Written by Nick Abadzis
Art by Rachael Stott and Leonardo Romero
Lettering by Richard Starkings
And Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt
Colorist Hi-Fi
Published August 12, 2015 by Titan Comics

Millennia ago the Gods left the Earth. That’s when the Cult of the Black Triangle formed. Generation after generation its members have waited, keeping both the faith and the secret. Now their time has come. The Gods have returned. But will the cult members get rewarded as they think they should? The Doctor, Cindy and Black Triangle gang are transported up to the alien’s ship where they come face to face with the Seeker, an artificial intelligence whose sole purpose is the destruction of all evidence that the Gods ever existed.

For some reason I thought that this was going to be the last issue in the story arc so I was a little disappointed and also excited when I reached the final page and realized there was still more to come. Here we are four parts in and writer Nick Abadzis has everything clicking along perfectly. There are plenty of characters in this storyline that are new but at this point you feel like you know them and understand their intentions and motives. To keep things fresh he changed the perspective on us for part of this book. A few pages in Cindy takes over the narration.  Set up like she is sending texts to her best friend Gabby back down in New York, she describes the attitudes and actions of the cult members and the Doctor as they argue and fight over what to do next. It works as a segue or montage to help show the passing of time onboard in an interesting way.

The Cult of the Black Triangle members were first convinced that Dorothy Bell was their Goddess incarnate. After that they decide that the being who brought them onto the ship must be their God. But it turns out it isn’t even a living being but a program that searches the universe seeking out all the left over artifacts from when the Gods were prevalent. Once found, it destroys them. As with many other stories, these aliens masqueraded as the Egyptian gods we are so familiar with.

Some of my favourite stories, whether they be comic books, novels or even television episodes, hinge on the “something familiar is actually not what you thought.” Doctor Who has done this so many times that you actually have to stop and think for a moment before you can find an item that hasn’t been twisted in that way. And even though it has been done quite a bit, I still love it.  This story is a take on the Egyptian mythology, that the Gods were actually aliens. A concept that has been done before, notably it formed the entire basis of the movie Stargate and the subsequent spin off TV show Stargate SG-1. The show even gets a mention from one of the characters during this issue. But of course classic Doctor Who fans know the idea goes back a lot further than the early 90’s. The Tom Baker story The Pyramids Of Mars quickly comes to mind with the villainous Sutekh. In many ways this might be a sequel to that story, or at the very least a new chapter. Speaking of new chapters, now that I know that this story isn’t done yet, on to the next one!

Bonus Strip: A Rose By Any Other Name by Rachael Smith

The Doctor is getting fat from eating too much ice cream so Rose The Cat decides he should regenerate to get over his lost love and lose some weight. After a couple of really funny bonus strips this one didn’t do much for me. The plus side is that the previous two were good enough that I don’t automatically dislike them anymore.

ELEVENTH DOCTOR Volume Two - Issue One
Writers - Si Spurrier + Rob Williams
Artist - Simon Fraser
Colourist - Gary Caldwell
Letterer - Richard Starkings 
And Comicraft's Jimmy Betancourt

(Abslom Daak created by Steve Moore and Steve Dillon)
Editor - Andrew James
Asistant Editor - Kirsten Murrary
Designer - Rob Farmer

Released September 30th 2015
Titan Comics

This new start - for a slimmed down TARDIS team of the Doctor and Alice  - takes the journey of a long, long lifetime into new playing fields. It also, however, acknowledge the richness of the Doctor's past, and in particular the Time War.

A splendid cover  - with the image of a confident Matt Smith - belies the actual demeanour of his alter-ego for the story itself. The Doctor is firmly on the back-foot and has to try and show some resemblance of self-belief and ability to conjure a plan on the fly. In this case, he really struggles, and can only begin to reconstruct what is the reason for the leaders of the Overcast race to capture him, and declare he faces sentence for his crimes. It is Alice who is able to show more outright heroism - especially given her paucity of experience and knowledge, in comparison to her alien co-traveller.

