UPDATED - COMIC BOOK RELEASE: Doctor Who: Four Doctors Issue #4 Released Today



Today sees the release of the fourth issue of Titan Comics' blockbuster summer event special series Doctor Who: Four Doctors. The thrilling miniseries brings together for the first time the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, as portrayed onscreen by David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi, in an epic, time-twisting adventure. The comic is available in both print and digital formats.


DOCTOR WHO: FOUR DOCTORS #4

Four Doctors, three companions, one action-packed mystery! The 5-part weekly series is penned by Paul Cornell (Wolverine) and illustrated by Neil Edwards (Assassin's Creed).


The weekly event, running through August and September 2015 features the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors and their comics companions. This epic event is the thrilling next chapter in Titan Comics’ bombastic Doctor Who publishing saga, marking the end of the first year of the three ongoing adventure series.



Previously
On Marinus, the Doctors were caught in the blast of a Continuity Bomb, whisking them through a series of alternate timelines, each worse than the last, and in which they could be trapped forever! Finally, they reached a world in which the Twelfth Doctor, old and near-mad from loneliness, had been betrayed by Clara. It was this timeline to which they committed, in order to escape. But this was the trap all along. The Old Twelfth Doctor took them to a tiny pocket universe, where the Voord have hidden since the Time War. Worse... the Old Twelfth Doctor is the leader of the Voord! 

Review
There’s capture, hopelessness and shocking fatalities in the penultimate issue of Doctor Who: Four Doctors. The five episode story arc has put three incarnations of the Doctor and their companions in the worst possible jeopardy. Who is going to get out alive?

The Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors and their companions have been led via the machinations of a very intricate plan to the planet of Marinus and into the jaws of a trap. But what super-intelligent mind could have crafted such a complex scheme, to ensure that all three incarnations of the Time Lord were right there at the right time? Only the Doctor himself, of course! It’s to the horror of all of them that their captor is revealed to be an insane version of the Twelfth Doctor, who, betrayed by Clara, cast himself out of the Universe to wallow in his solitude and self-pity until he was welcomed by his old foe, the Voord. Since the catastrophe of the Time War the Time Lord has always harboured plenty of self-loathing, but this time it’s gone into overdrive. And what's more, how can you defeat an enemy who knows your every thought and every scheme already. 

It’s never going to be pleasant to be confronted with the less savoury aspects of one’s character, even if, as companion Gabby Gonzalez acknowledges, it’s something already known, deep down. Even so, the Doctors, the Twelfth most of all, are aghast at discovering where one of their possible futures has brought them. The Old Twelfth Doctor’s vision for the universe, is worse than the plans that the Time Lords themselves had for the end of the Time War. In making all species like themselves it’s more reminiscent of a plan by one of the Doctor’s classic foes - the Cybermen, perhaps. It’s not without significance then that the Voord city is powered by a Dalek weapon, shadowing what is to come.

Writer Paul Cornell has skilfully peppered his script with numerous hints and questions and timey-wimey twists and it’s here that we get to see the bigger picture. We understand now why the Doctors remembered neither Marinus nor the Voord, despite the War Doctor’s involvement during the Time War. We understand why these three post-War incarnations were selected (the Ninth Doctor’s absence is briefly explained in a comment not dissimilar to the explanations for Christopher Eccleston’s own non-appearance in the 50th Anniversary special). Neil Edward’s artwork is, as usual, epic, with the Voord as imposing figures, their armour as powerful and impenetrable as the plan in which the Doctors are caught.

In the end it’s down to the comic book companions Gabby Gonzalez and Alice Obiefune to save the day, but the battle looks lost before it even started. The Doctors are helpless and there are shocks and tragedy to come. The only hope seems to lie within the one item that Gabby has managed to snatch from the Eleventh Doctor before their forced separation, but even that doesn’t appear to hold the answer she was looking for.  As we head into the final instalment of this gripping special adventure, all hope seems to be lost and it might take a miracle to overcome the Doctor’s biggest enemy ever – himself.

Each issue comes with three covers to collect: an art cover (above), a photo cover and a companions art cover.





Doctor Who: Four Doctors #4 is available in stores and digital platforms from today.

For more information visit:
http://titan-comics.com/c/341-doctor-who-2015-event/


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