Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #0 is a true beauty and a wonderful collector’s item for anyone who has enjoyed any part of the last 50 plus years of Doctor Who history. For starters, just look at this cover:

Surrounded by portraits of all thirteen previous incarnations, the book very obviously centers around our Thirteenth Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker who makes her worldwide debut on October 7th on the BBC and BBC America in the US. Issue #0 takes us lifetime by lifetime of the Doctor’s many transformations and their adventures through the galaxy giving each one his due and tying back thematically to what we can expect from this new Doctor.

However, those looking to glean clues into the future of the Doctor will not find too many, but what they will find is beautiful artwork especially some breathtakingly beautiful and meticulous art of the 13th Doctor herself.

You’ll also find a story that brings out so many themes of the Doctor’s existence throughout history. And this is not your typical book 0 either. It’s very long, with a short story arc given to each of the doctor’s previous incarnations as they travel through space, time, and history. One of the best parts about this are the varied art styles, with each artist giving each doctor their own unique look and feel. For instance Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor feels very cartoonish and bright, while John Hurt’s War Doctor is appropriately austere and serious with strong elements of Jack Kirby space fantasy.

Just as Peter Capaldi’s final episode as the Twelfth Doctor — the Christmas special “Twice Upon a Time” — where he crosses paths with the First Doctor, this too feels very spot-on in terms of what the creators are trying to say about the legacy of the Doctor as a character.

So too do we see similar seeds planted in each of the Doctors’ paths. They weave in and out of each other, and there are plenty of Easter eggs that fans will enjoy greatly. But they finally and completely come together in a complete character arc that leads to this moment. There’s even some poking fun at the Doctor Who fandom’s hardest gender essentialists who claim The Doctor can’t be female and Timelords don’t regenerate into other genders. Speaking of gender bending, you also get a nice cameo from Captain Jack Harkness tagging along with the Tenth Doctor and Rose.

But most of all this book simply feels like a major work of art. It is a compendium of everything you might want to briefly know about the Doctor coming into this 13th transformation.

Any Doctor Who fan should consider picking this up, especially for the beautiful art of the 13th Doctor and her transformation. It feels so fresh and vibrant and is the perfect appetizer for what we hope will be served up to us in just a week and a half’s time. Even if, or perhaps especially if, you’re like me and have only passing knowledge of classic Doctor Who and are more of a fan of the more recent seasons since the reboot, this is a great primer of everything you may have missed.

Story: Richard Dinnick Art: Giorgia Sposito, Mariano Laclaustra and various
Story: 7.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation Buy

Titan Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review