Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #2.2 - Titan Comics

DOCTOR WHO: THE THIRTEENTH DOCTOR No. 2.2, March 2020

Considering that the enticing words “Tenth Doctor Team-Up” are boldly emblazoned across the top of this twenty-two page periodical, it’s difficult to envisage that many of the comic’s readers were particularly pleased with Jody Houser’s snooze-fest of a narrative inside. Indeed, considering that the Tenth and Thirteenth personifications of the Time Lord never actually meet within this instalment of “A Little Help From My Friends”, it is probably far more likely that many bibliophiles will think themselves ‘hard done by’ by this book’s sedentary storyline, if not dishonestly mislead; “Old habits. And very smart friends. I should have known better than to try and pull one over on you.”

Of course, that isn’t to say that the current TARDIS crew don’t get to spend some time with “one of the greatest incarnations of the [time-travelling] character”, as Yasmin’s unsuccessful attempt to convince the “happy-go-lucky” Gallifreyan that she is a probationary Time Agent in 1964 London attests. But half a dozen pages dedicated to the nineteen-year old police officer struggling to outwit the duster coat-wearing ‘champion of the oppressed’ isn’t anywhere near as gratifying a scene as witnessing the post-Time War Doctor encountering his future self and together tackling the imminent threat of “a familiar foe…”

Sadly however, the writer of “other story-shaped things” seemingly believes that just such pair-ups will suffice, and as a result, the other half of this publication’s decidedly lack-lustre plot focuses upon actress Jodie Whitaker’s “confident explorer” supping tea and eating custard creams with Martha Jones in a local diner, whilst divulging to the medical student that she’ll live on after the Londoner stops “travelling through Time and Space with him…” This rather touching conversation is well penned by Houser, yet still debatably drags on for far too long considering that it is only at this dialogue-driven scene’s end, that we finally get to see the pair enter the mysteriously empty Face Fashion store.

As a result, probably this comic’s sole redeeming feature is Roberta Ingranata’s impressive pencils, which provide plenty of pleasing eye-candy to an otherwise unexciting experience. Of particular note are the Italian illustrator’s figures of the leading cast, whose mannerisms and facial expressions are uncannily close to their television counterparts. In addition, the Milan-born illustrator’s backgrounds are well worth scrutinizing for hidden clues as to just who the main villains of this piece might actually be…

The regular cover art of "DOCTOR WHO: THE THIRTEENTH DOCTOR" No. 2.2 by Hannah Templer