Writers: George Mann & Cavan Scott
Artists: Alessandro Vitti & Ivan Rodriguez With Tazio Bettin
Colorist: Nicola Righi With Enrica Eren Angiolini
Letterer: Richard Starkins And Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt
Senior Editor: Andrew James
Assistant Editors: Jessica Burton & Amoona Saohin
Designer: Rob Farmer
Released by Titan Comics - July 6th, 2016

“You know why I’m here, Ohila. Something is very wrong with time.”

There’s a whiff of The Pandorica Opens and A Good Man Goes to War’s bold, universe-spanning opening sequences about the first issue of Titan Comics’ new multi-Doctor crossover, Supremacy of the Cybermen, and that’s no bad thing. Not unlike last year’s Four Doctors Summer event, scribes George Mann – of Engines of War fame, if the name sounded familiar – and Cavan Scott don’t waste time establishing Supremacy’s similarly ambitious premise; quite to the contrary, within moments of proceedings getting underway, we’re brought swiftly up to speed with the present situations of the quartet of renegade Time Lords headlining this year’s team-up as the Ninth Doctor races to save a damsel in distress from the Powell Estate in 2006; the Tenth journeys with Gabby and Cindy to “the greatest shopping mall in the galaxy” in the 24th Century; the Eleventh and Alice pick up supplies for the Paternoster Gang in prehistoric times; and the Twelfth travels solo to the ever-increasingly popular planet of Karn so as to investigate the aforementioned universal crisis.

One might have forgiven this instantly audacious mini-series’ writing team for buckling under the weight of their own ambitions, particularly when they’ve crammed the various companions of each of those incarnations – as well as a fair few returning villains beyond the titular Mondasian cyborgs – into what would have already been a dense 25-page opening outing without them. Yet anyone who’s been following Titan’s array of regular Doctor Who strips since their debut in the autumn of 2014 will know all too well how competently their assigned strip-wrights tend to handle their serials and indeed, Mann and Scott don’t look set to represent the exceptions to the rule, somehow managing to balance these elements with unmistakable ease, ensuring each sequence has enough time to breathe wholeheartedly and that the reader will thus maintain a coherent sense of what’s occurring in each time-zone rather than longing for the next scene shift to occur in order to relieve their confusion. Just thinking of how critically acclaimed big-screen ensemble pieces like the Avengers or Mission Impossible franchises handle their hefty cast rosters will provide readers with a fair idea of what to expect going into this one, which says plenty for the safe hands in which Titan appear to have placed perhaps their riskiest Who-themed venture to date.

As if this supreme balancing act on Mann and Scott’s parts wasn’t enough of a substantial selling point to warrant a purchase, Supremacy Issue 1 simultaneously alleviates any concerns of lacking the canonical heft of a fully televised Who serial – especially in the absence of the TV show from our screens until December 25th – from the outset. In a welcomingly surprise turn of events, we essentially pick up the storyline of Capaldi’s Doctor straight from where we left off in last Christmas’ The Husbands of River Song as he encounters a face from his recent past, one who could very well hold the key to how the Cybermen have gained such an unparalleled foothold across time and space by the time that his former selves encounter their old adversaries here. Precisely how accurately this mysterious – yet familiar – benefactor is characterised in comparison to his televised self will doubtless define how successful his return in printed form proves with fans, but one would need to have missed the entirety of 2015’s Season Nine to miscomprehend the myriad tantalising implications this antagonist’s presence here will have for future issues so long as he’s portrayed with all of the necessary malice, self-perceived omnipotence and pompousness that many loved him for on TV last year.

Speaking of characterisation, whilst the understandably limited number of panels afforded to each Doctor in comparison to their solo efforts means the jury’s out on how effectively they’ll once again be brought to life here, Mann and Scott have evidently gotten the tropes of the four incarnations involved down to a tee, depicting a Twelfth Doctor whose brash exterior frequently fades to reveal an endearing sense of adventurous bravado, an Eleventh who never misses an opportunity to crack jokes even – or especially – in the face of potentially fatal dangers, a Tenth who willingly misleads his companions, Hartnell-style, in order to seek out intriguing mysteries as well as a gung-ho Ninth who’ll gladly dive into the action alongside Rose and Captain Jack regardless of the costs. Four issues stand between us and knowing for certain whether the scribes at hand will find enough time to offer any of these incarnations, their allies or their foes much in the way of satisfying character progression, but for now, at least we’re left into no doubt as to their understanding of how to provide a clear impression that we’re witnessing a continuation of the TV show rather than a ‘fan fiction’-style take on its leading constructs.

