A Review by Richard Radcliffe 17/7/03
The 8th Doctor strip gathers pace with the solid partnership of Gray, Geraghty and Smith. Others chip in with specials, but they deserve most of the credit for this phase of the strip. Izzy and the 8th Doctor continue to excel as a partnership too. A blast from the TV Movie past starts us off. Timeframe:- Winter 1998 to Winter 2000.
The Fallen (273-276)
The continuous story threads that have dominated the comic strip in DWM over the last 2-3 years have finished. The Threshold are destroyed and the 8th Doctor and Izzy have a universe to explore, and we haven't a clue what's round the corner. They go to 2001, 2 years hence from when this story is written and drawn. I actually read it for the first time in 2002, so the impact of this voyage into the future was completely lost on me!
Doctor Who is all about diversity, and whilst I really enjoyed the continuous story of the last 2-3 years - it was nice to read a 1-off story with no back knowledge of the strip required. What is interesting is that they go for TV continuity instead! Welcome back Grace a few years after her meeting at the millennium with the newly regenerated 8th Doctor.
Grace has been a busy bee since New Years Eve 1999. She took the Doctor's advice that she was destined for great things to heart, and became a researcher on the goo that the Master spouted out! It's not an obvious path for this companion to take, but it is one that works supremely well for the story. It also allows the Doctor and Grace to resolve some longstanding arguments, and realize that they are important for one another - but she does not come aboard the TARDIS at the end of the story.
Above all this is a very fine story. Scott Gray, with the help of Martin Geraghty's superb artwork, brings chemistry to DW, but with a sci-fi twist. Grace's supervisor has changed you see, into a mass of seething evil. Living in the rivers and sewers of the city this is a foe that is more X-Files than DW - and that's a compliment. Combine this with the very dark openings in a graveyard, and DW is taking again the best parts of modern culture, in all the best ways.
The 8th Doctor and Izzy are back to form too. After the drama of the last year of strips it is nice to see them relaxing, even though it can never be for long. I'm glad DWM chose to make their own companion, it would have been terrible if they had adopted the BBC books' Sam, for instance.
It's an isolated story this one, even though it does feature continuity from the TV film. It's also better than the majority of strips with more allegedly epic storylines. It keeps the action simple, but with enough intrigue and character study to enjoy too. And if you like your story arcs it seems we have another. The preacher who seems to follow the action everywhere on his soapbox can miniaturize people apparently - and so we know the Master is due soon.
The Master Preacher character though is a sideline - the crux of the story is the Morphant, which has emerged from the goo of the Master. It's also all about Grace and the Doctor, and that is a friendship it was nice to return too. Undoubtebly one of the best and most exciting strips of recent memory. 9/10
Unnatural Born Killers (277)
It is something of a surprise to find, amongst the excellence of the 8th Doctor run, this side step about the Sontarans and a lone Cyberman. The comic strip quite often surprises though, and bearing in mind upcoming stories, this actually acts as a prequel, a little prologue before Kroton joins the Doctor.
The Sontarans are out to take over yet another world. Their long lasting war with the Rutans means that the planet of the strip is vital to their effort. The only problem is (for them) that the human looking populace seems to have its own superhero - Kroton. The strip then is a series of engagements between Kroton and various Sontarans. Wielding all his Cyber power, he gets rid of the threat and the Sontarans are wiped out from the planet. It's a simple story that re-introduces Kroton the good Cyberman.
What's fascinating is where this Cyberman comes from. There are no clues, he just seems to have been left on the planet. But readers of DWM supplementary strip in its Weekly format (back in 1979) know him. He is different from other Cybermen, he has a conscience, and thus bats for the goodies and not the baddies. Along with Abslom Daak he was deemed good enough (which he certainly is) to make the transition to main DW strip.
It will be interesting to see where the strip takes Kroton. Now we are reacquainted, we're expecting him to appear again, which he does (Company of Thieves). Adrian Salmon is a fantastic artist, and he even writes the story for this one too. Pretty good. 7/10
The Road to Hell (278-282)
Doctor Who doesn't do this sort of thing enough. I'm talking about the pseudo-historical, involving some part of the world's history that is new. Japan in the 17th Century is not the first historical period that springs to mind when seeking for imaginative historical locales, but that makes all the more alluring. I know nothing about that period of the world's history, replete with its honor and Samurai values, and that's exciting.
