{"id":34454,"date":"2025-12-09T17:54:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T17:54:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=34454"},"modified":"2025-12-09T17:54:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T17:54:33","slug":"doctor-who-the-cruel-sea-doctor-who-graphic-novel-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/12\/09\/doctor-who-the-cruel-sea-doctor-who-graphic-novel-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who: The Cruel Sea (Doctor Who Graphic Novel # 18)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Gareth Roberts<\/strong>, Clayton Hickman<\/strong>, Mike Collins<\/strong>, Robert Shearman<\/strong>, Scott Gray<\/strong>, Steven Moffat<\/strong>, John Ross<\/strong>, David A. Roach<\/strong>, Kris Justice<\/strong>, Dylan Teague<\/strong>, James Offredi<\/strong>, Roger Langridge<\/strong>, Martin Geraghty<\/strong> & various (Panini Comics UK LTD)
\nISBN: 978-1-84653-593-2 (Album PB)<\/p>\n

Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Timeless, Timebending Thrill Treats… 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Doctor Who<\/strong> premiered on television with the first episode of \u2018An Unearthly Child\u2019 <\/em>on November 23rd<\/sup> 1963. Within a year, his decades-long run in TV Comic<\/strong> began with issue #674 and the opening instalment of \u2018The Klepton Parasites\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

On 11th<\/sup> October 1979 (although adhering to the US off-sale cover-dating system so it says 17th<\/sup>) Marvel\u2019s UK subsidiary launched Doctor Who Weekly<\/strong>. It regenerated into a monthly magazine in September 1980 (#44) and has been with us under various names ever since.<\/p>\n

All of which only goes to prove that the Time Lord is a comic hero with an impressive pedigree\u2026<\/p>\n

While Panini UK collaborated with Marvel they spent a lot of effort – and time! – collecting every strip from the archives into a uniform series of oversized graphic albums, each concentrating on a particular incarnation of the deathless wanderer. This one gathers stories from Doctor Who Magazine<\/strong> (AKA DWM<\/strong>) #355-364 plus material from The Doctor Who Annual 2006 <\/strong>(as originally published between April 2005 and January 2006): all featuring the contemporary official off-screen escapades of the recently revived Time Lord as explosively played by Christopher Eccleston. Comparatively it\u2019s rather short and the large section of bonus features will tell you why…<\/p>\n

For the longest time this was actually the only collection of strips featuring \u201cthe Ninth Doctor\u201d and whether that statement made any sense to you largely depends on whether you are an old fan, a new convert or a complete beginner. Back then though, this incarnation of the Galloping Gallifreyan was big news as the TV series had been left to moulder since 1989, except for a US backed one-shot pilot with Paul MgGann. His jaunt subsequently fuelled years of comics capers but when a whole new series debuted on March 26th<\/sup> 2005 all bets were off…<\/p>\n

More on that astounding busy-time and how it fared after Eccleston just as abruptly quit the role is covered in detail at the back in a copious Commentary<\/em> section…<\/p>\n

We\u2019re here for the comics though, and they start with TV scripters uniting with comics pros for serialised nostalgia in \u2018The Love Invasion\u2019<\/em> (DWM <\/strong>#355-357) by Gareth Roberts & Clayton Hickman, limned by Mike Collins & David A. Roach, with colours from Dylan Teague & James Offredi, and steadfast Roger Langridge filling boxes and balloons.<\/p>\n

Here the Doctor drops new companion Rose Tyler<\/em> back in swinging 1966 London for a spot of shopping only to uncover alien time meddling by a Kustollian trying to forestall Earth\u2019s future interstellar might. It\u2019s plan involves employing amped up dolly birds dubbed \u201cLend-a-Hand girls\u201d to satisfy any desire mankind expresses with the intention of destroying the will to strive and overcome.<\/p>\n

Of course the chronal comrades are having none of that…<\/p>\n

Mike Collins writes and draws DWM <\/strong>#358\u2019s \u2018Art Attack\u2019<\/em>, with Kris Justice inking as Teague & Langridge do their usual thing for a riotous romp at following Rose\u2019s expressed desire to see the Mona Lisa. Instead of the Paris Louvre now, the Doctor decides on the 37th<\/sup> century Oriel. Who wouldn\u2019t prefer a trans-dimensional gallery containing every single art work to have survived World War V?<\/p>\n

Sadly though, Artist-in-Residence Cazkelf the Transcendent<\/em> has a masterpiece of betrayal and doom to compete and things get a bit deadly. Of course, the Doctor can be both creative and forgiving…
\n\"\"
\nScreenwriter Robert Shearman joins Collins, Roach, Offredi & Langridge for eponymous epic \u2018The Cruel Sea\u2019 <\/em>(DWM <\/strong>#359-362) wherein a 22nd<\/sup> century ocean cruise on the sands of Mars turns very nasty, very quickly. Although it\u2019s a wedding party pleasure voyage for the ultra-rich, Tyler and her time tutor steam in stop the bride, an army of ex-wives and other swells being assimilated by a goopy crimson killer abiding in the gritty depths whilst getting to grips with the monster\u2019s side of the story….<\/p>\n

Sadly, this is tale of bad stuff, greedy stuff, stupid stuff but no good or redeeming stuff…<\/p>\n