Any gripes? Well, by choosing to zip from planet to planet, timeline to timeline and TARDIS crew to TARDIS crew across their opening 25-page epic, writers George Mann and Cavan Scott don’t leave themselves a lot of time for character development so much as plentiful – albeit necessary – exposition, and despite their admirable efforts to clearly distinguish the dark, sombre hues of Karn and a ruined London with the far more eclectic, whimsical vistas of the Cosmomart and prehistoric Earth, Supremacy’s resident artists Alessandro Vitti, Ivan Rodriguez and Tazio Bettin would benefit from dedicating further time to reassessing their character designs, since some might mistake Jackie Tyler for Rose on occasion given the lack of effort afforded to individualising the pair beyond adding a few lines to the former’s face. On the whole, however, their artwork’s more than on a par with the finest produced in the various Titan ranges so far in terms of unpredictability and visual sumptuousness, with its failings constituting mere nit-picking elements at best.

If it wasn’t already obvious, then, the reasons to miss out on Supremacy of the Cybermen’s stellar initial chapter are so far and few between that they might as well be non-existent, particularly when juxtaposed with the countless reasons to cast aside any doubts and simply plunge straight in. Indeed, provided that the splendid fellows at Titan can keep up the excellent work undertaken here throughout this five-part multi-Doctor crossover, there’s every chance they’ll have a sure-fire critical and commercial hit like no other on their hands.

Written By: George Mann
Read By: Jemma Redgrave
Released by BBC Audio, 7 April 2016

Back in November 2013, as Doctor Who’s much-anticipated fiftieth anniversary dawned, the team at the now-late AudioGO were faced with a dilemma – how could they best honour the event with a nostalgia-infused audiobook that still worked as a standalone narrative?

The result, for those who don’t remember it, was The Time Machine, the final instalment of the year-spanning Destiny of the Doctor saga which saw thespians who’d played companions return to voice an original audio adventure set in ‘their’ era of the programme. Much like its predecessors, this eleventh release conveyed a tale which could largely be heard without any prior knowledge of the previous ten storylines, but at the same time, it had the rather unfortunate job of attempting to resolve some of the overarching plot threads that AudioGO had set up over the course of 2013, leading to a rather structurally uneven release that could wholly satisfy neither franchise followers nor newcomers who were just hoping for an engaging standalone dosage of Who.

Rather than taking notes from this somewhat botched attempt at tackling a season finale of this ambitious ilk, however, George Mann – despite having more than confirmed his strengths in the realms of printed literature via his War Doctor novel Engines of War and his successive contribution to BBC Books’ short story-oriented Heroes and Monsters Collection last Summer – seems to have fallen prey to much the same pit-falls in penning the fourth chapter of BBC Audio’s Family of Winter series. Entitled The Memory of Winter, this 70-minute climactic instalment shouldn’t be regarded as a complete failure under any circumstances, but equally, it’s far from a prime example of science-fiction drama at its finest.

That’s not to say that Memory shows no signs of initial promise, nor that its narrative falls wholly flat – in fact, for the first 20 minutes or so, this reviewer couldn’t help but be convinced that the opposite would prove to be true come the credits rolling. In having the Twelfth Doctor and Clara – both of whom he manages to capture the essences of with remarkable accuracy from the outset – summoned to 15th Century France by a complacent time traveller – the last of the titular Winters, who once again summons the Doctor for help – who’s masquerading as a contemporary ambassador in the Hundred Years War, Mann instantly starts to build intrigue as to where the plot will head, particularly when he throws Joan of Arc into the mix and reveals her discourse with the mysterious “Saint of Gallifrey” in the process. Indeed, the latter mention should be more than enough to prompt any fan’s ears to perk up, as should the prospect of us finally discovering how the Winters came to secure the calling cards which Capaldi’s incarnation has so begrudgingly heeded over the course of the series to date.

