Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #3 Review

 

Writer: Dan Watters

Artist: Sami Kivelä

Colorist: Valentina Bianconi

Letterers: Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith

Cover Artists: VV Glass, Photo & Sami Kivelä

Editor: Jonathan H Wilkins

Art Director: Oz Browne

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: January 21, 2026

 

After robots abducted Belinda Chandra, the Doctor tried to return her to Earth. When locating his favorite planet proved difficult, he landed the TARDIS on Clithrow. But while the Doctor took a vindicator reading, Shadow Proclamation agents whisked Belinda off to the Panoptopolis, the escape-proof prison orbiting a black hole.

 

Like CIA agent Snow, the Doctor sneaks into the Panoptopolis on a rescue mission. But can he rescue Belinda from a prison holding more species than space penitentiary MS One? And does the Doctor prefer Luc Besson movies to Roald Dahl adaptations? Let’s grab our sonic screwdrivers, leap into Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #3, and see!

 

Story

H-8, the living weapon, fell while helping the Doctor escape the Gravelyte guards. Methelough, the Tentaculon who devoured its siblings at birth, fell before its Zygon pursuers. So, as the Doctor prepares to enter a wing filled with dangerous inmates, only Felik the Slitheen and Annie the Adipose accompany him. And while Felik is the larger of the two, the pirate wonders if uniting under the Doctor’s banner was wise.

 

As in the last issue, Dan Watters narrates events from an omniscient perspective. But instead of relating insights from Methelough’s point of view, he filters the Doctor's journey from Annie's worldview. Like Groot, Annie's ability to communicate with non-Adipose species is limited. But even though she is composed of lipids, Annie demonstrates that she has a heart in Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #3.

 

While addressing what makes the Adipose tick and how other species regard them, the Doctor encounters a danger that wouldn't win entry to the Second Doctor's Monster of the Week ranks. The Doctor also expresses his concern for his squad. Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #3 may not rack up as high a kill count as classic stories like Warriors of the Deep or Attack of the Cybermen. Still, as the Doctor reminds Felik and Annie, not all the inmates snuck aboard to rescue innocent victims. Nor may they prove as amenable to joining their rescue squad.

 

Art

While Sami Kivelä compares a sleeping baby and cuddly bunnies with Annie, Felik’s eyepatch and claws reinforce the image of a predator. Annie may be tiny compared with the Slitheen. But she gazes up at her ally with a scowl when the Adipose hears something she dislikes. The Doctor flashes a radiant smile as he studies his sonic screwdriver. But he glances back to deliver a warning before placing a hand on a glowing scanner.

 

Valentina Bianconi lavishes a loaded palette of bright and attractive colors on Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #3. Clad in his long brown coat, the stylish Fifteenth Doctor ventures into danger, followed by the green Slitheen and white Adipose. Red light fills a room filled with containment cells. A spinning fan evokes the Ninth Doctor's journey through Platform One with Jabe, the sentient tree. Yellow links the floor lighting and the yellow hand scanner with the yellow eyes inside each surveillance camera. But purple signals danger as the Doctor travels toward the Warden's yellow office.

 

Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith fill white dialogue balloons with carefully hand-written uppercase black dialogue. The narrator speaks closely spaced lines of text into light-yellow boxes. The words grow bold for intonation, swell for raised voices, and never shrink. Yet the diminutive character most species disdain captures readers' hearts with her big squeaks. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Fighting their way through a maximum-security prison was always going to be dangerous. But while the Doctor fears his allies will succumb to their baser natures, the inmates show a surprising ability to rise above their self-serving ways in Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #3.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Doctor Who: The Prison Paradox #3.