A previously unseen ally (and from long ago in the Doctor's past) also lends a helping hand or two. Despite being somewhat eccentric, the dedicated Squire shows herself to be more than ready to stand tall in the face of danger.

It will not escape a loyal follower's notice that the unmistakably grey-haired and bearded John Hurt version is also on the front cover. And we do get a fair amount of material with the War Doctor. In the primary flashback he is accompanied by a tiny figure. When questioned by this unknown companion over what he is going to do, he replies "What I Have To", and is grasping a formidable gun with both hands. Further recalls of this deliberately sidelined  - yet long-lived -incarnation are interspersed later on in the story. The ultimate intent is that the current Doctor has a reminder that he is the same man as he always was, and he must take responsibility for what he has done.

But perhaps the writers are trying to make us think of quite an uncertain debate here. The Overcast blame the Doctor, in that he deprived them of the outsiders with powers that gave them so much prosperity. Soon after, they were vulnerable to a much more Malignant visitor to their planet. However, the War Doctor may still have been arguably balancing the scales in the right direction, so as to save the wider universe, and time itself. The specifics are not mentioned here, and may not be in the concluding issue to come, but the Doctor has every right to be a bit flippant when stating how he is in a courtroom just one more time out of a "Bazillion".

Of course, the theme of a fair portion of Matt Smith's tenure - Series' 5 finale and Series 6 in particular - was all about his accountability for actions that left a mark or two on those it directly affected. So, it feels quite natural to pursue this fascinating topic now, after much of Year One concerned itself with Serve You Inc's soullessness, and the resilience of one dogged enemy in particular.

I found the visual aspects of this season opener equivalent to be pretty good. Simon Fraser uses a deliberately gaudy style, that certainly leaves an impression for some time, after readers put their paperback editions down, or exit the reading app they prefer. The artwork consistency is pretty robust, and there are thus no glaring peaks and troughs. Much of the story is set in darkness or shadows, and this suits the rather grim subject matter of a once-bustling civilisation of pioneers now reduced to - effectively - scavengers crammed into a feeble space station complex. There is also a well-done 'symbolic' image of a brace of Doctor regenerations that reminds us of the brilliant Tom Baker cameo in The Day Of The Doctor, and what exactly it may actually be alluding to.

The monster introduced here is known by precisely the same title as the story proper. This creature is a resonant and brilliant example of Doctor Who showcasing creative talent. A truly fertile imagination sparked the TV show, and that aspiration grew manifold in the hearts of viewers and fans, as well as the minds of countless professional contributors, over time. The effect this powerful foe has on the Doctor and his companion is disturbing, yet quite, quite fascinating too.

The icing on the cake, however, is the re-introduction of one of the very best characters to join the Doctor Who universe in the early 1980s.

A man who has done some unspeakable crimes. A man who offered to try and atone for his sins. But still a man whose morals are questionable. 

He obsessed over a prospective girlfriend dying in his arms from a Dalek ray, before even a first date could be granted to them.

He died in a huge explosion. Then he was brought back through time, for yet another showdown with his lifelong nemeses. 

Yes, Abslom Daak is back into the fray, and ready for some visceral mayhem. Everyone had better hold on tight.

EXTRAS:

A humour strip and three alternative covers feature.

New Year. New Who is once more an example of Marc Ellerby wrong-footing readers. It devotes a lengthy set-up to suggest a most critical course of action by the Doctor, where he will re-assert his authority over an adversary or six. (In fact he is dealing with a very domestic problem, which serves to frustrate all three of Amy, Rory and River Song).

Two of the variant covers are done in the humour strip style. One of these is a very sharp parody of the Doctor facing all his enemies, whilst trapped in the TARDIS, by Ellerby. 

