Just in time for Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary specials comes brand-new graphic novel Once Upon a Time Lord, featuring the other David Tennant incarnation – the Tenth Doctor – alongside Series 3 companion Martha Jones.
Martha is captured by the Pyromeths, aliens who feed on fiction, and must tell stories to appease them. This framing story cuts away to a series of adventures – narrated by Martha – in which the Doctor seeks the “most valuable thing in the universe”.
Dan Slott, the Eisner-winning writer known for his work on Spider-Man, is a long-time Whovian and has thrown absolutely everything into his first go at writing for the Doctor. We get alien planets, earth history, and encounters with numerous villains from both the classic and new eras of the show. There’s even a ‘backup’ script starring the Ninth Doctor and Rose.
All of this makes for the kind of book that could easily get bogged down in its references, or feel choppy as it jumps between the different settings – we’ve certainly encountered other Doctor Who media that’s suffered from continuity overload. But Slott’s script balances everything with elegance – Once Upon a Time Lord flows smoothly and engagingly, and encyclopaedic expertise is not required to follow what’s going on.
Similarly, switching between artists mid-comic is a risky move, but here it’s built into the story; Christopher Jones’ crisper, more realistic art illustrates the framing narrative, and Matthew Dow Smith’s sketchier, dramatic style fits well with the stories-within-the-story. And Mike Collins’ art on the Ninth Doctor section reminded us of his time illustrating the Doctor Who Magazine strip – you can hear the “Fantastic!” in the way he draws Nine’s grin.
The main drawback is the price – since Titan have released this as a hardcover book, the RRP is rather high for the amount of pages you get. However, for readers in the UK at least, it is available at lower prices from some online outlets.
Slott has two further Doctor Who graphic novels planned, and if his first dive into the Whoniverse is anything to go by, we can’t wait to see what’s next.
Doctor Who: Once Upon a Time Lord is released 7th November from Titan Comics, via book shops, comic shops, and digital platforms.
To find out more about the book, read our interview with its writer Dan Slott.
