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Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor (Titan Comics) series
Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor: The Sapling, Volume 3: Branches
Not yet published
Expected 2 Jan 79JOIN THE EVER-POPULAR ELEVENTH DOCTOR'S LATEST COMIC ADVENTURES!
The Doctor and Alice must finally face up to the Sapling's true nature... but has their influence managed to calm his destructive instincts? Or will they find themselves at his terrifying mercy?
The Doctor and Alice must finally face up to the Sapling's true nature... but has their influence managed to calm his destructive instincts? Or will they find themselves at his terrifying mercy?
112 pages, Paperback
First published April 3, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 20, 2018
This is the conclusion to the Saplings main story. Whether he and Alice return is still yet to be seen but it does appears that they are at a point where they can both leave if they want.
The Scream finally reveals himself and makes his move to take over the sapling and basically grow versions of himself planet by planet until he takes over the whole universe. Alice tries to save the day by using compassion, but as most of Doctor Who's monsters, it doesn't work due to their on hubris.
An overall good story with some good moments. I would say the story does get convoluted at times and drags other times. I think the pacing was off at certain points of the story and maybe could've used an extra issue to flesh out some of the points that were just touched on but not fully explored. Perhaps the big event that occurred in the comics got in the way.
Ill definitely keep reading this when it comes back from hiatus. The eleventh doctor's adventures in the titan books are always entertaining at the very least as he always has interesting companions to work off of.
The Scream finally reveals himself and makes his move to take over the sapling and basically grow versions of himself planet by planet until he takes over the whole universe. Alice tries to save the day by using compassion, but as most of Doctor Who's monsters, it doesn't work due to their on hubris.
An overall good story with some good moments. I would say the story does get convoluted at times and drags other times. I think the pacing was off at certain points of the story and maybe could've used an extra issue to flesh out some of the points that were just touched on but not fully explored. Perhaps the big event that occurred in the comics got in the way.
Ill definitely keep reading this when it comes back from hiatus. The eleventh doctor's adventures in the titan books are always entertaining at the very least as he always has interesting companions to work off of.
September 21, 2021
More of a 3.5, but we'll round down.
The final four issues of Year Three wind down with two two-parters. The first has the Doctor tracking down what he thinks is another Time Lord but of course turns out to be something far worse. Then The Scream finally returns to take vengeance on the Doctor, and the Sapling's final destiny is revealed.
The first story's pretty good, and while it's another 'rogue piece of alien tech causing issues' kind of story it has a good twist and a sad ending that make it stand out. INJ Culbard's art was solid as always as well.
The Scream and the Sapling's final story was also pretty good, although I have issues with it. The Scream's plot remains true to what it started with, and the ultimate resolution of it works very well in line with how the Silence work.
But there's no reason why The Scream couldn't have done this back at the beginning of the arc - I know it says that the Sapling needed to mature first, but...why? It's not really a season-long arc if it's just a story that could have taken place earlier on but just chose not to. Also, it doesn't really feel like an ending? The Sapling's final choice is okay, but I don't feel like it's been earned as much as it could have been, and then the story kind of just fades away. The art's nice, though again I've no idea who drew these issues because these trades bill loads of artists then don't tell you who drew what. I can only tell Culbard did the first two issues because I've seen his work in other series before.
So a bit of a whimper rather than a Scream to finish off Year Three. This Year had some potential, but it spent most of its time spinning its wheels before heading into a conclusion that could have come a lot earlier. Not bad, but definitely disappointing, especially after the excellent Year Two.
The final four issues of Year Three wind down with two two-parters. The first has the Doctor tracking down what he thinks is another Time Lord but of course turns out to be something far worse. Then The Scream finally returns to take vengeance on the Doctor, and the Sapling's final destiny is revealed.
The first story's pretty good, and while it's another 'rogue piece of alien tech causing issues' kind of story it has a good twist and a sad ending that make it stand out. INJ Culbard's art was solid as always as well.
The Scream and the Sapling's final story was also pretty good, although I have issues with it. The Scream's plot remains true to what it started with, and the ultimate resolution of it works very well in line with how the Silence work.
But there's no reason why The Scream couldn't have done this back at the beginning of the arc - I know it says that the Sapling needed to mature first, but...why? It's not really a season-long arc if it's just a story that could have taken place earlier on but just chose not to. Also, it doesn't really feel like an ending? The Sapling's final choice is okay, but I don't feel like it's been earned as much as it could have been, and then the story kind of just fades away. The art's nice, though again I've no idea who drew these issues because these trades bill loads of artists then don't tell you who drew what. I can only tell Culbard did the first two issues because I've seen his work in other series before.
So a bit of a whimper rather than a Scream to finish off Year Three. This Year had some potential, but it spent most of its time spinning its wheels before heading into a conclusion that could have come a lot earlier. Not bad, but definitely disappointing, especially after the excellent Year Two.
