Captured by a massively powerful alien presence, separated from his friends, with no resources, save his wits… Just another Saturday for The Doctor! Your Major Spoilers review of Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #14 awaits!
DOCTOR WHO: THE TENTH DOCTOR #14
Writer: Nick Abadzis
Artist: Elena Casagrande
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
Editor: Andrew James
Publisher: Titan Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor: “Erik, Hans and Cleo (members of the Cult of the Black Pyramid) thought they were summoning their gods to Earth. Instead, they’ve caught the attention of The Seeker, an ominous entity searching for the Key: a mysterious force which appears to have merged with Dorothy Bell! Intent on rebuilding NYC to its maximum potential, and seeing the creative spirit in Gabby, Dorothy has taken her new friend on a high-flying adventure around the city. Now, the Seeker has captured the Doctor, Cindy and the Black Pyramid trio! With Dorothy and Gabby in hiding, Cindy is beginning to wish she’s listened to her friend’s warning about the dangers of traveling with the Doctor…”
TEN, WITH HIS USUAL CHARMS
During an unseen time in his history, The Tenth Doctor has begun traveling with Gabriella Gonzalez, a young woman from Brooklyn, much to the chagrin of Gabby’s best friend Cindy Wu. As this issue opens, The Doctor has been spirited away (with Cindy) by a mysterious cult that thinks they’re worshiping Egyptian gods. People who’ve seen The Doctor’s previous adventures know that, in this world, the Egyptian gods are just aliens of unknown providence who have clashed with in his Fourth Incarnation. This realization comes slowly for Erik, Hans and Cleo, but they soon realize that their “god” savior is actually just an artificial intelligence, one that is seeking out another, the last of ‘The Great Keys”, an energy being that has merged with Dorothy, who is busy flying around New York with Gabby Gonzelez. This issue has a VERY complicated plot, one which is the culmination of a several month arc of the book, with a lot of moving parts, which makes for some confusion as we make our way through the book.
THEN THE ‘OH, CRAP’ MOMENT
Of course, the last page reveal ups the ante significantly, setting the stage for the end of not only this arc, but this entire volume of the Tenth Doctor’s comic adventures. The upside of this whole story comes in the portrayal of Ten, maintaining the character’s established mystique and mannerisms, and it’s easy to hear Tennant speaking the lines. Gabby is a fun character to play off, but the real meat of things comes in the clashing with Cindy Wu, herself new to the companion game, which always make for fun interplay. The art is well-handled as well, overcoming the major issue of licensed comics by keeping the one likeness solid, but also making sure that the companions, nemeses and other characters look equally modeled. Indeed, the final page reveal reminds me of nothing so much as a melange of Mike Allred and Jim Starlin cosmic madness, which makes for a very appealing package overall.
THE BOTTOM LINE: COMPLEX BUT INTERESTING
Admittedly, we’re nearing the end of a large mythology arc, so it’s not the simplest place to walk into The Doctor’s world, but the creators have made an issue strong enough, and featuring enough intriguing moments that you’re willing to do the heavy lifting to make the story work. Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #14 hits the spot, delivering on the premise of time/space adventure with just enough continuity references to tie it to previous adventures, with art that ably shows us the madness of The Doctor’s world, earning a very solid 3 out of 5 stars overall. Now, I’m gonna have to come back to see how this all wraps up…
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