Doctor Who Omnibus, Vol. 2
Written by Tony Lee, Jonathan L. Davis, Matthew Dow Smith, Al Davison, Matt Sturges
Illustrated by Al Davison, Matthew Dow Smith, Blair Shedd, Kelly Yates, Brian Shearer
Colored by Lovern Kindzierski, Charlie Kirchoff, Phil Elliot, Al Davison, Rachelle Rosenberg
Lettered by Chris Mowry, Robbie Robbins, Neil Uyetake, Al Davison, Shawn Lee
Cover by Tony Lee Edwards
IDW Publishing
Release Date: October 23, 2013
Cover Price: $29.99

Doctor Who Omnibus, Vol. 2 is a massive collection featuring the tenth Doctor, as portrayed by David Tennant. It collects issues #1-16, as well as the 2010 annual comic, and an eleventh doctor story, “A Fairytale Life.”

Now, I’m a pretty big Doctor Who fan, and the tenth doctor is my favorite, but this collection largely fails to capture that Whovian magic I was looking for. I would have expected to have larger, more explosive stories in a comic because the special effects budget has no limits, but I found the majority of the stories were contained to a handful of “sets” and sometimes felt claustrophobic.

The front-half of the omnibus in particular has too much exposition for a comic. There’s a ton of talking and very little movement. The artwork in this section (the first two story arcs) just doesn’t fit the tone of the story or the overall Doctor Who universe. (Who-niverse?)

Thankfully, when Matthew Dow Smith then Kelly Yates have their turn at the art, the book greatly improves and feels more like the world of the tenth doctor that I know and love. With the art change, the new writers also improve upon the tone of the book.

Ultimately, Doctor Who, Vol. 2 told some good stories and effectively captured the voice and mannerisms of the tenth (and briefly eleventh) Doctor, but it didn’t rise to the level of exceptional.

If you’re a Doctor Who fan, especially of the tenth Doctor, this omnibus might scratch an itch you’ve been having. It is nice to see this beloved Doctor in a comic format. For only moderate fans though, this title isn’t going to have much appeal.