Doctor Who: Oblivion

"Oblivion" is another giant leap forward for the Eighth Doctor comics. Energized by the switch to color from black and white, this volume is busting its seams to get underway. Assuming that the readers have been on board for a while, the over-arching story line is a tangible quest rather than a mysterious puzzle. The adventures are a little thin plot-wise, but this leaves room for themes of identity and self-discovery, in addition to some playful commentaries on politics and modern art. These ideas and talking points are given life by the characters' ever-growing repertoires of emotional expression.The artwork has a whole new bag of tricks, too, keeping pace with (and sometimes surpassing) the writing. The rich, electric colors pop from the pages and direct the eyes immediately to each panel's center of interest. They are skillfully selected to enhance the stories' moods and settings. The pencils and inks adapt wonderfully to the new arrangement, giving the colors and color effects the space to breathe. There is more experimentation with how the characters' clothes, body languages, and movements are drawn, which provides a wealth of engaging visual cues.To me, the marriage of all these elements in "Oblivion" push the comics solidly into the realm of the show's reboot, and make Eight the first Doctor of the 21st century. It's fascinating to see all the subtle shifts in storytelling, design, and execution coalesce into such a major transformation. Is it perfect? No. Is it clunky and cheesy at times? Of course. But it's a lot of fun, and if you're a hopeless "Doctor Who" fan with a soft spot for Eight (or if you bought one of these volumes on a whim and can't stop) then this book is for you.

Finally, they're in color! And not a moment too soon! Izzy and the Doctor make a new friend! Or is she? The Doctor and Izzy have to deal with the fallout then, meeting Frida Kahlo and...underwater Daleks! What fun! Which leads us to Oblivion...a startling departure for Izzy, but it really befits her as well, commenmorating her adventures with the Doctor and how much she has grown.

Excellent!

This is the third of the four collections of Eighth Doctor comic strips taken from Doctor Who magazine and the first full colour collection. It details some major upheavals for companion Izzy and the introduction of Destrii, a fish-like alien who plays an important part in the Doctor's future.The first story, Ophidius which takes place in an alien space craft designed to destroy worlds, starts off an arc that runs through to the last story, Oblivion, which takes place on an alien world where animal-faced humanoids are in charge and gladiatorial combat decides rights of succession. Along the way old friend Fey Truscott-Sade returns in a World War 2 adventure, Izzy has a baptism in the TARDIS swimming pool and alien artists plague Mexico and Frida Kahlo helps save the day. The Daleks are here too, having discovered peace...The stories have the usual action and intelligence that I've come to expect from these collections. Scott Gray weaves a story that is cosmic in scope but very intimate and moving as Izzy undergoes some distressing changes that even the Doctor is unable to help her with. I think the Doctor really comes into his own in this collection. McGann's Doctor has always been somewhat nebulous. Writers have tended to write the Doctor they wanted to see, rather than taking into account McGann's performance and attitudes to the character. The comic book version solidifies here, showing weaknesses and anger and great joy. The relationship with Izzy, like the 7th Doctor and Ace, is a real precursor to the new series approach. The art is also very good and the colouring is very rich and deep. High points include John Ross' art on the Fey/WW2 story and Lee Sullivan's daleks.If you haven't been buying these collections, do so.

The Eighth Doctor stories from Doctor Who Monthly are superb and this is a great collection, with fascinating behind the scenes features about each story.

Great fun,a bit fishy!