A Review by Richard Radcliffe 7/11/02
This was very nearly the Comic Strip equivalent of Shada, as John Freeman says in his Editorial. DWM 180 had featured the 1st part of Andrew Cartmels latest strip. Then 181 appeared - nothing. 182 was the same. After a few reprints of old strips (always a sure sign that a strip was having problems!) The Grief appeared in DWM 185. It seemed Evening's Empire would not be finished. Well the makers of these mags stuck with it. And eventually 2 years later it finally appeared, in its entirety, in DWM's sister publication Classic Comics. It was issued as an Autumn Special, and the whole issue - 50 pages - was devoted to it.
Apparently the problem lay with the artist - Richard Piers-Raynor, not the fastest of artists. The writer - Andrew Cartmel - delivered his scripts on time, even after John Freeman (the editor) asked him for rewrites. Due to persistence from the editor though it was never totally abandoned. Thankfully it was eventually released, and the initial promise as shown in DWM 180 for the 1st part was fully justified with the rest of the story.
Designed to be set right after the TV series this is Cartmel's Masterplan in all its glory. The mysterious, dark, manipulative 7th Doctor. The world-wise and weary companion, Ace, battling the monsters - both within and without. The emphasis is on realism, and the mind is probed for answers. This is deep, dark, solemn, brooding, magnificent Doctor Who. In Piers-Rayner Cartmel finds an artist like Arthur Ranson before him - An artist who can present Cartmel's vision in a striking and realistic way. It is brilliantly drawn, it is brilliantly plotted, it is quite excellent all round.
The Doctor arrives in Middlesborough (stark realism indeed!). He enlists the help of a few UNIT soldiers - Colonel Frost (as red-haired beauty with relationship problems) and Corporal Ives (bespectacled, overweight, bullied at school female) - in dredging the weir. There they find an old World War Two bomber, complete with skeletal remains. These remains are taken back, and the person they once were accessed. Meanwhile Ace visits a chartered surveyer's asking for plans. She meets Alex Evening (lonely man, reads fantastic stories), and suddenly finds herself in a Fantasy World where the Real with the Fantastical collide. Ancient Rome meets Metropolis meets English City. Ace is put with some women slaves, Gladiators fight in the arena. But where is she, and what is the Doctor exactly looking for! We know the alien race Q'Dhite is in there somewhere (the prologue tells us), but where?
This is a classic story of the alien meeting the ordinary. It's a massive feature of Cartmel's writing, the way he mixes the two. It's an integral part of DW as a whole. Cartmel understands this more than most - but he also brings the show into the adult terrain too. His legacy to Doctor Who is immense (the New Adventures).
The extra characters, combined with the excellent portrayal of Ace and the 7th Doctor, are wonderful. Colonel Frost combines brains with beauty. She's the one who goes into the mind of the dead soldier, yet she does it in a skin-tight leather outfit! Corporal Ives, traumatised by her childhood bullying is simply after acceptance. There's also Alex Evening - a man who lives in his own fantasies - literally. Everybody has bad thoughts, deep within their minds - that's the crux of the whole story - none moreso than Alex Evening. Yet reality is brought home to him time and time again with his aged Mother - a religious woman, who exerts a massive influence over him. Brilliant characters all, superbly drawn and written, wonderfully real. The 7th Doctor and Ace are just as Cartmel has established them. Ace isn't quite as to the fore as usual, but the Doctor benefits from the greater focus. Again the likenesses are magnificent.
Where the story really excels (along with all the other things) is the settings the action is played out on. Piers-Rayner gives us a wonderfully dark, cold and rainy Middlesborough. The only colour is the odd car passing, or someone going about their business. Almost as good is his fantasy world - the Evening's Empire of the title - a world of contrasts and chaos.
All in all this is one of the best comic strip stories you are likely to find anywhere. Doctor Who had grown up before this with Seasons 25 and 26, but this is fully in keeping with that theme. Andrew Cartmel wrote 4 Comic Strips:- Fellow Travellers, The Good Soldier, Ravens and Evening's Empire. It's a fantastic body of work, worthy of that oft used accolade Season 27. Read the 4 altogether, and you'll see how brilliantly crafted and atmospheric these 4 stories are. Evening's Empire ends that run in brilliant style - this is a brilliant story in every department. II>10/10