IDW Comics Black Death White Life

Published

2009

• A Review by Finn Clark

A Review by Finn Clark 23/3/13

Tom Mandrake drew The Spectre. That's how I'll always think of him. More precisely, Mandrake was the main artist for John Ostrander's run on this title and his style was perfect for it, with his all-devouring shadows and tormented characters on the edge of sanity. He'd sometimes have a touch of cartoonishness in his character designs, but that just let him draw them with heightened intensity. Try imagining German Expressionists doing comics instead of silent movies. Of course, he's drawn plenty of other things too, including other Ostrander collaborations (Grimjack, Martian Manhunter, Firestorm), but of his books I've seen, this is the one that used him best.

Now though, he's also drawn a Doctor Who story. I love it, but that's entirely for the pictures rather than the words. The story's okay. It has an interesting central idea, but otherwise its main virtues are in the way it's serving the visuals; e.g., the 17th century setting, the plague doctors and a spectacular finale for cool-looking aliens. I'm not being sarcastic. Comics are a visual medium and this story's last ten pages have a momentum that comes from the images flying past your eyes in some of the odder action scenes you're likely to see in Doctor Who.

Incidentally, this story is written by its colourist, Charlie Kirchoff, and I'm not aware of him having made a habit of perpetrating scripts before. It is okay, though. It's certainly not the worst script in the Through Time and Space collection. Oddly enough though, Kirchoff's colours for the Immunoglobins of Mimosa 3 play an indispensible part in making them so unearthly and the story's last few pages memorable.

Mind you, there's an odd pro-war message that would sit easier with me if this hadn't been such a hot political issue in America lately. I'm not going to weigh in on that here, but I wasn't sure that some of this dialogue sat right from the Doctor for me. "In all my years travelling through the time and space, I've learned that sometimes war is necessary." It's just the way he says it, mind you. I don't object to what he's doing. He's unleashing antibodies on a virus, literally. He's done far, far worse in his time and if he'd just shut the hell up on that final page, I'd have had no problem with any of this. Mandrake gives us a striking final panel, though. I like the way he draws Tennant. He's not ignoring the issue of likenesses, but he's also not just copying photos and the results come out as a Tom Mandrake character who belongs in this universe and has a life and fluidity about him. Similarly, Martha doesn't always resemble Freema Agyeman, but feels absolutely right for the story.

That said, I love Mandrake's work for the non-fantastical 17th century too. He really evokes this world of plague, peasants and churches. It's dark, spooky and sinister, and I'd have been more than happy to read a Tom Mandrake pure historical with no SF elements at all.

This isn't a story you read for its script. It doesn't have a rich narrative, nor much in the way of characterisation. However, as a comic strip, it has enough atmosphere, jeopardy, pace and visual excitement to keep you reading happily anyway. It looks great and even has a few nice lines. "I have a plan" etc is one I particularly liked. It's aware of its parent show, for instance referencing Martha's medical background, and... oh, hell, it's drawn by Tom Mandrake. I don't believe he's ever been regarded as a comics megastar or anything, but I like him a lot. Just read it, okay?