Yet in spite of the inherent potential of the esteemed scribe’s premise – as well as his introduction of a similarly compelling extra-terrestrial antagonist plucked from previously uncharted realms of Time Lord mythology – this concluding part of the Family of Winter quadrilogy appears more constrained by the show’s present on-screen continuity than any of the preceding three outings were, ironically as a direct result of Mann’s ambition in dealing with the Doctor’s species at a point when he and Clara have yet to experience the events of Face the Raven, Heaven Sent or thus Hell Bent. This in turns renders the final revelations surrounding the nature of Joan’s ‘visions’, the “demon” plaguing Julius Winter’s platoon and the manner of the Doctor’s inevitable triumph against the latter antagonist that much less satisfying to the listener, a shortcoming not helped in the slightest by the struggle Mann seems to have in balancing these numerous plot threads in the space of just over a single hour of airtime.

Usually this would be the point in the review where one would hope to assert that the actor behind the microphone redeems most of the release’s faults – certainly, Clare Higgins’ enthusiastic, unpredictable approach to narrating the series’ opening chapter, The Gods of Winter, ensured that even its somewhat underdeveloped secondary characters still came off as engaging constructs for the Doctor and his Impossible Girl to interact with. In a surprising turn of events, though, Jemma Redgrave’s voice work leaves plenty to be desired, lacking the vigour she previously brought to her portrayal of Kate in both the TV show and Big Finish’s UNIT: Extinction as well as the impressively accurate differentiation of tones which Higgins employed in order to distinguish Capaldi’s oft-brash Time Lord from Coleman’s feisty but compassionate companion, with the result being that it’s not entirely difficult for one’s immersion in the storyline to be broken at times here. Perhaps it’s just a case of Redgrave not having much experience in the realm of audiobooks – finding voices for a wide ensemble of characters can’t be a walk in the park, after all – or perhaps the material simply didn’t inspire her to the same extent as Big Finish’s scripts, but either way, it’s a shame that barring a decent stab at a French accent for Joan and the soldiers, her contribution to proceedings does more to detract from Mann’s tale than to add any much-needed depth.

Not unlike November 2013’s The Time Machine, then, The Memory of Winter doesn’t so much end The Family of Winter with an impressive bang as – to paraphrase T.S. Eliot’s 1925 poem “The Hollow Men” – with an underwhelming whimper. Keen fans of Doctor Who’s occasional historical romp-style episodes like The Romans, The Unquiet Dead or The Fires of Pompeii might well find themselves interested enough in discovering Mann’s take on the Hundred Years War to warrant a purchase in this instance, but given the vastly superior manner in which Mann manages the various plot threads, continuity connections and overall structure of the previously-mentioned Engines of War, venturing to recommend Memory over that novel seems dishonest at best and downright counterproductive at worst. Those desperate for more Twelfth Doctor action will surely find elements to like here, but those wanting their dosages of Who to maintain their faith in the show in the midst of its year-long absence from our screens would be best advised to look elsewhere.

Writer: Robbie Morrison; Artist: Rachael Stott; Colorist: Ivan Nunes; Letterer: Richard Starkings and Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt; Editor: Andrew James; Assistant Editors: Jessica Burton & Gabriela Houston; Designer: Rob Farmer; Published January 6th 2016, Titan Comics

What makes a great season premiere, at least in the case of Doctor Who in its modern guise? Ask Russell T. Davies, and judging by the four openers he gave us between 2005-2008, odds are that he'd suggest a light-hearted tone which allows for a run's freshman episode to come off as a fast-paced, comedic romp, thereby easing both long-term fans and newcomers in gently before subsequent instalments up the ante in terms of scale, past continuity elements and developing an individual season'™s overarching plotline(s). As for Steven Moffat's preferred strategy, one would have to imagine based on recent debut outings like "Asylum of the Daleks", "œDeep Breath" and "The Magician'™s Apprentice" that he'™d advocate opting for a more ambitious start, one which doesn't so much ease the fandom back in as ensure they'll stick around for the remainder of the season, all while quite possibly resurrecting a monstrous species from the past.

