Editors Note: This review may contain spoilers
Torchwood returns this month in the world of Titan Comics for a fifth action-packed story in ‘Station Zero’.
Captain Jack Harkness and his crew continue their adventures aboard the Ice Maiden as they attempt to investigate the would-be murder of Sir James Sterling, master of Torchwood House. Sir James and his faithful butler Gilly are very much alive, and Lady Karina was been revealed as a heartless alien.
The first action-packed panel of the new comic sets the tone for this exciting issue. Captain Jack begins the story with an epic battle with an old foe – Captain John Hart. The caption wryly notes: “It’s complicated.” The fight occurs back at Torchwood Manor, where the imposter Lady Karina is looking for the astrolabe used by Sir James. The Lady is no lady and wastes little time attacking the group with an ion flux. In short, it’s a weapon that just uses nano bytes to make any wound a fatal one.
Back on the Ice Maiden, the mysterious Rona is still under lock and key and insisting that she’s not a threat. “I’m not an alien! I’m Welsh!” she cries. The crew is bust getting ready to head out and find Captain Jack, and Rona herself seems to be working on something interesting.
The issue zooms into the Artic Circle with an exciting blast and veers back to Torchwood, where a crew member is gravely injured. It’s structured like a movie: we see the action happening, get the backstory, and return to the action. After all these travels in space and times, we return to the beginning and the fight between the captains. The issue ends with all of the dangling threads: Rona, the Arctic, a dying crew member, a fight ….it’s cleverly written and expertly drawn.
The issue ends with another look at how the artists draw the characters. Neil Edwards, a new artist with the series, shares his sketchbook with Captain Jack portraits.
World Without End had been an incredibly fun and wonderful read, and this new story is an absolute delight. The writing is sharp, witty, and clever, and the issue looks beautiful. What a pleasure to read, and leaves the reader anxious to find out how all of the narrative threads will come together.
Blogtor Rating 9/10
Torchwood #2.1 is available now from Titan Comics in print and digital form.
