Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor #2

I wasn’t as thrilled with the first issue of Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor as I’d hoped to be, but the second issue assuaged many of my concerns. Writer Nick Abadzis swings full speed into the wacky adventure mode of the David Tennant version, as he and Gabby Gonzalez run from a monster on a subway, talking a mile a minute the whole time.

I’m amazed at how well artist Elena Casagrande does in keeping the action readable in amongst all this dialogue, but it’s faithful to one of the things I enjoyed about the early days of the show relaunch. This kind of glorious nonsense is so very British, and part of the export’s appeal.

I also liked that Gabby managed to save herself. She’s got strength and gumption and a willingness to take things on that make her admirable. She accepts the Doctor’s psuedoscience without blinking and even volunteers in spite of her instincts.

The comic format allows for interdimensional portals, scary psychic monsters, and all kinds of effects without them looking dodgy. This issue moves the plot along briskly, introducing the alien villains and setting up for more battle in the remaining three issues in the storyline. (The publisher provided a digital review copy.)