A Review by Finn Clark 10/7/04
The DWM comic strip hasn't had much luck with Victorian England. This is its third story set there:
1840 - The Curious Tale of Spring-Heeled Jack (DWM 334-336)
1851 - Claws of the Klathi! (DWM 136-138)
1855 - Cuckoo (DWM 208-210)
All three-parters, all uninspiring. This one is okay, but it doesn't particularly make you sit up and take notice. It's nice to see Anthony Williams finally draw Doctor Who, but the colouring doesn't do his artwork any favours. Episode one: muddy colours again! Muddier than ever! AAAARGH! Okay, I'm looking at foggy Victorian London at night, but that's no bloody excuse. No one put a gun to Scott Gray's head and made him write this story, did they? (Fortunately episode two is nicer to look at, though episode three is a bit of a step backwards.)
The 8th Doctor wears a top hat (which looks good on him) and says some one-liners which hardly threaten Oscar Wilde but are worth a smile. He's still missing Izzy, but his mental image of her looks a bit like Susan Foreman. For these three episodes he finds a temporary companion: Penny Chapman of 29 Latham Lane, a pleasant but unmemorable girl who could easily have joined the TARDIS but wouldn't have offered anything new if she had.
Sadly, the most interesting thing in this story involves fan politics. In 1996 the DWM comic strip killed Ace, in Ground Zero (DWM 238-242). This was explicit bridge-burning, separating the comics from the books - and incidentally also from a large chunk of other comics, which had been linked with Virgin's NAs earlier in the nineties and co-starred Benny and New Ace. Swathes of fandom were outraged by Ground Zero, but the fracturing of Who canon had begun. Gee, thanks a bunch.
Believe it or not, seven years later The Curious Tale of Spring-Heeled Jack has the ongoing strip's first acknowledgement of the books. Admittedly there was The Last Word in the NA anniversary issue, but that was an out-of-continuity one-off and a Gareth Roberts pisstake. However here we glimpse Gallifrey in the 8th Doctor's memories (complete with two Time Lords in head-collars) with the following caption: "A dull grey world in a bottle he couldn't wait to break".
In one sense this is an olive branch of enormous significance. In all other senses it's pointless.
Firstly, it's dodgy continuity. The DWM 8th Doctor comic strips are a continuing saga, but back in The Final Chapter they visited Gallifrey. So do they fit before or after The Ancestor Cell? And what about the amnesia, eh? Besides, it's even ambiguous as a books reference. The "bottle" line looks like a nod to Lawrence Miles, but that's now officially unhappened and it wasn't Gallifrey in the bottle anyway.
Secondly, it's revisionist even if we forget the amnesia. The books' 8th Doctor has been a guilt-ridden drama queen concerning Gallifrey, but "a bottle he couldn't wait to break" implies that DWM's 8th Doctor wanted to destroy his homeworld! However I'm so bored with the 8DA version of things that I actually prefer the comics' interpretation. If nothing else, it's funnier.
But more fundamentally, I don't think anyone cares. A few years ago people might have been cheered this reference, but now it's yesterday's news. The comics had marginalised themselves through Ground Zero's canon-busting even before the books, the audios and the upcoming TV series came along to change the rules. The comics turned Doctor Who into a pissing contest and lost. They were ahead of the books in 1998, but now they're nowhere. And I say that as a huge fan of the comic strips. Though having said that, I've heard a whisper or two about what's coming up soon...
The Curious Tale of Spring-Heeled Jack is schedule filler. It's readable, with a few good lines and a spooky moment when gas lamps crackle behind two policemen's backs, but I prefer to see the comic strip aiming higher than this. I'm still happy about Anthony Williams doing the art duties, though.
A Review by Richard Radcliffe 17/6/05
It's been a while since Doctor Who delved into the underbelly of Victorian/Edwardian civilization - it's a setting that showcases some of the greatest stories ever told all across Doctor Who media. I've missed it!
I suspected this would be a good one, especially with Scott Gray (has he been doing the comic strip all his life?!) as the scribe. Anthony Williams and David Roach supply the graphics, and very fine they are too - there are details there that demand you just have to spend more time on these stories, so you can appreciate the detail that has gone in.
Anthony Wiliams is a new name for the strip, and based on this 3-parter this shouldn't be his last. I've notice DWM has employed a number of artists over the last couple of years, with no one anymore the dominant force. I think this keeps things fresh. With Scott Gray doing the lion's share of the writing, it is good to vary this other key aspect of the comic strip.
The year is 1840, just after Victoria ascended to the throne. Spring-Heeled Jack has been terrorizing the London Streets, and the Doctor has arrived just in time to investigate. Turns out Jack is not the main antagonist at work, as fiery aliens are the main threat to the Earth. They have the power to take over London's residents, and they need Jack to do so. Penny Chapman, initially helper for the Doctor, is part of the their plan.
After reading the first part of Spring-Heeled Jack, Penny Chapman seemed totally destined for companion material. The Doctor has been alone since Izzy left in Oblivion. He's had stand-in companions, one per story, ever since. But Penny seemed perfect for a continuation - and I really wanted her to step aboard the good ship TARDIS at the story's conclusion. The surprise, therefore, is that she ends up just another standalone companion. But what a great standalone companion! She's a classy girl, orphaned, who came to London to seek her fortune. She associates with all classes, yet is clearly smarter than the rest. She ranks alongside Sara Kingdom as a one-story wonder.
The dark confines of London 1940 are superbly depicted. The strip is full of shadows, with the Doctor a sort of Inspector Abberline roaming the streets. The new gaslights are emphasized, bringing a great deal of atmosphere to proceedings. The background artwork is simply stupendous. Less successful is the 8th Doctor - that is, how he looks. It doesn't really look like Paul McGann, to be honest. You know it's him only because of Scott Gray's excellent story.
I really liked this comic strip, but then I can't remember a Victorian Who story I haven't liked. But the artwork puts this into the major league (in spite of the 8th Dr look). It's moody, it's atmospheric, the story is simple but involving. Very good 8/10