Comic Book Review – Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time #5

“The year-long celebration of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary continues! Brave heart, Whovians, for the Fifth Doctor takes the spotlight in this issue of a 12-part epic adventure featuring all 11 incarnations of the Doctor!“

Finally we’ve be given a hit of the story arc relating to our “time jumping/companion stealing person”, and he seems to know, and hate, a traveller who is 1200 years old.  After a couple of pages we fall into the Fifth Doctor’s story which is once again written by Scott & David Tipton. They have brought us a rather okay if not short tale (as we’ve seen in previous issues of PoT this is something that we have learned to accept), as well as the main story seemingly having nothing to do with our rather hum-drum story arc.

We join the Doctor and companions as they arrive on an empty planet to recharge the TARDIS. In the process of this pit stop they stumble into the Thousand Year war between the Rutans and the Sontarans.  First captured by the rather angry Rutans, they are then snatched by the rather polite Sontarans.  The story isn’t bad, but it also isn’t good. As I said above it’s okay, but what goads me is arc!  We are practically treated to the same snippet every week, at the end of each issue, and it’s getting rather dull to be brutally honest.  If I’m paying for a comic with my money, I don’t want a rushed story and a wet squib of an ending each issue.  I want IDW to make me glad I’m handing them my cash.

Now to the artwork by Philip Bond (2000AD, The Exterminators). From the second page I had concerns when our “Big Bad” strolled past the Companions (of the past), and then when the Doctor and company arrived my concerns where confirmed as correct.  I really don’t like the cartoon style given to the characters through-out this issue.  It doesn’t look right.  For example Adric looks about 10 years old and occasionally the Doctor looks about 10 years old too, while the characters change shape, height and appearance in nearly every pane.  I am really not a fan of Philip’s spin on the Fifth Doctor and friends.

So we have here again another okay issue of Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time.  Perhaps when our story arc finally kicks in we’ll get some better tales from the Tiptons, however we’ll have to stick with what we’ve got until it does.

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