Review by C.J. Bunce

The 60th anniversary of Doctor Who continues with a return of the Tenth Doctor–and Martha Jones!  Martha is captured by monsters we haven’t seen before, the (sometimes) hideous Pyromeths.  Collectors of stories, to survive Martha must become Scheherazade from The Thousand and One Nights and offer her own tales to distract them.  Not every writer of Doctor Who stories gets it right, but Eisner Award-winning writer Dan Slott does here, especially the humor, maybe even incorporating his own take on The Princess Bride and Indiana Jones.

Initially slated for release last year, Once Upon a Timelord features an alternate cover by Adam Hughes.  You’ll want to add this to your comic shop pull list or pre-order it now.  Below is a preview of Once Upon a Timelord, courtesy of Titan Comics.

This story is Dan Slott’s Doctor Who debut as writer, where the long-time fan has packed in cameos from multiple Doctors and their enemies, including the Daleks and Cybermen–just check out the cover art for more.  The graphic novel includes a bonus story featuring the Ninth Doctor and Rose.  Artists on the book include Christopher Jones, Matthew Dow Smith, Charlie Kirchoff, Mariane Gusmão, and Mike Collins.  The layouts and the pencil work on this story are promising, but for such a big Doctor Who story, I wish the finishes and inks were tighter.  The opening pages are fantastic.  Some of the later pages are downright sketchy.  The connected second story drawn by Mike Collins looks great.  Slott’s writing, however, never falters.

Take a look at this preview of a few pages from through the book:

Dan Slott fans and Whovians of all eras will love this one.  Add Doctor Who: Once Upon a Time Lord now to your pull list now at Elite Comics or your local comic shop to reserve your copy.  This graphic novel is on sale October 24, 2023.