Patrick Troughton takes center stage in the second issue of Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time, freshly on the stands this week. Can this installment improve upon the first? Well, it wouldn’t be difficult…

Warning, here be spoilers. And Voord.

We’re treated this month to the art of Lee Sullivan, one of the long term artists for Doctor Who Magazine. This is a vast improvement upon last month. The likenesses are spot on and the original characters are vivid and imaginative. Very impressive, given the sheer number of background characters in this issue.

The story itself is a trifle. We don’t learn anything more about the mysterious hooded man in the first issue. Last month, I said I was reminded of The Five Doctors. This month, I fear we’re in for Ground Zero, a story arc undertaken by Doctor Who Magazine in the 90s, where various companions were taken at the end of each story leading to an anticlimactic and canonical nightmare of a finale.

I’m still not certain what this series is trying to do. It’s as if the Tiptons have gone on Wikipedia and glanced at each era of Doctor Who to see what it’s about. Yet there are dedicated in jokes that only the most obsessive fans would catch *cough*. The details are right, but the broad strokes are wrong. While these touches to the past are amusing, I want to learn what the bigger picture is. There had better be forward motion next month.

PAGE 1

Panel 1-These are three of the major TARDIS props used over the course of the series. From left to right: the current TARDIS (The Eleventh Hour onwards), the original (An Unearthly Child to The Seeds of Doom), and the bright blue 80s version (The Leisure Hive to Survival).

PAGE 2

Panel 1-”Look at the size of that one” was a reoccurring joke between Frasier Hines and Patrick Troughton, with them managing to work it into several scripts.

PAGE 6

Panel 1-The Babel Fish Emporium is a clear reference to former script editor Douglas Adams‘ Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Yarvelling and Zolfian were, respectively, the creator and War Minister of the Daleks in the TV Century Dalek strips of the 1960s. Here, the Daleks were blue humanoids before radiation caused them to enter their metal casings. The Noble Arts is a tip of the hat to tenth Doctor companion Donna Noble. Cogley’s Books may be a reference to the Deep Space Nine episode Far Beyond the Stars, which mentioned a writer by the name of Samuel T. Cogley. Creatures spotted in the crowd include Slitheen or other Raxacoricofallapatorians (Aliens of London), a Voord (The Keys of Marinus) and a Sontaran (The Time Warrior).

Panel 4-Fezzes are cool.

PAGE 4

Panel 1-Magister was an alias of the Master used in The Daemons. The Hath appeared The Doctor’s Daughter. The Space Pig, even though he wasn’t really from space, appeared in Aliens of London.

Jubilee Pizzas first appeared in Dalek. The pizza box prop found its way onto the Torchwood set and was a mainstay during that series. The name itself comes from the Big Finish audio play Jubilee, also written by Rob Shearman and containing several of the same character beats.

Panel 4-The original Las Cadenas was a restaurant owned by Oscar Bocherby in Saville, Spain. (The Two Doctors)

PAGE 5

Panel 2- Every time the Voraxx are named, it appears to be in the same font as was used in the aforementioned Dalek strips.

PAGE 7

Panel 3-The woman looks an awful lot like Dr. Girlfriend from The Venture Bros.

PAGE 8

Panel 1-Belnap VII may be a reference to Nuel Belnap, a philosopher dealing in temporal logic.

PAGE 9

Panel 2-The penny farthing with the peculiar awning was part of the closing titles sequence of the cult 60s drama The Prisoner. Penny farthings were a key symbol in the show and represented to creator Patrick McGoohan of progress.

PAGE 11

Panel 6-The T-Mat was a teleportation system used on Earth during the mid-21^st century. The Ice Warriors used it as a beach head during an attempted invasion of Earth. (The Seeds of Death)

PAGE 13

Panel 1-The robots in the corner are colloquially known as White Robots. They attacked Jamie and Zoe while they were trapped in a void that lead to the Land of Fiction. (The Mind Robber) It is thought that they were manifestations of the companions’ fear of the Cybermen and in the audio Legend of the Cybermen, they are servants of the Cyber invasion force. This is their first appearance in the “real world”. The costumes of the original White Robots were recycled from an episode of the BBC series Out of the Unknown. Quatloos are the currency of the Gamesters of Triskelion in the Star Trek episode of the same name. Cubits are used in Battlestar Galactica. The Alterian Dollar is from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, though it has recently collapsed.

