The Dalek Project by Richards and Collins

The Dalek Project
written by Justin Richards with art by Mike Collins [YA Richards]

As a huge Doctor Who fan, I was pleased to grab this one when it came across the desk recently. The Dalek Project is a graphic novel, published in 2012, and featuring the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith). Ever since their first appearance on the Doctor Who television series in the early 1960s, the Daleks have been The Doctor’s arch-enemies — metal-encapsulated monstrosities with a hatred of all other living things, that, like the Doctor himself, have developed the ability to travel through not just space but also time. In this story, which crosses between two parallel lines of events in modern time and in 1917, the Doctor must try to prevent a decades-long plot from coming to fruition, to the doom of humanity. I can’t really give away more details without spoiling the whole thing. I will say the writing in this short work is great — for anyone familiar with Matt Smith’s performance as The Doctor, you’ll hear his voice in your head as you read his dialog. But the art is ! haphazard — some is excellent and other parts are cringe-worthy. I would say this is a must-read only for Doctor Who completists, but it is also a nice introduction to the whole Doctor Who mythos for anyone who hasn’t ever seen an episode or read one of the novels. The only thing that’s a little different is that throughout the history of Doctor Who, the Doctor usually travels with “companions” (most often humans), who provide a bit of point-counter-point to the Doctor’s over-the-top nature. In this storyline, The Doctor is…”between companions”, so readers don’t get that particular experience. Otherwise, a top-notch read!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the various other Doctor Who graphic novels or comic-book versions.] [ entry on this Graphic Novel at the tardis.wikia.com site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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