Interview: Doctor Who's Robbie Morrison

Titan Comics was the lucky publisher to pick up the licensing rights to BBC's Doctor Who after IDW's run had ended. There was definitely a bit of trepidation amongst fans over whether or not they could deliver. Any fears were put to rest when Titan recently launched two new series' featuring the tenth and eleventh Doctor's. A third series, featuring Peter Capaldi's Twelve, has just made its debut and it looks like another home run for Titan. We got to ask writer Robbie Morrison a few questions about the Doctor and what we can expect from the series.

Geek Hash: I think it would only be right to start off by asking, who's your Doctor?

Robbie Morrison: My Doctors are Jon Pertwee & Tom Baker, with a slight bias towards Baker. I think the Doctors you watch in your youth are probably the ones that have make the most lasting impression. My first memories of the show are of Pertwee strutting his velvet-jacketed stuff & dispatching aliens with Venusian karate, though I could only have been a couple of years old at the time.

I actually remember being mighty peeved when Pertwee regenerated, as the 4th Doctor was less of an action man & more of an outlandish eccentric, but Baker quickly won me over. Mention Dr. Who to me & he’s who I immediately see in my head. Mr. Capaldi is coming up fast, though.

GH: After having seen all of the episodes of the current Doctor and then reading the first issue, I have to say that you did a great job of capturing the voice of Capaldi's Doctor. How hard was that to do with so little to go on?

RM: Thanks, writing grumpy Scotsmen is a speciality of mine. I'd been given a few pointers by Editor Andrew James as to how Capaldi was approaching the character, but hadn't read any scripts or seen much more than the TV trailers for the new show. A lot of it was gut instinct, I guess. I tried to write it as a combination of how I thought Capaldi was going to do it & how I hoped he was going to do it.

GH: Ten and Eleven's series fall into specific timelines in the show. The Tenth after Donna and Eleven's in between "The Big Bang" and "The Impossible Astronaut." There was a reference to Mr. Pink in the first issue, "Terrorformer," so where do these adventures fall in the series' short timeline?

RM: The opening 2-part adventure is planned to take place roughly halfway through the series, probably around the time of 'The Caretaker', where the Doctor learns about Clara and Danny.

GH: Though we're just at the beginning, it's great to see Titan's run of Who comics starting off with creating new companions and villains for the Doctor to contend with. What kind of threats will we see Twelve have to deal with in future issues?

RM: Death Cults, ancient goddesses, genetically enhanced assassins, crashing star-ships, unravelling realities, conquered worlds and supernova sundaes - though not necessarily in that order. Also, Weeping Angels and World War One in my upcoming 10th Doctor arc.

Trailer via YouTube: