REVIEW: Torchwood- The Culling #1: Captain Jack Will Get Ya By Tonight.

Rob Ferreri

7 years ago

I have been a Doctor WhoÂ fan for as long as I can remember. Tom Baker and his scarf hooked me as a kid and I’ve been a huge fan ever since. That being said, I’m no stranger to Captain Jack Harkness and Torchwood and could go on forever about them and their television history, but today we’re here to talk about the new Torchwood comic series and it is certainly worth talking about.

Torchwood: The Culling #1 continues the adventures of the former Time Agent and companion of the Doctor. The series takes place after the novel:Â The Exodus Case and is the third volume in the comic series. The first two volumes,Â World Without EndÂ andÂ Station Zero are well worth the time to read, though not essential to follow the new storyline.

I could not think of anyone who knows Captain Jack better than the man who has portrayed him for years, John Barrowman, and so I was excited to see that he along with his sister, Carole, were once again penning the adventures of the Torchwood team.

The series is extremely faithful to the source material and even brings in some old favorites from the show like Gwen Cooper, just wouldn’t be Torchwood without her, and Captain John Hart, Jack’s former lover and partner from his stint as a Time Agent.

Captain Hart contacts Jack and Gwen and lets them know that their previous adventure has produced a new being, calling herself Sladen who seems to have been cloned from their DNA mixed with that of the Verviod race which created her. Sladen is a great nod to Elizabeth Sladen, the actress who portrayed Sarah Jane Smith one of the Doctor’s former companions prior to her unfortunate passing.

The book is not just well written, it is also a very well drawn. Neil Edwards does an outstanding job of making the characters look like their television counterparts. Â The alien Vervoid design looks amazing as do the various tech and spacecraft. The colors of Dijjo Lima set each scene as unique with its own color tones and subtle touches like the holographic communicator shading really sells the effect.

No matter if it’s traveling in the Tardis with the Doctor, fighting aliens on a space ship at the edge of the universe, or just running around the streets of Cardiff I will be tuning in for the adventures of Captain Jack Harkness for as long as the immortal adventurer continues to have them.

Story: 4
Art: 3.5
Overall Rating: 3.75

(W) Carol Barrowman, John Barrowman (A) Neil Edwards (CA) Claudia SG Iannicello