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Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor #3 Review

Writer: George Mann

Artist: Emma Vieceli

Publisher: Titan Comics

Format: Softcover

Page Count: 32 PP

Price: $3.99

On Sale: January 6

In the latest issue of Titan’s Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor, events are seemingly slowed down as the Doctor and Josie Day are having a quiet night at the theatre following their chaotic trip to Lumin’s World. In this week’s issue the duo travel to Victorian-era Edinburgh to check out Philipott’s Magesterial Delights – a performance hosted by supposedly one of the greatest magicians of all time. The Silversmith performs ‘one of the greatest feats of stage magic’ and passes through one mirror to appear out of another. But is there more to this magic trick than meets the eye?

The story in this issue was really intriguing and had a great sinister twist; I particularly loved the magical aspect with the portal to the ‘bubble’ dimension as I thought it tied in with the show very nicely. I also enjoyed the Alice in Wonderland reference! The baddie of the week, the magician Silversmith, is super creepy with his curled moustache and malevolent intentions. Personally I think magicians are up there with clowns on the menacing scale! I also really enjoyed the relationship between the Doctor and Josie Day; it seems to be much more of a partnership rather than the Doctor and his companion. It was also interesting to find out that this Doctor loves magic shows; I’m intrigued to find out more about him so I hope George Mann explores his character in further issues.

Much like the prior issues the story is self-contained and easy to pick up on without having to read the rest of the series. However, there is a brief mention of the Spherion so perhaps Mann has something up his sleeve to tie up this seemingly loose ends? It would be interesting to see Mann explore a story/theme over a couple of issues, as I felt this storyline had a lot more to explore and delve into rather than tying it all up in one issue.

The art in this issue was fantastic, particularly Silversmith’s grotesque army, I literally shuddered and recoiled when they were introduced! Think Sid’s toy creations in Toy Story! The use of strong pastel colours, mainly blue and pink, really contrasts the creepy and sinister characters and storyline in the issue. I very much enjoyed the pastels featured by Hi-Fi.

Overall I found the story enjoyable and intriguing, but felt like it was rushed as it could have spanned a couple of issues at least. There were definitely some interesting themes explored such as alternative parallels and I would have liked to spend some more time with the Doctor and Josie exploring the bubble dimension. However, it’s a great read with some inventive yet terrifying creations! Just don’t watch any magic shows afterwards…

★★