Doctor Who Vol. 25: Doorway To Hell Paperback – 1 August 2017

The Pestilent Heart gives us five Twelfth Doctor stories that help fill the gap between Clara's departure from the TARDIS and Bill's arrival.First up is the Pestilent Heart in which the Doctor re-encounters Jess Collins (who he met in a previous story) in 1970s London. Evil is afoot in the London Underground and the Doctor has to sort it before Jess' dad is claimed as a permanent victim. Mixed feelings on this. Evil in the underground is an age old. So age old it was done in the penultimate 10th Doctor comic story and the monster isn't imaginative. The story is well-written and it does set up the rest of the book, so I'll give it a: Grade BMoving In: After the events of the last story, the Doctor is stuck but Jess' family allows him to stay This story shows how he interacts with Jess, her father, her mother, and her brother. The vignettes are cute. This is probably one of my favorites in this long subgenre of Doctor Who domestic stories. It shows how the Doctor has settled a bit since Clara left and how he relates to everyone in the family. Grade: A-Bloodsport: The Doctor decides to take Jess and her brother to the Museum only to find aliens in the midst of a hunt. This is another one of those stories that's been done before, but this one was particularly well done with some nice art and a couple variations on the theme. Grade: B+Be Forgot: Mrs. Colins and the Doctor become concerned about a neighbor. Is a monster afoot? A very short but powerful holiday tale that packs a wallop. Nicely done. Grade: A-Doorway to Hell: The Master, the Roger Delgado Master has an evil plan. The Collins' fall into his clutches and its up to the Doctor to save them. The rendering on Delgado's Master is a treat and the art and writing really capture the spirit of the character. The final battle between the Doctor and Master is unbelievably epic. Grade: AOverall, this is one of the finest Doctor Who magazine collections I've ever read. I loved this idea of the Doctor being connected and grounded with an entire family and becoming part of their family and the community. It's a clever story that we'll be explored on television due to the demands of the genre, but here it's just a nice change of pace that highlights where the 12th Doctor could go. Overall, good characters, good plot, and just a really fun read for any Doctor Who fan.

An excellent book covering five recent stories from Doctor Who Magazine featuring the twelfth doctor.The stories were in the magazine as recently as 2106-17 and it a shame that the final stories of the seventh doctor from twenty years ago cannot be mopped up but the next book (6 months' time?) will be an anthology of comic strip adventures of the first five doctors and then presumably the final stories of the twelfth doctor will appear (in 12 months' time?) so it will be getting on for 2020 by the time the final (?) stories of the final television doctor of the last millennium appear.

It took awhile for it to get here because I think it came from New Jersey and with the lockdown on the coronavirus, things out of New York would take awhile to get to places. I did order it April 7th and it just came a couple of days ago; May 12. It said it wouldn't get here until May 20th; so it did come sooner then it was excepting. It is an awesome graphic novel and it is bigger then I thought it was. Also that story with the 12th Doctor going toe-to-toe with the original Master is freaking awesome!

Good anthology of stories that brings the reader into the family - much as the Doctor is - before the threat of the final story when the Master appears (no spoilers - he's on the cover!). What I found surprising is the depth of character and narrative delivered in this format - and this isn't my first graphic novel.The commentary at the back is also very good - just like the commentary on a DVD and gives good insight into the creative process.

All stories in this collection are great, however, the last is definitely the highlight of the compilation.