This summer the newest Doctor will be making his television debut. To many though, their doctor is the first doctor they remember. Even though they’re excited for Peter Capaldi and his performance as the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor, many fans would have liked to see more stories with the tenth and eleventh Doctors. That wish comes true courtesy of Titan Comics as they have officially announced new ongoing comic series for the tenth and the eleventh Doctors. The ongoing comic series will be aptly named “Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor” and “Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor”.

To celebrate the occasion Titan Comics is proclaiming July 26^th Doctor Who Comics Day. Titan Comics will be promoting the event with signings and events happening in local comic book shops worldwide. Titan Comics recently gained the rights to the Doctor Who universe back in January of this year. Since then the excitement has been building as Titan Comics has promised to bring to fans a plethora of stories about everyone’s favorite alien physician and galactic hero.

For more on the story you can visit the official announcement from Titan Comics right here. Join in the fun by tweeting @ComicsTitan and tagging #doctorwhocomics and then go to your local comic shop on July 26^th to grab a FREE 32 page preview of all the upcoming Doctor Who series including “Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor” featuring Peter Capaldi’s rendition of the Doctor. For a full list of participating shops go to this link here.

Don’t forget too that July 26 falls right in the thick of the San Diego Comic Con and if you’re in attendance be on the lookout for special con variants and panels featuring Doctor Who. There will be plenty of other variants going around but for now, check out the preview art from Titan Comics below and on the 26^th of July remember to tell everyone, “Happy Doctor Who Comics Day”.

Image: Titan Comics 

Image: Titan Comics

Image: Titan Comics

Image: Titan Comics

Yesterday during half time of the World Cup BBC released the full trailer for the new season of “Doctor Who” showcasing Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor. For some reason they didn’t play it in the US during half time, even with huge ratings for the game. 

The main thing I got out of this is that the Doctor’s moral compass is in a grey area with Clara and there is a T-Rex in London!

Whovians rejoice, the doctor is back. While I’m not a huge fan of this new trend to give us trailers of trailers, this one does exactly what it sets out to accomplish which is to make us want more. Capaldi silhouetted against the Tardis’ interior, electricity crackling, and the trademark Who sounds create an environment that, even in 15 short seconds, pulls you back into the universe completely and makes you hungry for more. 

Season Eight begins in August on BBC One. 

Christopher Priest, the mind behind the incredibly complex novel “The Prestige” that became a movie from Christopher Nolan, has a new book out. It’s called “The Adjacent.” It’s a timeline-crossing story about a photographer in the future, a magician during World War I, and theoretical physicist in the present day. It’s complex and dense, and should easily be worth your time.

To mark the occasion of the new book, the author agreed to answer a few questions for me. We talked about his interest in magicians, “The Prestige,” and his terrible experience with “Doctor Who.”

Big Shiny Robot! What started your fascination with magicians?

Christopher Priest: Nothing special at first. When I was a child I liked watching magic on TV, but then so did a lot of other people. Somebody gave me a how-to book on magic (which I still have), but I read it with only mild interest. Fast-forward a few decades … I began thinking about a possible story which would involve a magician doing a trick so baffling that other magicians could not see how it was done. From that I thought of a second magician, driven by curiosity to mad rivalry. The problem was that I had no idea what sort of illusion might produce this response. The book I had been given as a child was full of simple tricks with playing cards and metal rings, so that was no good. I began to explore, research, read other books, look into the subject in a serious way. I soon began to learn about the complexity of the world of magicians, the traditions they have, the techniques they use. That was interesting in itself, but for me the story really only came to life when I realized that a magical illusion is structured rather like fiction. The techniques magicians use are not all that different from those of a novelist developing a plot. From that point I had a central metaphor.

BSR!: How do you approach juggling timelines in your prose?How do you keep them straight and know what to bring to the reader and when?

CP: I believe I actually think like that. I can foresee the shape of a novel as I write, with the various diversions already in mind. I rarely know the details of a plot, but I do sense its shape, the way it will begin, the way it will probably end (but never quite sure of that until I get there) and the way it will proceed (no detailed idea at all). The technical answer is that I write more than one draft. I keep a printed copy of the first draft, then working from that (and not the computer file) I rewrite the whole thing, from beginning to end. I never use copy/paste. I do it the hard way. Sometimes I will even do it all over again. I recommend this method to anyone who will listen, but few seem to think the extra drudgery is worth it. They’re wrong. It makes all the difference.