Whether Scott Gray and Martin Geraghty capture the period well is therefore something that I can't comment on - but what we have is a cracking story with great characters and a marvelous new monster race - and that's good enough for me.
The Doctor and Izzy arrive in 17th century Shogun Japanese history. It is a time when unscrupulous local rulers exert there power through force. It is a time of honour, when loyalty and devotion are paramount. It is also a time chosen by the alien Gaijin for bringing their influence to the world. The castle of Rikushira overlooks a tiny village. Rikushira is the overlord, and he is vicious in wielding the sword. He also has the influence of his mother, Asami, and she in turn has been influenced by the alien Gaijin.
Meanwhile a protector of a rival lord, Sato, roams the land, seeking revenge for his master's death. Rikushira's castle is the destination of many it seems.
The depiction of a strange land (at least to us westerners) is wonderful. Geraghty uses all his skill and really recreates a vast land full of beauty and marvel. It looks like a fair amount of research has gone into the story too - the costumes that the Japanese wear are detailed. That's actually the best part of the story - being in 17th century Japan.
The alien aggressors - the Gaijin (a name chosen for them by Asami) are a peculiar race. They bring their futuristic technology making Rakushira's house almost invincible - but they stand aside and see what they will do with such technology. Power breeds more power, and such a callous race of aliens are quite different from the usual DW foe. The real villains are the Shogun hierachy, it is they who use the Gaijin influence in an evil way. Asami is the stand-out here, coming across like that witch in Disney's Sleeping Beauty, as she conjures up frightening foes to assert her power over the land.
Sato is the best supporting character. On a trail of revenge he becomes an unlikely ally of the Doctor's and Izzy's. A 17th century bounty hunter driven for one purpose - and ruthless to that end. The final page really shows how the Doctor's meddling can backfire, despite good intentions - I'd like to see more of this fascinating character.
The 8th Doctor is superbly depicted both in the script and the artwork. Gone are the confusing Threshold storylines, and he revels in a straightforward adventure - helping to save the day - and put Earth's history back on course. Izzy is a marvelous character, shadowing the Doctor, with the Doctor's unstinting faith driving her on - this is a character really at home with the Doctor, and one that grows and grows in likeability.
Borrowing from other sci-fi is not something that DW does too much, but the nanite monsters certainly are borrowed. They are actually a good idea, as is the healing process and immortality that the nanites can cause. I just kept thinking of Star Trek whenever the nanites were mentioned, and whilst I really like that show, DW has its own universe - surely they could have created something else, isolated to DW. I don't like the crossing over of Star Trek and Doctor Who - they are very different entities. The creations devised from Izzy's mind are quite funny though, even though I didn't recognize many - I suppose the nanites do allow monsters to be anything at all - and that's a good thing.
But this is a small gripe, Road to Hell is a fantastic comic strip. At 5 parts it succesfully maintains interest throughout. The 8th Doctor goes from strength to strength in the comics. Yet another triumph. 9/10
TV Action (283)
We're back in one-off comic strip land again - and once again the emphasis is on humour. DWM turned 20 with this issue, and the magazine was dominated by nostalgia trips. The comic strip joins in this reflection taking the 8th Doctor and Izzy to TV Centre 1979. Such self referencing is getting commonplace amongst the special strips, and I wanted the normal strip instead.
1979 is the year in question, and the Doctor and Izzy come across such TV luminaries as Pan's People, Basil Brush, Larry Grayson and even the 4th Doctor himself. As enjoyable as it is to see the funny comic strip Doctor again - all wide eyed and teeth - I just am getting tired of the nostalgia of these kinds of strips. Happy Deathday was funny, this is not - just flinging one late 70's performer after the next at us.
TV has changed over the years. It is nice to get nostalgic about the past. TV was better in those days, but this hankering for the past is becoming a DW obsession. Terrible stories like The Ratings War get through the selection process because they say something about the sad state of TV these days. Convention guests moan constantly about it. Maybe UK Gold is better than the main channels, but I'm tired of hearing the best is the in the past.
I suppose it is natural to glory in halcyon days of our youth, and there will be plenty of knowing "Oh, I'd forgotten xxxxxx, wasn't he good". It did bring back a touch of the ready brek glow of my youth and there were some pretty good one-liners. But I didn't really like this strip all that much to be honest - and the reasons are pretty obvious from above. DWM has done too many nostalgia-fests in the last few years.
