This is a fantastic story. Each of the four distinct parts propels the narrative forward while maintaining a cohesive whole. IDW has perfected the formula here: Part One’s courtroom trial brilliantly portrays the Doctor on the back foot, building an alliance with the Advocate - a character whose death in Part Two resonates, only to shock audiences when she resurfaces in Part Four as the mastermind behind the entire scheme(!) This layered storytelling is exciting and frankly unexpected.

Parts Two and Three shift into a thrilling space-opera chase, hopping between spaceships and alien planets - a dynamic contrast to the land-bound tension of Part One. The balance works beautifully. The space battle in Part Four is well-executed, and the restraint in action sequences across the serial means this is not tiresome, but instead more of a climax. The return of the Shadow Architect is a welcome touch, enriching the expanded Doctor Who universe by revisiting a character last seen fleetingly in Journey’s End that most viewers would have wanted to see more of. Her inclusion offers a tantalising glimpse of the show’s broader, unseen lore.

The story excels in continuing prior arcs while setting up future threads, giving the IDW comic series a newfound sense of purpose and direction. The only slight oddity is Mr. Finch’s abrupt appearance at the Shadow Proclamation in Part 1 - a fun nod to School Reunion, though greater context for his role would have eased the randomness. Nonetheless, he is a good villain in this and a welcome presence.

The Golden era Hollywood setting is sweet and leads to some funny and knowing conversations between The Doctor and the actors he encounters. It’s nice seeing him on his own in this dialled up environment which provides the opportunity for spectacles like him being tied to the train tracks, or hanging off a clock face while someone tries to axe him.

50 pages, or 2 issues, is a satisfying length for a story, you get enough opportunity to spend enough time with characters to actually care about them. I’m glad these new companions are sticking around as it gives them a chance to be further fleshed out - which has been lacking elsewhere in IDW’s back catalogue.

Using a 25 page Doctor Who comic to comment on the complexities of Middle Eastern politics, including the cultural use of the burqa, is a risky gambit, and for this reader it didn’t quite pay off. Dense space politics discussions are a tricky flavour. I think Dune is one of the only examples I can think of that enjoyed.  The first Peladon story also did it better.

Timey wimey the comic. I like the novelty that you can read the comic both linear and backwards. I probably didn’t get as much out of it as other readers but enjoy IDW trying something a little different with this one.

I found this story to be surprisingly conceptual and imaginative - you have to just go with it and see where it takes you. You are buffeted about from the Middle Ages on the way to see a healer then all the way to a far flung planet watching human size viruses fight it out. There’s a good energy to it, even if it is a bit breathless and light on plot.

The story is not particularly compelling and the world feels a bit flat, but I like that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. I like the stance that The Doctor takes too. The IDW comics generally have failed to grip me so far, but the artwork this week is nice.

The artwork for this story is very beautiful, and the vibe is good. Doctor Who in the Victorian era always “works” for me. The plot gets tortured enough that The Doctor needs to turn to the reader and give a rundown of everything that has and will happen. Though I can honestly say it’s a very fun story.

Thank goodness this terrifying art style is a one off. The faces look haunted. A collage of reference photographs and sketches that do not marry up. The setting is an interesting one, but the tried and tested resolution of the monster feeding on The Doctor’s infinite energy is so hackneyed at this point that it just feels like a writer going through the motions.

Much like the first IDW story, this is very long, but they do a much better job of marrying up the episodic stories with the overall arc. It is constantly going “remember this?” so probably wouldn’t be a good read unless you have a PhD in Doctor Who. The extended universe has many, many examples of multi-Doctor celebrations that do a lot of looking back, as far as they go this one is good and gives each Doctor a moment to shine. The iterative nature of the story though means that there isn’t a compelling plot to follow or anything like that.

A big convoluted soup of a story. Too many disjointed parts, some of which are somewhat interesting, threaded together by a dull as dishwasher arc. It culminates in a mess of a battle which is just boring. Lots of gobbledygook and too many characters. I hope the IDW comics improve from here!