PAGE 17

Panel 4- Jamie and the Doctor first ran into the Martians on Earth during the middle of a future ice age (The Ice Warriors). They, this time with Zoe in tow, came in to conflict with them again during the T-Mat crisis (The Seeds of Death). As the Doctor points out, it was the humans in the future that named them Ice Warriors, though the Martians themselves have used it in various times and places since.

PAGE 21

Panel 1-There appears to be a Draconian in the right corner (Frontier in Space).

Panel 3-The green blobby thing with a single eye is an Alpha Centauri, a race of hermaphroditic hexapods (The Monster of Peladon).

Panel 4-The weird black teletubby is another Voord. According to the Grant Morrison comic The World Shapers, the Voord are the ancestors of the Cybermen. Perhaps coincidentally, the comic features an older Jamie after his travels with the Doctor.

No Comments

The first issue of Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time hit stands this week. With so many offerings in different media being presented to us for the 50th Anniversary, how does IDW’s stack up?

Warning, here be spoilers. And Katy Manning.

The first thing that struck me was the similarity between this and The Five Doctors. Don’t get me wrong, I love The Five Doctors, but we are definitely getting the same set up here. A mysterious hooded enemy is observing the Doctor through multiple incarnations, throwing old adversaries at him. In The Five Doctors, the Doctor gets scooped off and away. Here, it is only the companions. Where they are being sent, we don’t know. If it turns out to be the Death Zone, I shall kick someone.

The more I ruminate on it, the less it feels like a William Hartnell story. While the characterization of the regulars is nice, the story itself feels more and more out of place. It is perfectly in keeping with the era that the Doctor meets a historical figure. Indeed, one of the original goals for the series was to educate and expand on famous events and people. This became less of a priority after the Daleks made such a splash, but it was still part of the series until Patrick Troughton‘s first season. Yet Huxley would have been a controversial choice for the sixties, still being a divisive figure. He would have been in living memory for some people and the show shied away from such things until the 1980s.

Also, as the following annotations note, the Doctor getting to the precise time and place he intended was completely unheard of. Oft times, the TARDIS crew had no idea where they landed and would have to figure it out over the course of the first ten minutes of the first episode. This was part of fun of the show. You never had a clue where they would wind up next.

Simon Fraser’s art is a mixed bag. In terms of storytelling, it is very well done. There are some great panels of the Doctor battling Zarbi that can’t be missed. But this is a comic that lives on likenesses. The Doctor himself is alright, but Ian and Barbara look nothing like William Russell and Jacqueline Hill, Vicki often looks far older than 16, and strangely Huxley is pretty good. Fraser has a knack for old men apparently.

Overall, I enjoyed it. I have always adored the Zarbi, so any excuse to see them again is very welcome. Quite where this is all going, I’ve no idea but we shall hopefully get some more clues next issue.

And now, a few things to notice about Issue #1.

Page 1, Panel 1 — While most images in this panel are too small to make out, of special notice is the upper right hand corner which features one of the infamous Katy Manning (who played companion Jo Grant) nude photos. Its inclusion here may be an indication that in the Who universe, Jo also took a nude photo with a Dalek. Jo met the Daleks in the episodes Day of the Daleks and Planet of the Daleks.

Page 2, Panel 2 — From top to bottom: The fourth Doctor and an unknown companion in Hollywood. Judging from the hairstyle, it’s probably Sarah. There is no recorded adventure with the fourth Doctor in Hollywood, but his first, second, fifth, sixth, eighth, tenth and eleventh incarnations have visited. This is the carving of the tenth Doctor and Donna as featured at the end of Fires of Pompeii. A photo of the TARDIS in Roald Dahl Plass taken during Boom Town. Roald Dahl Plass is also home to the Torchwood Hub.

