Doctor Who, comics and me

 I recently read a Doctor Who graphic novel, The Forgotten. The short version is that the Doctor finds himself with a case of amnesia in a museum devoted to himself, which is, of course, a trap.

It was published in 2009 and the David Tennant Doctor was the protagonist. However, the museum is really just a framing device for vignettes about the previous nine doctors. 

One particularly nice touch is the Hartnell and Troughton stories are black and white, just like their television serials. In general, the graphic novel is drowning in continuity shoutouts and references. 

Because it’s really ten different stories, some bits are stronger than others. I feel the Hartnel story really captures the feel of his pure historical stories in only a handful of pages. And the Baker Doctor dealing with a Minotaur in Paris who wears a beret captured the absurdity of Graham Wilson’s time as the show runner.

Which actually makes the Forgotten very hard for me to judge. Did I enjoy it? Yes. I had a lot of fun with it. But I have spent decades immersed in Doctor Who. Would the Forgotten have worked for someone who doesn’t know Who that well or even someone only started watching Doctor Who in 2005?

Truth to tell, l have always struggled with Doctor Who comics and comic books. Part of it is because every character from the television show has a definitive visual interpretation, that of the actual actor. I can handle Wolverine look like whatever because he was a drawing first and Hugh Jackman later on. However, no drawing will ever look more like Tom Baker than Tom Baker himself.

But the other problem is that there is just so much content out there. The earliest Doctor Who comic strips date back to 1964. Multiple publishers, including Marvel Comics, have made Doctor Who comic books. Where do you start? And if there is any kind of internal continuity in any given series, that just makes it even more confusing.

So, from that perspective, as a standalone work I was able to sit down and enjoy, Doctor Who - The Forgotten is a resounding success for at least me.