Written by Joseph Lidster
​Directed by Barnaby Edwards
Starring: Tracy-Ann Oberman (Yvonne Hartman), Gareth Armstrong (Barry Jackson), Rebecca Lacey (Helen Evans), Dan Starkey (Ross Bevan), Catrin Stewart (Meredith Bevan)
​Released by Big Finish Productions - December 2015

For better or for worse, the quirky premise powering the fourth instalment in Big Finish's first season of Torchwood ​initially sounds more akin to that of a parody take on the original series as opposed to a respectful continuation of what came before; after all, can you really imagine one of the intrepid Torchwood Three team ever spending almost an entire episode roaming the intoxicated (both metaphorically and ​literally, in this case) streets of Cardiff in the hope of protecting local mayoral candidates from a series of grisly demises? Either way, that's precisely the situation which Yvonne Hartman, the short-lived commander in chief of Canary Wharf's Torchwood One who had both her entrance and exit in 2006's two-part Doctor Who ​serial "Army of Ghosts / Doomsday", finds herself in as she travels over from England's capital to Cardiff Bay just three weeks after both cities fell under siege from the Nestene Consciousness' Auton armies in March 2005.

It perhaps shouldn't come as a great surprise to any keen follower of the Whoniverse that far from the aforementioned extraterrestrial attack seeming to have had any noteworthy impact on Welsh society's apparently universal (at least if the manner in which One Rule ​depicts England's neigbours is any indication) appetite for an extravagant, no holds barred nightlife, life appears to have moved on in such a way that Cardiff's residents regard the attempted invasion more as a running joke than anything else. Indeed, in a similar vein, this reviewer couldn't help but gain the suspicion that whereas The Conspiracy and in particular last month's ​Forgotten Lives ​were intended to serve as reminders that the darker, often more enticing elements of Torchwood ​as a franchise still live on in aural form, Joseph Lidster hoped to demonstrate that much of the humour which came to define the show over the course of its five-year tenure still resides in Big Finish's adaptation, even if doing so meant crafting a more simplistic, inconsequential piece of drama than its recent predecessors.

In case any readers are wondering based on that sweeping assertion whether Lidster's latest addition to the history of the organisation which still insists on branding itself as being "outside the government, beyond the police" doesn't deserve their time, rest assured that whilst it's far from the series' finest hour to date (either in terms of its newly-conceived audio incarnation or in terms of the overall saga which began life way back in 2006 with the aptly-named "Everything Changes" on BBC Three), One Rule ​still provides its listeners with more than enough in the way of laughs, memorably exaggerated set-pieces (most of which brilliantly play on Yvonne's undisguised disdain for the working class by placing the character in an all manner of situations where social etiquette is immediately thrown out of the window) and intelligent references to the programme's now less than recent history - look out in particular for an unexpected development with regards to Ianto's burgeoning romantic relations with a certain soon-to-be "Cyberwoman" - to warrant its asking price. There's no doubting that Lidster still holds just as keen an understanding of what the Torchwood ​fan-base was surely looking for from this quasi-prequel tale (not least some insight into Torchwood One's perspective on everyone's favourite ragtag team of Welsh secret agents) and better yet, how best to exploit Tracey-Ann Oberman's character so as to ensure she reaches her full potential here.

Of course, had Oberman not brought the trademark wit, droll outlook on the so-called British Empire in its current state and vengeful charisma which rendered her somewhat tragic construct as such an instantaneous hit in the eyes of fans in 2006, then Lidster's efforts to resurrect Yvonne in style might well have been fruitless at best. As was the case with John Barrowman in September, Gareth David-Lloyd in October and the dynamic duo of Eve Myles and Kai Owen just two short months ago, however, the ​Eastenders ​star brings with her all of those qualities and so much more, infusing ​One Rule ​with a relentless sense of energy and momentum even when its central plot arc - which rarely taps into themes much deeper than surface-level political corruption or the needlessly selfish aspects of human nature - grinds to a halt for no other reason than to have her character down another pint or find herself the subject of social ridicule as a result of the state in which her increasingly digressive mission leaves her. This isn't to say that Lidster and / or Big Finish need necessarily hurry to invite Oberman back for further appearances in the role, but rather that if they elect to take this approach, then even if Ms. Hartman's next outing falls similarly short in terms of overall narrative ambition, then at least we can breathe a sigh of relief, safe in the knowledge that having her at the reins will at least guarantee the audience a hilarious (albeit low-octane) ride.

