Reviews

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor, Vol. 2: The Weeping Angels of Mons, by Robbie Morrison, Elena Casagrande, Daniel Indro

Only show reviews with written explanations

amortristis's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

2.0

I didn’t like this comic. The idea of Weeping Angels hunting in the battlefields of WWI has potential, but the execution is just plain bad. What a waste.

So, this is actually the second volume of the series. I was a little concerned about having missed the companion’s introduction in the previous volume but I needn’t have worried; she didn’t have particularly strong characterisation and wasn’t given much to do (something akin to series 7b Clara). To be honest, the story might have worked better had it been a solo adventure with just the Doctor post-Donna, like The Waters of Mars. Or the Sixth Doctor and Peri, since that’s how they’re written.

The Doctor is awful throughout. Yes, this incarnation is prone to anger, callousness, and arrogance bordering on megalomania, but this was just cringey. He dunks on a clergyman for idk being religious, I guess? “You’d have to ask why your God would let this war happen in the first place.” Hm.

There’s tons of clumsy exposition about the Weeping Angels, but nothing that hasn’t already been said in Blink so it’s of no consequence to the reader. A simple “don’t look away, don’t blink” primer/recap would have sufficed.

Far too much emphasis is placed on the Angels’ claws and fangs, even though that only works as a jumpscare and their serene expression is honestly scarier. The artwork is so reliant on the (overestimated) shock value of that rawr face that it seems to lose track of what makes the Weeping Angels so iconic, namely the way they move almost instantaneously when not observed. I think there’s a lot you could do with that concept in this medium. Play with darkness; an Angel points at a light, the next panel is pure black, the third shows the Angel in a different position. Have scenes in dark places – with lots of black shadows like in Mike Mignola’s work, not just a blue tint that suggests shade – making the reader feel as though the characters could slip into the shadows at any moment and lose track of the Angel that’s stalking them. Even the turning of pages could be used to simulate the effect of blinking. But no. All we get is >:O

The story has a hole in it. Not a plot hole, exactly, but a cavity nonetheless: faith. The clergyman’s faith is dismissed and ridiculed, so it’s clear the author doesn’t want to seriously engage with the topic. But the Doctor describes the front lines as “the perfect hunting ground” for the Weeping Angels because of the countless soldiers and civilians killed or missing. It’s unclear why this is significant. Is the implication that they can get away with hunting a few soldiers since no one will notice they’re gone? That makes no sense because so what if someone did notice? The quantum-locking mechanism is supposed to make the Angels impervious to attack so they have nothing to fear from humans. Another interpretation: people are desperate, so they actively seek out the Angels. That would explain the Doctor’s claim that they “[tap] into primal fears and religious beliefs.” Maybe some of the soldiers believe the Angels to be divine emissaries they ought to commune with. Or maybe they witness the Angels transporting people elsewhere and see that as a way to escape the horrors of war.

Spoiler

There’s something to be said about where the soldiers end up. Many find themselves in dangerous situations where they presumably die soon after. Those who don’t meet violent ends somehow find their way back to WWI, such as the man who led a long and happy life only to have a heart attack upon reading about the war’s outbreak in a newspaper. They’re doomed. There is no escape. They perish one way or another, and the Angels feed off their “future” and “potential.” A tragic waste of life.

See? It almost works. Almost. Some of the pieces are there but not all of them, and those that are present don’t quite fit together. The only pious character we see is the clergyman. He’s hardly a stand-in for all the soldiers and civilians caught up in the war. We don’t see expeditions to seek the Angels out. We don’t see an Angel waiting calmly in the ruins, arms outstretched as if to embrace a shell-shocked soldier. We don’t see a deserter being touched by an Angel and sent back to the trenches he fled. We see >:O

There’s a lot more I could criticise but you’ve probably had enough of my complaining.

Positives? I think the cover art is stunning. And, as I said before, I think the story really did have potential. It’s just a shame that that potential wasn’t met.

CONTENT WARNINGS: war, violence, death, animal death, railway disaster, some body horror, some fatphobia, the whole thing feels vaguely misogynist too

electroclan17's review against another edition

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4.0

Fun but scary read about the weeping angels.

snivystorm's review against another edition

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4.0

The terror of the Weeping Angels has been a tough one for writers (even their creator) to nail on the head since the acclaimed success of "Blink". While the TV show has struggled to make them scary and relevant, with only fleeting success in generating that fear factor for adults as well as children, the viciousness and terror of the Angels is felt in this story. Something the show quickly forgot, or failed to demonstrate, was how the Angels thrive on sending victims in to the past more so than killing them by a snap of the neck or magical explosions. This novel is truly based on the original premise in "Blink" and is fantastic in realising it.

