Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Year Two #4: Mermen Mayhem

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Year Two #4

Story by: Robbie Morrison

Art By: Rachel Stott

Release Date: April 6

Doctor Who represents all the carefree fan fare that I got me into comics. It’s not bad for creators to put out these one and done issues. There is so much history with Doctor Who that it would be hard to do something original. It’s hard to tinker with a series too much, without taking out the heart of the character. Sure you could switch the gender or ethnicity of the Doctor, but it would be hard to do without looking like your pandering. It would have to make sense to the story, which by the way, wouldn’t hard to do in this comic. I say that because even though Doctor Who is supposed to be about dispelling myths and superstitions; it basically replaces the word magic with science. You can break science fiction into two broad categories; hard sci-fi and soft sci-fi. An example of hard sci-fi would be Carl Sagan’s Contact. So if Sagan’s book was on one end of the spectrum Doctor Who would be on the other. Doctor Who is the Narnia of science fiction. This isn’t a bad thing by the way, we need these far out comics in a way to keep comics rooted.

When I read Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Year Two #4 I was listening to Lionel Richie’s Dancing On a Ceiling. Having my ear buds reading made Doctor Who click for me. This is where the 80’s went. The 80’s were all about being over the top and having zany adventures. Well this comic certainly checks both those boxes. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy pondering the deep questions with The Watchmen. It’s just that the comic book industry needs these king of comic books. The writing is fun and silly. Don’t expect Shakespeare, rather expect something on par with The Goonies. In fact do like I did when reading; find some good 80’s music and put it on in the background while you read. But if you’re not in the mood by all means don’t approach this book. I realize it’s not for everyone, but I wish it was. But this book genuinely fun, I’m not trying to under sell it so that you’d like it better. The characters have a lot of heart. When your introduced to the bad guys, there isn’t some deep reason why they’re bad. While there is an explanation on why their doing bad things, it’s an overused trope.

I have a hard time being critical of art. For one it’s totally subjective. I only found a couple of things that weirded me out; there were a couple of panels where Clara Oswald didn’t have pupils. The first time I didn’t think it was an error because it fit the premise. It wasn’t until the end where I noticed it and creeped me out. Don’t worry the art is consistently great. Artists have the toughest job in the industry; they’re locked away in their studios, hunched over their desks for countless hours. So if pupils get left out, no biggie. I’ve seen lazy artwork before and this wasn’t it. So it’s always good to tip your hat to all the artist out there.

One thing I like to do in my reviews is to recommend books to people who are trying to get someone into comics. If you have a young person in your life you’d like to get them over to the dark side of nerdom. Well here’s your chance, Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Year Two #4 is a good introductory read. I’d even give this to an older reader as well, it depends on what they’re into. Grown up we can be a little calloused towards things like this.