In this week’s club, we will discuss the second collection of the 11th Doctors comics. Enjoy!
Space in Dimension Relative and Time
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The Eternal Dogfight
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The Infinite Astronaut
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The Rise and Fall
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The Other Doctor
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Please discuss below - no need to finish it first, discuss as you go along but please add spoiler tags for anything that could be considered a spoiler!
If you’ve previously read the book and want to join in the discussion, that’s great too!
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I love format screw-y stories and this one is definitely no exception, it takes advantage of the medium really well, and I like the quick fix the doctor comes up with. That all saidm the actual resolution feels a little weak, the B-plot isn’t too strong, and it was a bit hard to get into at the start, I want to give this higher than a 7 because I love it in theory, but the actual execution is a little lacking for me. Definitely a fun one off story though and another great showcase of why I think comics are just such an incredible medium for Dr Who
I don’t really have all that much to say here, it’s the first part of a multi-part story so can’t give full thoughts, but this issue alone is… well… kinda meh, there’s some more arc stuff going on (meaning both the character and wider story) that’s intriguing, but past that, nothing to write home about.
Edit: Actually yeah also there’s a weird subplot(?) about jones getting fatter, which is just really weird and takes me out of it a bit, and I’m generally not the biggest fan of stories where the doctor goes back to modern day earth and then there just happens to be a big planet-wide alien event going on. It can be done well if we have time to spend on the doctor’s reactions to it or the wider whoniverse’s response (e.g. I like army of ghosts, aliens of london, and the christmas invasion), but here it just gets glossed over really quickly
Apart from the openning, this could’ve just been on another planet, setting it over Earth was a mistake imo. It’s got some nice character stuff, more building up overall mysteries, and I liked the openning with Alice’s expectation for The Doctor’s reaction vs the reality. Overall though it feels like just another story, if that makes sense.
Okay I liked this a fair bit, the doctor’s plan of becoming majority shareholder is an easy one to see, but it’s still very fun, and a lot of the breadcrumbs we’ve gotten have finally started coming together, learning more about the talent scout, ARC, etc.
Great use of the comic format to tell a story in reverse and go for an experimental approach. The Doctor is well-written. This is fast-paced and keeps shifting all the time, and it’s occasionally difficult to follow along. But yay for more Nimons! The Time Leech is underutilised.
The Eternal Dogfight: 6/10
A slower chapter and one big set-up. I like how it initially explored the story through Alice’s narration and experiences but then veered away from that. Jones is annoying. ARC is developed a bit more and there’s a good scene between it and the Doctor. I also love the jetpack scene and the cliffhanger.
The Infinite Astronaut: 7/10
An interesting exploration of grief and coping methods is here. Loads of exposition and backstory. Alice and Jones are put to good use; the twist surrounding Alice’s mother is effective but predictable and the cliffhanger is good.
The Rise and Fall: 7/10
One big setup for the finale, builds ominous vibes. Gives me Nightmare in Silver vibes. Alice works out how things are as the Doctor walks into a trap in another exciting cliffhanger.
The Other Doctor: 8/10
A fun way to end this story. The Last of the Time Lords vibes in this one, with the companions fighting back as the Doctor has turned evil. There’s a fun final revelation as well. Alice becomes the Doctor (very original) and Jones is her annoying sidekick. The ending feels a bit abrupt.
I continue to find the Eleventh Doctor Volumes more enjoyable than the Tenth Doctor ones. Maybe I’m just more used to the comic format. My reviews are below.
SIDRAT
It’s got a nice gimmick. It’s nice to have a nice gimmick. I thought the gimmick was executed fairly well, if not spectacularly. I wonder how a television version of this story would be different, as it is nice that the format of the story gives a clue as to what is going on before the reader gets frustrated. Also, isn’t it funny that “TARDIS” spelled backwards is “SIDRAT”?
The Eternal Dogfight/The Infinite Astronaut
A good enough story. “The Eternal Dogfight” does an adequate job of setting the stage for the second part. It has some interesting enough set pieces. I do appreciate it when a Doctor Who story is set in a library. The cliffhanger is memorable.
Although the resolution of the cliffhanger is fairly pedestrian, I do think that there are positive aspects to the story. For example, I find the resolution of the story to be quite sad, but intriguing. Does Alice’s grief enable her to save the day?
The Rise and Fall/ The Other Doctor
I enjoyed this story. I thought it was interesting to see the Doctor take an active role utilizing mundane methods, although considering how big SERVEYOU is established to be, it did teeter on the edge of incredulity that he was able to buy a majority stake.
The Other Doctor was a good conclusion; I enjoyed The Doctor’s instinct to help leading him to succumb to temptation. I hope that we gain knowledge about the mysterious Time Lord figure soon.
Jones feels like an unnecessary character to me. I have yet to connect to him at all. Arc is a bit more interesting but I hope that we get some character development with them. But I love Alice. She is such a great companion and they keep handling her grief in such interesting ways. The story is okay but nothing more. 3.5/5
Feelt like the conclusion of a lot of things that have started in earlier issuies. It was fun and I liked the evil Doctor and Alice becoming the Doctor. I still don’t see the point of Jones. My biggest problem is that I don’t care that much about the overarching plot. 3.5/5
I generally feel like the writer doesn’t understand their strengths. They are really good at writing Alice in small settings but they keep wanting to write big bombastic stories and I don’t find the stories that interesting.
The Eleventh Doctor #6 - Space in Dimension Relative and Time
What on Earth was that all about? At first I thought I’d accidentally skipped an issue, then I saw the page numbering was going backwards and wondered if Titan had suddenly decided to switch to Manga format!
I’m still confused as to whether each page should be read in the usual top left - bottom right order or not, but I’m assuming so.
I still have little clue as to what was actually going on TBH, but it was nice to see a Nimon anyway.
