I’ve been jumping on and off the Doctor Who titles because sometimes there’s not much to say about them. I couldn’t review every episode of the show and I can’t review every issue of the comics without being redundant. This issue though, I was looking forward to reviewing. The last issue was definitely entertaining and the concept of an infinite war between two species that were strangely honorable in their never-ending war. The real surprise was when Alice showed up at the end of the issue with her mom… living and breathing… you know, the dead one that she’s been heartbroken about for seven issues. Yeah, I couldn’t wait to dive into this one.

There is a great sequence in which Alice walks us through what she’d hope the Doctor would say when she shows up with her mother. It’s the happiest possible outcome and that’s exactly how you know it’s not real. The great thing about Doctor Who is that while it fills you with hope, there’s healthy doses of reality and loss along the way.

Instead the Doctor looks at her mother and says, “That… is something else.”

Of course the Doctor plays along eventually as he sees how much this hurts Alice. We all know that her mother is a fucking liar. The Doctor points it out as they go when she explains how she was able to find him and teleport straight to the Doctor.

All of this is interrupted by the Amstron army discovering them, but Alice has found something that will make them stop dead in their tracks. She uses Earths right to “Seek and to See.”

I won’t say any more than that, but Al Ewing busts out a perfect Doctor Who moment later with Alice. It was spot on and finally added something new to her character. Let’s just say that after this issue she might actually want to stick around.

Warren Pleece handles art on this issue and it’s solid for the most part. The backgrounds continue to suffer on this series and while no one is expecting library books to look interesting, there are a ton of examples of where a background could have elevated a scene. Other than that the art is solid. The coloring could be richer, but it wasn’t a deal breaker by any means. This part of the arc has had a lot of art changes so hopefully we can start to get some consistency because that will definitely go a long way in helping the story overall.

I really liked the emotional journey of this issue. I don’t really know what to expect from the next issue, maybe I’ll review it, maybe I’ll skip it. Either way though… I’ll be reading it. If you’re a Doctor Who fan then this issue is not to be missed. If you’re just a sci-fi person then it might not be for you unless you find a character you like to latch on to. One thing is for sure Al Ewing is catching his stride.

Score: 3/5

Writer: Al Ewing Artist: Warren Pleece Publisher: Titan Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 2/11/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital