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Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor (Titan Comics) #3.5

Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Holiday Special: Time Out of Mind

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This brand-new adventure follows the 13th doctor and fam in their first ever comic book holiday special!

The 13th Doctor and co visit an inter-galactic fair for some down time, only to realise things aren't all as they seem. Both their minds and the TARDIS' logs have been tampered with, and in a bid to discover just what in Gallifrey's name is going on, they head to a distant planet where they encounter a mysterious festive figure involved in an audacious plot...

Bursting straight out of the long-running hit television series, this Doctor Who collection continues the time-travelling tales of the Doctor and friends.

Buy it, read it, then travel back in time to read it for the first time all over again...!

Collects: Doctor Who FCBD 2019, Holiday Special #1 and #2.

106 pages, Paperback

First published February 4, 2020

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Jody Houser

733 books288 followers

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
Profile Image for tay.
46 reviews1 follower
February 3, 2022
made me very very happy! adorable interactions between the fam and the doc! the ending was very sweet too :)
Profile Image for Owen Townend.
Author 9 books14 followers
December 25, 2021
A light-hearted festive adventure.

Houser does an admirable job of capturing the voices of the Thirteenth Doctor and her 'fam', whilst also granting the companions more insight than was seen in the live action TV series.

As for this story, it's for the most part a cheeky Christmas wink, playing with the concept of Santa Claus and Christmas Land. I was intrigued by the memory loss plot but wish more time had been devoted to it and that the payoff had tied everything together better. Then again this was a Holiday Special miniseries so I would say it has served its marketed purpose.

Ingranata's artwork was strong, vibrant and seasonally appropriate. Then again I feel that the cover chosen for this trade paperback doesn't quite match, suggesting a much darker and more ponderous tale. The same goes for the title.

For a Christmas comic, Doctor Who: Time Out of Mind hits the spot and clearly has a lot of fun doing it. I recommend it to Whovians who miss Doctor Who's TV specials at this time of year.
Profile Image for Chris Lemmerman.
Author 7 books123 followers
November 16, 2021
A Free Comic Book Day story takes on a life of its own as it acts as a prelude to two Holiday Specials, pitting the Doctor against the Anti-Santa!

Is this a little twee? Is literally going to a planet that looks like Santa's workshop, to save the elves from Krampus, going a bit too far, even for Doctor Who?

Maybe. But it's adorable, fun, and full of Christmas spirit, so I don't care.

Five stars for the sheer audacity of going there.
80 reviews
May 29, 2021
Leuker dan de vorige 13th comic. Mooi onverwacht kerstthema, Krampus als villain, nice. Begint echt voeten in aarde te krijgen qua character interacties en goed quirky
Profile Image for Michael.
436 reviews28 followers
December 23, 2019
4.5/5

As the saying always goes, if the BBC won't give Doctor Who a Christmas special on TV, then the comics will pick up the slack! And pick up the slack they do as writer, Jody Houser, and illustrator, Roberta Ingranata, team up once again to tell a new story with Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor and her friends - this time as they go against a holiday threat as scary as anything they've faced to date. It's fun, it's festive, and Houser and Ingranata continue to show the vast understanding they have for these characters.

I have really been enjoying Titan Comics' ongoing Thirteenth Doctor title. They've made for a really excellent way of continuing to spend time with Jodie Whittaker's 13th Doctor during this year where the show was mostly off the air. This is doubly true with Time Out of Mind, a comics-only Christmas special that's as good as nearly any of the televised ones. In this story, the 13th Doctor and her friends discover they each remember the events a previous adventure in vastly different ways and seek to find out why. Their journey takes them to a completely unexpected destination: Santa's workshop. There, they uncover a sinister threat that threatens Christmas, itself, and watching them figure out what's going on and solving the problem is as fun as you'd hope it would be.

