Fun Variant Covers for ‘Doctor Who’ Comic Books

10th Doctor

11th Doctor

12th Doctor

Titan Comics will be releasing some oddball (in a good way) variant covers for its various officially licensed Doctor Who comics shipping in January and February, drawn by an artist who goes by the name Question No. 6.

The titles are:

DOCTOR WHO: TENTH DOCTOR #2.6
In stores Jan. 13
Cover C by Question No. 6

DOCTOR WHO: ELEVENTH DOCTOR #2.6
In stores Feb. 3
Cover C by Question No. 6

DOCTOR WHO: TWELFTH DOCTOR #2.2
In stores Jan. 13
Cover D by Question No. 6

Mr. and Mrs. Who — and Their Great Christmas Adventure

It’s no secret that showrunner Steven Moffat really loves the annual DOCTOR WHO Christmas specials, so bringing back the Doctor’s wife, River Song (Alex Kingston), and pairing her up with his latest incarnation must have been even more fun for the Grand Moff than usual.

He teased this year’s special:

“We’ve shot that one with the 12th Doctor. That’s been a riot to do. And that’s been sort of a big fun chase episode, really. Just Mr. and Mrs. Who battling their way past nonsense, and that’s been great fun. They’re lovely together; they are. Alex is always great value. It’s time we saw her back being a kick-ass hero instead of playing mums and sisters and all that. It’s a waste of her.”

The official BBC tease of the special:

It’s Christmas Day in the future and the TARDIS is parked on a snowy village street, covered in icicles, awaiting its next adventure. Time traveler River Song meets her husband’s new incarnation, in the form of Peter Capaldi, for the first time this Christmas.

The as-yet untitled 2015 Christmas special will air on… (wait for it…) Christmas Day on BBC America.

New Cast Confirmed for Marvel/Netflix’s LUKE CAGE

Luke Cage, the third series from the partnership of Netflix and Marvel Television is quickly filling its cast — led by Mike Colter as Luke “Power Man” Cage — with the addition of Mahershala Ali as Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes, one of Power Man’s first villains in the Marvel Comics series.

The live-action version of Cottonmouth is described as “a Harlem nightclub owner, [who] will become an unexpected foe in Luke’s life when Stokes’ criminal activities threaten Luke’s world.”

Another Set of DC Tarot Cards On Deck

DC Collectibles is releasing The DC Comics Justice League Tarot Cards tomorrow.

Designed by Sara Richard, this re-imagining of the cards feature heroes and villains from across the DC Universe in all-new artwork with almost completely new symbology.

The new artwork likely means the so-called Little White Book will have directions for interpreting the non-traditional images.

I have to confess that the art style is not to my liking… I would have difficulty reading with this deck because the symbology is pretty far off from the standard Rider-Waite decks.

DC previously dabbled in the world of tarot with two sold-out editions of The Vertigo Tarot, featuring stunningly beautiful artwork by Dave McKean that made both decks highly sought-after in collectors circles among comics fans and tarot enthusiasts alike.

The DC Comics Justice League Tarot Cards carry a list price of $24.95.

Wishful Drinking: Marvel-Themed Absolut Bottles

This “Absolut x Marvel” line isn’t real, but maybe — if enough folks post about it and the right marketing people get wind of it — the campaign could become a reality.

The good folks over at CBR first spotted these bottles, by Indonesian designer Krizia Soetaniman, who came up with the idea to combine the Absolut bottle with minimalist portraits of Marvel characters Captain America, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Thor, Hulk and — yes, really — Iron Man, along with baddies Venom and Magneto.

While this is liquor line is certainly not for children (or, seriously, alcoholic Tony Stark!), surely there are enough Marvel fans of legal drinking age around the world to justify putting this into production!

River Doesn’t Recognize the Doctor at Xmas!

The Doctor and River Song are forever meeting each other in the wrong order — and now it’s time for the 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi) to run into his wife at a strange time, when he crosses time streams with River (Alex Kingston) in this year’s DOCTOR WHO Christmas special.

But this time, the Doctor has the advantage — because she doesn’t recognize his 12th face!

