Wednesday August 3rd sees the release of the debut issue of Torchwood by Titan Comics. The comic based on the TV series had a successful launch at SDCC according to Titan and features a story by Captain Jack himself, John Barrowman and his frequent writing partner, Carole Barrowman. Issues are illustrated by Antonio Fuso (Drive, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest) and Pasquale Qualano (Batman ’66, She Hulk, Harley Quinn) so you know it’s going to look good.
Torchwood #1 is set after the John and Carole Barrowman novel, The Exodus Code. Following the deaths of Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato and Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper were lying low but were forced to return to face an ecological, Gaian apocalypse. They gained the help of a crew of the Ice Maiden – an ice-rigging ship augmented with alien technology. After saving the world, Gwen returned to Cardiff with husband Rhys and daughter Anwen leaving Jack and the Ice Maiden crew to explore unknown planets.
Torchwood the TV series always intended to be the cooler swearing cousin of Doctor Who (Torchwood is even an anagram of Doctor Who – but I’m sure you knew that) and managed to achieve that for most people. If you weren’t one of them, this might not be the comic for you but if you were a fan of the more mature backstories the overall style of the Torchwood comic should hit the mark.
Dana MacLeish is introduced with the caption “Too bloody early for titles, but Captain, if you must know”. Personally, I liked that. Captain Jack appears after spending the night with Hollis, the chef, weapons experts and very muscular man. There’s an elusive intruder on the Ice Maiden. Meanwhile in Torchwood House somewhere in the Scottish Highlands, Sir James Sterling III and Lady Karina Sterling face a former Time Agent. In Wales, acting head of Torchwood Cardiff Gwen Cooper is enjoying a break with the family until the world needs saving again.
Alright, it’s confession time. This is a good comic and shaping up to be an intriguing series but after the first reading I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. There’s plenty of action and it’s clearly building towards something but there’s an element of introducing the characters and story lines which is not always ideal for excitement and entertainment. I put it to one side for a few hours and read it again. On the second look, things improved and I can definitely say I liked it and am interested to see what happens in the next edition. If you’re leafing through the pages in your local comic emporium and you’re not convinced, I’d suggest having a walk around and coming back to it later. Having said that, I’m sure most of you will love it and be amazed I had some initial reservations. Definitely recommended for fans of Torchwood.
By the way, have you heard John Barrowman is trying to bring Torchwood back to TV? We’ll keep you posted when we hear more.
Torchwood #1 comes with variant covers from Doctor Who artists including Tommy Lee Edwards (Tenth Doctor, Turf), Elena Casagrande (Tenth Doctor, The X-Files), Blair Shedd (Ninth Doctor), and Rod Reis (Doctor Who, C.O.W.L.).
Writers: John Barrowman and Carole Barrowman
Artists: Antonio Fuso and Pasquale Qualano
FC – $3.99 – 32pp – On sale in comic stores: Aug 3