A winning component of The Doctor Who Annual 2006<\/strong>, Scott Gray, John Ross, Offredi & Langridge\u2019s \u2018Mr. Nobody\u2019<\/em> reveals what happens when the distant reincarnation of galactic terror Shogalath<\/em> is renditioned and tried for his crimes against the Vandos Imperium. Thankfully, as a (self-appointed) \u201cLegal Representative of the Hyper-Temporal Magistrate Authority\u201d the Doctor is glad to butt in and defend janitor Phil Tyson<\/em>, but amidst all the shooting that ensues it soon seems not everyone is telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but…
\n\"\"
\nIt can\u2019t be British time travel without a dash of Shakespeare, so closing comic conundrum \u2018A Groatsworth of Wit\u2019<\/em> – by Gareth Roberts, Collins, Roach, Offredi & Langridge from DWM <\/strong>#363-364 – exposes infernal forces bolstering and supporting the Bard\u2019s spite-riven rival Robert Greene<\/em> and how the subtle sponsorship of malign extra-dimensional \u201cShadeys\u201d Bloodfinger <\/em>and Woodscrape<\/em> affects London four centuries later. The apparent cause is Greene arriving to see who was more famous in modern times and unleashing hell when the answer does not suit him…<\/p>\n

Cue the Doctor and Rose drawn to an escalating conflagration as Greene\u2019s tantrum shatters barriers and allows a brace of malign monsters access to everything humans, Of course the Gallivanting Gallifreyan has a few special effects and plot twists up his leather jacket sleeve, so all\u2019s well that ends well for most players involved, but only after a most expedient trip to the olde Globe Theatre and crucial chinwag with the upstart crow himself…
\n\"\"
\nClosing the entertainment portion of the tome is a winning illustrated prose yarn by future showrunner Steven Moffat, captivatingly augmented with pictures from Martin Geraghty. \u2018What I Did on My Summer Holidays By Sally Sparrow\u2019<\/em> also originated in The Doctor Who Annual 2006<\/strong> and describes how a vacationing 12-year-old schoolgirl diligently extracts the Time Lord from a most precarious trap, all thanks to a box of old photographs and rampant nostalgia…<\/p>\n

Moving on to education and elucidation the prodigious Commentary<\/em> section begins with editor Clayton Hickman detailing how Eccleston & Billie Piper made a complicated leap to the printed page in \u2018Fantastic Journey – Inside the Ninth Doctor Comic Strips\u2019<\/em>, augmented by development art by Mike Collins. That\u2019s followed by specific story notes by the individual scripters and illustrators for \u2018The Love Invasion\u2019<\/em>, \u2018Art Attack\u2019<\/em>, \u2018The Cruel Sea\u2019<\/em>, \u2018Mr Nobody\u2019<\/em>, \u2018A Groatsworth of Wit\u2019<\/em> and \u2018What I Did on My Summer Holidays by Sally Sparrow\u2019:<\/em> all supplemented by roughs, sketches, designs and page layout from Collins and Ross.<\/p>\n

This rocket-paced rollercoaster ride introduces and – signs off – the Ninth Doctor in splendid style, and dedicated fans can find wealth of new stories in later publishers\u2019 outputs. None of which is relevant if all you want is a darn good read. Every creator involved here managed the ultimate \u201cAsk\u201d of any strip creator: to deliver engaging, thrilling, fun yarns equally enjoyable for the merest beginner and most slavishly addicted fan.<\/p>\n

We all have our little joys and hidden passions. Sometimes they overlap and magic is made. These are superb tales of an undeniable bulwark of British Fantasy and if you\u2019re a fan of only one medium of expression, they might make you an addict to others. The Cruel Sea<\/strong> is a fabulous book for casual readers, a fine shelf addition for show devotees and a perfect opportunity to cross-promote our art-form to anyone minded to give comics another go.<\/p>\n

If only someone would get around to getting these tales digitised\u2026
\nAll Doctor Who material \u00a9 BBCtv. Doctor Who logo \u00a9 BBC 2013. Tardis image \u00a9 BBC 1963. Doctor Who, the Tardis and all logos are trademarks of the British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under licence. \u00a9 Published 2014 by Panini Publishing, Ltd. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Today in 1933, London born US cartoonist Ashleigh<\/strong> (Pot-Shots<\/strong>) Brilliant<\/strong> & Argentine comic book wizard Jos\u00e9 Delbo<\/strong> (Mighty Samson<\/strong>, Wonder Woman<\/strong>, Transformers<\/strong>, Superman<\/strong>, Batman<\/strong>) were born. No relation we assume. In 1959 this date, pioneering strip cartoonist Gene Carr<\/strong> died as did Green Lantern originator Martin Nodell<\/strong> in 2006.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Gareth Roberts, Clayton Hickman, Mike Collins, Robert Shearman, Scott Gray, Steven Moffat, John Ross, David A. Roach, Kris Justice, Dylan Teague, James Offredi, Roger Langridge, Martin Geraghty & various (Panini Comics UK LTD) ISBN: 978-1-84653-593-2 (Album PB) Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Timeless, Timebending Thrill Treats… 8\/10 Doctor Who premiered on television with the first … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Doctor Who: The Cruel Sea (Doctor Who Graphic Novel # 18)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[42,290,95,125,127,111,107,123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-of-british","category-dinosaurs","category-doctor-who","category-humour","category-nostalgia","category-satirepolitics","category-science-fiction","category-tv-adaptations"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8XI","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34454"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34460,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34454\/revisions\/34460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}