The 1995 Yearbook

Marvel Comics Blood Invocation The 1995 Yearbook

Published

1994

Tegan is bitten by a vampire on Gallifrey.

• The prequel invocation by Noe Geric

The prequel invocation by Noe Geric 29/6/20

What an odd idea to write a prequel for a Virgin novel in a Marvel Yearbook... I haven't read Goth Opera, but, after having read this one, I really want to see what happens in the book. If I try to forget about the horrible colouring and the rushed script, I might quite like this. The plot is thin, but this is supposed to be a prequel, so I can accept that. There are stupid Time Lords trying to resurrect Vampires, and one of them become a vampire himself. Tegan is infected by the vampire plague, and she tries to kill the Doctor. When Nyssa does something clever, the vampire dies easily and everything is fine. The two final panels lead into Goth Opera and that's all.

The characters are okay, and John Ridgway's drawings are nice as usual, but the colouring feels dry and uninspiring. I think Ridgway stories are better when they're in black and white. The first panel is the most memorable of all, the story beginning with a Time Lord killed and hanged above the Panopticon. There's also a sacrifice and one or two jokes. The story is only eight pages long, but some of them only have four really big panels. It feels quite rushed and if the drawings weren't so big, Paul Cornell could've added some things to the script. Actually, it feels like one of the old TV comics, with a gadget or a clever trick saving the day very quickly.

To conclude, it's a nice introduction/prequel to a book, but the colours and the rushed script let it down: 8/10