Considering that he was tasked with scribing the first serial in what is only the second ever run of Twelfth Doctor strips from Titan Comics, one could hardly have blamed writer Robbie Morrison for taking the first of these two strategies, thus enabling those who've somehow managed to go their entire lives without watching or reading a single televised or printed episode of Who to approach the tale with ease. Yet quite to the contrary, with "Clara Oswald and the School of Death Part 1", Morrison has produced a storyline which not only harkens back to "œSchool Reunion" with its setting in the sinister Raven'™s Isle academic institute, but actively relies upon its readership having at least an above average awareness of the show's pre- and post-2005 mythology in order for them to fully appreciate the intricacies of the narrative being conveyed. Some touches are subtle, not least the uncanny resemblance Ms. Dee (the member of staff who calls Clara over to investigate mysterious happenings involving the waters surrounding the secluded Scottish school) bears to a certain presenter of the YouTube series Doctor Who: The Fan Show, but in other instances, this reliance upon past continuity has a clear detrimental impact on Part 1's overall structure and quality.

For the sake of preserving the issue'™s fan-appeasing cliff-hanger, this reviewer will refrain from spoiling the identities of this multi-part serial'™s antagonists, but suffice to say that their debut (in printed form, anyway) is foreshadowed in a manner not at all dissimilar to the way in which the Silurians made their return to the TV series in 2010's "The Hungry Earth / Cold Blood€", with the Twelfth Doctor investigating these extra-terrestrials' presence with shades almost identical to his immediate predecessor while Clara assesses matters from a position that places her in the firing line to a far greater extent than the Time Lord. This structural familiarity in itself unfortunately reeks of a lack of inspiration on Morrison's part, particularly given that he introduced threats like Hyperios in such an innovative manner in his Year One strips, as does Rachael Stott'™s designs for these antagonists. The latter essentially render one of the show's more iconic alien species as nothing more than an identikit bunch of reptilian humanoids who could quite easily find their way into just about any work of sci-fi and who lack virtually any resemblance to their classic era counterparts. Some visual tweaking of an alien race'™s appearance to modernize them slightly will always be expected, of course, but considering that the Silurians'™ reinvention at least allowed them to partially retain facets of their former appearance via their facial masks, that Stott has seemingly put much less effort into paying homage to the original design of these acclaimed alien creations from the Pertwee era -there'™s another clue -“ represents nothing less than a huge disappointment.

With all of that being said, branding this largely competent first chapter of Year Two as a complete failure would equally be a step too far. What Morrison and Stott lack in narrative ingenuity and satisfying creature design, they more than compensate for with a superb attention to detail -“ both visually and through dialogue - in terms of capturing the characters of the Doctor and Clara as we saw them in Season Nine last autumn, leading to both constructs exhibiting the same sassy wit, almost childish rebelliousness (particularly in the case of Capaldi's expertly reinvigorated incarnation) and overriding zest for life that made them such a dynamic duo to see develop over the course of the 2015 run. Better yet, we get some deliciously gothic visuals afforded by Stott to Dee's chilling capture as well as an inspired juxtaposition of the purposefully grim, drab vistas of Raven's Isle with the explosive opening set-piece's depiction of crowds of colourfully-dressed aristocrats. Indeed, it's an aesthetically bombastic opening outing which gets its leads just right even if the secondary cast mostly fall into the same archetypes of the shady teacher, the hapless miscreants who don't conform to the rest of the student body and the like.

Rather than matching some of Davies or Moffat'™s finest openers, then, "Clara Oswald and the School of Death - Part 1" kicks off proceedings for Year Two in somewhat unspectacular fashion. Much as it portrays the Doctor and Clara in their glory days with remarkable accuracy while keeping its imagery fresh by juxtaposing visually eclectic settings, the strip struggles to offer much in the way of original narrative material on account of its reliance on past episode structures and its failure to depict its returning antagonists in a satisfying way. As always, the final product remains perfectly readable - and a far cry from Who's weakest modern storylines, that'€s for sure - but given that fans of the comic-book medium aren't exactly lacking for alternative options to this strip these days, Morrison and Stott may well have to work that much harder in the issues ahead to convince readers to return immediately for future instalments rather than aping Clara's approach of taking "œthe long way round".

