Comic Review: Doctor Who Cold-Blooded War (IDW Publishing) by Adam P.

The Doctor Averts a Civil War Without Breaking a Sweat

On their way to a space opera, the Doctor and Donna wind up walking into a conflict on the planet Draconia. Mistaken for negotiators from earth, they become rapidly embroiled in the Draconian conflict. Draconian society is on the brink of a civil war because of the ascension of a female emperor to the throne. The traditionally chauvinistic society aren't too happy about this and some are planning bombings, kidnappings and assassinations accordingly.




Donna is the right companion for this story as she unashamedly delivers a lecture to the male Draconian leaders about feminism. It's vintage Donna. It really, really sounds exactly like she would've delivered it on the show, complete with exclamations of "wot!". There's also a great cameo of an Adipose whom Donna encountered in her first adventure with the Doctor in season four.

Having been captured by the would-be usurpers, the Doctor meets a child who will be key in ending the internecine fighting and they get to the throne room with the help of his trusty sonic screwdriver. We also have some Martians who accompany Donna and the Doctor in an attempt to broker a peace treaty who provide some comic relief

Unfortunately, the issue overall is somewhat paint-by-numbers, a cautionary tale about the equality of the sexes, the uselessness of civil war and the sacrifice of the innocent to obtain peace – important but hardly ground-breaking. It's an OK read but nowhere near the pulse-pounding cliffhangers from the eighties UK comics that IDW is currently reprinting in Doctor Who Classics.

The recent IDW Doctor Who one-shots are like condensed television episodes, with the suspense and sleuthing kept to a strict minimum. There's constant dialogue in order to move things along quicker and this can be off-putting at first for someone used to the pacing of the 45-minute TV episodes. In the best David Tennant episodes there's always a sense of “how they heck are they gonna get themselves out of this one?' which is utterly absent from these sort of comics. I wasn't worried about the good Doctor or his companion for a second in this issue – and that's rather a bad thing.

My biggest disappointment is the artwork. In the previous one-shot Autopia and the first two issues of the ongoing series we've seen artwork that resembles the quality of movie storyboards. In other words, it's barely adequate and only serves to sketch out the stories rather than transport them to another level. In Cold-Blooded war the art appears rushed and poorly detailed. Luckily the aliens here are believable nonetheless but Donna hardly looks like herself at all. I strongly feel that Doctor Who could become a very important property for IDW, but they're going to have to find some artists of higher calibre.

The colouring, however, is brilliant (as the doctor might say) and really carries the issue, making it far more enjoyable that it would have been in vintage colouring had it appeared several years ago. I really hope IDW will step up their game and put blood, sweat and tears into the ongoing series.

Writer: Richard Starkings
Artist: Adrian Salmon

On sale August 26th

7/10

Adam P.
Review Co-Editor