April 28, 2021
The final volume of Titan's ongoing Eleventh Doctor series, this wraps up the Sapling arc. Some of the same issues from the previous Sapling volumes remain (like Eleven's voice not being quite right), but there were some interesting ideas here that could have been pretty great... if they'd been given more time to develop. (Just like the last Ninth Doctor and Tenth Doctor volumes; seems par for the course with these finales.) (B+)
April 20, 2018
A good wrap-up to this story line, but still pales in comparison to the TV series.
Read
June 15, 2019Whilst I’ve been a fan of Doctor Who for years, and love how the comics have continued his adventures, every now and then the comics will tell a story that you don’t get in the series. Sometimes this is a massive cross-over, sometimes it’s epic visuals that could never be produced by the BBC, and sometimes it’s a story that’s so bizarre that it would never be made into an episode. Unfortunately, the latest instalment in the Sapling story is one of those kinds of stories.
Due to the very nature of the Sapling, a being that is born from the stolen memories of the Doctor and his companion Alice, things were guaranteed to get strange at some point, but when you throw The Silence into the mix too, a species that messes with memories, it was a forgone conclusion.
Thanks to an ancient Time Lord weapon developed during the time war, similar in style to the one used by the War Doctor during the 50th anniversary special ‘The Day of the Doctor’, the Tardis and the crew find themselves on the verge of destruction. Thanks to a last second plan the Sapling and The Scream, a deranged Silence, merge into one, trapping the Doctor and Alice inside a strange other world made from their memories.
Sadly, I wasn’t able to find this story line engaging or entertaining at all. It relied too much on weirdness and the bizarre, with disjointed events and jumps in logic that weren’t given any real explanation other than ‘physic’ stuff, and ‘memories’. Even come the end of the story I couldn’t really tell you what happened, or why what did happen actually happened.
High concept science fiction tends to be something that I don’t always get on with, and whilst it can work in certain franchises it always feels slightly out of place with Doctor Who instead of their standard run and stop the monsters approach.
Whilst the story isn’t necessarily to my taste, the book’s art is well executed, able to depict previous monsters and characters clearly enough to be instantly recognisable without needing much explanation. The planet made of memories is a particularly good part of the book for sneaking in little nods, such as buildings made to resemble various versions of the sonic screwdriver.
I was disappointed with this particular volume of the Eleventh Doctor Adventures I’m sure that there will be some fans who will thoroughly enjoy the story.
Due to the very nature of the Sapling, a being that is born from the stolen memories of the Doctor and his companion Alice, things were guaranteed to get strange at some point, but when you throw The Silence into the mix too, a species that messes with memories, it was a forgone conclusion.
Thanks to an ancient Time Lord weapon developed during the time war, similar in style to the one used by the War Doctor during the 50th anniversary special ‘The Day of the Doctor’, the Tardis and the crew find themselves on the verge of destruction. Thanks to a last second plan the Sapling and The Scream, a deranged Silence, merge into one, trapping the Doctor and Alice inside a strange other world made from their memories.
Sadly, I wasn’t able to find this story line engaging or entertaining at all. It relied too much on weirdness and the bizarre, with disjointed events and jumps in logic that weren’t given any real explanation other than ‘physic’ stuff, and ‘memories’. Even come the end of the story I couldn’t really tell you what happened, or why what did happen actually happened.
High concept science fiction tends to be something that I don’t always get on with, and whilst it can work in certain franchises it always feels slightly out of place with Doctor Who instead of their standard run and stop the monsters approach.
Whilst the story isn’t necessarily to my taste, the book’s art is well executed, able to depict previous monsters and characters clearly enough to be instantly recognisable without needing much explanation. The planet made of memories is a particularly good part of the book for sneaking in little nods, such as buildings made to resemble various versions of the sonic screwdriver.
I was disappointed with this particular volume of the Eleventh Doctor Adventures I’m sure that there will be some fans who will thoroughly enjoy the story.
May 19, 2022
DOCTOR WHO – Eleventh – THE SAPLING Volume 3 ‘BRANCHES’ yr. 3
#9 – “Nasty pieces of work all have one thing in common, Alice: sooner or later they crave an AUDIENCE.” – Doctor
#11 – “We’re family, and that means that wherever you are, I’ll find you and bring you HOME.”
#12 – “.. And I bumped into this guy I used to go to school with. Let’s call him Andy—” – Alice
“Andy!” – Alice. “.. sounds terrifying.” – Doctor
#13 – Really accurate illustrations and colouring
“Like there’s a fog on my mind.. Like something’s just out of reach
#9 – “Nasty pieces of work all have one thing in common, Alice: sooner or later they crave an AUDIENCE.” – Doctor
#11 – “We’re family, and that means that wherever you are, I’ll find you and bring you HOME.”
#12 – “.. And I bumped into this guy I used to go to school with. Let’s call him Andy—” – Alice
“Andy!” – Alice. “.. sounds terrifying.” – Doctor
#13 – Really accurate illustrations and colouring
“Like there’s a fog on my mind.. Like something’s just out of reach
June 28, 2022
I do not have much experience reviewing comics having just started to read the genre.
