REVIEW: DOCTOR WHO - A FAIRYTALE LIFE #3 & #4

DOCTOR WHO: 

A FAIRYTALE LIFE 

#3 & #4

IDW Publishing

Written by MATTHEW STURGES

Art by BRIAN SHEARER

Colors by RACHELLE ROSENBERG

Lettering by SHAWN LEE

Edited by DENTON J. TIPTON

Covers by MARK BUCKINGHAM and PHIL ELLIOTT

To end off this limited series and also to help to try and catch up with the single issue comic reviews I need to do I’m combining my reviews for issues #3 and #4. 

I might combine more single issues in the future also when I review them as I tend to only go to the comic shop maybe once a month. But with the new DC relaunch books coming out I'll try to read, review, and post those reviews as I get the books.

In my review for the second issue of this Doctor Who limited series I talked about how I had hoped this story as it entered its pay off issues of 3 & 4 would have a lot more to offer up because as it was its course was very standard sci-fi. It did improve but for the most part only by a duck on the head measure. Read #3 and you will get that joke and it was one of the few really creative things I found in this story.

The biggest star of these last two issues and this limited series in total is Amy Pond. The writer did a pretty good job with writing her and capturing the onscreen character. 

The characterization of the Doctor though is very hit and miss throughout the series but that’s true also in the history of people writing the Doctor for comics. 

I really enjoyed a lot of the Doctor Who one-shots IDW put out in the past and feel this story would have been better suited to a one-shot. I think it would have turned out more compact and more streamlined.

But the next test will be when I buy the trade and read this story as a whole because sometimes my view of a story changes when I’m able to sit down and read the story as one thought.

DOCTOR WHO: A FAIRYTALE LIFE #3 & #4

2 out of 5 Stars

REVIEW: DOCTOR WHO - A FAIRYTALE LIFE #3 & #4

REVIEW: DOCTOR WHO A Fairytale Life #2

DOCTOR WHO: A FAIRYTALE LIFE #2

IDW PUBLISHING

Written by MATTHEW STURGES
Pencils by KELLY YATES
Inks by BRIAN SHEARER
Colors by RACHELLE ROSENBERG
Lettering by SHAWN LEE
Edited by DENTON J. TIPTON
Cover by MARK BUCKINGHAM and PHIL ELLIOTT

It’s been a while since I reviewed #1 of this 4 Part limited series but as part of my trying to review as many comics as possible here we go. And since I have a dedicated three people who always ask me about writing more Doctor Who related reviews, I shall try to do more on that front, I promise, I really mean it.

Part 2 of A Fairytale Life sees the Doctor and Amy meeting some of the major players in the story. From dogheaded guards to a Knight with a sudden out of character sense of humor. By the end of the story the story finally really gets rolling so here to hoping Parts 3 & 4 pay off what the first 2 parts of this limited series setup.

This story seems to be leading down the old sci-fi road of medical technology out of hand trying to follow its programming to a extreme. What will separate it from being just another story along those lines is the reasons why it got to this point and how the Doctor deals with it.

So far A Fairytale Life reminds me a lot of the classic Doctor Who story The Androids of Tara but I might just be reading too much into the technology mixed with medieval feel.

Again, the first two issues are setup. Lets see with issue #3 if this story starts to lead to some payoff because right now its just a tie-in book to a television series with no unique nature of its own.

A FAIRYTALE LIFE

2 out of 5 Stars

*Classic Doctor Who Reference: The Androids Of Tara

REVIEW: DOCTOR WHO A Fairytale Life #2

DOCTOR WHO #13-14

WRITTEN BY tony lee

ART BY matthew dow smith

COLORS BY charlie kirchoff

LETTERS BY robbie robbins; neil uyetake

EDITS BY denton j. tipton

COVERS BY paul grist, phil elliott, matthew dow smith; charlie kirchoff

The first two issues of the final 10th Doctor IDW storyline begins here with SACRIFICE Parts 1 and 2. As always my reviews are short and without many details or spoilers (but when I start ranting about something) but what I will say about these issues right off is how much I wish we had gotten the chance to see more stories of the travels of Matthew and Emily with the 10th Doctor. With it appearing like the 11th Doctor IDW time will start with Amy Pond as his traveling companion it does not sing that well in my eyes for us seeing Matthew or Emily again. I have Part 3 of this story on a stack to read so no SPOILERS for me please.