Page 3, Panel 3 — From left to right. Row 1: Barbara Wright, an older Vicki Pallister, Captain Jack Harkness, the second Romana, Amy and Rory Pond-Williams, Micky Smith. Doctor Liz Shaw. Row 2: Dorothy “Ace” McShane, Rose Tyler, Adric, Frobisher (Doctor Who Magazine comic strip), Adam Mitchell (Dalek, The Long Game). Row 3: unknown (Possibly Charlotte Pollard from Big Finish audios), K-9, Matthew Finnegan (IDW comics)
Page 5, Panel 3-The sixth Doctor would meet a young Charles Darwin in Bloodtide. Darwin also gets name checked frequently in the seventh Doctor story Ghost Light,a sort of parable about evolution.

Page 6, Panel 3 — The first Doctor was almost completely incapable of getting the TARDIS where he intended to go. The running arc of the first season was his trying to get Ian and Barbara back to the 20th century. Just how they are in 1868 on the right day is something of a mystery. Let alone writing Huxley a letter that would get to him in a timely manner…

Page 8, Panel 2 — The first Doctor usually carried a tiny pen torch, but this larger model is new. The same prop torch would later be used as the first version of the sonic screwdriver. The flashlight was invented in Britain in 1899.

Page 9, Panel 4– The Zarbi seen here are different than those seen in The Web Planet. In that story, they are large bipedal ants with six limbs. Here they scuttle around on the ground and seem to have either six or eight legs depending on what panel they’re in.

Page 11, Panel 3 — Here the Doctor calls Ian “Chatterton”. This is an example of what is referred to in fan circles as a “Billy Fluff”. During most of the 60s, Doctor Who was shot on video almost as live. Tape was very expensive and there was very little editing. They would pretty much only stop if something went very, very wrong. If a line was fluffed, it was often left in. Hartnell had a tendency to fluff his lines, sometimes quite noticeably. How much of this was intentional to show how the Doctor was a befuddled old scientist, no one will ever know. But this did often show itself when the Doctor was referring to Ian. Of course in this comic, Ian’s last name has not been mentioned yet, so if you didn’t already know who Ian was, you might be confused.

Page 15, Panel 3 — The Isop-tope Device was created by the other native race to Vortis, the Menoptera, a race of giant butterfly men. At the end of The Web Planet, it was Barbara that threw the Device at the Animus, seemingly killing it.

From page 1, panel 1

Page 19, Panel 2 –The Light at the End is also the title of Big Finish’s forthcoming 50th anniversary Doctor Who audio featuring the fourth through eighth Doctors.

Page 20, Panel 4 –The Doctor shall encounter the Zarbi again in Twilight of the Gods and Return to the Web Planet. A Zarbi also made a cameo appearance in The Mind of Evil as a manifestation of one of the Doctor’s greatest fears! A seed of the Animus returns in Twilight of the Gods, trying to take over Vortis once more.

Page 23 — As mentioned in John Ainsworth’s essay, the 60’s Doctor Who comic strip was a sometimes bizarre sidestep from the show. For the sake of completeness, the Zarbi did appear in the comic and in the Doctor Who annuals released at the same time, but these are so confused in terms on continuity, these are usually ignored. For example, The Lost Ones features the Doctor traveling alone to Vortis before The Web Planet and includes a war between Atlanteans and the Menoptera.

No Comments

Mulder and Scully are back in action this June thanks to IDW Publishing.

There was an X-Files fueled squeal heard ‘round the Internet this morning as IDW announced their plans to bring Mulder and Scully back to action this summer. The San Diego-based publisher will reprint key collections from The X-Files comics from Topps and Wildstorm, covering a comics history that spanned from 1995 to 2006.

In addition, IDW will launch a new ongoing series, catching up with the paranormal investigators after the events of 2008’s movie, I Want To Believe.

No word on a creative team for the series (though comic writer Brian Wood took to twitter to say that he had been approached, but couldn’t fit it in), or if this comic continuation will follow Dark Horse’s Buffy comic blueprint (which is written almost exclusively by former show writers), but X-Files executive producer Frank Spotnitz mentioned being “in touch with the editor at IDW.”

The possibility of new Spotnitz X-Files stories is almost too amazing to comprehend and speaks volumes to not only Spotnitz’s influence as a writer, but to the popularity of the franchise as a whole.

