Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #1 Review

 

Writer: Dan Watters

Artist: Sami Kivelä

Colorist: Valentina Bianconi

Letterers: Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith

Cover Artists: Jay Anacleto & Romulo Fajardo Jr; Photo; Flops; Sami Kivelä; Nipuni

Editor: Jonathan H Wilkins

Art Director: Oz Browne

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: November 5, 2025

 

The Doctor is a Time Lord from Gallifrey. He loves fashion and fixing problems. He also loves people of all species, even if they're unfashionable. So after robots abduct Belinda Chandra from Earth, the Doctor tries to take her home. Strangely, he cannot find his favorite planet. Did an alien species that writes atrocious poetry destroy Earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass? Or did someone transport the planet elsewhere and rename it Ravalox? Let’s grab our sonic screwdrivers, leap into Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #1, and see!

 

Story

The Doctor once called the Shadow Proclamation outer space police. Like the Nova Corps, the Shadow Proclamation also runs a prison service. Their most feared prison is Panoptopolis. Like the USS Cygnus, the prison perches at the periphery of a black hole. Prisoners do their porridge without arousing the warden’s ire. Or like Maximillion, BOB, VINCENT, and their Human companions, inmates take a one-way voyage through the event horizon. No one voluntarily visits the Panoptopolis. Unless you’re a Time Lord, and you’re trying to rescue someone.

 

In Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #1, the Doctor sneaks aboard a shuttle heading toward Panoptopolis. Once he arrives, he attempts to befriend others. The inmates prove reluctant, as prisons operate on fear. But the Doctor has taken steps to ensure he arouses the warden's ire, and he knows he'll need friends to rescue Belinda Chandra.

 

Dan Watters imbues his story with colorful characters, an interesting setting, and intense action. Readers learn why the Shadow Proclamation took Belinda there and see how the Doctor defies a corrupt system. While the bulk of the story follows the Doctor, we also discover Belinda's plight. Robots abducted her. Someone took away her planet. Belinda isn't taking this third abduction lying down. Still, in Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #1, everyone has their breaking point.

 

Art

Sami Kivelä surrounds the ringed space station with inset panels of the shuttle arriving and a view inside. The Doctor sits on a bench, his hands chained to the floor, beside a tooth-like Adipose and gassy, green Sliveen. Seated nearer the hatch, a purple cephalopod and a multi-armed cyborg frame the trio. Rock-creatures like Ben Grimm with horns direct them inside with their cattle prods. Before mingling with the rest of the prison population in the dining hall, the Doctor gazes up at an eyeball security camera. And like the Atraxi, he demands they release one of their prisoners to him.

 

Valentina Bianconi links the Doctor's orange-brown coat with the orange-tan rocky guards. With a purple Tentaculon and a green Sliveen for company, the Doctor stands out among the prisoners and guards in Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #1. Yellow makes its presence felt in this lavishly colored story. The latest visitors enter beneath a yellow-and-black warning line. They pass through a brownish-yellow hall. The rock guards scan a white card adorned with yellow. As they enter a cafeteria filled with yellow-uniformed inmates, a yellow-eyed security camera watches.

 

Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith fill white dialogue balloons with uppercase black dialogue. The narrator speaks into light-yellow boxes, while the rocky guards use cloudy, light-yellow balloons. The words grow bold for intonation, swell for raised voices, and never shrink. Despite ample opportunities, sound effects wait backstage until the climactic confrontation. Yet a lowly character speaks the loudest, even if it is a squeak. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a review copy.

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Like the Panoptopolis, fear can imprison us in chains of our own making. In this story about the temptations and abuses of power, the Doctor inspires the imprisoned by urging them to ignore their fears in Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #1.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For all the cover art see my preview of Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #1.