Interview with Tenth Doctor Comics Writer Nick Abadzis
Monday, 30 March 2015 - Reviewed by
Doctor Who News recently had the privilege of interviewing talented comic book writer Nick Abadzis, who works on the ongoing Tenth Doctor series from Titan Comics. Having enjoyed the new stories (which I have reviewed for some time here on this site) I was fascinated to find out a bit more about the process behind them. Doctor Who Comics influenced Abadzis going back to his childhood, so even today he finds it very special to be part of this great tradition. He has produced the acclaimed graphic novel 'LAIKA', which won an Eisner award, and got similar praise and awards from foreign countries. His upcoming project is entitled Pigs Might Fly and will literally involve flying pigs.
The Tenth Doctor stories take place immediately after Donna Noble's unceremonious exit from the TARDIS crew in Journey's End.approaches the stories as if they formed a proper fourth season for this incarnation; (of course producer Russell T Davies came up with the idea of a 'gap year' of Specials instead). The Tenth Doctor is not in the happiest of places mentally, and is cautious of taking on another companion. He needs newcomer Gabby to win his trust.
One deliberate creative approach involves using the traditional Doctor Who cliffhanger to gain reader loyalty and have them obtain further installments from the range. ButAbadzis tries to not be too formulaic in his storytelling, and this means that the dominant character in the story varies.
Sometimes, it’s from the Doctor’s point of view, sometimes the companion’s, sometimes another character’s, even the villain’s. In comics, you do have that luxury, and it isn’t always as jarring a switch as it might be in another medium.
Abadzis's sheer passion for the comic format is evident: Comics is a language..far, far more sophisticated .. than some people give it credit for.....comics grammar is used on a daily basis, where it’s colonized smartphones and desktop computing
Abadzis acknowledges that David Tennant's own charisma gives the story with the Doctor a certain energy and drive, yet he as the writer must look for ways for the heroic Time Lord to develop as a character. Furthermore the RTD produced era was multilayered and in comic form, Nick wants to try and explore that intriguing material with the options comic books allow. Nick also is gracious in crediting the work done by artist by Elena Casagrande, who is an even bigger fan of the character portrayed by Tennant. On a final note, he expressed his desire to see major live tours for David Bowie and Iggy Pop when I asked what he would visit if time travel were possible.
The full interview with Nick Abadzis is on Doctor Who Reviews.
Doctor Who: Tenth Vol. 1 is out now in comic book stores, and reaches books stores on March 31st.
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