Comic Book Review - Doctor Who: The Fifteenth Doctor FCBD Special

The Doctor and Ruby prepare to face their fears in this Free Comic Book Day special…

As Ncuti Gatwa prepares to head off into his first season as The Fifteenth Doctor on television, Titan Comics has teased his first comic book adventure with a Free Comic Book Day special that brings us the opening chapter. 

Written by Dan Watters with art by Kelsey Ramsay The Fifteenth Doctor FCBD Special takes the Doctor and his companion Ruby back to England in 1739. Specifically drawn to York Castle the TARDIS materialises just as infamous highway man, Dick Turpin plots his escape from his upcoming execution. Armed with an advanced upgrade that’s been sent from the heavens, Turpin wreaks havoc on the gathered troopers and crowd. Now the Doctor has to find out why a 17th century thief is going trigger happy with a ‘Cyberblaser’, and more importantly, who’s pulling the strings!

For a taster of what’s to come this FCBD special packs quite a punch. The opening scenes tease quite the adventure with the distortions within Time & Space echoing from the Doctors' own past experiences. We’re shown glimpses of pivotal moments within the characters history such as Skaaro, Trenzalor, Library, and many more darker places. Whoever is behind this latest adventure is trying to scare the Doctor and it’s this notion that drives the story forward into Dick Turpin’s own narrative. 

Dan Watters captures Ncuti’s flamboyant approach to his Doctor with great ease. The actor’s mannerisms translate from screen to page exceptionally well which gives Watters a degree of comedic freedom. This doesn’t mean that those darker Doctor Who tones take a back seat as they’re ever present through this opening act. As the tension builds we start to see the seriousness of the situation take over as the Doctor starts to get technical and very serious. Again, it’s a nice playful mix of tones which grabs your attention with its lighthearted moments, to then drag you deeper with that simmering darkness that’s itching to come to the surface.

Kelsey Ramsay is on art duties for this adventure and their past work for IDW’s ‘Good Deeds’ had me quite excited for what’s to come - and I wasn’t disappointed. Each scenes flows from page-to-page as Ramsay takes us from the clean interior of the TARDIS, to the action packed scenes in 1739. Special mention also goes out to the panels that feature the Doctors past. These haunting landscapes aim to bring back a lot of memories of our own experiences with these events, to then top it off with a haunted Doctor experiencing his own “darkest days”. Character expressions also play a big part in pushing this story forward and Ramsay captures the cast's mannerisms with great detail. Without going into spoiler territory the final shot of the snarling villain helps to set up this newbie as a credible threat, and Turpin’s own expressions when he learns of his own future give you a pang of regret in the character. 

Rounding this issue off is Valentina Bianconi who brings a vibrant colour palette to proceedings. The space-time votex is packed with psychedelic swirls which gives it a bombastic feel. The sense of adventure is high throughout these moments even though we know the Doctor and Ruby aren’t going to have a good time. Likewise once we get to 1739 colours then take on a more earthy tone with plenty of greens and brown to build the medieval atmosphere. 

Overall and Doctor Who: Fifteenth Doctor FCBD Special does a fantastic job in whetting our appetite for the larger adventure down the road. Watters and Ramsay grasp the characters incredibly well to deliver an opening that’s worthy of being a Doctor Who story. It’s packed full of adventure and mystery with those classic “Who moments” that remain synonymous with the characters television interpretation. With this issue ending on quite a cliffhanger I’m eager to see what Titan Comics as well as the current creative team bring to “Fifteen” in the future. 

And with the series continuing in June. We don’t have to wait long! 

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow us on X/Facebook @GeekCultureRev, TikTok/YouTube @Geekculturereviews, and BlueSky @geekculturereviews.bsky.social