BSR!: What sparked your journey towards writing “The Adjacent?”

CP: It was the discovery that during the First World War the British were experimenting with methods of camouflaging their warplanes. This had never been done before, so they had to invent the methods from scratch. One idea they had was to put lights on the leading edge of the wings, to distract the enemy into briefly thinking the aircraft were somewhere else. It was never tried in practice (the pilots vetoed it), but it was an intriguing idea. My novel grew from there.

BSR!: You’re the inspiration for what is perhaps Christopher Nolan’s best film, but as the author seeing your story changed, what is that experience like?

CP: I agree with you about Nolan’s film of “The Prestige,” although I think “Memento” is slightly better. (I don’t like his other films.) The experience of seeing the process take place is much as you probably imagine it. Watching the completed film for the first time I had a sense of familiarity and strangeness: the lines of dialogue were close to what I had written, but I couldn’t remember if they were exactly the same, or different. I never quite threw off this impression. I admired the film, but I was also critical of some of the changes. I thought the ending was weak (and still do). Since then, my opinion has shifted, and I think more highly of the film. As time passes it looks more and more like a minor classic. I see the changes as necessary in the transition from book to film, I think there are some scenes which are pure and brilliant, and overall I think it is a considerable piece of film-making. However, the ending still lets it down. He blew it.

BSR!: You had been approached to do some episodes of Doctor Who, if they came back to you now, would you do it? It seems like it would be a perfect fit. I

CP: would not go near the programme again. The BBC does not have sufficient power of persuasion (or enough cash) to tempt me anywhere near it. It was one of the most unpleasant writing experiences of my career. I wrote two four-part stories, but ran up against a producer who was vain, power-mad and in general incompetent. The story frame was ad hoc and implausible and constantly being changed, sometimes on the whim of an actor, the special effects were childish, they used women actors like adjuncts of the men, the sets looked bad – the whole thing was done on the cheap. (This was three and a half decades ago, remember. It’s better now.) I only became involved because I was friendly with Douglas Adams. Douglas was fun to work with, but he left the show to become famous not long after I started. After that it was a grim battle all the way. In the end I received a formal apology from the BBC for the way I had been treated.

A fascinating five question interview from a fascinating writer. His new book, “The Adjacent,” is out in hardback. His website can be found here.

Salt Lake Comic Con Fan X was my first Con ever (I know, I KNOW!), and I was quite nervous when I was approached to appear on a panel about the role of the companion in the “Doctor Who” universe. I had never attended such a panel, let alone participated in one, so I had no idea what to expect. . .

It quickly became apparent to me that you really only need two ingredients to have an amazing time being on a panel: great fellow panelists and a rowdy, involved crowd. I was fortunate enough to be a part of a panel consisting of Rebecca Frost (Hello, Sweetie Podcast), Kenny D. (Showtime Showdown), and Eric James Stone (ericjamesstone.com) as we all shared our thoughts and feelings on the importance of the role of the companions, and what exactly we feel that role should be and when it works best. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to quell my nerves and spend 45 minutes talking Doctor Who with.

Then there was the crowd. A crowd speckled with Doctor Who cosplay who would cheer at the mere mention of their favorite characters and had no shortage of questions to keep us panelists on our toes – and certainly not afraid to let us know if they agreed or disagreed with our follow-up answers. If you were in this crowd, and you happen to be reading this right now, I feel like I can speak on behalf of the entire panel when I say thank you – thank you for attending, and thank you for making this panel an incredibly fun 45 minutes.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Hannah. The young girl from the audience who brought to our attention that we had been neglecting the classic Who companions. I invited her up on the stage to join the panel and she gave an amazing response as to why Ace was her favorite companion and what she means to her (followed by a roaring applause from the audience). She remained on the panel with us through the last question of the evening and, I think, made a great addition.

You can listen to the “The Doctor’s Confidante: The Role of the Companion in the Doctor Who Universe” panel via the link below! And be sure to continue to follow Rebecca Frost, Kenny D., and Eric James Stone in all of their various works and endeavors!

Click here to listen!

