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"FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2022 – DOLLS, DIVISION, AND A DOCTOR IN DISGUISE"

Jody Houser’s short comic from Free Comic Book Day 2022 serves as a brisk, colourful glimpse into the Fugitive Doctor’s shadowy past with the Division. While slight in scope and substance, it teases some delicious lore at the edges and ends with a tantalising nod to the very beginning of Doctor Who itself. At a lean few pages, it doesn’t try to change the world—but it does prod at its hidden corners.

MONSTERS IN THE CLUBHOUSE

The story drops us into 1962, just a year before the Doctor would famously take Susan and flee in a police box. A group of children, living out their Secret Seven fantasies in a treehouse, discovers their new dolls have come to life—and they’re not here for tea parties. These creatures, colourful hybrids that look like Stitch crossed with a troll doll, are aliens who plan to strip Earth of its metals and flog them on the intergalactic black market. Because of course they are.

Enter the Fugitive Doctor, still in the employ of the Division, assigned to intercept this threat. Despite the setup, she does very little. The actual capturing of the aliens is done by the four kids—completely unarmed and barely developed as characters—who trap the creatures with a minimum of fuss. It's amusing, but also undercuts any tension. If Earth can be saved by a bunch of tweens with a sack and a bit of string, one wonders why the Division sent the Doctor at all.

THE DOCTOR, THE DOLLS, AND THE DIVERSION

What saves this tale from throwaway obscurity is the ending. After completing her non-event of a mission, Fugitive muses that Earth is “quaint” but that “the people are nice,” hinting at a fondness that will (perhaps) one day blossom into rebellion. Then, in a final splash page, the comic jumps forward exactly one year—to 1963—as the First Doctor and Susan appear in the same wooded location, suggesting this was where they’d hidden the TARDIS before the series began. It’s a neat little continuity Easter egg, quietly advancing the (still unconfirmed) theory that the Fugitive Doctor precedes Hartnell in the Doctor’s timeline.

That moment, brief as it is, adds a level of intrigue and connectivity to the wider canon. It’s a clever use of the comic format to bridge eras without shouting about it. And while Fugitive isn’t deeply characterised here—she mostly observes, comments, and delivers the final quip—she retains an air of cool authority and untapped potential, much like Jo Martin’s portrayal on screen.

A VISUALLY BRIGHT BUT NARRATIVELY FLAT OUTING

Artistically, the comic is bright and polished but nothing extraordinary. The designs of the aliens are fun but silly, never quite feeling like a threat. The 1962 setting—a children’s treehouse in a wooded glade—isn’t given much detail, and the story breezes through its events too quickly to develop mood or suspense.

The fact that the monsters pretend to be dolls before springing to life isn’t really explained either. It’s a good horror trope—à la The Twilight Zone or Toy Story gone rogue—but without any in-story justification, it just feels like a gimmick.

📝THE BOTTOM LINE: 6/10

Free Comic Book Day 2022 is a minor tale in the grand scheme of Doctor Who storytelling, but it’s not without charm. While the plot is featherlight and the kids forgettable, the Fugitive Doctor’s presence and the final Hartnell-era tease give the story a retroactive importance that elevates it above mere fluff. A curio for lore fans, but not essential reading.