Writer: Robbie Morrison
Artist : Daniel Indro
Colourist: Slamet Mujiono
Lettering: Richard Starkings + Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt

Editor: Andrew James
Assistant Editors: Gabriela Houston + Jessica Burton
Designer: Rob Farmer
Released: December 23rd 2015, Titan Comics

Note: Some major spoilers are brought up in the course of this review.

"A generous offer, Time Lord: surrender the TARDIS and your death shall be quick, merciful. Resist, and you shall burn forever in the fires of Hyperios."

A bleak proposition from the Hyperion known as Zraa-Korr.

The final plans of the ruthless, truly despotic fire beings are coming closer to fruition, despite the efforts of the Doctor, his friends, and his various allies headed by UNIT. Warlord Dra-Khan is confident that he can counter any resistance, including some technology beyond the scope of planet Earth in this century. Thanks to the betrayal of self-serving politician Grove, the Doctor may now be a Hyperion prisoner, and so unable to offer his customary heroics. The Earth, its Sun and wider planetary systems are all at stake as the Hyperion Fusion Web nears final completion. Can the TARDIS possibly play a role though in preventing all-out catastrophe?

This latest epic for the team of Clara and the Doctor has done well to make the most of its four-issue story-telling space. Thanks to some good build up - in the very first story of Year 1 - there was always plenty of room for the already established Hyperions to be made out as an all-consuming threat, and thus deserving of a Doctor who is very much on-song with his intellect and application of centuries' experience.

Amongst all the rushing around, and name checking with UNIT, there has also been a fine exploration of the central relationship between the savvy Coal Hill school teacher and her grey-haired genius friend. Much of Series 9's goes onto see a warm relationship, and that was partly done to make Clara's exit that much more affecting. But 'The Hyperion Empire' can be regarded as a spiritual sequel to Death In Heaven, and one that could be of a significant collection of non-televised stories set between the first and second Capaldi TV seasons.

The Doctor is certainly still full of vanity and self-importance, but does have that element of winking and revealing a tender side, especially when he and Clara finally reflect on the sum of their efforts. A gun toting and militaristic Clara is perhaps a reminder of the odd characterisation of Nightmare In Silver but when not engaged in the frenetic action directly, is quite well portrayed by scribe Robbie Morrison. I enjoyed especially her slap to the head, when the Doctor claims to only have 'shared' when he actually has stolen a vital weapon from the "Elementals of Vortice City".  Another fine moment comes when her unpredictable partner in crime unashamedly explains how he can break a promise and yet technically still be honest, by stating that crossing 'one' of his hearts is not the same as crossing 'both' of them.

There was also a certain amount of set-up over the course of this Four-Parter that never quite pays off, which arguably came at the whim of the creative team. Sam was a character that perhaps did not make much new ground, but still had enough to him to be likeable and relatable, and would have offered a point of reference for forthcoming stories set on contemporary Earth. But Morrison chooses to both deny him a potential future role, and fizzles out any fleeting hope of a romantic link with Clara, into the bargain.

But a redemption of sorts is achieved for Colonel Weir, and it brings back memories of the somewhat disturbing fate of Astrid Peth in the 2007 Christmas TV special. Despite her family relatives having featured in a handful of panels, and being a case more of 'telling' rather than 'showing', it is still praiseworthy that the story ends with a final coda that is elegantly bittersweet.

The artwork has again reverted back to Daniel Indro, and perhaps due to the locations and character actions featured, there is less of the heavily gritty and jagged style and somewhat more of the expansive and 'big sci-fi concepts' visuals instead. To have a story with the art changing twice over the space of three issues is curious, but since Issue 15 is one of the best Twelfth Doctor comics in some time, I am inclined to accept this inconsistency.

BONUS:

No humour strip is included, but some alternative covers feature.

The second of these below is courtesy of Neil Slorance, who has previously done many humour strips. The first and third are by Will Brooks and Simon Myers respectively.

Also, a black-and-white preview of the art of Rachael Stott for Year 2 Issue 1 is on show. On the evidence of this single page, it is most welcome to have more work from her, following the excellence that closed the Ninth Doctor Miniseries recently.