A recent BuzzFeed piece penned by Jamie Hooper (Smug Mode), which you can read here, asked the question “What if Doctor Who Was American?” He suggests American replacements for each incarnation of the 900+ year old time lord, some of them fantastic, some of them, well…

We’ll take them one by one starting with Burgess Meredith: 1963 – 1966. He’s known primarily as trainer Mickey Goldmill from the Rocky franchise. Meredith also did several episodes of the classic Batman series as the Penguin, and most importantly in my mind, several episodes of The Twilight Zone, perhaps his most famous episode being “Time Enough at Last” wherein a book lover finally finds himself alone in the world with enough peace and quiet to read as much as he desires, only to quickly break his glasses, presumably spending eternity holding books very close to his face. If only he’d learned braille. Meredith was a talented actor and proved his sci-fi chops. He’d be a good start to this other-world version of the Doctor. He would have been 56 at the time of this role bringing wisdom and experience to the role that would establish the age and wisdom of the character well. Meredith once said “I disappear from the public eye and get rediscovered quite often.” I can think of few statements that better describe The Doctor.

Hooper suggests Dick Van Dyke for the second incarnation: 1966 – 1970. Van Dyke soared into the public eye after a performance in “Bye Bye Birdie” (1963), “Mary Poppins” (1964), and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” (1968). Taking on the role of the doctor would probably have precluded him from taking the last role, which is fine by me, I don’t care for that movie (please leave your hate mail in the comment section below). “The Dick Van Dyke Show” ended in 66, leaving him open to take this role. I personally think he is a little too high profile to have played this character at this time. I’m not a huge fan of this casting but luckily for me it didn’t really happen, so I’m not losing too much sleep. I probably would have fallen away from the show during this time if it had actually happened, and if I had been alive. You better believe I would have been back for Doctor number three…

Vincent Price: 1970 – 1974. I won’t get too long winded on this one so suffice it to say “Hell yes!” I’m already sad this isn’t real. Price can do no wrong, he’s an icon, and energy from the Tardis might explain his ability to create life from robot parts and heart shaped cookies.

Suggested as Doctor number four, Gene Wilder: 1974 – 1981. I can’t stand Gene Wilder. His performance as Willy Wonka put a bad taste in my mouth as a child and a movie about candy just isn’t supposed to do that. I’ve never been able to forgive him. Go ahead and join the “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” fans below in electronically lynching me. I find myself hoping Uma Thurman will show up and use the five point palm exploding heart technique… twice!

Doctor number five, Kyle MacLachlan: 1981 – 1984. You’ll know him as Special Agent Dale Cooper from “Twin Peaks” and more recently The Captain on “How I Met Your Mother.” He has the class and charm we’ve come to expect from The Doctor. His ability, so notably illustrated by Jason Segel to hold two emotions in his face at once both happy and violent makes him a good fit for the complex character. My only concern about this choice is that he may not have the quirk needed to give the character the dimension he deserves, though I could be wrong.

Doctor number six is Christopher Walken, 1984 – 1986. I like Christopher Walken just fine, I think he’s a good actor and he can be both brooding and funny which would lend itself well to this role. However, I’m just not digging this. Perhaps it’s the knowledge of who he is thirty years in the future but I worry having him in the role would take me out of the illusion and ruin the experience. It’s not a matter of his ability but rather, one of taste. Though his broken vocal rhythm up against the Daleks Ex-ter-min-ate would make for some hilarious exchanges. Imagine it in your mind, when you stop laughing, move on to…

Number seven, Tony Shalhoub, 1987 – 1989. Shalhoub’s acting career began in 86 meaning he would have been relatively unknown at the time. I personally think this makes him a good choice. In my mind, the doctor should be relatively unknown; it allows the chosen actor to fully become the character. I also think he has the chops and the needed quirk. His performance in “Galaxy Quest” had him presented with absurd situations involving alien life and space travel all taken in stride and with a sense of humor. He would work well here. After his run in the Tardis the show would have been cancelled for some time. At this point the series gets cancelled until 1996 when it returns with…

Doctor number eight, Jeff Goldblum. Sadly, Goldblum would only have the role for the televised “Doctor Who” movie. I absolutely adore Jeff Goldblum, enough so that his notoriety wouldn’t have bothered me in the slightest. I know this is in contradiction to things I’ve said before but damn it, it’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it. Jeff Goldblum rocks, ’nuff said.

