The Thirteenth and Tenth Doctors are back in a new adventure! In Doctor Who: Alternating Current, they team up to fix the timeline alongside some familiar faces.
(Yes, the Doctors are the ones who messed up the timeline in the first place. Did you even need to ask?)
Check out our review for the full Alternating Current collection (issues #1-4) below.
Doctor Who: Alternating Current Review
Alternating Current combines a ton of elements that fans love in Doctor Who stories: multiple Doctors, alternate timelines, new and old companions meeting up, and the reappearance of classic aliens. When I say this story has it all, I mean it!
When the Thirteenth Doctor and her fam return to Earth, things aren’t exactly how they left them. In fact, time has gone so screwy, Sea Devils now rule the planet.
(One of my favorite things about the Doctor Who comics is how they use the medium as the chance to bring modern Who characters into play with monsters and aliens from the classic series. I feel like it’s always a win-win: either you’re a classic Who fan getting to appreciate the callback, or you’re a modern Who fan being introduced to some cool new aliens for the first time.)
Meanwhile, the Tenth Doctor arrives on Earth to find gun-totin’ rebellion leader Rose Tyler. After a little debate over whether she should get to keep the gun (she does, but the TARDIS makes it inoperable), she agrees to join the Doctor in his mission to fix the timeline.
Alternating Current isn’t a mushy story, but it has the right emotional backdrop to keep you invested; Rose is trying to save her parents from the Sea Devils’ work camps. But Doctor Who fans know the “right” Earth timeline doesn’t have Rose and her parents in it anymore. It’s bittersweet to see Rose back with all her kindness and resilience, but knowing she’s essentially fighting for a world she doesn’t have a place in.
From there, the Doctors cross paths, uniting to come together to find the cause of the timeline divergence and fix it. In this way, Alternating Current directly links to a series 12 Doctor Who episode, “Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror.” However, it’s done in such a way that means you don’t need to have seen that episode in particular to understand the story. Again, I always consider it a plus when Doctor Who stories manage to walk this line; it means the comic can draw fans even if they haven’t caught up with the most recent TV stories.
Overall, Alternating Current brings you the best kind of Doctor Who story: full of your favorite characters, and a little bit timey-wimey. This one is worth adding to your collection.
Series Info
Description: After the Tenth and Thirteenth Doctors’ first adventure together, a paradox of their meeting has caused a radical rewrite of history… Sea Devils have taken over the Earth! Rose Tyler leads the human resistance, but there’s more going on than first meets the eye. Can the Doctors reunite, defeat their enemies, and bring reality back to normal? Collects Doctor Who #1-4.
Author: Jody Houser
Artist: Roberta Ingranata
Doctor Who: Alternating Current is available now from Titan Comics.
