Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Ongoing #1: Double Jeopardy

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Ongoing #1

Story By: Cavan Scott

Art By: Adriana Melo

Publisher: Titan Comics

Release Date: April 13^th

This is the third Dr. Who comic that I’ve reviewed. Titan Comics has lined itself up with some great artist and writers. Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Ongoing #1 has a different writer and artist than the other two titles I reviewed, which if you have the time add those to your pull lists. But I find myself enamored by Dr. Who comic books. I think the reason is two-fold. The first is the medium in which the writer gets to play in. In this instance Cavan Scott when penning the story didn’t have to worry about budget, he simply had to worry about page allotment. We the readers are able to read something that might not make it to television due to budgets. The second reason I believe is that with comics our own imaginations get to fill in the blanks. These blanks are often why readers are disappointed when their favorite books are brought to the big screen. When you fill the “in betweens,” you’re part of the production of the story. The immersion you experience is similar to playing video games.

Cavan Scott wrote the first part to a three-part series starting with Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Ongoing #1. Scott gives us a fast paced story that’s but has a good amount depth to it. Christopher Eccleston’s portrayal of Doctor Who is supposed to not be as eccentric as the previous incarnations. Cavan, I think, does Eccleston’s portrayal justice. Dr. Who like I’ve written above; gives Scott plenty of toys to play with. I enjoy reading stories where you can tell the writer is having fun. This is evident by the fact that this story is very aware of itself. I don’t want to write too much, this is a review and not a spoiler filled commentary. The bottom line is Cavan Scott wrote an entertaining story here.

Adriana Melo’s work is superb; her renditions of the characters are dead ringers for the show’s actors. Getting the faces wrong would rip the reader out of the book. Melo had to be on the same page as Scott. Expression made by the characters are never off-putting. Melo’s style seems to be very fluid with a great handle on expressions. She has drawn jaw dropping moments in these pages. Her ability to capture the moment is amazing. I would go back and look through the pages just to check out the art. I get a big kick out of checking out comic art. If I were you I’d go check out her deviant art page; look her up by her name. She’s had an account for the past seven years and it really shows her depth.

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Ongoing #1 is a great example in how comic books should be done. This is what I would call a “text book” example. The Ninth Doctor series has a great team working on it. Just like in music you have great pairings like David Lee Roth and Van Halen. You get this in comics too, one of my favorite pairings is Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. Titan Comics has a great ensemble of talent in their ranks.