Further, the setting of the First World War is handled excellently, providing the perfect setting for the Weeping Angels to unleash their horror and also provide historical exploration in an accessible but highly relevant time period to educate, or at least open an interest for, them about. The soldiers are also well characterised, though it is a shame a look at the German perspective wasn't provided beyond one screaming POW. The art style matches the gritty and dark setting as well, with it feel a little more adult than other comics, especially in how much death occurs within it and the terrors certain characters feel, especially early on.

The tale doesn't have a lot of major weaknesses, and these are really me nick-picking, but honesty must shine through. First, the Tenth Doctor's attitude. Throughout, he's well written but he outright berates Gabby at one stage and this isn't really explored or resolved. Perhaps it is a starting point in their Doctor-companion relationship, but it is lacking on that front. Plus, there's a cheesy romance going on in the last third or so of the story so it loses points for that since it feels out of place in the wider narrative of young men dying and suffering the horrors of both one of history's most cruel wars and the horror of Weeping Angels.

That all said, in summary: this story is amazing! This story has a brilliant premise, terrifying and powerful villains and a supporting cast that's really well presented. It honours the veterans of WW1 splendidly and is a timely read, given it's title is a homage to the Battle of Mons, the first time Britain's Expeditionary Forces fought on the Western Front in late August, 1914. Lovers of the Weeping Angels will find a lot to love in this story. Further, you get a bonus tale in this one, so for the price to get more than one story, it's worth it.

A story for the Whovian and historian!

inhonoredglory's review against another edition

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My apologies to Robbie Morrison, but this guy writes Ten as if he were Eleven: arrogant, dismissive of his companion, flippant in the face of human suffering. I'm sorry, but I couldn't get through the first couple pages seeing my precious Ten handled so poorly. What happened to paying attention to his arc, or even the previous volume's writing?? I'm also not a fan of the art style, but honestly, anything is forgivable artistically if the writer stayed true to Ten's characterization.

corvusastrum's review against another edition

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1.0

Okay I know Doctor Who is known for being cheesy but this is just too much.

The first story isn’t that good. Could be worse, but has some really stupid lines, and what really bothers me are the characters. Each and every one of them. The Doctor behaves like some weird mix between the Eleventh and the War Doctor, he’s really arrogant and so … negative. All the time. Gabby switches from incredibly clever to insanely stupid (where she remains the rest of the book). I mean there are two full pages of her having a staring contest with a Weeping Angel. You know, the creatures that quantum lock and turn into literal stone when you look at them? Making them incapable of moving, hence, blinking? Smart move Gabby. You think you could maybe...run away? No? Okay. Keep sassing it then, you go girl. Most of the other characters are soldiers that stay behind to give the Doctor more time to run away. Which he would never allow them to do but go off I guess.

The art style is also pretty bad. Characters have different looking faces in each panel, making it almost impossible to recognise them if it weren't for their clothes or hairstyle. The only one who really looks different to the others is Gabby, because she’s a girl. Also she has blue eyes and a huge chest and hips now, because, you know, she has to conform to ‘default comic woman’ standards, of course. And then smash in the middle of the story it is written from Gabby’s sketchbook-diary perspective. But just for two pages. Out of nowhere. For whatever reason. So much for immersion.

The second story is luckily much shorter than the first, because it is much much worse. I don’t even want to say much about it but the Doctor BLOWS UP A SHIP. He just blows it up. Poof. Gone. No warning. No “this planet is protected by me, leave”. Just POOF. We are talking about THE DOCTOR here. WTF.

ros_lanta's review against another edition

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4.25

I have seen, read and listened to a lot of stories involving the weeping angels across different media, and many of them are among the very best of Doctor Who (as well as frequently the creepiest).

The Weeping Angels of Mons does something a little different from the others. While there are still the usual thrills of characters trying desperately to not blink when surrounded by monsters, the tone or atmosphere here often feels less creepy than sober and thoughtful. The story takes place on the front lines of World War One, and the horrors of that war are centre stage. We also see the consequences of the weeping angels sending soldiers back in time, soldiers whose lives are destroyed as a result. Some create new lives and have more or less happy endings. Others do not. It is a genuinely emotional book.

Unfortunately the weeping angel arc is not the only one included in this volume. There is a second shorter story which frankly is a significant disappointment after the high quality of the first story. I found it a little boring, and was also not keen on the artwork. It brought my rating for the overall book down by at least half a star.