Doctor Tomorrow
One of the great challenges of review writing is when you are asked to join a series in the middle. But it is even more challenging when you are given the task of doing the final issue in the series. It leaves you with two choices. Attempt to catch up by reading the previous installments, or rely on the synopsis included to make the story understandable. In this case, Valiant did a great job in including a brief, but comprehensive recap of what had transpired to this point. It didn’t answer all the questions but it made it possible to read the final book with some foreknowledge of what lead to this point. Because I couldn’t have explained it better, here is their recap that leads us to the final issue of Doctor Tomorrow.
Bart Simms was a regular kid until Doctor Tomorrow, an older version of himself from an alternate reality, teleported in, and recruited Bart for his multi- verse-spanning struggle against evil. Sounds good, right? The two worked side by side until Doctor Tomorrow revealed his wrathful true colors.
In a fit of rage, Doctor Tomorrow tried to vaporize Bart. But instead, he wound up sending him to an alternate future. There the young hero was able to train under Doctor Gretchen Green, the adult version of his childhood friend. Now he is armed with a greater sense of responsibility and twenty years of heroing under his belt. It is now time for Bart Simms to return to his own timeline. To face his alternate self in one final battle, for the fate of the universe…
The Final Chapter
So it all comes down to a face off between two Tomorrows. Doesn’t that seem what always comes to pass when time travel and alternate realities are involved? Which version of Tomorrow will prevail? Good or bad? Under writer’s Alejandro Arbona and artist Jim Towe creative ministrations, that resolution has been building since this story began. It also leads to the decision of what needs to be done to prevent the possibility of repeating itself. Seems like pretty heady stuff for a hero who was basically a kid before this timeline intervened. The stakes are high, and this new version of Bart Simms knows it. Needless to say (as shown below) the battle was waged with ferocity and with two totally different agenda’s. The sides couldn’t be more clear as were the consequences.
As for the results? I leave it for you to read for yourself. That IS what this is all about.
Thoughts
As I have always said, it is contingent on the creative team and perhaps the publisher, to make sure that when a new reader comes to their book, they are not totally lost. Their next task, is to make readers WANT to pick up previous issues to see the full story that they missed. Nowhere is that more important than when you come to the end. Give your readers a reason to fill in the blanks. Valiant understands that and so did the creators of Doctor Tomorrow. You could read this (along with the synopsis) and be able to understand the story and want to read the first four issues. That’s a success anyway you look at it.
So if you have been following the series, be ready to see what happens in the climax. If you’re new to the series, check out this and the previous four. Share what you think about it with us here at GeekVibesNation.
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Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
