Imagine I said something clever: A review of Doctor Who’s Missy comic book

Missy, the character so expertly played by Michelle Gomez from Doctor Who, has her own comic book series.

Expect, though, for there to be lots of other familiar faces. Issue one is on pre-order already with a release date of the 12th of October, is something of a cameo special with a host of appearances.

The creative team is familiar and equally welcomed, as well. Jody Houser is the author, and Roberta Ingranata returning as illustrator.

There are a few approved preview pages in this review, and so you can see for yourself how good Ingranata and colourist Enrica Eren Angiolini are.

Could Missy be an evil Mary Poppins? Houser and Ingranata lean wonderfully into that idea.

Is Missy any good?

The question “Is Missy any good?” is a bit meta.

I don’t subscribe to Titan’s Doctor Who comic book series. I dip in now and then. I missed the bit where Missy became a travelling companion of the 12th Doctor. Or perhaps I didn’t, and that’s just where we start.

I’ve not missed any of the TV. Now I write these words, my brain nags me to say that perhaps didn’t that all get set up on TV? Aaanyway, you can see the impact it had on me at the time.

I admit it works better than I clearly gave the idea credit for. It’s happened before, but here’s a companion that needs to be watched closely and might make the Doctor work harder than he’s used to. That’s no bad thing; it keeps him distracted.

We have to wonder, all the time, “Is Missy really good?”. It seems like she might be trying to, but that’s not her nature.

And, of course, in a timeline sense, there are more than one Missy.

If she can be trusted right now, can Missy always be trusted? There are absolutely times when Missy wasn’t an ally.

Missy volume 1 sets about trying to answer that question.

Missy versus the Master

Fans will know that Missy is the Master; she’s a female regeneration of the Doctor’s longest friend and worst rival. She’s the only other Time Lord.

In issue one, all of issue one, of Missy, we’ve the titular character breaking the Master out of space jail.

Wait for; while breaking the Master out of space jail, Missy pretends to be the Doctor.

This is it. This is a single idea that issue one seems to be built around, and if you’re not up for 50+ pages of Missy antics, then, well, Missy isn’t the comic for you. But was it ever going to be?

The review subtitle of “Imagine I said something clever” isn’t me be lazy; it’s Missy. That’s how thoroughly she gets into character as the Doctor.

In fairness, she’s playing the role of a regeneration of the Doctor from the far future and is so old that events from thousands of years ago aren’t as fresh in the memory as they once were. The Doctor is a bit addled.

I found it a lot of fun and perhaps a bit more engaging than some of the quest plot moments that bring us to the end of the episode. However, it costs us the apples to apples comparison of Missy to the classic Master.

Overall

I enjoyed issue one of Missy, but I’m not sure I’d subscribe to a long arc of just this. Importantly, I don’t expect Jody Houser to give us just this.

I fully expect the Missy comic book series to treat the word “gimmick” like a landmine. It wants to walk forward, to go places, but there are absolutely some traps to avoid on the path!

I also enjoyed that Missy is a bit of a cross-over-squared. It’s not just more than one Doctor regeneration getting involved, but more than one Master. It’s more than one Doctor interacting with more than one Master, while one Master pretends to be a Doctor. That’s at least cross-over-squared, right?

One last final thought, and it comes to mind after reading Missy. If Time Lord’s memories are fallible, either by age, design or intervention, Time Lords can change appearance, gender and personality; finally, given how Time Lords can meet themselves in different timelines, how many Time Lords are there?

If we see four Time Lords together, how many are themselves with new names?

What if there is only one Time Lord?

Quick Links

• Pre-order Missy #1.

Disclaimer: My copy of Missy 1 was provided for review. Missy is published by Titan Comics and will cost £14.99 when released in paperback in October.