Trying to stay away from spoilers, I really enjoyed this story. Apparently, it loosely continues a story found in the 2019 Free Comic Book Day issue of the run, but I haven't been able to find a copy of that story, so I can't comment on how it does or doesn't mesh with that issue. But what I can say is that this story opens with a premise that immediately hooks you and never lets you go until everything is neatly wrapped up in the end. One of the best and also worst things about the 13th Doctor comics is its pacing; it's so quickly paced that it keeps your attention really nicely, but you do miss out on some of the quieter moments you might get in a TV episode. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as comics tend not to do those slower, character-driven moments outside of comics written specifically for adults. In the context of what this story is trying to be, the pacing works very well and you're immediately into everything that's happening and, as the various mysteries of the story begin to be unraveled, you never really find yourself lost or confused. This story's ultimate villain is super threatening and even a little scary, but not too scary - it's exactly the kind of threat you'd want for a Christmas episode and I can't believe the show hasn't done a story with this character before.

I loved the way the Doctor and her friends interact within this story; it really feels like they've been traveling for a while now and they just feed off of each other so well. As their interactions are one of the most important parts of any Doctor Who story, it's almost immensely satisfying when it's pulled off with such ease. In fact, nearly everything about this story worked perfectly for me, save for the climax itself. As is often the case in Doctor Who, everything is wrapped up a little bit too neatly. It's usually because of the time constraints and pacing of an episode/comic issue, and the same is true here. It doesn't come anywhere close to ruining the story, and a Christmas-themed story probably isn't the best place to really challenge the Doctor too hard, but it is always ever-so-slightly disappointing when the resolution seems to be achieved so easily. But, aside from that, this is just a really well put together Christmas story and I'm so glad it exists as it doesn't appear we'll be getting any kind of holiday special this year, as the new season is premiering on New Year's Day and doesn't seem particularly holiday-themed.

As always, this comic works largely because of its creative team and their complete understanding of this era of Doctor Who. Jody Houser has such a grasp on the voices of these characters and manages to make them feel just as alive in the pages of her stories as they do in the episodes of the series itself. Every line of dialogue is written so perfectly that your brain literally reads them in the voice of whichever character is saying them. The same is true for Roberta Ingranta's excellent artwork. Ingranata really understands how to draw a Doctor Who comic. She completely nails all of the facial expressions, ensuring each of the characters who have previously appeared on-screen look like the actors who play them while still having the correct reactions they should have within the context of the story being told in the comic. Here, Houser really gives Ingranata some fun stuff to play with as Ingranata conjures an entire winter wonderland within the pages of the comic. This new world looks exactly how you'd imagine a Santa's Workshop kind of place to look and Ingranata's art, coupled with Enrica Eren Angiolini's colors, quickly puts you in the Christmas spirit. I also always enjoy scenes set in the TARDIS as Ingranata and Angiolini perfectly capture the feeling of the 13th Doctor's TARDIS, always playing with different lighting styles while still ensuring it looks and feels like the TV version. This team of Houser, Ingranata, and Angiolini is such a dream team and I hope they continue working on these comics for a long time.

Time Out of Mind is the kind of Christmas special you always wish Doctor Who would try to do. It's that perfect blend of festive and scary. It features a wonderfully creepy monster, that's a twist on a couple of different Christmas-related myths; some delicious science fiction elements, including a few really fun planets and that always-lovely trope of missing memories; and it's a whole lot of fun. Houser continues to perfectly translate these characters from screen-to-page and I will always enjoy the vast amounts of creativity she brings to this title. Ingranata's art continues to impress as she finds that perfect mixture of grounded moments and science fiction weirdness. She can go from a perfectly drawn emotional moment to an action scene that's incredibly easy to follow and her artwork perfectly meshes with Houser's script to form a book that's so much fun to read. If you're longing for a Christmas special this year, I cannot encourage you enough to give Time Out of Mind a read. It's so good you'll wish it were an actual episode of the show.
Profile Image for Samah (samahcanread_).
718 reviews98 followers
February 6, 2020
since we won't have a Christmas special with Jodie, the comic took care of it, and it's just as cute as any Christmas specials with the previous doctors.

It's fun, festive and cute with a little speech at the end, which fits perfectly the vibe of the Doctor, because what's better than The Doctor at Christmas time? A Christmas feast with a war speech from the Doctor.

