A Review by Richard Radcliffe 24/5/03
The writing chair was filled by DWM editor Alan McKenzie for the first few stories here. Furman, Collins, Delano and Morrison then contributed stories - the strip was not to have a regular writer again till Scott Gray much much later. Consistency was provided by artist John Ridgway, who continually produced superb visuals. The 6th Doctor was joined by TV Companion Peri, - the first instance of such a crossover. Whifferdill Frobisher remained right through the 6th Doctor's strip era. Spring 1985 to Winter 1987.
War-Game (100-101)
This is another strip that shows the strength of the 6th Doctor's character, and how the comic strip exceeded the TV equivalent. The strip ran concurrent with the TV Show - but was easily the better of the 2. Stories like War-Game show why.
The 6th Doctor and Frobisher arrive on a backward planet. They go into a bar, can't pay for their drinks and are sold as slaves. They are bought by a Draconian. He asks them to go on a mission - to rescue his daughter who has been captured by a rival.
The Doctor is swept along by the actions of others in this story. Frobisher is just as much a focus as the Doctor. He's changed to a bulky Male Wrestler-type, and he's as much a part of the rescue effort as the Doctor. I had forgotten just how much Frobisher was involved - and how great a companion he was (Penguin or Shapeshifter).
The strip also showed a habit of not going the obvious route. It doesn't always feature a happy ending - and therefore the storytelling is more profound and interesting. Dare I say more realistic too.
John Ridgway is one of the best artists to ever grace the series. His attention to detail is amazing. This primitive world is superbly presented. The detail, even in the background, is amazing. You can almost smell the grimy streets - there's a real atmosphere created by a master of his craft.
War-Game brings back the Draconians, and did something I never thought possible - made them interesting. They were to appear again later on, just as well. Again the comic strip succeeds where the TV show failed. A fine comic strip story, magnificently drawn. 8/10
Funhouse (102-103)
Steve Parkhouse has left the strip by now. In his place there is the pseudonym Max Stockbridge. Sources tell me this is Alan McKenzie who went on to write the strip thereafter. Whoever it is, the style is largely that established in the previous years of comic strips. Doctor Who was in fantasyland, and this was another in the line that Voyager and Once Upon A Time-Lord had established.
John Ridgway is still the artist, and his influence is paramount. His short, stocky Doctor is more passive than his TV counterpart. His Penguin companion, Frobisher, improving on the page all the time - becoming an unusual yet effective foil for the Doctor.
We are still in the surreal domain of Voyager and Astrolabus here. The 2 do not appear, but the ideas are the same. Instead we get a sentient shapeshifter who likes to manifest itself as an old house, they were all the rage in 1985 you know!
Ridgway takes full advantage of the old house setting in Episode One. A series of short sharp scenes show the Doctor and Frobisher touring the house, coming up against one illusion after the next. Meanwhile the TARDIS is being enveloped by strange vines, as the entity strives for control over it.
Episode Two is set primarily in the TARDIS itself, which is a bit of a letdown after the rich trappings of the old house. The Doctor and Frobisher have to exorcise the entity, which they do by regressing time itself. This gives Ridgway a chance to show us he can draw the first 5 incarnations of the Doctor, the fans always like that sort of thing.
Funhouse is a fun story, nothing too profound, and indeed lacking the complexity of the strips main thrust in the 6th Doctor's early years. It shows that this kind of surreal, imaginative story had had its day for now, and it was time to move on to something else. It was arguably the last of its kind, a kind that started way back with the Tides of Time. A bold way to tell stories, but one that can grow tired - as Funhouse clearly shows. 6/10
Hero's Story (104-107)
Written by Max Stockbridge, which just has to be a pseudonym for Alan MacKenzie, this builds on the style of storytelling of War-Game - 2 strips ago. In the last strip MacKenzie had tried to copy Steve Parkhouse - but his own style is now emerging.
This style consists of the Doctor visiting primitive planets, often overrun by alien aggressors. John Ridgway always portrays these places in the greatest detail - you feel dirty after reading them, like you were really there in these grimy castles and peasant huts. This strip also includes a character that was in War-Game (Draconian Kaon) strengthening the connection.
Hero's Story is a title that I have subscribed to this 4-parter. DWM actually names each segment invidually, and they largely tell us who is the main character in that chapter. Thus we have Kane's Story, Abel's Story, Warrior's Story and Frobisher's Story. The story is about an ancient prophecy that states that warriors will come together in the valley of the Gods on Xaos. Kane is a tramp, who eventually, after travelling with the Doctor, becomes a Victorian Gentleman. Abel is a scientist who escapes an attack on his complex, resulting in him turning into a shapeshifter! Kaon meets the Doctor and Frobisher for the 1st time, making this a welcome prequel to War-Game (where Kaon knew the Doctor, and we hadn't a clue why).
The 3 Heroes are vastly different. Each of the first 3 parts is about each of them, and it's all rather fascinating. When all combine for the final segment (to defeat the evil Skeletoids) the 3 disappear into the background for the most part. But this is a Doctor Who story after all! Saying this though, the final part is narrated by Frobisher - the Doctor rather getting pushed aside a bit too much for my liking.
The marvelous surprise in this story too is the re-introduction of Peri, who is a massive bonus to the strip. She's been working in New York, and the Doctor decides to go back and fetch her. Thus this merry bank of 6 heroes is complete - and the Skeletoids haven't a chance in hell!
The ending's a touch rushed, and confusing due to wrong-ordered pages - but overall I really liked this story. I'm delighted to see Peri in the strip - and the supporting characters are all interesting and diverse - exactly what you want. 8/10
Exodus (108-110)
Primitive world once again, but this time we get to know the peasants, rather than the more high-up personnel. These peasants have a habit of going missing (a group even ending up inside the TARDIS), and the Doctor decides to investigate. When he finds a castle where scientists are being killed one by one, the story turns into a murder mystery. Then the Cybermen appear, and the real truth emerges.
This story has the power to send you one way, and then fork off in another direction. The usual MacKenzie/Ridgway style is apparent, with peasants, castles and scientists being something more than at first apparent. The Doctor, Frobisher and Peri get right involved, and there's quite a horrific central idea at the core.
DIY Cybermen is a different way of presenting one of our favourite baddies, but the real baddie is clearly one of the scientists. Peri and Frobisher are forming an interesting duo. Their exploration of the TARDIS is welcome - something that was to be pursued even more in a later strip. Do I like that Frobisher is stuck as Penguin? I always knew it wouldn't be permanent anyway, but this off the wall character is great whatever he chooses to be, but I do like the penguin!
The Doctor is much more gentle in the comic strip than on TV. He's much more how the audios portray him, rather than the brash, too dominant personality off TV. I just really like this incarnation more and more, the more stories I read about him.
Exodus, Revelation and Genesis isn't a bad comic strip. It isn't one of the best, admittedly, but it does continue the high standard that Parkhouse, MacKenzie and Ridgway have given the 6th Doctor strips. 7/10
Nature of the Beast (111-113)
I really like it when the Doctor, or one of his Companions, decide to take a holiday. You are treated to some nice character moments, and then a pretty good adventure too. Peri is the instigator of this break, and there's something wonderfully ordinary about the 6th Doctor, Peri and Frobisher sitting down to have a picnic!
Of course the tranquility and normality doesn't last, and soon a beast runs straight through the picnic, chased by soldiers. What we have here is a fairy tale world. The warlord believes the beast has killed his wife Irna, so the beast must be killed. What follows is a variation on the classic Beauty and the Beast story - and a very fine story it is too.
The 6th Doctor is wonderfully presented. He refuses to believe that the beast should be killed, and works out the truth of the matter quicker than everyone else. His romantic resolution also shows a compassionate side that only Big Finish have picked up on, many years later. Frobisher and Peri are swept along in the wake of the Doctor's ship. This isn't their best story, but both continue to impress in this medium.
We have a new writer on board too. Simon Furman was to present quite a few strips over the next few years (7th Doctor ones mostly). His first set him going apace. It does help massively when a talent like John Ridgway is there to make the whole thing look brilliant, of course, but it's good to see somebody new judging the medium so well.
This story has more heart than the majority. DW doesn't often do romantic escapades, it does them well even less. But >Nature of the Beast, whilst being quite familiar from classic fairy tales, succeeds because of its heart. A welcome and impressive debut from Furman - another comic strip talent is uncovered. 8/10
Time Bomb (114-116)
It seems Jamie Delano (the 2nd new writer on the run) thinks the comic strip is better without Peri. Thus she spends these 3 issues at a baseball game, that the Doctor and Frobisher invade right at the end! This story is back to the classic pairing of 6th Doctor and Frobisher.
Struck by a box of nasty stuff fired from a time cannon, the Doctor is intrigued to know whose messing with time. Turns out the Hedrons have been disposing of their waste by sending it to the past. They also send the stuff many across the galaxy, so it's landing on Earth, prehistoric era - and having a rather bad effect on the evolution of the planet.
That's the premise, and it's a good one. Delano runs with this throughout the story. The Doctor and Frobisher land on prehistoric Earth, and are surrounded by dead bodies falling from the sky! Such gruesome imagery is more at home in Simon Schama's History of Britain, 14th Century Black Death era, than DW. All the same though it's impressive that Delano comes up with such an original idea (at least it was to me!).
This time meddling, and callous disregard for others, is shown to be majorly flawed. The Hedron are infected themselves, when the altered Humans crash a ship onto their homeworld. It's a case of what goes around, comes around. And this is a very nasty boomerang indeed. Such moralizing is nicely underplayed - but the message is clear.
The story is not really the Doctor being massively involved though. He tries, but it's quite clear by the end that time is set, and no change can occur. The story would have happened without his observations - but it's good to see my favourite incarnation again, despite the fact he does very little. Frobisher is a great character. He seems to get most of the best lines, and I just knew that monomorphia wouldn't last!
Time Bomb is an enjoyable story about the implications of messing with time. It's actually one of my favourite stories of this era of comic strips - and well worth a look. 9/10
Salad Daze (117)
This strip is notable for the vast change which comes over Peri and, it seems, John Ridgway's previous flawless artwork. Peri simply doesn't look like Peri anymore. She wears the Mysterious Planet outfit, and has longer hair. She's grown up, and Ridgway has lost the ability to draw her effectively. Ridgway's previously excellent art is still pretty good, but nowhere near to the heights of his earlier work.
The "Apologies to Lewis Carroll" notification at the start of the strip shows where this 1-parter is going. Peri is trying to put the Doctor on a diet (looks like that Peri change has even gone so far as turning her into Mel!). The Doctor is more content messing with his Personal Reality Warp Machine. He leaves the room, and Peri starts messing with it. Off she goes into an Alice in Wonderland set up. She loses her terrific figure completely (the strip always toned it down anyway unfortunately), and becomes a little girl. Instead of meeting playing cards and Mad Hatters, she meets warped versions of these, all in the guise of vegetables.
This nightmare for Peri is a nightmare for us too. I've been waiting for a Peri-focus story, but after this it's best if they stick to the usual strips. This is abysmal. Not funny, not interesting, not at all entertaining.
The only plus from this dross is the Doctor's expression at the end. It seems he set this up, so Peri would be afraid of salads, and the cheeky chappie gives us a wicked grin, and suddenly John Ridgway can draw properly again. 3/10
Changes (118-119)
Fans have been clammering for tales set inside the TARDIS for ages. We got the Invasion of Time on TV, and that was a bit disappointing - not at all the extravagance and endless corridors and rooms we were hoping for. The comic strip has been more accomodating. Marc Platt's pretty good Cat Litter further explores the TARDIS, but this is the strip that has the Doctor's spaceship down perfectly.
