By Victoria Irwin
Senior Correspondent and Resident Whovian
Having fallen through a hole in the sky, Clara (the Doctor’s current companion) has finally been reunited with a perplexed Doctor. While Clara claims that only a few minutes have passed, the Doctor informs her that he has been away for three years; he has the beard to prove it. After a bit of catch up chat over poorly synthesized tea, The Doctor realizes he is looking for the “mythical wall” reumored in this alternate dimension. Clara and the Doctor start on a plan to rebuild the Skyjack so that it can support the flight time to the wall, without getting killed in the process of acquiring parts.
Andy Diggle and Eddie Robson do a wonderful job capturing the 11th Doctor, yet again. I particularly enjoyed his having the Doctor usher out the Americans to speak privately with Clara, because they “don’t drink tea.” The Doctor is clever, but not so clever that he can solve everything without help. The issue also plays upon the issue of the United States bombing Japan with nuclear weapons; the Doctor is clearly against the taking of so many lives, and has a small altercation with one of the Americans over the fact that the nuclear weapon they carry could have done the same.
Andy Kuhn’s work with the Doctor’s three years’ worth of beard was hilarious. Kuhn does a great job of capturing the wonky frantic movements of the Doctor, while still using just a stationary image. Charlie Kirchoff captures the alien races of this alternate dimension with his coloration. While keeping relatively natural tones, he does break up the monotony with the random burst of color.
The team of Andy and Andy, mixed with Eddie Robson, does a fantastic work of keeping the reader engaged in this issue of Doctor Who. With two more issues to go in this particular story arc, Skyjacks is a story line that continues to soar; even with a little help from a nuclear engine.