Writer: Robbie Morrison
Artist :  Ronilson Freire
Colourist: Slamet Mujiono
Lettering: Richard Starkings + Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt

Humour Strip: Colin Bell + Neil Slorance

Editor: Andrew James
Assistant Editors: Gabriela Houston + Jessica Burton
Designer: Rob Farmer

Released: December 2nd 2015, Titan Comics

A fireman that goes by the name of Sam has had a disastrous time of things recently, with most of his colleagues and friends either dead or reduced to zombies by the maniacal Hyperion race. But perhaps there is a turn of the tide, as he has got to know a curious fellow called 'The Doctor', and a young lady who perhaps would be someone he would like as a friend if things resembled any kind of normal order.

As of present, he and his new colleagues in averting disaster are trying desperately to  foil the nefarious Hyperion master plan once and for all. The Earth's sun may be facing a significantly truncated lifespan, as the alien invaders wish to harness its power so they continue to exist, and continue to spread their ghastly legacy across the galaxies.

But an unexpected friend may be able to offer some crucial insight into what weaknesses there are with this twisted agenda. A bit of trust, and not taking a walking inferno at face value could be the key to the salvation of humanity.

A slight change in the creative line-up is probably the most noteworthy aspect of this penultimate instalment. Rob Williams continues to tell a reasonably exciting and suspenseful yarn, and his characterisations of do-gooders, ordinary people, villains, and cowards are once again perfectly serviceable. We have a notable follow up to the prologue of Part One, in that the remarkable astronaut Major Weir is not exactly dead anymore, but neither is she alive. Instead having been reconstituted into a 'Thrall' by the Hyperions. The Doctor's calmness in recognising she is not a flat-out monster, but a being that can be pointed back in the right direction is touching.

Yet, I do wish that there had been some clarity as to where she was left to recuperate in the TARDIS during the section where the Hyperions try to commandeer the Doctor's ship. All the same, the overall story is in no mood to sit around, and events have now built up to a head such that the ensuing issue will probably be able to execute the climax in a pulsating way, without the need to rush any more explanations.

I personally feel the art takes an overall shift for the better with Ronilson Freire taking on the duties this time round. As stated previously, there is something about Daniel Indro's method that while technically sound does give me an experience that I find a bit chilling, and perhaps more in line with a series like Survivors than Doctor Who.  Freire does perhaps make the mistake of sometimes portraying Clara a bit too loosely in his own style, but I still believed in the basic concept of a fearless and forthright 21st Century school teacher. Kate Stewart does however lack a bit too much of the core attributes, but the character does not appear for all that much in the story, and has a role that counts but not one that defines the overall impact.

As for the overall presentation of the main man, I am more than satisfied, and also enjoy the chance to see a Twelfth Doctor still with plenty of the rough edges in looks and behaviour, which so defined his maiden season on Television.

HUMOUR BONUS STRIP - One! Two! Three! Four! To Doomsday.

Although this was delayed one issue, it was more than worth the wait as we are again treated to a two page extravaganza of wit and Doctor Who lore. Clara may be able to stand up and teach a class of unpredictable children, but crooning on stage for some less-than-beautiful aliens is not. Thus she resorts to desperate - but ingenious - measures. There has been an overlapping arc of 'Battle of the Stars', but this story would appear to be wrapping proceedings up now. However, the title of the next story may hint at some kind of epilogue.. 

Writer: Robbie Morrison
Artist: Daniel Indro
Colorist: Slamet Mujiono

Letterer: Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
Editor: Andrew James
Assistant Editor: Kirsten Murray
Designer: Rob Farmer

 

Published October 14th 2015, Titan Comics

"Only some of us made it down here, the majority were taken captive. The Hyperions have erected firewalls throughout the country, isolating entire cities and regions. The heat they generate is incredible. Get too close and you're incinerated immediately."

- Kate Lethbridge Stewart updating the Doctor and Clara.

'Out of the frying pan and into the fire' would sum up the troubles that the Twelfth Doctor and Clara must contend with, as this four-part story continues. It becomes clear just how much Earth has taken a toll from the vicious Hyperion race, and the Doctor must stress how the best form of defence is attack. UNIT does still have a presence, but they will rely on the Doctor's knowledge of this unique species. The Hyperion menace was such that it forced (the normally self-contained) Time Lords into an alliance with other races, including the Zygons, for the good of the wider cosmos and assorted time lines.

