| Title | : | Doctor Who Volume 2: Tesseract |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1600107567 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781600107566 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 144 |
| Publication | : | First published October 19, 2010 |
Doctor Who Volume 2: Tesseract Reviews
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Continuing my Doctor Who comic read courtesy of Humble Bundle…
This one picks up shortly after
the last volume Fugitive as the Doctor is trying to break in a couple of new companions but before they even get the wardrobe issues sorted out the TARDIS collides and merges with another spaceship. This rolls into a second adventure in which the Doctor and his new pals return to Earth where he meets up with his old friend Martha and tries to stop an alien invasion.
I’m rating them both three stars, but I enjoyed the first collection more than this one. That’s mainly because the last one brought some of the David Tennant zest to the Doctor, but in this one he kinda comes across as an overbearing jerk who spends the entire book lecturing everyone about their shortcomings while ignoring his own. That’s an element of the Doctor’s shtick sometimes, but it needs some of the mad-scientist/wild-adventurer/smart-ass to balance it out. Frankly, I was rooting for Martha to bust him in the mouth a couple of times.
There’s an interesting subplot with an old enemy of the Doctor trying to turn one of his new companions against him by making it look like the Doctor is the bad guy here. There’s just enough truth in the lies to play on the idea that the modern series has gone to several times about how the Doctor is seen as one of the great villains of history by some of the races he’s interacted with.
Also, there’s a pretty significant mention and explanation of The Moment, the weapon that the Doctor used to end the Time War, but I thought that wasn’t named until several years after this was published in The Day of the Doctor 50th anniversary special? Was this where the concept was introduced? Whovians, help me out here!
It’s a decent Doctor Who adventure, but not as fun as the previous collection in this comic series. There are some loose ends that will hopefully turn into intriguing plots in the subsequent volumes. -
3 1/2 Stars
The 2 stories in this volume are the title story "Tesseract" which was more set up than actual story, and "Don't Step on the Grass" which was by far the more entertaining of the two.
Tesseract- I didn't enjoy this story as much as I should have which is due to a number of variables. I love TARDIS focused stories, it is so much fun to explore the infinite number of rooms that make up the greatest ship in all of sci-fi. There are so many possibilities but this story squanders them. The story could have been interesting but it was rushed and the focus was really on setting up the next story.
Secondly, I am totally and completely uninterested in the two companions that the Doctor has picked up from the 1920's, Emily Winter and Matthew Finnegan. They bore me and I find that I don't care if Matthew trusts the Doctor or not, a dilemma that becomes more and more of a focus later on.
Thirdly, the artwork...
Don't Step on the Grass- This story is far superior and worth reading. First off, the artwork is phonemically better, David Tennant actaully looks like David Tennant! Yay!
Secondly, and I can't believe I'm saying this, Martha Jones makes this story what it is! This story is post "Journey's End" and that adds a great dynamic between Martha Jones-Smith and the Doctor who was disappointed by her almost blowing up earth. The history between the two characters is used perfectly.
Thirdly, this is an Earth bound story with much at stake, and it feels like there is a chance that the Doctor might not be able to save the day! At the end the Doctor suffers real loss in more ways than one.
Overall, this volume is much better than it's predecessor
Doctor Who: Fugitive but to get the full effect you must read both. -
actual rating: 3.5
Once again we have the first two issues as smaller arc with really bad art and then the last four issues are much more interesting with much better art. Really liked the later part of this since it featured Martha and a kind of Da Vinci Code historical mystery thing but with aliens. Still a fun read overall. -
Annoyingly, both these stories have interesting parts mixed in with frustrating parts; good ideas are joined up by cliches and stretches of filler.
The first two issues are a "chase through the weirdness of the TARDIS" storyline (a la Journey to the Center of the TARDIS and The Invasion of Time), with added "bad guy gets the companion to distrust the Doctor's motives" storyline. The latter is kind of cliche (and will continue to be cliche into the next storyline), but the fact that it ends up biting the bad guy in the rear is pretty fun. The cliffhanger with the Tef'aree is kind of pointless, but the sequence is, at least, visually interesting.
The second storyline is a "this one legend was actually invading aliens" storyline (a la too many episodes to count), but including Martha Jones, UNIT, and the aforementioned companion-distrust storyline. There's a bunch of fun stuff in here - walking trees going around shouting "KILL THE HUMANS", the Knights Arboretum, and Martha's role as half-action hero, half-mentor. But it also has two really annoying parts.
First, the Doctor frees the aliens off of a sob story and instantly it turns out they were lying and megalomaniacal and evil. None of this was set up, it's just an easy twist. (Later on, the Doctor says "oh, I was testing you", but y'know, a big chunk of their plan still went off because of it.) Second, the argument between Magambo and Martha doesn't really work - rather, it would work, except that they just hash out the same stuff for an issue's length. And that's extended with the arguments between the Advocate and the Doctor and Matthew - it just goes into a "You're the dangerous one!" "No, you are!" "Nuh-uh!" "Yeah-huh!" loop.
(Also, as a minor point, the Doctor only realizes that the trees are energy beings in tree bodies after Hologram John Dee tells him so - but the angel already told him so.)
While I was reading it, it was enjoyable, but once it was over, it felt a bit empty. If it had been tightened up a bit, had more of the fun stuff put in to displace the repetitive and cliched parts...