Alan Barnes can do better, Roger Langridge is a talented Caricaturist. But let's have some proper stories, taking the Doctor to new worlds. Enough of this nostalgia. PLEASE!!!!! 5/10
The Company of Thieves (284-286)
Scott Gray is a very good comic writer. He is also a very proficient one with dozens of stories written in this format. I haven't seen his name elsewhere, so he's as good a comic specialist as you can get. It's confusing though, there was a Warwick Gray who mysteriously became Warwick S Gray - now we have a Scott Gray - is it the same bloke? Hopefully someone will email and tell me, but I don't suppose it really matters. It's the story that counts.
This is another Scott Gray comic strip. This time the artist is Adrian Salmon, and his distinctive style dominates all (though it is less detailed than his usual work - no doubt a full strip is a lot more hard work than a few images). This is a pirate Story - but not one with skull and crossbones.
The 8th Doctor and Izzy board a space freighter. The freighter is quickly boarded by some Pirates. This group is something of a staple ingredient of lots of comic strips. Personalities in strips get exaggerated. Pirates, by definition are already something unusual, and the strips tend to push that even further. What we get is loud-mouthed braindead yobs, that I don't really like spending too much time with. Seeing as they dominate this strip, this is one of my least favourite.
The Doctor and Izzy are caught up in events, rather than controlling them. I prefer the Doctor to be the one governing what goes on, changing things around - but here it is Kroton who saves everyone. Kroton was introduced wayback in DWW in 1979, in one of the better supplementary strips. He returned a few times, then disappeared. The one-off Unnatural Born Killers a few issues ago brought him back, no doubt to get the readers used to him again. He's a Cyberman with a conscience - and a pretty good character too.
All the best parts of the strip relate to Kroton. When he saves the Doctor and Izzy at the end by blasting through the asteroid belt, it's one of those abiding images that stick in your mind, and can only be done in comic strips. I'm glad he joined the crew, but I don't think he will be around long - he's a pretty one track companion, with limited potential - and I very much fear the upcoming epic will kill him off. So we had better enjoy him whilst he lasts, and it makes a change to have a bit of muscle in the TARDIS.
Unfortunately the brainless Company of Thieves is what the story is about though. This combined with the scientific mumbo-jumbo thrown in by Scott Gray, makes this even more inaccessible for me. The science lost me completely, but Kroton just about saved this from complete obsurity. 5/10
The Glorious Dead (287-296)
Comic strips in DWM seem to thrive on epic storylines. They thrive on story arcs that make Babylon Five seem like stand-alone installments. Rarely ever do they do stories that are one-offs. Stories that after one reading seem isolated suddenly turn into something more substantial over subsequent strips. Here's a case in point. No longer do the previous stories in the strip (The Fallen, Road to Hell, Company of Thieves) stand alone - they provide VITAL ingredients that make up this epic - The Glorious Dead.
Not only does this story take elements that have been taken from previous tales to their conclusion, but it also stands as the biggest story in DWM history. Whether this is overkill is a matter of opinion. It is unlikely that many kept up with the 7-8 page instalments every month for 9 months. I read them all at once - I always do. I have a cursory glance at the final page (striving so hard to not notice any key spoilers) and see whether a story is finished. There's clues elsewhere in the magazine too. Then I go back and read the whole strip together, not always all at once, but over a few days.
The Glorious Dead was read in such a way, which gave it a sort of graphic novel feel. It still is incredibly long though, and took me 3 separate evenings - but it was a very enjoyable strip to read. You have had to have read previous strips though. The casual buyer of DWM must be totally bemused by the strip within its pages, but the rewards are there for the "every month" person - of which I am.
The 8th Doctor and Izzy are a very impressive partnership. Martin Geraghty (artist) and Scott Gray (writer) have both been doing the strip for quite a while now. They obviously decided that it was time to do the comic strip to demolish all others - length wise it certainly does - but I doubt it will be remembered as fondly as the other epics of the strip (Tides of Time, Voyager, Ground Zero).