Thus, please take my review with a grain of salt.
Since I have not yet read these issues in order, that does affect my interpretation of the plot. For example, with this book, I have not read the other two compilations in this series that feature the sapling, depending instead on the summary on the first page. However, I enjoyed the story, even if I did not understand how certain things triggered other processes, as per usual with Doctor Who. :)
Thus, please take my review with a grain of salt.
Since I have not yet read these issues in order, that does affect my interpretation of the plot. For example, with this book, I have not read the other two compilations in this series that feature the sapling, depending instead on the summary on the first page. However, I enjoyed the story, even if I did not understand how certain things triggered other processes, as per usual with Doctor Who. :)
November 16, 2024
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-sapling-branches-by-alex-paknadel-et-al/
Concluding the series of albums featuring the Twelfth Doctor, library assistant companion Alice Obiefune, and sentient tree The Sapling, here we have the showdown between the TARDIS crew and The Scream, a Silent so silent that even the other Silents can’t remember him. I felt the previous volume a bit lacking in energy, but it really picked up here to race us towards the conclusion of the story.
Concluding the series of albums featuring the Twelfth Doctor, library assistant companion Alice Obiefune, and sentient tree The Sapling, here we have the showdown between the TARDIS crew and The Scream, a Silent so silent that even the other Silents can’t remember him. I felt the previous volume a bit lacking in energy, but it really picked up here to race us towards the conclusion of the story.
August 31, 2024
I happened to find this one at the dollar store when I was out shopping this one was kind of hard to read the artwork so nice though if Not a fan of Doctor Who or don’t know who Doctor Who is then you’re not gonna get anything out of this because you’re not really gonna understand what’s going on I think fans of the series though well like this though this is the 11th doctor so I think more modern fans might get more than some of the more nostalgic fans.
November 12, 2022
I actually kind of like how Alice feels pity for The Scream. The way he's defeated might feel like it's too easy, but I think it works. Also realized The Sapling reminded me of teen Groot. The ending makes it seem like Alice and the Sapling will go on more adventures with The Doctor, but I'm pretty sure this does not get continued. At least they're safe, I suppose.
February 2, 2024
This story arc didn't quite end on a high note - it was more of the same as in the previous 2 volumes save for better art, I suppose. It's not a bad story but it just didn't feel all that fulfilling, especially with an idea like the Sapling running through the whole run. The ending more than anything felt a little half-bake - like they didn't quite know how to end things.
September 26, 2018
Year 3 comes to a close, and while the conclusion is satisfying, it's also a little hollow on the plot side. Character-wise, I'm thrilled with Alice and her progress, but I hope we're not being set up for something sinister (and it feels a bit like we are).
November 16, 2023
It's no surprise that this story with the Sapling just kind of peters out rather than ends satisfactorily. At this point the comics were just kind of limping along. It's fine. That's about all you can say about it.
July 7, 2018
All I can say is the Scream merges with the Sapling.
April 21, 2025
Boring, resolution of plot didn’t make sense, but the art in the final story was beautiful
July 13, 2025
It's an okay ending to a wobbly arc. I wasn't truly invested in it and the villain was... pardon the pun... forgettable. I did love the Sapling, however.
May 17, 2018
This book collects the conclusion of the Sapling storyline.
The first part of the book finds the Doctor, Alice, and the Sapling landing on a planet with space-age technology and massive pollution that should be cave dwellers. Is there Time Lord interference involved?
This first story leads up to the events where the Sapling takes action to save the Doctor and Alice but inadvertently empowers the deadly Silence member Scream who has a mad plot that tests the Doctor and Alice's friendship and their sanity.
Overall, I found this a satisfying volume. The book was both imaginative and logical. The art continues to be imaginative as is appropriate with the high concept stuff in this book. The arc is enjoyable, but not as good as what we got in the first two years of the Eleventh Doctor books. But even with that said, this has still been a fun series to read.
The first part of the book finds the Doctor, Alice, and the Sapling landing on a planet with space-age technology and massive pollution that should be cave dwellers. Is there Time Lord interference involved?
This first story leads up to the events where the Sapling takes action to save the Doctor and Alice but inadvertently empowers the deadly Silence member Scream who has a mad plot that tests the Doctor and Alice's friendship and their sanity.
Overall, I found this a satisfying volume. The book was both imaginative and logical. The art continues to be imaginative as is appropriate with the high concept stuff in this book. The arc is enjoyable, but not as good as what we got in the first two years of the Eleventh Doctor books. But even with that said, this has still been a fun series to read.
Read
May 14, 2018The point at which I stopped buying the Eleventh's series - and also its final volume, so my timing was either vindicated or terrible, depending how you look at it. There's some fun stuff in here, not least the skyline of sonic screwdrivers, and it goes some way to wrapping up Alice's arc, but I remain unconvinced by the villain of the piece and less than wholly engaged by the Sapling itself.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews