REVIEW: ‘Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor: Year 2,’ Issue #1

Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor: Year 2 #1 is published by Titan Comics, written by Judy Houser, with art by Roberta Ingranata, colors by Enrica Angiolini, color flats by Shari Chankhamma, and lettering from Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s Sarah Hedricks.

Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor: Year 2 #1 follows the adventures of the Thirteenth Doctor and gang on a case as they try to figure out why the TARDIS has dropped them in 1969. Their original destination was to experience the Woodstock music festival but unfortunately, they end up in London. The TARDIS usually has its reasons for dropping The Doctor in different times and dimensions and this time it was to retrace the steps of when The Thirteenth Doctor was The Tenth Doctor. We see her remember a time as the Tenth with her then companion, Martha Jones, looking for someone popping in and out of time. However, things quickly go awry as the 10th Doctor and Martha are attacked by Weeping Angels, alien beings that look like ordinary statues until they strike and send you to another timeline.

This first issue of the new arc is your run of the mill beginning. We have seen it all the time in the Doctor Who television series. If you have no idea, our Doctor and gang are always met with a mystery they have to solve to leave the time and space they are in before creating more problems because they don’t belong there. I found this issue to be easy to follow along, the lettering is very legible and welled placed. Knowing who said what and when was easy to follow. 

I had a small issue with the way the characters looked. The Doctor was treated with care as if ripped from the television series, with her colors vibrant, and Graham looked like his plain self. Yaz and Ryan, however, looked plain. I knew who they were due to watching the series and remembering Yaz’s distinct hairdo and Ryan always donning a jacket Ingranata’s art and Angiolini’s colors made Yaz looked more like a Black woman instead of someone with Indian descent. Yaz could have been drawn to look slightly younger and slightly lighter skin. Additionally, I think what would have worked was making Ryan’s facial features seem a bit older, rather than looking like a teenager.

In Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor: Year 2 #1, the plot is easy to follow. The characters say what they are going to set out to do and they go about it leading to the mystery needing to be solved. Nothing really stands out but you get a sense of the Doctor’s quirkiness when she meets up with an old friend, Martha Jones, to inquire about events happening within the year they’re currently in without tipping her off that she knew her and her companion in another life. Although not a lot goes on in this issue, the tone is set and issues to follow should make for an interesting adventure for The Tenth Doctor, Thirteenth Doctor, and their companions.

Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor: Year 2 #1 is available now, where comics are sold.