As we tour the ship with Frobisher, Peri and the Doctor so the TARDIS becomes the most wonderful environment imaginable. In the TARDIS are vast fields, soaring cliffs, a lilypad staircase, an alien zoo (complete with Holographic Boxes for endangered species). Every room hides a treasure and wonder inside. The TARDIS comes alive as John Ridgway tours his imagination to great effect. I just knew Salad Daze was a one off, this is brilliantly drawn (he still struggles with the new Peri though). Grant Morrison, in his debut story, allows Ridgway free reign - but it's a good simple story too. A good start for him.
That the Doctor would keep endangered species, and drop them off on another planet where they would be safer is wonderful. As soon as we find out this new character trait of the Doctor though, it is seen to be flawed. A shapeshifter has invaded the ship, the Doctor believing it to be a nice furry creature!
Frobisher squares off to this invader in brilliant fashion in the closing few pages, and the Doctor pushes it out into space. This is a great story for the Doctor, Peri and Frobisher - but it is the TARDIS that emerges as the best character. 8/10
Profits of Doom! (120-122)
The comic strip is taking more chances with writers these days. No sooner had Alan MacKenzie stopped writing the strip, there is suddenly almost a different writer every story. Here Mike Collins enters the world of DW strip, but the consistency and excellence of John Ridgway is still there. Again it's not up to Ridgway's usual excellence, but it's a darn sight better than most artists that graced the strip in DWM even so.
At first Profits of Doom! feels like The Ark in Space. The Doctor, Frobisher and Peri arrive on a spaceship, which is being infested by insect like creatures. The Mayflower is a settler ship, taking thousands of humans to a new world. The truth is different though, as the original brain behind the venture has his own agenda. And so these Top Drawer humans are in line for something quite different than they bargained for.
The Doctor roams the ship trying to right the wrong of this. He is joined by Engineer Kara, a fine new character that I wanted to see more of. Frobisher and Peri continue their own little season of adventures together elsewhere on the ship - would love to see Nicola Bryant with Robert Jezek continue this friendship on Audio.
The main problem with this strip is the Profiteers. A slug like race who speak like accountants. Thus I found myself glancing over their gobbledygook lines, and onto more interesting scenes. The Profiteers are as dull as ditch water, and their accomplice Varley Gabriel, is little better.
For its too obvious connection with Ark in Space, and the atrocious new monsters, this story is therefore one of the worst seen in the strip for a while - certainly the worst triple-parter for a while. Finally the 6th Doctor strip has churned out a run of the mill bog-standard story. We'd had it too good clearly. Not one of the best. 4/10
The Gift (123-126)
Jamie Delano had really impressed with his first comic strip story - Time Bomb. But this is a very different type of story entirely. It's more humourous - far more of a comedy than we have for a while actually. This is not to say there isn't a place for such story types, but only that I was surprised at the change.
John Ridgway's art continues to be on a downward spiral too - it's quite clear that Tim Perkins is slowly taking over. This strip is a far cry from Ridgway's early work. There's a lot of fun to be had with the partying, but Peri continues to look like someone else. The Scavenger Robots are a good design though, it's just that some panels seem rushed. The Gift is a fun strip though, maybe the artwork didn't need to be as detailed.
The 6th Doctor, Peri and Frobisher arrive for a party hosted by the Lorduke of Zazz. Unfortunately they miss their mark, and his brother's castle - complete with mad scientist, space rocket and dubious gift - is their first destination. That the Doctor offers to take this gift from one estranged brother to the other, wasn't the smartest move from our hero. It's pretty obvious there is something bad inside - and indeed that is the way it turns out.
The gift contains a Scavenger Robot, who proceeds to wreak havoc at the Party, then make other Scavengers - who all proceed to trash the town. The Doctor therefore decides to go to the source of the Scavenger problem. Where did Zazz's brother get the Scavenger, why are they so intelligent?