Also, there's the art, which mostly beats out the first volume. In the first story, Al Davison is good at figure drawing, but could use some work on facial expressions. On the other hand, the spidery-faced Acari are surprisingly expressive, and the five-dimensional Tef'aree also have really cool designs. Overall, though, I prefer Blair Shedd's art - it's clear, it's attractive, and it shows action well. Plus, the coloring's great. -
This is the second installment of the graphic novel Doctor Who series by Tony Lee, and I must say this was so much better than the first volume. Everything from the art to the plot was taken up a notch.
My issue with the art in the first volume was the fact that well-known characters, such as the Doctor himself, were almost unrecognizable in some panels. In this second installment, this problem is almost entirely resolved. Not only does the artist do a much better job portraying the general look of David Tennant's face, they also have totally nailed many of his most popular expressions. This made the story so much more enjoyable, as it added an extra dimension beyond the text. You can read beyond what the doctor is saying and SEE what he means. Fantastic! Speaking of reading beyond the text, this volume is littered with subtle references to other British authors and David Tennant himself. I saw this as a really clever, hidden treat for devoted Whovians and David Tennant fans alike.
Another unbelievable improvement in this volume is the plot itself. The villain introduced in the first installment is given more depth, personality, and back story. Events tie together more seamlessly and move along at a rather good clip, keeping the reader interested and engaged the entire time. The final few pages set in motion several things that have me dying to read the next volume in this series to find out what happens.
Overall, this was a wonderful improvement over the last volume. I was really impressed with the art and plot improvements, and I think any Doctor Who fan would really enjoy this series. -
Things turn truly epic in the sophomore installment to a trilogy of books about the tenth Doctor’s travels shortly before his fateful regeneration. Tony Lee introduces big concepts and titillating plot twists while doing his best to fit some character building into the mix to get us care about his original companions. The characters themselves are still left a bit thin, but it becomes obvious that they have a destiny.
Lee throws in a fair amount of elements from the original Doctor Who run to delight us continuity geeks, and does this in a meaningful manner that deepens the saga and ties it to the Doctor’s history. I also liked the not-the-most-obvious way he makes the Doctor reunite with Martha; it’s not all happy nostalgia as the different paths the characters have traversed stem conflict and ideological debate.
“Tesseract” is a top-form Who book, with the only failing in its inability to incorporate more characterization for the new companions. But the storyline seems to be taking them to such interesting places that the next, final book has every chance of being a masterpiece. -
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2095687.html[return][return] I wasn't wild about the first two issues collected here, where I felt that Al Davison's art didn't quite match Lee's script of aliens invading the Tardis. But then things really take a turn for the better, with a four-issue story gorgeously illustrated by Blair D. Shedd, which has Martha Jones, walking trees, Greenwich Observatory and John Dee, and another joke about Belgium.[return][return]There's a reference to Martha having married Mickey, and I thought at first that this might have been anticipating The End of Time as they go off to chase Sontarans at the end. But in fact the comic was published in mid-2010, after The End of Time was broadcast, so no surprise for the reader who had been paying attention.[return][return]I hope Shedd does more Who work; I was really impressed. -
The lead story, Tesserect, is an interesting one that has good characters and some nice continuity points [7/10]. The giant trees of the second story are a bit silly and the overall plot is a bit too fight-ey, but there's still some nice arc development and some good characterization, particularly of Martha [6/10].
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This carries the story on from Fugitive. The advocate is determined to destroy the Doctor. The Tardis merges with another ship. The 2nd story involves Martha, UNIT and an alien invasion. The 1st is interesting because it uses the Doctor's history to twist perceptions of his character. The 2nd is a lot of fun, and has the old UNIT vs the Doctor type story. A great read.
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Nice art... but what does it help if the writing isn't up to much? The stories are flat and somewhat boring, the references to the classic era are mostly pointless and probably just there so that the writer can show off with his trivia, and the companions are either dull or irritating.
Mhff. Shrug. At least it killed a boring hour on the bus. -
I'm still loving this series, Lee has a great connection with this character and creates an amazing story while honoring it's past and giving knowing nods to the end of tens tenure in the TV show. The artwork is good and captures the actors perfectly. This story is building to an epic finish Allons-y to the next volume.
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I've never watched Doctor Who, but I do like science fiction. A lot of characters seem to have made their first appearance's on the show, but I was able to follow who everyone was, mostly. I would recommend this to Doctor Who fans, but would have trouble recommending it to others.
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Marginally better than the previous volume. There's something about the Doctor's brand of melodrama that doesn't translate to comics for me. Stuff that would have my heart stirring on the TV screen just seems silly on the page.
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More of the David Tennant doctor, with a couple of new companions, plus a bit of Martha Jones. The artwork in this volume was a bit better than the last, though it's still not entirely to my taste.
I'm curious to see where they go with the Advocate and Matthew in the next volume. -
I think I liked this one better than the first one. Nice to have a story inside the Tardis again. Also good to see Martha Jones/Smith.
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**star only review**
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The artwork was much better in this one, and I liked the story better.
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The first bit wasn't as pretty as the rest. The story is super interesting.
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Public library copy.
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I really want to rewatch some of Tennant's series now!
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Come già detto da altri, la prima storia è meh, non mi ha trasmesso molto. La seconda, invece, è stata davvero intrigante e coinvolgente.
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Art is little better than in first book. Story was quite meh.
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Fun enough adventure. I have a few more of these to read
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yes, enjoyably funny, imaginative.
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Better than the first one but still nothing to write home about.
