The Forgotten, part 1

I've not reviewed any comics before, and this is a slightly odd one to start with. It's from 2008, and is the opening episode of a Tenth Doctor story. It earns its place because it features a lengthy flashback sequence - a mini-adventure - from his time as the First Doctor. Time placement is slightly problematic, but dialogue reveals that it takes place before The Aztecs. Ian isn't wearing his Cathay costume, so it can't fit alongside The Sorcerer's Apprentice; and this is the only other gap to date. Even this one is slightly dodgy because a recap at the start of the next TV story shows them leaving Marinus; it'll do, though, and if that was the worst continuity problem in the history of the show fans would have to find other things to argue about.

So, since this is the first comic I've reviewed, a word about what I look for. Top priority is that the characters must be recognisable. The Tenth Doctor and Martha certainly are, and the First Doctor - while thinner than I generally imagine him to be - is successful too, as is Susan. Iananbarbara, though, leave a lot to be desired. I can recognise Barbara from her hair, but Ian (who, it must be said, has very boring hair) can only be recognised from context. So, a qualified success. More broadly, the artwork (by Pia Guerra, ink assist by Kent Archer and Shaynne Corbett) is clean and easy on the eye. The layout is fairly simple (all the panels are rectangular), but with enough variation (overlapping and borderless panels, a variety of proportions and sizes) to keep it from becoming boring. Colour (by Charlie Kirchoff) is muted but effective in the framing sequences; for the First Doctor story it is restricted to shades of grey except for sound effects, which is a nice touch. I'm not enough of an afficionado of lettering to tell whether Neil Uyetake has done a particularly good job, but I certainly had no trouble reading it.

What about the plot, then, by writer Tony Lee? To cut to the chase, I'll say that the framing story - in which the Tenth Doctor loses his memories of previous incarnations and only recovers them when touching artifacts in a strange "Museum of The Doctor" - is quite good, and enough of a hook to make me want to read the rest of the series; but the First Doctor flashback is a bit of a nothing. All the boxes are ticked for characteristic mannerisms - the Doctor "hmm"ing, Susan worried but inclined to wander off, Barbara going on about history - but it doesn't feel quite right. The Doctor is too antagonistic to Iananbarbara (and says they keep following him, an odd turn of phrase in the circumstances); they in turn are more irritated by him than they should be in this period. There are also so many nods to the show's early days that there isn't any space for things to happen, which wouldn't matter in a character piece - but this is focused on the action.

So, not a disaster; but then again, not a great start to the First Doctor's comic history.

Rating:
As ever, the only thing that affects my rating is how much I enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I haven't given ratings to any other comics yet, so I've got no firm basis for comparison. In contrast, I have rated 200 TV shows, 55 audios and 30 books. Still, I've read quite a few other Who comics even if I haven't given them a numerical score, so I've got some idea. Very roughly:

Flashback only: 3/10
Whole issue: 5/10

Next Time:
Next week is the half term holidays, so I'll be taking a short break. I'll be back on Monday 31st, and returning to 1964 again - or 1507, depending on your point of view - for The Temple of Evil.

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