The explanation of the Scavenger Robot society is the story's strength. Panel by panel we see the evolution of this unique species. The Doctor jumps through time monitoring their progress. Putting him in a NASA spaceship was a good laugh too, getting too close to his objects of study was stupid again. In this strip the Doctor seems to have left his brain behind somewhere. The Zazz residence is pretty unoriginal. The Lorduke likes Gangsters - so a 20s party is in full swing. Chicago style hoodlums patrol the streets. Peri dresses in a flapper outfit, and sings jazz and blues songs - we're in 1920s America, even though they are on a far away planet. Terrance Dicks knows how to write for Gangsters well, no one else makes them seem remotely interesting.
Frobisher is played solely for laughs, which is quite easy for a four foot talking penguin. The fact that Peri and the Doctor are too doesn't really work that well. But overall I'm glad Peri joined the comic strip.
The Gift is a longest story for 3 years in DWM. It rather stands out then, with its 4-part length. You therefore expect a bit more from it. The Scavenger segment is by far the most interesting aspect of the whole thing. It seems the 6th Doctor is fading away in the Strip, instead of rising to the crescendo he deserved. 6/10
The Worldshapers (127-129)
After reading the 1st part of this strip, I felt there was something of an epic quality about this strip. The Doctor, Peri and Frobisher were revisiting Marinus, but Time Lord involvement promised something more profound. The Doctor wants to visit Jamie, back in the Highlands of Scotland. This feels like an anniversary story, with so much background, references to TV stories. The inspirations for this story are manifold - but Keys of Marinus, The Highlanders and The Invasion stand out.
It's a fannish story by Grant Morrison, and every now and again they can be quite fun. This also happens to be the 6th Doctor's last strip for a while (he was just regenerating into Sylvester McCoy on TV), so the idea was surely to go out with an impressive finale. The 6th Doctor has been wonderful in the strips. Much more toned down than his TV personae, he emerged as a supremely likeable fellow. With Frobisher and Peri he had a good set of companions - but he was the undoubted main focus. It wasn't until the audios 12-14 years later that this impressive incarnation got his due. But it was the comic strip who first realized the 6th Doctors potential.
John Ridgway is there to see his Doctor out. He'd started on The Shape Shifter, the 6th Doctor's debut, and was there to see the conclusion. He quite clearly is not as influential though, just doing breakdowns and pencils. Tim Perkins is now doing the inks, and he just isn't as good as Ridgway unfortunately.
The Worldshapers isn't a bad story, but I expect it doesn't have the same impact in late 2002 (when I reread it) as it did in 1987. This is an origin of the Cybermen story, and it is one that has been largely ignored ever since. The Voord are the original Cybermen, apparently. I prefer the Spare Parts genesis of the Cybermen story - and I expect many will.
Grant Morrison not only gives us the genesis of the Cybermen though. He also brings back a much loved companion, and kills him in an act of noble self-sacrifice. In keeping with Jamie's life (he's an old man when the Doctor visits him here) it fits in pretty well. Morrison has shown us Jamie's life is dull, that he is seen as a madman in the local village - and only wants to talk about his trips with the Doctor. It is fitting therefore that he goes on one last hurraugh with the Doctor. But I expect, like the Cybermen genesis presented here, it largely will be ignored. The multi-dimensional worlds of DW can cope with it all I expect.
What I did like was the refusal to accept that the Time Lords wiped Jamie's mind. I hated that in the series, and I'm glad many others feel the same way. The Time Lord involvement at the end also raises quite a few concerns too. So the Cybermen are to evolve even further, and they represent the future of all humanity? Morrison is definitely putting his foot in things here!
Character-wise it is only the Doctor and Jamie who really benefit from all this continuity opinionating. The 6th Doctor shows genuine emotion when Jamie is killed. He also shows his independence from his home race, emphasizing his uniqueness. Jamie's involvement is explained above, and it's a good end for a good companion. Sadly Frobisher and Peri have nothing to do. This being Peri's last strip story with this Doctor, that's a shame. It seems Frobisher has had his day too.
The Worldshapers answers a lot of questions, but also raises plenty more. It makes you think about the DW universe as a whole. It's not quite the epic it tries to be, but it's a pretty good story nonetheless. 7/10