Given past successes with 20th Century Fox-owned properties, IDW should do Mulder and Scully – and their rabid fans – justice. X-Philes have followed these characters through 9 seasons, 202 episodes and two movies. Even now, coming up on the 20th anniversary of the pilot episode, X-Philes want more – and, thanks to IDW, they will finally get it.

Source: IDW

No Comments

Or at least, it’s the latest theory about who Benedict Cumberbatch is really playing. Ever since the film’s announcement all anyone can talk about is who would be the villain. Would it be Khan? Another new character? Maybe some other villain from Star Trek‘s past? With the reveal Cumberbatch is playing a former Starfleet member, John Harrison, the theories continue to fly. Is that his real name? Could Harrison either be Khan or an associate of his?

This latest one comes from the pages of IDW‘s upcoming prequel comic, Countdown to Darkness, releasing tomorrow. Bleeding Cool has the scoop and it begins with Bob Orci‘s comments months ago that the villain of Star Trek Into Darkness would be a character from Star Trek‘s history. He also happens to be co-writing this tie-in comic.

We’ll delve into this theory below the cut as it spoils the ending of Countdown to Darkness‘ first issue.

(more…)

Comment (1)

I guess we can say it’s official (unofficially) J.J. Abrams second Star Trek movie, Star Trek Into Darkness, will give Klingons an all new look. Well the look isn’t new per se as it was first (not) seen in 2009′s Star Trek in a scene that ended up on the cutting room floor, but now it’ll hit wide release this May in comic book form. IDW‘s prequel book, meant to bridge the gab between the two movies, will feature everyone’s favorite bearded/turtle headed warrior aliens in it’s forth issue.

I have to say, I kinda like the new look. It is ties in enough with what we have seen before (and let’s be honest, over the past 75 years Klingons have changed their appearance a few times) with just enough of a twist to freshen things up a bit. Par for the course it seems for Abrams mark on the Trek franchise.

You can check out the books cover after the great spoiler protecting jump.

(more…)

Comments (5)

Comic writer Steve Niles lets us know about utilizing Kickstarter, staying fresh, writing DC and Marvel characters, and merging Criminal Macabre and 30 Days of Night for Criminal Macabre: The Final Night — The 30 Days of Night Crossover.

Your Kickstarter with Ben Templesmith and menton3 for Lust was recently funded. What was the impetus that drove you to funding through Kickstarter? How do you think that funding like this will change – or, maybe, has already started changing – the nature of comics or comics publishing?

Steve Niles: There were a lot of reasons to try Kickstarter. As indie creators we don’t have many publishing options and the weirder the project the harder it is to find a home for.

We knew coming out of the gate that we wanted Lust to be something different, a bit of an experiment. That right there put us at risk in the eyes of most publishers. The other is, also as an indie creator, we have trouble getting our books to fans so Kickstarter offered us a way to go directly to fans. The biggest reason though was a great chance to work with Templesmith and Menton again. I love those guys and I’m hoping this is the first of many “weird” projects.

MORE AFTER THE BREAK
(more…)

No Comments

Each and every week we scour the Internet for nothing but the best in nerd based art. We leave no digital stone unturned, we poke and prod every net based nook and cranny. Why? Because we love you, and we love to bring you weekly Nerd Art Dumps.

Na na na na na na na na, Batgirls! – Well, one Batgirl and a Robin anyways, but a single Stephanie Brown. We here at Nerd Bastards HQ love the work of Lynne Yoshii, having featured her here several times before, but featuring the former Spoiler turned third Batgirl with her past self is pretty damn cool. When your originally a three-issue deal and you become one of the biggest female characters in comics you know your doing something right. [Comics Alliance]

Hit the jump for Spider-Man, Ginny Weasley and MOAR! (more…)

No Comments

We’ve got a little over a week before Doctor Who is back on TV and we can bask in the comforting glow and hum of the TARDIS. How are you spending your time until then? Watching your own Who marathon? Sifting through all available promo pics, teasers, and cast interviews for any clue as to what’s happening this season? Yeah, me too. Most of my friends think I’m suffering from some kind of condition. They’re probably right.

