Whoah! Review

If you read Doctor Who Magazine since the return of the show to television in 2005, you have have seen the Doctor Whoah! comic strip by an artist named Baxter. That gentleman's real name is Jamie Lenman and with the help of small-press publisher Miwk (pronounced "milk") Publishing he has collected all of his strips into a book called Whoah!: Eight years of bizarre cartoons from the pages of Doctor Who Magazine.

 

I was a fan of Lenman's strips when they were in DWM. His humor was quirky and off-the-wall, which coincidentally fit his art style. Lenman's cartoons gave you plenty to admire and provided readers with a different look at Doctor Who on many levels and this collection shows that off in a lovely package.

 

Having all of the Doctor Whoah! comics in one collection is brilliant and I am glad that Matt West and the rest of Miwk Publishing compiled this book. Not only do you get all of the strips from DWM but Jamie also provides the Moments in Time strips he created for the Doctor's 50th anniversary and some brand new strips you can only find within the covers of this book.

 

The production value of this book is top-notch. Not having seen a book produced by Miwk, I was really surprised by how lovely this book is. From the cover to the paper stock, the page printing to the coloring, everything looks amazing. This is there first foray into releasing a book with artwork on this scale and it excites me even more for their next book along these lines - a collection of Doctor Who comics from Tim Quinn and Dicky Howett. 

 

The only drawback to this collection (which has nothing to do with the contents of the book) is that the high price point may keep some readers away. If you are a fan of funny Doctor Who material, great artwork or Doctor Who in general, do not let this scare you away. You definitely get your money's worth in this volume and won't be disappointed. 

 

Jamie Lenman has a unique, abstract art style and a compatible outlook on Doctor Who. Having a complete collection of all of his strips is something that most Doctor Who fans don't know they want but if you would put it in their hands would be glad you did. This splendid, humorous book has something for everyone and should not be passed by.