DOCTOR WHO: EMPIRE OF THE WOLF #1 – Review

DOCTOR WHO: EMPIRE OF THE WOLF #1, available from Titan Comics on November 17th, 2021, visits Rose Tyler and another Rose Tyler as the the timelines and alternate universes start overlapping each other. Good thing there’s a Doctor for every Rose to sort things out.

The Details

• Written By: Jody Houser
• Art By: Roberta Ingranata
• Colors By: Warnia K. Sahadewa
• Letters By: Comicraft’s Richard Starkings
• Cover Art By: David Buisán
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: November 17, 2021

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Was It Good?

Time travel is hard. It’s not hard to imagine yourself moving back and forth through time as a disconnected observer watching the major events that shape history. It is, however, hard when you play with the concepts of alternate realities and alternate versions of characters overlapping each other as the time-space continuum becomes distorted.

I lay this out to offer some grace and some praise for Houser with this latest Doctor Who run. Praise is due to Houser for delving into the Doctor Who universe(s) with Easter Eggs and fan service galore. Rose Tyler is one of the most popular companions with good reason, so bringing the character back for a Rose-centric arc is always a treat. While it’s too early to assess if Houser captures the “voice” of Rose Tyler authentically, there’s room to have fun with the character by creating multiple versions that all have their own place in the Who-verse.

That said, grace is due Houser for her attempt at taking on the complicated concept of clashing, alternate realities. That’s no easy task for any writer, and while Houser gets lost here, commendation is due for the effort. Even when dealing with complicated, confusing messes like distorted timelines, the story must still be clear to the reader. Unfortunately, the clarity is lost quickly which makes for a cumbersome reading experience.

The art via Ingranata is generally enjoyable in this issue. The different Doctors (and Roses) are rendered well and look distinctive enough to be recognizable as the real life versions. The renderings are most effective by the way the hair styles and costumes reflect the way the actors would have worn the same on the show. You can pick the different actors out without any trouble and Ingranata integrates them into the comics medium well. There’s not much to say about the action or the adventure at hand as the arc needs to settle in a little, but I’m looking forward to see what the art team does in the next issue.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

It’s difficult to explain what’s presented in this first issue, but we’ll give it a go anyway.

Rose Tyler #1 wakes from a dream in her flat. She has visions of a war brewing, and she explains the visions to her husband and father of her two children, the 10th Doctor. She theorizes the visions are somebody reaching out to her, and when she concentrates enough to make contact, she vanishes.

Rose Tyler #2 is Empress Rose and she awakes from a vivid dream of an earlier time in her life when she was part of a resistance fighter cell. When she recognizes something is amiss, she orders her robotic servant to find the Doctor and bring him to her.

The 8th Doctor is gallivanting around the timeline when he randomly lands in 20th Century London. Suddenly, temporal waves affect the surrounding area and he sees an army of Santarans approaching. Suddenly, again, he’s whisked away to track down the source of the temporal distortion, finding the source in a London suburb where he encounters Rose #1 asking for help.

Elsewhen, we catch up with the 11th Doctor making plans to take a restful holiday. His plans for quiet walks on the sand while sipping drinks with little umbrellas is rudely interrupted by a warring group of aliens facing off against the same legion of Santarans that appeared in front of the 8th Doctor in London. We conclude the issue with the 11th Doctor desperately convincing himself he’s not needed, a visit from a very short messenger, and the utterance of a recognized name.

Final Thoughts

DOCTOR WHO: EMPIRE OF THE WOLF #1 gives every Doctor Who fan all the Easter Eggs and fan service they could possibly want in a scant first issue. The art captures the look and feel of the actors while remaining organic to the comic medium. That said, the narrative flow, much like the broken timeline, is a confusing jumble. Whether that’s intentional or not remains to be seen.

Score: 7.5/10

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