Doctor Who: The Glorious Dead

This is an excellent comic book collection with wonderful adventures; the first one I read featuring the Eighth Doctor, because unfortunately, they just have not republished the Endgame collection when Izzy first showed up! Oh, well, I can still get into it. The plotline is fascinating, and how they set it up is great as well, plus it also features a couple of extra comic strips--one where the Doctor and Izzy wind up in BBC television studios in 1975 (and Mr. Humphries is not free. Poor man) and another where the Eighth Doctor gets involved in an adventure with his previous incarnations! Of course, the last two are played for laughs...I especially love the commentary in these comic book collections with Eight, Ten, and Eleven; I wish they could do the same with some of the early Doctors (and I wish they could fit in Nine's adventures somewhere, anywhere. Oh, well.)

Excellent!

This second volume is where the Eighth Doctor's comics adventures hit their stride, and it's a good starting point for those who don't want to buy or can't find Volume 1, "Endgame." The plots have a greater sense of movement, the individual stories are easier to follow, and the dialogue is much more comfortable. Eight's traveling companion, Izzy, is stronger and more natural in her speech, as well as smarter and more independent in her actions. The Doctor's words find a better balance between Time Lord technobabble and characterization. It seems that the creative team have found fresh inspiration in Paul McGann's original performance. Volume 2 marks a return to Eight's gentle sensitivity, emotional complexity, and slightly tortured romanticism. He's a more active figure, too, not afraid to finish a fight or practice his pickpocketing skills, qualities which help define his personality.The evolution of the writing, however, doesn't exist in a vacuum. The artwork of "The Glorious Dead" is liberated in its black and white execution. The shadows are crisper and heavier than in "Endgame." In this volume, the hatching serves the shapes, where in the previous volume, it often feels the other way around. The bolder visual style is a risk and a commitment expressed by several artists in a variety of ways. Some stories have a dynamic palette of angles that sing with the unmediated contrast of solid black on solid white. Others are round and open-eyed, with clean, whimsical lines that are sassy and inviting. Finally, the title story dances through a magnificent obstacle course of comics traditions to create a piece that is epic not only in its rendering, but also in its scope.All in all, "The Glorious Dead" plays much like a season/series of the (new) television show. The adventures move along at an engaging pace, fueled by healthy doses of running down corridors, encounters with new and old friends and enemies, and saving the universe with a good sense of humor. Absolutely worth the investment if you're a passionate Whovian who doesn't want to give up on the Eighth Doctor after only one on-screen run in the TARDIS.

The 8th Doctor only got 1 official TV story so the best way to find out about him is things like the comics or audio series and this comic is one of the best. Extras for this comic include behind the scenes art and interviews with the writer's

I was recommended this comic a little while back after I asked for some Eighth Doctor stories to check out and I was not disappointed. I won't give anything away but it was a blast to read and to my surprise it featured an extended universe companion I had been curious about for a few years now Kroton the Cyberman and now I can safely say he's one of my favourite companions

This is the second in Panini's collection of Eighth Doctor stories and again, you can see how comic strip sensibilities have informed the new TV series. As I mentioned in my review of End Game, in a way this is the best form that the McGann era has taken in following on from the TV offerings, mainly because it concentrates mainly on the plot, though with some choice character moments, and is presented in a visual medium, thus giving it an immediacy the audio plays and novels lack, however excellent they may be.This collection sees Scott Gray settle into the writer's chair and it is in this collection that the Eighth Doctor comes alive for me. The previous collection had the Doctor a little distant, a little too generic, but the Eighth Doctor who cares so deeply for life comes through in this collection, particularly in the Glorious Dead, a tale of a battle for ultimate power which sees the return of the Master directly from the TV movie. It impresses with its scale and embracing of the comic strip form to deliver the concept of an omniversal spectrum. The first story is called the Fallen and deals with what happened to Grace Holloway after the movie. It's very suitable and when she doesn't go travelling with the Doctor at the end, you feel the same disappointment you felt at the end of the TV story. The likeness is very good and the characterisation spot-on. Also in this volume, an adventure in Japan's past, an encounter with intergalactic pirates and Kroton, the emotional Cyberman (surely inspiring Yvonne Hartman in Doomsday), and a visit to an asylum for delusional robots. But, in some ways, best of all are a couple of humour strips, celebrating various anniversaries. These are drawn by the excellent Roger Langridge (check out Fred the Clown) and feature a teamup of all eight (at the time) Doctors, with nearly spot-on characterisation of each, and a visit to TV centre at Shepherd's Bush.There is a great deal of spirit in this collection and some exciting science fiction ideas investigated (such as, if you were immortal and knew the future held bad things for your people, what would you do with yourself?). As mentioned above the characterisations are good and there are some nice seams of humour mined. The art is good, if a little bland in places, reaching heights where big science fiction ideas need illustrating, which is what you'd hope. Roll on Oblivion and the colour strips!

A wonderful collection of the superb Eighth Doctor strips from DWM, published in the Wilderness years. The behind the scenes features were also quite informative.And there's also some art from Roger Langridge, which is always a bonus.

The second best place for Eighth Doctor adventures after the Big Finish audio plays. Brilliant varying artwork and great stories. Well worth forking out for.