Have you ever wanted a peek into the life of Rose and the Metacrisis Doctor? Does Rose miss the Tardis? Does she miss traveling? Does she miss the Doctor? After he regenerates, does the Eleventh Doctor ever think about Rose? 

Doctor Who: Empire of the Wolf explores all these questions. It ventures into the thoughts we’ve all had over the years, but it does so within an actual story. There are two Rose Tylers, two Doctors, and a paradox. A lot could go wrong.

Amazon / Goodreads

Synopsis:

AN INCREDIBLE NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL THAT BRINGS TOGETHER THE EIGHTH AND ELEVENTH DOCTORS IN A TIME-TWISTING TALE FEATURING TWO ROSE TYLERS!

When searching for his next adventure, the Eighth Doctor meets a strange young woman from another universe… Rose Tyler. He has no idea of the destiny they share, but makes it his mission to discover what brought her here, and how to get her home.

Meanwhile, the Eleventh Doctor is summoned by a mysterious empress plagued with visions of another life. It’s Rose Tyler, but not the one he knows! Hailing from an alternate timeline and trapped here alone, she has become a liberator, conqueror, and now empress. And when she finds out she’s not the only Rose in this universe, something must be done…

All hail the Bad Wolf! 

Bursting straight out of the long-running hit television series, this Doctor Who collection continues the time-travelling tales of the Doctor and friends.

Buy it, read it, then travel back in time to read it for the first time all over again…!

Review:

Doctor Who: Empire of the Wolf is a genius comic from Jody Houser (Star Wars: Thrawn, Faith) and combines many of my favorite Doctor Who elements. There are Sontarans, an alien planet, and a new alien species. Because there are two Doctors and two Rose Tylers, it felt like a special episode of Doctor Who – like an Anniversary Special or a Christmas Special.

This encounter with the Eleventh Doctor takes place between “The Angels Take Manhattan” and Clara becoming his companion. His sadness was perfectly captured, which made seeing him with Rose particularly special.

I adored seeing both versions of Rose. One version is a more mature version of the Rose Tyler we last saw leaving with the Metacrisis Doctor. They have lived a seemingly peaceful life together and have a teenage daughter. When she’s torn from that life due to a paradox, she fights with all she has to return. The second Rose is Empress Rose, and she’s altogether different. She’s new to Doctor Who readers and watchers and a real treat to experience.

Art:

I’m a bit torn by the art in this volume. There are moments, like in these images of the Eighth and Eleventh Doctors below, where the art is spectacular.

However, at other times, the characters looked nothing like themselves. I especially felt this with Rose. I should note that Rose is supposedly the mother of a teenager in this series. However, she looks as if little has changed since her early twenties. Altogether, though, I liked the art. My little qualms with it did not cause any major disruptions to my enjoyment of the story.

Final Thoughts:

Doctor Who: Empire of the Wolf is worth a read if you enjoy Doctor Who, especially if you’re fond of Rose, the Eleventh Doctor, or the Eighth Doctor. If you haven’t watched the Doctor Who movie and don’t know the Eighth Doctor, don’t worry. All the callbacks I noticed involved Rose, the Tenth Doctor, the Metacrisis Doctor, and the Eleventh Doctor.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Challenges:

#COYER

Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a review copy. All the above thoughts are my own.