The story smells a little of the Black Gaurdian Trilogy of stories from the Classic Series during the 5th Doctor's time with Matthew sort of taking on the Turlough role; which is highlighted more in my mind by the Turlough Diary angle the story takes. Maybe Tony Lee found a little inspiration there.

3 Out Of 5 Stars

My star rating is for the most part based on a hope that the story pays off in the end. I have enjoyed almost all of the art IDW has used for the Doctor Who books but the writing needs to pay off more. At times is seems like they are costing on it being a big brand tie-in.



review written by Brian C. Williams

DOCTOR WHO #13-14

DOCTOR WHO #3 -6

FUGITIVE

Parts One - Four

Written by Tony Lee

Art by Matthew Dow Smith

Colors by Charlie Kirchoff

Letters by Chris Mowry, Robbie Robbins; Neil Uyetake

Edits by Denton J. Tipton

Covers by Paul Grist, Phil Elliott, Matthew Dow Smith, Charlie Kirchoff

Published by IDW

If you have no problems with a little Canon Wank then you may enjoy this four part story, I did. Issue #2 left as The Doctor was arrested by The Shadow Proclaimation by the hands of the Judoon. I will not get into all of the mentions and appearances from The Doctor's past but to say that I really enjoyed some of the writing on the subject that I've not seen attacked before of what happens after The Doctor has defeated an enemy. Effects on that enemies people as a whole is something that I don't think has been approached before and that alone is saying something with a property that has been around for as long as the Doctor Who universe has been.

I still have my misgivings on whether Tony Lee will be able to keep up the quaility of writing needed in the long run for a series such as this but so far I have to admitt he has done so. Fugitive is a story that starts in a fashion seen so many times in sci-fi and several times in Doctor Who itself but it takes many little directions not appraoched that often that the story keeps a fresh appraoch to it. I did not have much hope for this series being anything more than just a licensed book sold to hardcore fans. I mayself being one but so far the art and writer has been much more than that and I hope Tony Lee and the team can keep that up for many issues into the future.

To get caught up on the series in reviews to current issues I will be doing reviews of each storyline until I find mayself with the new issues coming out. From there I will review each issue as it comes out.

This four part story is one of political chess pieces involving peace not for no more war but peace for a smaller scale of war and less choas and this was a approach I really found interesting.

A little pet peeve of mine with writers writing for the 10th Doctor. Ok, writers, enough with the "One warning" thing. It's been done to death by now. Even The Doctor doesn't repeat himself this often.

Old enemies and sometimes allies find appearances of worth in here and not just thrown in either. There's actually a point to most of it. Talk of characters accross the board including the Big Finish audio stories finds me really wanting to give this story 3 out of 5 stars but my bit of not faith in not wanting to get my hopes up for the series to coutinue with the good appraoches all around found in the start to this series has me giving it 2 out of 5 and I know that does not do it justice. Also this paragraph sucks.

I'm glade IDW has taken on the time honored tradation of giving us new compaions for these new stories. The comics of the past, the novels, the audios, have all done so and issue #6 does this also. I like that because by doing so each take on the Doctor Who Universe has its own fresh take that doesn't exist anywhere else.

To end here I want to say I hope IDW keeps up and coutinues the quality of writing and art they have given The Doctor and his travels both in this series, the one-shots, and the reprints. As a geektastic Doctor Who fan I will be buying every issue that comes out but that doesn't mean I don't want great stories also and so far IDW has done so. Here's hoping IDW gets the license also for Torchwood, U.N.I.T., Sarah Jane, and others from the whole of the Doctor Who universe because I think to this point they have did nothing but keep a move forward take on something people world wide love greatly.

review written by Brian C. Williams

DOCTOR WHO #3 -6