 The show goes into hibernation at this point until the reboot in 2005. The series comes back shinier and with more force, the author of the BuzzFeed piece suggests it would have been written by Joss Whedon, no complaints there. He’s a great writer and I have no doubts about his ability to take the universe and make it exciting and fresh, though every companion would die horrible and depressing deaths. Whedon would be able to easily balance the fun and sometimes silly antics of The Doctor’s adventures with the emotion that makes the new series so great. But…

Hooper casts Nicolas Cage as Doctor number nine. I’m not a Cage hater, there are some things he’s done that I’ve quite liked but… no, just no. I don’t like thinking of him as The Doctor it makes me angry in an irrational way. Luckily he would only last for one season ending with the famous words “Rose… before I go, I just wanna tell you, you were mediocre. Absolutely mediocre. And do you know what? So was I!” Cage would hand over the keys to the Tardis to…

Sam Rockwell, 2005 – 2010. Again, I’ll break my own rule of The Doctor being unknown. Sam Rockwell is underrated and underused. His performance in Moon (maybe my favorite sci-fi movie of all time) showcases the crushing loneliness and psychological cracking from which The Doctor undoubtedly suffers and god damn it if he’s not just incredible, he’s also shown the ability to be a mad man with a fantastical spaceship as Zaphod Beeblebrox in “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.” I’m pretty certain he would have been my favorite incarnation.

Doctor number 11, Donald Glover, 2010 – 2013. I know next to nothing about Glover except clips of Community the internet has shown me, mostly in the form of subtitled images/gifs. This feels like an odd choice to me, but there it is.

Doctor number 12, Bryan Cranston, 2013 – Present. I know everyone is humping Bryan Cranston’s leg right now and deservedly so. “Breaking Bad” had people talking excitedly about television in a way you don’t see very often. The final episode seemed a collective national event, all hail Walter White. The problem is that he’s too big right now. It feels too much like fan boy casting, which is fun to daydream about but perhaps not so good in practice. However, if, in this fictional world, Cranston took this role instead of “Breaking Bad” he might actually be a great choice, I have no doubt he could handle the character and bring some new dimension to it.

There is a bonus casting of Harrison Ford as The War Doctor. Again, this feels like fan boy casting (which is admittedly exactly what it is). I’m sure the internet would have exploded with writhing spasms tuned to the Vwhoosh, Vwhoosh of the Tardis, but it would break the illusion too much for my taste.

Some of these suggestions were fun to think about, but ultimately I’m glad the show played out the way it did. There’s a certain flavor to British story telling that would have been lost, to the detriment of the universe they’ve built. In addition, there is a certain cultural aspect that would be lost, at least for American viewers. For some reason something said in a British accent has a certain flair, a certain class immediately attached to it that the same sentence with an American accent just doesn’t have. It adds a distinction to the characters that is important, at least to me. It’s the reason that, as a recent Jaguar commercial pointed out, we cast many British actors as villains, it gives a spark to what they say and what they do, a bit of cultural bias that may or may not be due, but is nonetheless true. In short, this was a neat mental exercise but I’m happy with the show as it is, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Cover image credit: Lid-the-squid at DeviantART.

Interior images credit: Smug Mode at Tumblr. 

The previous Doctor recently ended his epic journey across space and time by regenerating from the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) into the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi). It would seem that BBC Worldwide has chosen to do some regenerating of their own by choosing to team up with Titan Comics instead of IDW to tell the stories of the next Doctor in comic book format.

The newest incarnation of the Doctor has yet to be shown to fans while wearing his new costume so preview art for this announcement just isn’t possible yet. Despite that, I am greatly anticipating the upcoming run by Titan Comics. Titan Comics has produced some spectacular art and hard hitting stories in the last year with some critical darlings like “Number Cruncher”, “Tank Girl”, and “Death Sentence” (a book in my personal top ten). Here is the official press release from BBC Worldwide and Titan Comics. If you’re as excited for this as I am, make yourself heard in the comments or let me know on Twitter @MarkAvo.

DOCTOR WHO REGENERATES WITH TITAN COMICS

 

BBC Worldwide and Titan Comics team up 
for all-new Doctor Who comic book adventures

 
New York, NY – January 21, 2014 – In the universe of Doctor Who regenerations bring not only a new Doctor but often a fresh look and feel to the series and BBC Worldwide is bringing that same approach to Doctor Who comics as it signs a new deal with Titan Comics. The deal will open up the world of Doctor Who and provide fans with new stand alone adventures featuring the Tenth Doctor, Eleventh Doctor and after the new series launch, the Twelfth Doctor. Creative and production teams will be announced in the coming weeks and the first comic books will be released in 2014.