I don't celebrate Christmas but I like the holidays and the festive vibe it brings, and seeing Yaz being okay with it because it's not a big deal if we Don't celebrate, mirrors how I actually feel about the holiday.
Profile Image for Rosa.
597 reviews16 followers
December 11, 2024
A fun little holiday story! While the Doctor didn't look as much like herself in this edition as she has in some of the other Thirteenth Doctor comics, she was distinctive, and her clothing choices made her notable at all times. The Fam all looked really good in this holiday special though.

In terms of story, this was a quick but fun little side jaunt in Thirteen's adventures. The writers made sure to tie into the main line of Thirteen's comics by having The Hoarder mentioned numerous times and bringing in their experiences with the Corsair. None of these mentions have much to do with what's happening, but they do help to cement the story within the wider narrative of the Thirteenth Doctor Era comic line.

There's not much real connection with the Christmas season in this, but it's more of an aesthetic connection than anything else. And that actually feels really good since it's acknowledged that Yaz is Muslim and therefore doesn't celebrate Christmas. Which was a really interesting point to make and I wish the show had brought it up as maybe a side remark comment during one of Thirteen's New Years Specials about why the TARDIS kept landing on New Years instead of Christmas this go around. It would have been both a fun and culturally diverse explanation for the change.
Profile Image for Alec.
85 reviews
December 4, 2022
Good fun! I think part of the reason that I enjoyed this so much is the weird strays from the core character of The Doctor that the show embarked on are not to be found here. 13 is confident, witty, unafraid of danger, and ready to explore the universe, like all her predecessors before her. Aside from that, fun Christmas story! Elves, Santa, Krampus, the whole shebang! I like some of the fun sci-fi ideas of the Doctor and crew already having been to the planet and failed in their mission the first time(and the following narrative excuse to get everyone to wear Christmas lights). I wish that the Fam(a name I still dislike, but I suspect is just a me thing) had been given a bit more to do, but they're still fun. I also find their purpose to be mostly dropping funny lines and trying to be heroic when they don't do much, but I'm not sure really what I would rather instead. It's a TARDIS team that, show included, never really figured out a strategy other than "let the Doctor figure it out". So it seems to me right now, anyway. I'd be very glad to be proven wrong. Still a good holiday story, and works in the imagery much more than other holiday specials, and quite well! A fun Christmas jaunt.
Profile Image for Rocky Sunico.
2,283 reviews25 followers
March 7, 2022
This comic generally delivers on the promise of its publication premise - it's the comic book equivalent of a Christmas Specials. And such one-off stories are either very awesome or rather mediocre, in my experience. And this book, while not a bad story, trends to the latter.

We have the Doctor and her companions dealing with unexplained memory loss and a lot of Christmas-related characters including toy soldiers working in a factor and potential Santa Claus figure as well. But of course, this is not Jolly Old Saint Nick or what have you but another entity entirely, and it'll take some careful sleuthing of their own recent past along with some unexpected holiday help to get to the bottom of things.

This was a nice light story that was quite enjoyable but also with no real long-term implications or complications. Good reading that is situated between the events of the other volumes but also does not directly connect to them apart from a few mentions of characters.
Profile Image for Alex Sarll.
7,262 reviews377 followers
Read
February 12, 2020
A Christmas special which tends to suggest that, for all I might question a lot of Chibnall's decisions, he was maybe right to rest the TV Christmas specials because the pool of festive stuff you could Who-ify was getting pretty drained. Curiously, the Free Comic Book Day story, also included here, turns out to be a prelude...which is instantly retconned out of existence. I suppose that as first experiences of comics go, it's at least representative, but when the Thirteenth Doctor comics are presumably more likely to entice new readers than the usual Big Two stuff, it still feels like an odd move.
Profile Image for Andy Hickman.
7,485 reviews55 followers
May 19, 2022
DOCTOR WHO – Thirteenth – TIME OUT OF MIND
Free Comic Book Day 2019 – Carnival with rigged games, a short-range teleport.. and the Doctor’s unique sonic screwdriver that thwarts sinister plans!
Holiday Special #1 – “If someone wants us to stay away … I’d like to KNOW WHY.”
Interesting case of replaced memories, each different for Doc and the team ***
Holiday Special #2 – “Mind the neurological trackers. They’ll let us know if there are any mind traps along the way.” – Doctor ....
The team expose the alien villain setting free the slave workers. So, is the REAL Santa REAL??
“[Cheers!] To unexpected friends!” – Doctor ***
Profile Image for Cat Randle.
233 reviews1 follower
January 19, 2025
I rather like these Thirteenth Dr comics. This one is fun and silly and would make a great Christmas special.