But whatever, they just don’t understand! Here’s what I found as I scoured the interwebz for any and all Who news, firstly being the awesome variant, Hastings exclusive cover to IDW‘s Doctor Who #1 seen above (click to embiggen). Get it? The Doctor is cosplaying as himself! Basically. There’s the Fourth Doctor’s scarf, the Fifth’s pants, the Seventh’s sweater vest, the Third’s frilly-cuffed shirt, and Ten’s coat. Amy can be seen wearing the outrageous coat of the Sixth Doctor and the vest and silky scarf thing of the Eighth. Rory’s got everything else. I wonder if we’ll see past Doctor’s outfits make appearances in the 50th?

Hit the jump for more Whooooooo!

(more…)

Comment (1)

Wow, I’m a little shocked we’ve got news about actual comic books coming out of Comic-Con, and this early, too! There’s two stories breaking at the moment, both have me literally bouncing with joy, one’s a for sure and the other’s a strong maybe.

First, let’s start with the one most of you probably don’t give a shit about, but suck it up, I’m the one writing this article, I choose what we cover!! Hah! The power. Anyway, IDW and Hasbro have announced there will be a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic book from the uber talents Katie Cook and Andy Price. Gimme a “Fuck Yeah,” Bronies!

Comics Alliance has a preview of some of Prices’ pony artwork though no official art for the series has been released yet. They also managed to talk with editor Bobby Curnow about what IDW’s version of the popular ponies would be like,

We’re trying our best to capture the tone of the show, which has plenty of witty jokes that appeal to older fans. It’s silly and irreverent, but at the same time, it’s still very character focused, which is a crucial ingredient for any smart story. Basically we’re just working on making the stories as strong as possible, and everything falls into place from there.

It helps that the writer of the series, Katie Cook, is a big fan of the show, and is a naturally warm, friendly, funny and silly person. I think the scripts come off pretty naturally as a result, while at the same time retaining a real comic book feel. Andy Price, the artist, certainly helps in that department.

I’m completely stoked for this series, but I can already feel the hate mail coming in – WHY U HATE PONIES!? – so let’s move on to our other bit of comic book news. Bleeding Cool caught wind of a rumor brewing at Comic-Con that DC has reached a deal with Neil Gaiman for a new Sandman series! And in light of their Before Watchmen series it doesn’t seem unlikely DC would like to resurrect another old yet popular series. I can the $ in their eyes already.

The rumor continues with whisperings of J.H. Williams III attached as artist. Wow! If it got any better it’d really be too good to be true, which this very well could still end up being. But we’ll keep our fingers crossed there will be some official word on this soon. Stay tuned!

No Comments

Just when you thought it was safe, or at least safer after the Spiderman Musical stopped hurting all the stunt men, to return to Broadway . . .

Mars Attacks.

The 1962 sci-fi trading card set is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary this year. Topps and comic book publisher IDW (Idea + Design Works) are partnering to bring the Mars Attacks franchise to Broadway. Written by John Layman (Chew, Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness) Mars Attacks: 21st Century Slaughter will have all the bells and whistles of a big budget musical. Layman describes the project as an upbeat, sci-fi version of West Side Story complete with snappy tunes:

 “My approach to MARS ATTACKS on stage is sort of a science fiction version of West Side Story: a human and a Martian involved in a star-crossed romance, set against the backdrop of a violent interstellar war—with all of humanity caught in between! It’s going to be a rollicking good time, with songs that will make you want to get up and dance!”

Most people know about the franchise from the Mars Attacks movie in 1996 directed by Tim Burton. Burton took the classic campy nature of the card set and translated that into a fun movie including a top notch cast (Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Danny Devito, and Natalie Portman). Although the movie was met with mixed opinions from moviegoers and critics alike, looking back, most fondly remember the attempt.

Aside from the Broadway show don’t forget that there is also the 50th anniversary card set on the way. This set includes 25 additional never before scenes.

Musical rehearsals are said to start later this year with a projected debut on Broadway sometime in 2013. What do you think? Can this musical make an impression on anyone?

This NerdBastard would love to hear a song in the native Martian tongue.

ACK ! ! ! ACK ! ! !

Comment (1)