The Doctor Who Christmas special, The Time of the Doctor, saw Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor regenerate into the Twelfth Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi. The next season is now in production and will premiere in 2014. In 2013, Doctor Whoset ratings and social media records for BBC AMERICA.

Doctor Who is sold to over 200 territories across the world and last year was awarded the Guinness World Record for the largest TV drama simulcast ever after the 50^th Anniversary special was broadcast to 98 countries at the same time as well in thousands of cinemas across the globe.

Titan Comics is the comics and graphic novel division of global publishing giant Titan, a pioneer that has proven itself over three decades with internationally-recognized brands such as James Bond and Sherlock Holmes, as well as creator-owned successes like Tank Girl, Lenore, and Death Sentence. Titan’s magazine division is the largest publisher of licensed entertainment properties in the US.

Images courtesy of Titan Comics and BBC Worldwide

We just said goodbye to Matt Smith and hello to Peter Capaldi but what about the other Doctors?

source

Where do I start? Doctor Who, a dying show nearly 20 years ago, gets revived a decade later and has since become a worldwide phenomenon. A show that was once scoffed at for being corny and having cheap special effects, is now the emotional compass for many people across the globe. Doctor Who is a Guiness World Record holder for longest running television sci-fi drama, and now after this last weekend, largest worldwide simulcast of a television drama. This past weekend saw Doctor Who celebrate it’s 50th with it’s extra sized, extra timey wimey anniversary episode titled “The Day of the Doctor.”

And what a day it was.

Be warned, I will be talking about the episode. There are spoilers abound!

One of the big draws for this episode was the return of David Tennant as the 10th, or is it now the 11th, Doctor working together with Matt Smith. We’re first introduced to him in this episode as he is wooing Queen Elizabeth I, a relationship which was previously mentioned in Tennant’s final episode “The End of Time.” Just seeing David Tennant don the pinstripes and trenchcoat again was a real treat. It was almost as though he never left. 

We also get our first real taste of John Hurt as the War Doctor. An incarnation of the Doctor that fought in the Time War and was a regeneration between the Paul McGann and Christopher Eccelstion versions of the character that we had previously not known about. He is the Doctor that ended the Time War by using a weapon called “The Moment,” which killed all of the Daleks and Time Lords. I really enjoyed John Hurt’s Doctor. He managed to have an old man grumpyness, yet seemed vibrant and youthful at the same time. It kind of makes me wish we could have gotten more of the War Doctor fighting in the Time War. 

Billie Piper is back in the episode, however she’s not reprising her role as Rose Tyler. She plays the living consciousness  of “The Moment,” a living weapon. Telling the Doctor she has taken the form of someone from his past, or future. Unfortunately only the War Doctor can see her so those of you that wanted a reunion between Tennant and Billie Piper will be disappointed. 

The episode actually seems to be like two episodes in one. One story spread across two time periods deals with the attempted invasion of Earth by an alien race called the Zygons. This side of the story has all the makings of what makes Doctor Who fun. There is a lot of comedy, mixed in with high stakes with a dash of goofy looking alien villains. Also heavily involved in this side of the story is UNIT, basically the Doctor Who universe’s SHIELD. While this part of the story got “resolved,” I still didn’t feel like it really did. It was fun, but I think it wrapped up a little too fast.

The other half of the story examines what makes the Doctor, well, the Doctor. We go back to an event that had only been previously mentioned. The Doctor’s darkest day. The day he murded his entire race along with all of the Daleks. The last day of the Time War. This is an event fans have been wanting to see since Christopher Eccelston first mentioned it. It was always time locked so we’ve never been able to see it. Until now! The living consciousness of “The Moment” causes time fissures that allow the Doctor’s to meet up and head into the Time War. 

The Doctor’s companion has always been our point of view, the human point of view, when it comes to the Doctor. They are the one that keeps his morality in check. And Jenna Coleman as Clara does just that. It looked as though all three Doctor’s are going to use “The Moment” to end the Time War, then Clara calls them out on it as all three are about to use “The Moment” together. She made them remember the oath that they took when they took the name Doctor. “Never cruel or cowardly. Never give up, never give in.” This in turn leads to the Doctors drastically changing their future. Instead of destroying Gallifrey, they attempt to save it by placing it in stasis in an alternate universe. However it still appears to be destroyed to the rest of the universe  therefore causing the subsequent timelines to stay the same.

