Briarwood [COMIC/2016.2.17]

★★★☆☆

  Fantasy just rubs me up the right way, there's no other way to describe it. Quite a few Doctor Who stories incorporate fantasy imagery into them, and regardless of whether or not those fantastical elements contribute much in a big way, I get a huge kick of fun every time I spot them out. In the case of Briarwood, the Nixi King look exactly like your typical fantasy elf king, how great is that? An elf king who is trapped by talismans of magic and has the power to control trees and greenery? Conceptually, this is the most exciting Titan Eighth Doctor adventure yet; it initially reminded me of the Spiderwick Chronicles, and any story that reminds me of the wonderful times I spent reading those books in my youth is doing something good. 

  My comments about the one-part structure from before remain; I still think that the Eighth Doctor stories at Titan have potential to be more expansive, more detailed, and had the company put more care for this range, Eight would've had stories that fulfilled their potential. I enjoyed Briarwood a lot, but could imagine how much more powerful it could've been had Titan given the range more breathing room to develop ideas. As it stands, though, Briarwood is yet another very enjoyable adventure. There's one element of these stories that truly work to their full potential, and it's the illustrations of Emma Vieceli. She may be one of my personal favourite Eighth Doctor artists; I know she's an artist in huge demand, but I long for the day she returns to Who.