It is full of glorious Christmas puns, just missing out on an elf on a shelf, and nods to the fans in subtle ways.

The Dr is cheeky, passionate, irreverent and pulls it out of the hat at the last minute.

Jody Houser writes a fun story, including the bits we love to see in Dr Who. Houser is good at twists, keeping the story clipping along. The art is fun, easy on the eye and the covers and full pages are lovely.

This graphic novel is good for Whovians, young sci-fi readers, and young adults who are starting to read for fun and like space opera.
Profile Image for Daniel Author.
Author 1 book1 follower
December 28, 2020
A gloriously fun Doctor Who story on the festive season, a fast paced adventure with plenty of science fiction themes and christmas ones too.

The Doctor and her companions have had their memories replaced and in order to try and find out what's really going on, they investigate a mysterious man known as Mister Henderson who's not all he seems and he is planning something terrifying for the festive season.

Jody Houser has written a very exciting and easy to read Doctor Who story that perfectly captures the spirit of christmas and the characterization is superb! 9/10
Profile Image for Rick.
3,263 reviews
September 11, 2020
Wee! That was fun.

Have to admit, I’m generally not a huge fan of the Doctor Who Xmas specials. They’re fun and all, but they too forced and more than a bit contrived. There are exceptions (The Runaway Bride, Last
Christmas
), but generally speaking. Meh.

I kind of had the same vibe with this one. Fun. But in the bigger scheme of things ... meh.
1,743 reviews8 followers
September 11, 2022
A fairly harmless Thirteenth Doctor adventure, there's a trip to an alien amusement park, and then a holiday special involving, no joke, Santa Claus and other Christmas-themed characters. It's probably a lot more family-friendly than the holiday TV specials I've seen for this Doctor. Those tend to have pretty high body counts for some reason...
Profile Image for Lilybeth.
815 reviews52 followers
January 21, 2023
Super cute!
If 13 had had a televised Christmas event like the other Doctors, this story would have been perfect.
Sweet, funny, with a dark twist on the holiday.
Everything we love about Doctor Who.

I already miss 13 and the Fam so reading their comic stories has been a good balm.

On to the next one...
Profile Image for Steven Shinder.
Author 5 books20 followers
October 24, 2022
Took me a bit to realize this is the only Thirteenth Doctor Christmas special I’ve seen. Very fun and loved how Krampus looked. And I did enjoy the mention of The Dark Crystal. Funny enough, Thirteen’s TARDIS interior always made me think of that universe.
9 reviews
December 15, 2024
That put me in the spirit~

That was a fun read! I just discovered Doctor Who comics and was surprised that 13 had her own series! This one had a fun Christmas plot, so it really puts me in the holiday spirit.
Profile Image for Alyce Caswell.
Author 18 books22 followers
August 25, 2025
This was a pretty silly story, but it was entertaining. Compared to other Christmas specials in various formats... I don't think it's as good (which hurts me to say, because I really like Houser's work).
Profile Image for Artur Nowrot.
Author 9 books57 followers
Read
December 24, 2019
This was great fun, if a bit thin on the plot. But the Doctor's voice was nailed perfectly and there were lots of brilliant little moments.
Profile Image for Ellen Schoener.
851 reviews42 followers
January 12, 2020
Really enjoyed this one.
Quite a clever little story.
For me the best 13th Doctor comic yet.
193 reviews11 followers
March 11, 2020
Przypomina akurat wszystkie nie do końca udane odcinki z Trzynastą
Profile Image for Emma Dargue.
1,447 reviews54 followers
January 11, 2022
Read these in completely the wrong order but will now attempt to read in the right order.Good story using the legend of the krampus.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews