The biggest news in Doctor Who comics last year was Paul Cornell’s Four Doctors series. Each week, a new Four Doctors was released. The summer series was a hit with both critics and fans, as the combination of Doctors Ten, Eleven Twelve and War made for a brilliant and often hilarious combination. Their three companions, Gabby Gonzalez – an American! –, Alice Obiefune, and Clara Oswald, travel alongside the Doctors and run the show behind the scenes.
Last year, our reviewer called issue #1 “some of the most enjoyable and memorable fun that The Doctor’s ever had in graphic form,” and that’s true of the series as a whole. The meeting of the Four Doctors is an exciting idea on its face, and Cornell’s terrific plotting and nuanced dialogue made the series into something truly special. Cornell, is a Hugo Award nominee of classic episodes Father’s Day and Human Nature/The Family of Blood, so it is always a pleasure and a privilege to read more of his richly detailed work.
The five issues of The Four Doctors have now been combined into a beautiful hardcover edition, which goes on sale on January 13. The series spans time and space from a creperie in 1920s Paris to a hidden part of the universe, to glimpses of the Time War to battles with the Reapers. Add an unusual photograph, three clever companions, and a bag of comics, for a thrilling adventure.
Neil Edwards’ art is both innovative and magnificent throughout; there is a memorable overview of the Doctors and their respective TARDISes (TARDII, perhaps?). No spoilers here, but page 117 was strikingly gorgeous, and the coloring by Ivan Nunes is notable as well. Look closely for some delightful details among the familiar faces.
Paul Cornell and artist Neil Edwards will be autographing copies of Doctor Who: Four Doctors on next Wednesday, January 13th, at 6pm, at London’s Forbidden Planet. Cornell posted this FP Exclusive Edition cover on his blog: http://www.paulcornell.com/2016/01/twelfth-night/
- DOCTOR WHO: FOUR DOCTORS
- WRITER: PAUL CORNELL
- ARTIST: NEIL EDWARDS
- COVER: NEIL EDWARDS
- PUBLISHER: TITAN COMICS
- PAGE COUNT: 128 PP
- FORMAT: HARDCOVER
- PRICE: $19.99 / £14.99
- RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 13, 2016
