A New Beginning [COMIC/2018.10.17 ~ 2019.2.6]

 

★★★☆☆

  I've heard somewhere that Jody Houser is the quintessential Thirteenth Doctor writer; my hopes were therefore quite high, and A New Beginning has proven that those hopes were (probably) not misplaced. Considering that it was released a mere ten days after The Woman Who Fell to Earth aired, the comic manages to be a confident outing for the TARDIS fam and provides a visually exciting first adventure for the then-new Doctor in the comic medium. Rachael Stott's illustrations, which are great during the less rapid-fire, more evocative moments, lend the adventure a nice slick coat of paint. 

  As it is a first story of an entire range, the comic feels like a rough overview of the Doctor, her crew and how they operate... which is to say, one or two of them often get sidetracked due to the lack of roles they perform (Ryan and Yaz in particular, which is also quite accurate to their TV counterparts). I don't consider this a fault of this particular story, however; narratively managing a four-person crew has always been tricky, ever since the first batch of Who stories. What matters is that despite its flaws, the adventure kept me entertained and hooked — and with its story of hijacked vortex manipulations and twisted alien art collectors, I daresay it did its job pretty well.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  As an introduction to so many new aspects of Doctor Who (much like The Woman Who Fell to Earth), A New Beginning is a competent epic with enough great moments (such as when the Doctor resolves a violent situation through tea — how Doctorish of her) for me to confidently label it as good. I'm most excited to see what Houser and co. have in store for me next.