Autopia
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IDW Comics Autopia |
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| Published | 2009 |
A Review by Finn Clark 9/2/13
John Ostrander is one of my favourite writers. I don't just mean of comics, but of anything. I haven't read his more recent stuff, most obviously Star Wars, but almost everything I've ever read of his has blown me away. Suicide Squad is one of the coolest things upon this planet, The Spectre is the series they said couldn't be written and I also really like his run on Hawkworld. What makes him special is the fact that he once studied theology to be a Catholic priest, although these days he's agnostic. His work has depth. He'll take goofy set-ups and think about them. The themes and morality he brought to the Spectre were beautiful and produced really cool stories, while even a straight superhero book like Hawkworld was getting political with a hero who's seen as a right-wing hawk here on Earth, but a left-wing revolutionary back home on Thanagar.
Imagine how I felt on finding his name on one of IDW's Doctor Who stories.
What he does here is pretty much what I'd expected and hoped for. Autopia is a robot-based utopia, where the Doctor and Donna end up starting a very polite revolution. There are at least four new dimensions of morality and ethics being explored here, of which you wouldn't be surprised to see another Doctor Who story getting to the first one. That's on a good day, mind you. It's pure Ostrander, basically. There's no real action, but we don't need it. It's understated and you couldn't sustain an ongoing series just on stories like this, but at the end of the day this is a Doctor Who comic by someone I personally regard as one of the most important comic book writers currently working.
The art though I found a bit distracting. Kelly Yates had previously drawn two issues of The Forgotten, including its insane final episode with a gazillion returning monsters and companions. You've got to admire what he achieved there (in three weeks!), but here he's not drawing the usual Tony Lee nonsense. It's a John Ostrander story and to me it felt a bit odd with such mainstream, slightly plastic-looking artwork. It's not bad, mind you. On the contrary, he has a smooth, practiced style and I'd be more than happy to read a Superman comic by him. However, I'm not sure about his faces. It's like looking at Barbie dolls. In fairness, he gives Tennant a couple of nice expressions and Ixtalia certainly does look beautiful, but this is a story that depends more than usual on us getting inside the characters' heads and I'm not sure that always happens.
However, this isn't a fatal flaw and there's a lot of good to say about his work here too. Yates says on his website that "I had a great time working on this issue and I think it shows." I see what he means. Easily the best thing about the story is his Automantron design, with those owl-like faces and elegant bodies that make them look as if they're wearing ballgowns. It's their headlight eyes and golden beak that make them so distinctive. There are some memorable sequences, such as the dialogue-free page 14 and the Doctor's final confrontation on page 20. Finally, there's also a lot to be said for his clean lines and simple composition. It's easy to look at and follow.
Overall, it's my favourite story in IDW's Through Time and Space collection. I'd have loved to see them reunite the Spectre team of Ostrander and Tom Mandrake, but I can't disagree with the decision to have him draw Black Death White Life instead. The art isn't a huge problem for me and... well, Ostrander. That's all you need, really.