Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

“THE GREAT SHOPPING BILL: A SUPERMARKET SWEEP WITH MINIMAL STAKES”

This light-hearted adventure sees the Twelfth Doctor teaming up with Bill and Nardole (making his comic debut) during the era when Missy is locked in the Vault. With the Vault’s dimensional stabiliser on the fritz, they embark on a simple yet ridiculous quest—to find a new one at a massive space hypermarket. It’s a wonderfully silly setup that immediately signals this will be more of a comedic romp than a high-stakes thriller.

RUNAROUND IN THE HYPERMARKET

Naturally, things don’t go smoothly. Bill gets separated from the others and ends up hiding from alien monsters while looking after a lost child. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Nardole try to track her down, navigating the hypermarket’s bizarre security measures, including overly helpful but ultimately obstructive egg-shaped info robots. The setting has a lot of potential, but despite the concept of a vast, otherworldly shopping centre, it feels surprisingly underexplored.

A MISUNDERSTOOD THREAT

The so-called alien monsters turn out to be the lost child’s parents, leading to a sweet but ultimately underwhelming resolution. What starts as a seemingly dangerous situation ends up as a simple misunderstanding—an amusingly classic Doctor Who trope, but not one that carries much weight here.

STRONG BANTER, SIMPLE STORY

The highlight of this comic is the dynamic between the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole. Their interactions are spot-on, with Twelve’s grumpiness, Bill’s enthusiasm, and Nardole’s dry wit shining through. The dialogue captures the energy of their on-screen chemistry well, making this an enjoyable read despite the lack of narrative depth. The art style is solid, though nothing particularly striking.

📝VERDICT: 6/10

A fun but forgettable adventure, The Great Shopping Bill leans into its wacky premise but never fully explores its setting or stakes. The comic’s strongest asset is its character interactions, with the lively banter between Twelve, Bill, and Nardole keeping things entertaining. However, the story itself is a simple runaround with an underwhelming resolution, making it an amusing but ultimately lightweight entry in the Twelfth Doctor’s comic adventures.