participant in other comics like Four Doctors and The Eleventh Doctor: Year Two. The Twelfth Doctor story also showed be something interesting, which is that "twelve plus one" and "eleven plus two" are anagrams of each other and have the same value. This 70-page comic was a great tribute to the different eras of Doctor Who.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor Who: The Many Lives of Doctor Who (Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor 0)

Fun overview of the Doctor(s) and companions in these original bit-sized short comic stories, laced with many quintessential quotes and quirky new ones.

“And now I’d like my TARDIS BACK. If you don’t mind!” – 2nd Doc

“Gender is a very FLUID concept, Nyssa, for some people more than OTHERS. A time lord even MORE so.” – 5th Doc, although I can’t really imagine him saying these specific words.

“Now let’s find you REFUGEES a new HOME” – 6th Doc

“… if there’s ONE thing I really DON’T LIKE – other than ears – it’s IGNORANCE.” – 12th Doc

“what’s your name?”
“EMILY.”
“Emily. One of my FAVOURITES! BRONTE. Carr. DICKINSON. Pankhurst… BLUNT! You’ve got a LOT to live up to!” – 12th Doc

[Polly Batchelor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The comic is set between the 12th Doctor regenerating into 13. During the change the Doctor looks back on his past incarnations with some of his companions. I quite enjoyed the comic and I liked that a different illustrator was used for each Doctor.

Favourite Quotes:
"I'd quite like my TARDIS back. If you don't mind."- 2nd Doctor
"But that's the trouble with regeneration you never quite know what you're going to get."
"But times change and so must I."
"Everyone has their own fears and memories, hopes and intolerance."
"I don't know what the future holds. But I'll tell you something. It's going to be amazing."

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many memories crammed into one issue: I couldn't keep up, even where I had enough background to know the particular incarnation of the Doctor that was portrayed at any given point. And… I felt like it would better have been a standalone book, because it barely contained The Thirteenth Doctor, but neither did it do a good job of explaining how she came to be. It felt like a "random memories" version of This Is Your Life, rather than anything coherent. (Maybe once the series is properly underway it may make more sense, but I have my doubts.)

[Iria Romero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hace años que no veo Doctor Who. El último que vi fue el 12. Y la verdad es que he disfrutado bastante de este cómic, recordando a cada Doctor (y conociendo a los que no conocía).

Sin embargo me ha parecido demasiado escueto, las historias son demasiado breves. Que por el precio que tiene, no está mal, pero prefería pagar un poco más y tener Doctor Who por más rato.

Desde luego no recomendaría este cómic a personas que no conozcan al menos un poco del mundo de Dr. Who, porque no os enteraréis de nada. 🙈❤

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection of short stories with some truly gorgeous art (particularly of Thirteen herself). However, after you get through the original seven Doctors, the stories take a massive drop in quality and most of them feature what I'm guessing are Titan Comics companions instead of the show's canon companions. I can understand this somewhat for Eight, as aside from the 1996 film, wherein neither of the companions introduced went on to travel with McGann's Doctor, we only have audio and novel companions, so I wasn't too bothered by having a companion I didn't recognize there. But...is there any reason we couldn't have the show companions for Ten and Eleven? Also, the way the Ninth Doctor comic was written, it looked as though Jack was the primary companion and not Rose, which I'm sure makes some people happy but is a bit ridiculous to think about when you've seen the show itself.

I don't know. I just think I would have connected with Ten and Eleven's short stories more if I wasn't busy trying to figure out who the heck the companions were. I figured they were Titan Comics companions, but that told me nothing really.

But a good introduction to some of the Classic and New Who back story to introduce first timers to Jodie's era. Looking forward to reading the main line comics of her era now.

[Steve Chaput · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writer Richard Dinnick presents short stories featuring all the television Doctors (including the War Doctor). The stories are drawn by ten artists who all bring their own style to the Doctors and their companions.

Basically a lead up to the Thirteenth Doctor (played by Jodie Whittaker), as we only see her on a few pages (including the regeneration). Just nice to see all the versions of the character given nice 6-8 pages adventures.

[Mazdyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short but very sweet and enjoyable read that goes through all the reincarnations of the Doctor, leading up to the 13th! Each Doctor was drawn in a different art style which I thought was a very unique and fitting touch! I thoroughly enjoyed it, though it's probably best for people who are already pretty familiar with the characters! It's just a really enjoyable read, and I'd definitely suggest it to any longtime Doctor Who fan!