EP0015: Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: The Terror Beneath

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Can the Twelfth Doctor and a punk rocker from the 40th Century stop a seaweed monster on the loose in a 1970’s English village?

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Transcript:

Graham Can a Punk Rocker save a 1970s English town from destruction? Find out as we take a look at Doctor Who – The Twelfth Doctor: Time Trials Vol. 1: The Terror Beneath.

[Intro Music]

Announcer: Welcome to the Classy Comics podcast where we search for the best comics in the universe. From Boise Idaho, here is your host Adam Graham.

Host: Welcome back. As I mentioned in my previous Twelfth Doctor review, after Clara Oswald left, the Twelfth Doctor had two adventures with Hattie Monroe, a 40th century punk rocker who the Doctor met on the Twist, a figure eight shaped world ship. The book opens with the Doctor finishing a pretty cool mission, from what it looks like, involving the return of the Quarks to an undersea location before leaving to check on Hattie at the Twist. When he first met Hattie, she was an aspiring punk rock star. Now she’s made it big and is getting a little bit tired of all the attention. So, when the doctor shows up, she just wants to get away and so they do to Seaton Bay in 1979. As Hattie points out it is cold and grey there but as the Doctor points out they have great chips which is apparently worth travelling about 2000 years back in time for. However, as any Doctor Who fan will tell you the Doctor and companion or friend can’t just go on a simple vacation because there’s always a monster about and in this case it’s a seaweed monster that is terrorizing the town.

Overall, this is a good story with some suspenseful moments but I think what really does make this work is the art. The art is by Art by Mariano Laclaustra and colors by Carlos Cabrera and they do a fantastic job. It is so vibrant and beautiful to read. It has some not undersea scenes that particularly pop out. They are just so beautifully done. Now I know a lot of Doctor Who fans were not a big fan of the Twelfth Doctor playing the electric guitar and I think it works well particularly in the comics because the Doctor not only plays the guitar but he jams with Hattie, who he knows is going to be a great legend in the 40th century world of punk rock and where I think the art comes in so well is you can really see the way it is drawn that these are two people who are having a good time being around each other and doing something they love together. You don’t have to like punk rock and you certainly don’t have to think that it is plausible that there would be punk rock in the 40th century. It’s not one of those evergreen genres of music. Pardon the pun with the seaweed in here. It’s just a really fun, pleasant read. If I had any complaints, it was the tongues out bit of the punk. That part, if there were punk in the future, I think we could leave behind in this decade but that’s just me. I liked it and I thought it was a solid start.

The second story in the book. The first takes up three issues. We have a one issue story, The Boy with the Displaced Smile, which finds the Doctor in the small town of Sweet Haven in the mid-20th century. So sometime, probably 1950s or 60s, where there are strange goings on with a monster involved and there’s a boy who’s lonely and a waitress who’s trying to be a friend to him. This one is by a guest writer, James Peaty and the art is by Warren Pleece. The story’s not bad but it’s clear to me that Peaty wanted more than a one issue story and he tries to jam a lot in here. Some of it slightly political though, to be honest, he doesn’t really have much time to try and say anything within these few pages. It’s a challenge to try and tell a Doctor Who story in the space of a single comic though it has been managed in even less space than a full sized American comic in Doctor Who Magazine. Still, I think overall the book is a satisfying read. The first story is just breathtaking in its beautiful art and it’s just nice to see the Doctor and Hattie enjoying an adventure together. So, despite the lackluster second story, I will give this book a rating of somewhat classy.

Well that’s all for now. Send your comments classycomicsguy@gmail.com. Check us out online at classycomicsguy.com. From Boise Idaho, this is your host Adam Graham signing off.

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