‘Doctor Who – The Lost Dimension #1: Alpha’ Review
Written by George Mann, Cavan Scott | Art by Rachael Stott | Published by Titan Comics
It’s late Summer so you know what that means. It’s Dr Who event time. Ain’t no event like a Dr Who event, so it’s nice to see Who mainstays George Mann and Cavan Scott teaming up to write this one. Art is handled mainly by another Who veteran, Rachael Stott, though the fact she has five other artists helping out gives you an idea of the deadline crunch on this series. So, these events always have a Doctor or two meeting up, it’s the law I believe, so let’s get to it and see who turns up. It is, after all, one of those days.
These team ups of course are not just for the grownups, it’s also fun to see the million and one companions, and we start with Captain Jack and Tara, The Ninth Doctor’s companions, trying to escape a planetary meltdown, which they do with the help of a mystery person. Or do they? That person also drops in on The Twelfth Doctor, Nardole, and Bill in Bristol, albeit with a bit of property damage. Turns out to be Jenny, The Doctor’s daughter. Isn’t she dead? Clearly not. Exit stage left and we drop in on The Tenth Doctor, with Gabby and Cindy. We’re not the only ones, as The Third Doctor materialises briefly, before disappearing. A slow start then.
So, Jenny, do tell what is going on. Jenny tells The Doctor how she was tracking a White Hole and that’s how she came across Captain Jack and Tara on the planet Sultath. Unfortunately Jack and Tara were swallowed by the White Hole. She followed them in, which led to an encounter with The Fifth Doctor, who tried to save her and did, but got swallowed by the White Hole himself. We’ll be needing a scorecard at this rate, of characters and people getting swallowed by things.
Our cast is not yet complete, so let’s drop in on The Eleventh Doctor and companion Alice, just in time to hear him tell her the TARDIS Doomsday Circuit has been triggered, something that signals the end of time, or space. Or both. Not good. Equally not good are the seemingly possessed friends of The Twelfth Doctor lurching towards him, chanting ‘Peace, Peace’. Some form of electrical space hippy? We’ll have to wait and see.
Well that was slow and uneventful…. said no reviewer of this issue. Although missing a cameo by the kitchen sink, we managed to squeeze in six incarnations of The Doctor and as many companions. Co-writers Mann and Scott managed to get all the characters involved in a very organic and natural way, The Doctor’s appearing as the flow of the story dictated. It never felt as though they were being shoehorned in just to be there, they all had a role to play. Although there was not enough time for more than a passing hello to many of the characters, all looked and sounded as you would expect. Bill’s dialogue sounded spot on for one.
The art was a bit of a mish mash, as you would expect with several artists involved. I assume all the layouts and pencils were done by Rachel Stott, and the finishes/ inking by the others. None of the art was bad, some of the pages were superbly drawn and coloured, but there was the slight distraction when you noticed a different style every few pages. That being said, the art was consistently good, had nice likenesses, and the full page panels were especially fantastic. Pacing and layouts were spot on.
What a great first issue. Always tough to introduce everyone while setting up the storyline, but this was done in style here. Every time a new Doctor appeared so did a smile on my face.
This series should be a cracker.
**** 4/5
Doctor Who – The Lost Dimension #1: Alpha is out today from Titan Comics.
