Script: Alan Barnes Art: Martin Geraghty, Robin Smith, Robin Riggs
The Celestial Toyroom by Noe Geric 11/11/25
It was finally time for the Eighth Doctor to get some adventures in comic form. After the deception of the TV Movie, the only hope to see more visual adventures of the McGann incarnation was in the magazine's monthly strip. What a shame it would've been not to be able to SEE that fantastic Jules Verne TARDIS, and the Doctor's Western costume. But, hopefully, it came. Endgame (not to be mistaken with the novel of the same name with the same Doctor) saw the (new?) Eighth Doctor jump in Stockbridge for the first of what would be the longest run in the strip. And what a story! Even if the plot isn't perfect, it's incredibly visual, something you won't see on TV! And what, for an unlimited budget comic, better than the most visual villain of them all (although, ironically, three episodes are missing): the Celestial Toymaker!
The villain always was a bit tricky to use: his costume is impressive, and his games are mostly visuals. The second episode of Endgame see the Doctor walk into a flying Lego castle, fight dolls of death and meet some snakes and ladders. The Toymaker is at its most chilling, used perfectly to introduce a sense of menace. But while the story is full of great ideas (Stockbridge in a snowball, an epic swordfight between the Doctor and an evil version of himself...), the greatest accomplishment remains Izzy Sinclair: the Doctor's latest companion! She's introduced in the middle of the action, while Max Eddison (one of DWM's most memorable character) returns but still manage to steal the show. She's a sort of transition between the old series companions and what would become characters such as Rose/Martha/Donna & co. The chemistry between a character that barely appeared on TV and one that never did is perfect. The two were made for each other, and that's why Izzy stayed so long in the strip!
Endgame can be seen as a pilot for the new Eighth Doctor adventures. It introduces some essential bits of the show, and the delicious artwork just adds to the inventiveness of the Toymaker's world. Martin Gheraghty might be the best artist DWM ever hired. He gave the strip a sense of epic and details that no one has beaten yet (even if Mike Collins is a strong contestant). That's one of his first, and he doesn't show all his skills immediately (the characters barely open their mouth to speak, the Doctor is a bit of a miss sometimes) but by Tooth and Claw (no, not the TV story) he would have perfectly settled into the role of main artist.
I can't recommend Endgame enough. It's a great beginning and introduction to the comic strip. It's the beginning of an arc that would span from 1997 to 2004, and more Eighth Doctor can't be refused! The Toymaker makes a brilliant and chilling return, each of the story's three cliffhangers brings new ideas after new ideas. It's perhaps a bit too short but doesn't feel rushed at all! Endgame stands among my favorite strips, and the Graphic Novel reunites one of the greatest periods of DWM. That's the beginning of one of the magazine greatest adventures: 9/10