The three Doctors featured in the special aren’t the only ones to save Gallifrey. All thirteen versions of the Doctor lend a hand in doing so. Using archival video and audio footage they managed to include all versions of the Doctor in this attempt to save their home planet. Including our first look at the upcoming Doctor played by Peter Capaldi. Getting to see all the Doctors gave me a bit of a “Hell Yeah” moment while watching, and may just be my favorite part of the episode. 

There was one last little bit of goodness in the special. A very special and awesome appearence by possibly the most popular Doctor, Tom Baker. He shows up to let Matt Smith know that Gallifrey wasn’t destroyed, that it’s out there somewhere. I believe this is foreshadowing for the first season with Peter Capaldi season, perhaps with him searching for Gallifrey. 

All in all I thought it was a fitting special to celebrate this anniversary of such a great show. It managed to further the story of the current Doctor, yet throw in enough nods to everything that came before it to honor the last 50 years. It makes me excited for the Christmas special, which will be Matt Smith’s swan song as he returns to Trenzalor to face his final fate against Cybermen, Angels, and the Silence!

Who isn’t excited for the The Day of the Doctor tomorrow? There’s still time to get some comics reading in before you sit down in front of the TV with your sonic screwdriver and bowl of popcorn. If you haven’t decided what to read, hopefully this list of my favorite things in comics will help you save some time.

The first pick, in honor of Dr. Who and because it’s amazing, is the cover to Doctor Who Prisoners of Time #12. This is the last book in that crazy cool series spanning the history of each of the past incarnations of The Doctor. Francesco Francavilla produces some of my favorite covers and I’m glad to share with you this amazingly timey wimey & wibbly wobbly cover.

Sex Criminals has been a favorite series among the bots and we’re only 3 issues in! This cover is a great minimalistic one, just like the others have been and just like some of the covers to Jonathon Hickman’s books (God is Dead, Secret, Manhattan Projects, & East of West). This book, however, is commanded by Matt Fraction and is about people who freeze time when they show their O face. Drink in that cover by Chip Zdarsky, and if you’re into some cool sci-fi you haven’t read before, give Sex Criminals a read.

This pick is dark and looks like an oil painting was placed on the cover to Fables 135. Just take a look at the veteran soldier behind the door. Turn the cover to open the door and enjoy Willingham and Buckingham in a month to month format while you still can. If you haven’t heard the news, Fables ends next year sometime.

X-Men Legacy has had some of the most spectacular covers in comics since its renumbering under Marvel Now! This one is a cool blue print, and even though I have no idea what’s going on behind the cover, I love everything about it.

Uncanny X-Men 14 picks up after Battle of The Atom but is really just about the character Benjamin deeds and his cool power of making people comfortable. He is a little bit of Spider-Woman pheromones mixed with Mystique and Bendis spins a tale that will make you love this fledgling X-Man. The cover by Bachalo is all you need to know about how cool this issue is.

The panels for this week harken back to 4 by 4 earlier in the week. I loved Daredevil and everything about Harley Quinn #0 so I’ve included them both below, but Harley I saved for last.

Daredevil #33 was so much fun and let me relive a little bit of Halloween in the process. This panel below was my favorite among many favorites in this issue. I had better ones, but I don’t like 5 and 3 to spoil anything for comics fans.

This panel from Wonder Woman #25 shows off Goran Sudzuka and how, when you’re giving your primary artist a break, bringing in a masterful fill in artist works marvelously. Now, that isn’t always the case, but on this book, I’m glad that it is. Goran’s Diana is a hip lady that wears her tiara a “bit up” to hold her hair in a fashionable look. Then he goes on to show us that he can draw a bustling London with all the right feeling.

What more can I say about Harley Quinn #0 that I haven’t already? Well, how about that there is some throw back and comedy in the book that is delightful? The “Rev up your Harley” line is classic and with Timm’s art, I’m right back in the Batman The Animated Series world again.

That’s it for this week, If you’re aching for more great comic book covers and panels, check out last weeks 5 and 3 or browse to Big Shiny Robot next Friday afternoon. You weren’t doing anything besides counting down to 5 anyway were you? In fact, because I didn’t get this up for you in time for you to waste your bosses time at work, here’s a variant cover to Doctor Who #12 Prisoners in Time. Tweet me @MarkAvo any time and remember to sound off in the comments below. Robots run on liqour and comments people, so get with the drink buying or get with the typing.