It's just too meandering for that. There are quite a few times when you think the Doctor cannot be subjected to anymore - he's killed off and then springs back to life. He exists in an alternative world for a while, then springs back! He lasts a whole 10 part adventure, and then springs back! Basically the whole adventure is reset at the end anyway, and looking back through the story this has allowed the writer to do what the hell he wants with the Doctor and Izzy. It allows for Izzy to be shrunk by the TCE weapon of the Master's, and yet still live. It allows for the Doctor to wake up in bed with Grace.
But this kind of surreal fantasy has often touched Doctor Who. Whilst it has never embraced it fully as other sci-fi shows have, DW lends itself very well to this kind of strangeness - we're talking about a show that can go anywhere and do anything after all.
The Doctor and Izzy are joined in this story by Kroton, the good Cyberman. He only joined the Doctor last story, and his return doesn't last that long. This is a fine finish for a character who has been with us a very long time. The Master's inclusion is less effective. Changing him to a balding street preacher lessens his impact. I'm not saying he should always be a moustache-twirling villain, but this just never really felt like the Master of old (neither did the TV Movie's for that matter).
The best part of Glorious Dead is Cardinal Morningstar and who he actually is. Katsura was a brilliant character from the previous Road to Hell. Having the Doctor and Izzy being the catalysts for his being - and therefore this alternate reality is the best idea in there. The Doctor is not all powerful here, and he is shown to be a bit of a control freak too - it further pushes forward the complex creation that is the Doctor - and the different ways that people see him.
Also successful is the Izzy Diary episode. Having Izzy write down diary entries for her pal Max Edison, from Stockbridge, is a delightful way of moving the story along. The whole planet of Paradost is a wonderfully energetic place - futuristic and dark and gloomy. Less successful is the episode where the Doctor slips into Alternate Realities. Previous excursions in the comic strip like this have been wonderful, but Peanuts style strips didn't work, neither did the Mickey Mouse Caricature of the Doctor. The experimental artwork wasn't that great either, to be honest. It just seemed like a bit of indulgence - I like my strips traditional I suppose.
It's great to see the Doctor's companions featuring so heavily. We always knew the Doctor depended on Izzy a lot, but to have all three stars saving the day, all in their own way - was excellent. Not good though was the self-referential statement by Izzy to Kroton, how it has been EPIC knowing him. This is a big signpost saying "THIS IS AN EPIC, DON'T YOU KNOW!" That's up to the reader to decide upon. The depiction of evil in this story is Geraghty's major triumph however - that really is EPIC. The Ash Wraiths and Cardinal Morningstar are superbly nasty, and even though I didn't really care for the new Master, he has some wonderful dialogue.
All in all Glorious Dead strives to be many things, it is mostly entertaining, but it's just about twice as big and unwieldy as the perfect strip should be. 7/10
The Autonomy Bug (297-299)
This was a reaction to the epic that was The Glorious Dead. For 10 months we had in DWM one continuous story - one that impressed with much, but was much too overlong for it's own good. This is a much more light-hearted story, and we're back to the standard 3 parts.
Scott Gray can do epic, challenging stories - he can do funny and strange ones too. This is one of the best of the best of the second type. Helped magnificently by the bold brush strokes of Roger Langridge (a more caricature style than the usual artist Martin Geraghty) the strip turns into a real fun ride through some bizarre characters and memorable setting.
The Doctor and Izzy arrive at Blueberry House, a classic house in isolation. It houses a treatment center for Robots. Robots that have gone against their programming. The woman who runs this strange establishment is one Andrelina Hastoff, a bull of a woman, who rules with an iron fist. She is aided by 2 twins, Branson and Bronson, thugs both - the comedy duo so beloved of many pantomimes.
It's the robots who leap off the page though. From the cute little Otto, a duck-like metal cuddly toy, through to the killjoy Emperor Zero, we are given more robots with personalities that Data can only dream exists. They are all going toward that sentient place that robots can only dream of - and this house is designed to wipe the painted faces that all the robots have adopted, off their metal facades.
Of course the Doctor and Izzy won't let this happen, and a major rebellion occurs. There's a fun runaround at the end where everyone seems to be chasing everyone else, and the robots are left to organize their own culture - and become their true selves. It's all very Data-like in its ideas, but it is done with much more humour and slapstick.
It's a lot of fun, and a wonderfully refreshing change after all the drama that the last year of comic strips has given us in DWM. If you want a pleasant little bit of fun for half an hour one evening - Blueberry House is a good place to visit. I liked it a lot. 8/10