The guest characters in this story are somewhat unremarkable. We have the fire-fighter hero Sam who was introduced last time in a rather confusing manner. Although likeable, Sam seems rather generic, and lacks the wit that most proper companions of the Doctors pride themselves in. This is demonstrated in his half-believing the Doctor's casual 'order' of beheading the obnoxious politician Martyn Grove. Mr Grove believes with the main governmental cabinet gone, he should assume power, and also is trying to suggest a peaceful resolution with the Hyperions.

And of course such politicians are nothing new to the Who mythos. We had plenty of these self-serving figures during the Jon Pertwee TV era, by and large portrayed in broad comedic brushstrokes. Although Capaldi's portrayal has mellowed in his most recent series, this adventure was designed to be set between the 2014 and 2015 TV runs. As such it does hark back to the grouchy and dismissive Doctor we encountered along with a bewildered Ms Oswald. This persona indeed reminds one especially of the Third Doctor when in a bad mood with beings who cannot conceive half of his knowledge and experiences.

The Hyperions make a good combination of intelligent alien, and scary monster, however. They even have a slightly hyperbolic manner of speaking to one another. When one of them claims to have "immolated" our heroes, he is told "anything less would have resulted in [his] own execution". But soon enough it is clear the Doctor is unscathed, and yet there is no such final reprimand for Zraa-Korr.

All the same, these walking infernos are clearly a supremely powerful force. The effect of their attack on the UK and its capital is very reminiscent of The Dalek Invasion of Earth. And we are informed by the seething Doctor, that once Earth and its solar system are sucked dry, then there will be another doomed star system and another. Clearly a force to be reckoned with, this does justifies the Doctor's abruptness. He also has become accustomed to his Earth Presidential powers, which come into play courtesy of "internationally agreed protocols". It is nice to have a little humility, as the Doctor tries to limit power getting to his head. But he still will not discard his edgier persona, when events proceed to take another turn for the worse.

This leads me onto another point. Whilst the Doctor is desperate to save his most beloved planet, and also defeat a menace that long ago lost any positive trait, he has twice in these first two issues seemed blasé about collateral damage. In Issue 12 he used 'self defence' to deal with a slightly unbalanced scavenger, who had up till the invasion been another diligent medical student. The shove the Doctor opted for indirectly doomed that young man to the zombie hordes of the Scorched.  Now in this issue, Clara (inadvertently) disrupts one of the Hyperion slave workers, and that person is blown to fiery smithereens. Just before that death, the Doctor throws a strop over Clara's carelessness, but in the manner of an alarm being triggered, more than anything. Of course, much of the excitement of Doctor Who has been that not everyone gets out alive, but this lack of concern for the individual affected, and simply the wider society smacks of a rather dispassionate TARDIS crew.

I also continue to find some of the art managing to evoke my less rosy memories of The Weeping Angels of Mons, which also had the same writing and art team of Morrison and Indro. Though that multi-parter with the Tenth Doctor delighted many, I myself was left at times stone cold. Whilst appropriate for the subject matter, a lot of the presentation of this new adventure verges on being an eyesore, with harsh character outlines, and a persistent red-brown-purple backdrop. Sometimes, the sizes chosen in a panel make defining features a little bit of an effort too. It  almost would look better in black and white. If taking this style for what it is, the characters are done well enough when looking serious or anxious. Yet ironically their (rare) smiles and optimism just somehow fail to come off as particularly natural.

But overall we do have a decent epic forming. And the dialogue used would work admirably well in an actual TV story, or indeed a Big Finish play. The plot and the premise are difficult to execute poorly, and the need to know how the next two issues will resolve the big events must surely continue to offer some decent interest. It also is good to have such a different tone of story to the preceding one in Las Vegas; even if that one was more satisfying to my tastes. Year One of the Twelfth Doctor comic sequence draws to a close, and does so by reaffirming that a grey-haired near-immortal man still cherishes a planet he was once exiled to, even if his spiky demeanour suggests otherwise.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

A solitary variant cover is included. The new bonus strip of 'One! Two! Three! To Doomsday' must wait at least another issue.