DOCTOR WHO Writer Jody Houser Discusses Adapting The Sci-Fi Series For The Comic Book Medium

DOCTOR WHO Writer Jody Houser Discusses Adapting The Sci-Fi Series For The Comic Book Medium

Today sees the release of Titan Comics' Doctor Who Vol. 1: Alternating Current, and we had the chance to speak exclusively with writer Jody Houser about adapting the sci-fi series to the comic book medium.

By LiteraryJoe - May 11, 2021 02:05 PM EST
Filed Under: Doctor Who

Titan Comics released the first volume of their newest Doctor Who graphic novel adaptation today, Doctor Who Vol. 1: Alternating Current, which is written by Jody Houser and features art from Roberta Ingranata.

The story sees the Tenth Doctor collide with the Thirteenth Doctor, teaming up to battle Sea Devils. The pair is assisted by Rose Tyler, marking her official return to the comics.

To help promote the new release, we worked with Titan to kick off their blog tour for Doctor Who Vol. 1: Alternating Current. We were able to speak with writer Jody Houser and learn about how she feels the comic book medium offers a chance for different story-telling, her research process for the series, why the Sea Devils were chosen as the villains, and more!

In addition to her comments, we have also included some interior art courtesy of Titan Comics.

"Probably the closest [thing I've worked on] would be Faith and the Future Force at Valiant, which is also a time-traveling story about trying to undo damage to the timestream."

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"Comics, like every storytelling medium, has its unique strengths, but one of my personal favorite things about comics is that it really lets you see an artistic team's view of that world. Working with Roberta and Eren over the years has been a real joy, particularly in seeing the new planets and aliens they create that still feel very much like Doctor Who."

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"[When doing research], I try to watch a lot of relevant episodes, both in terms of the Doctor and the aliens/other characters that appear. [Choosing the Sea Devils as antagonists] was something of a group decision when breaking this story... We wanted to see a classic favorite who hadn't yet appeared in our run of the comics." 

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"I think we keep getting bigger. Multiple Doctors, a timeline in flux, Sea Devils AND Skithra? We're juggling a lot, but it's a LOT of fun."

What do you guys think? Does this seem like a title you'll be adding to your collection?

Be sure to weigh in with your thoughts in the comments! Also, comic book enthusiasts are sure to enjoy our exclusive chat with comic historian Ken Quattro below!

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dracula
dracula - 5/11/2021, 3:00 PM
Anyone else think it might be time for the show to take a break or maybe even get a hard reboot
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 5/11/2021, 3:05 PM
@dracula - I don't know a lot about the show, so I could be wrong, but isn't part of the show that everybody new Dr Who incarnation serves as a soft reboot?
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 5/11/2021, 3:09 PM
I'm a layman when it comes to Dr. Who, but from the little stuff I've seen it does feel like something that could work as a comic. Especially because its like she says, each artist's rendition is different. Guess that fits
MrDandy
MrDandy - 5/11/2021, 3:42 PM
Comics doing any better than the show? Show really sucks right now from crap backstory retcons to just boring, lazy storytelling.

How I long for the golden years of doctor who. :(
4thMaster
4thMaster - 5/11/2021, 3:52 PM
@MrDandy - They were good a couple of years ago, but I didn't care for the first run of the 13th Doctor (they were written before S11 began so the characterizations are wonky), and now they've been stuck in a multi-Doctor story (10 & 13) for like a year now.

There's a 2 comic arc with Tennant's Doctor from last years Time Lord Victorious event that was extremely solid.
4thMaster
4thMaster - 5/11/2021, 3:48 PM
The Sea Devils look absolutely fantastic there!
4thMaster
4thMaster - 5/11/2021, 4:02 PM
It always makes me very happy to see Doctor Who coverage on this site!
dracula
dracula - 5/11/2021, 4:28 PM
@4thMaster - surprised they havent been used in Modern Who, seems like they stopped reintroducing classic villains after Matt Smith’s era, use to have at least new one per season
4thMaster
4thMaster - 5/11/2021, 5:07 PM
@dracula - They're a great concept and could make a great enemy for a Madam Vastra episode. I don't get why they stopped doing that, having 1 episode per season for classic monsters is great for the older fans and a nice way to celebrate the shows history.
AtakanKaratas
AtakanKaratas - 5/11/2021, 3:57 PM
The show is so terrible right and I have been a long time fan of this show. It sucks to see it fall this way. The show definitely needs a new showrunner, Chibnall's era is almost worse than Arrow Season 4 lol. At least it had some entertaining characters. Everyone on this show right now even the Doctor is just bland and boring.

I miss the energy this show had.
4thMaster
4thMaster - 5/11/2021, 4:08 PM
@AtakanKaratas - It's a real shame since Series 10 really picked the show back up and, very bad characterization of Hartnell in the last episode aside, left it in a high point.
Amuro
Amuro - 5/12/2021, 4:47 AM
I would love for the TV series, one day, to make a storyarc involving several incarnations of the Doctor at different times but without them crossing each other, just living their own part in the same story at their respective times (a little like they did with the River Song storyline back in the day). That would make for an interesting cross-over without the usual gratuitous fan-service of Ten meets Eleven.
Amuro
Amuro - 5/12/2021, 4:57 AM
"a little like they did with the River Song storyline back in the day"

With the Doctor, the end of one's journey is also often the beginning of someone else's.

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