“That’s how the Christmas special begins,” showrunner Steven Moffat told the London Doctor Who Festival. “She doesn’t know it’s him! It’s an opportunity for the Doctor to find out the terrible truth: What his wife gets up to when he’s not looking. No one should ever go through that!”

Moffat added: “The last time the Doctor saw her she was a ghost. The first time he met her, she died. So how can he be seeing her again? As ever, with the most complicated relationship in the universe, it’s a matter of time …”

Natalie Dormer as a Time Lady? Yes, Please…

GAME OF THRONES star Natalie Dormer has said she would consider playing a female version of the Doctor if DOCTOR WHO ever decided to change the gender of its star Time Lord — but only provided the script is there.

While doing press for her current film, The Huger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, Dormer said:

“For me it’s always about the script. It has to be real human beings, contradictory, flawed, complex, multidimensional characters. It can’t just be concept, you know? ‘Female James Bond’ — CONCEPT. It has to have quality in the writing of real human psychology.”

I applaud Dormer for being all about the script. So far, 90 percent of those advocating changing the Doctor to female all line up behind the idea “Why not?” Since it’s possible, those fans believe the show should change the Doctor’s gender. But to me, doing it just because the show can smacks as the very definition of a “gimmick.” Just doing it for the novelty would be short-term ratings bait.

I believe there needs to be a reason to do it that goes beyond “It’s a great gimmick.” What’s the story? Why does the Doctor need to be female?

I am all for Dormer portraying a Time Lady — but does she have to become the Doctor? How about a new character? She could be a rival or friend of the Doctor from university. (That certainly was an interesting class they had — the Doctor, the Master and the Rani all in the same year? Wow.

One thing is certain: Dormer would look terrific in the period clothing the Doctor usually wears…

 

 

 

 

 

Moffat: The Doctor Could Become a Woman — In Theory

Romana and Romana II

With the end of the ninth season of DOCTOR WHO approaching — as well the imminent departure of Clara (Jenna Coleman) — a lot of folks think it’s time to shake the trees and talk about turning the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) into a woman for his next incarnation.

During the DOCTOR WHO panel at London’s Comic-Con, executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat was asked if the Doctor could regenerate into a woman. He replied:

“Yes  [Long applause]. But there is no vacancy. I’m being really explicit in my answer here because I gave this answer once in San Diego. I was asked if the Doctor could ever be a woman and I said ‘I think there’s a subtext in the show, maybe you should read it.’ And I turned and gestured to Michelle Gomez sitting next to me as Missy, and everyone laughed. This was reported, widely, as me saying the Doctor would never be a woman. So let me just make this very, very clear: There is no vacancy, and it may never happen. However artistically it could work. Commercially, the audience would go with it, we’ve proven that with Missy. And that’s why we did it, frankly. Yes, it can happen. It doesn’t need to happen, but it can, absolutely.”

DOCTOR WHO’s 2-Part Finale To Feature Extended Running Times!

The final two episodes of this season of DOCTOR WHO — “Heaven Sent” and “Hell Bent” — will run longer than the standard 45-minute episodes in England, with “Hell Bent” adding a whole 20 minutes! “Heaven Sent” will boast about 10 minutes more than usual.

BBC America has not released any information about the run times of the final two episodes here in America, where stories are typically trimmed to make room for commercials.

“Heaven Sent” will premiere on Nov. 28, and “Hell Bent” wraps up series 9 on Dec. 5.

“Hell Bent” will be the longest episode of DOCTOR WHO since Peter Capaldi’s debut story, “Deep Breath,” which ran 76 minutes.

Face the New Photos From ‘Face the Raven’

This week’s episode of DOCTOR WHO, “Face the Raven,” is shaping up to be a landmark, with the certain potential end of Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) for good!

Let’s take a look at some (non-spoilery) new art from the story:

Oh, and, as you no doubt know by now — from her photos above and her voice in the trailer, Maisie Williams is back as Ashildr. Something inside me wants her to be really, really evil. In fact, I want her to be responsible for Clara’s demise. That would be something unique: a companion snuffing a companion!

“Face the Raven” will air Saturday at 9 p.m. on BBC America.