Yet if Oberman represents this oft-uninspiring fourth chapter's saving grace, then unfortunately, her co-stars can easily be singled out as one of the primary factors behind its failure to captivate: neither Gareth Armstrong nor Rebecca Lacey afford their respective councillors any more enthusiasm or political / emotional nuances than the script asks of them, instead simply casting both constructs as wholly one-dimensional Welsh citizens, with only Lacey's Helen Evans coming anywhere close to representing an empathetic construct as she enters into a brief discussion with Yvonne on the subject of her somewhat empowering approach to politics late in the day. Worse still, whilst one could arguably have relied upon the Paternoster Gang's own Dan Starkey and Catrin Stewart to elevate proceedings to a certain extent in most cases, the married couple the pair portray barely make it through a single scene before taking their leave, meaning that neither of the two talented thespians receive more than the briefest of moments to leave an impact despite them having more than proved their joint ability to hold their own in recent Who ​serials such as "The Crimson Horror" and "Deep Breath". Naturally, some characters in an action-driven storyline must inevitably exist only to progress said narrative with their untimely departures, yet to have Starkey and ​Stewart fulfil such menial roles when they might well have served the release as a whole better had they traded places with Armstrong and Lacey seems a counter-productive move on either Lidster or the studio's part(s) at best.

Nevertheless, even if ​Torchwood: One Rule ​won't likely go down as a prime example of what makes Big Finish the strongest possible candidate to carry the show's legacy in its hands now that its televisual days are seemingly done, that it's still a far superior effort to many of the studio's monthly main Who ​releases (at least from this reviewer's modest perspective) should at least instil fans with a fair degree of confidence about the programme's immediate future on the airwaves. Oberman still presents the audience with an authentic, laugh-out-loud take on her character a decade on from her memorable on-screen debut, Lidster's script - while lacking in meaty thematic material - undeniably achieves its goal of taking the series in a more light-hearted, casual direction than was the case with the overly melodramatic Miracle Day ​(the less said about which, the better!) in 2011, and for what it's worth, despite their contributions only amounting to cameos, both Starkey and Stewart do a fine job of attempting to redeem the title's otherwise wholly underwhelming supporting cast ensemble. David Llewellyn's masterful season opener The Conspiracy ​still doesn't have anything to worry about in terms of maintaining its place on Big Finish's recently-erected Torchwood ​throne, but all the same, thanks in no small part to Oberman's return to the role, devotees of the British Empire's most dedicated servant will still find plenty to love this time around.

Written by Jonathan Morris
Directed by Jamie Anderson
Starring Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, and Sarah Sutton
with Tim Delap, Richard James, and Elizabeth Morton
Out now from Big Finish Productions

1983……. and Doctor Who returns to our screens with an exciting adventure by Johnny Byrne -  featuring Time Lords, and the return of Tegan, set and filmed in Amsterdam….

Well,  two out of three isn’t bad. Arc of Infinity isn’t really very exciting. It has got Time Lords in it, and Tegan returns, having been left behind at the end of Time-Flight. And it’s in Amsterdam, because JNT got a good deal at the Travel Agent.

2016……. and Doctor Who returns to our speakers with an exciting adventure by Jonny Morris, with just the one Time Lord, dealing with Tegan’s return, set in Amsterdam…

The Waters of Amsterdam does what Arc of Infinity manifestly failed to do – use its location and make good use of Tegan.  Into the bargain, it’s also very good. Arc could have sketched in Tegan’s time away from the TARDIS, but didn’t, beyond binning the stewardess uniform and giving her a haircut. It could have also really have been set anywhere near water, as the location had zero relevance to the plot. It might as well have been set in Barnsley.

The story picks up directly from the end of Arc, and wastes no time putting all of this right. After a pointed shredding of Arc’s events, Tegan walks straight into her ex, Kyle (Tim Delap) – and it’s awkward. Their story is related by Tegan to Nyssa in flashback. It’s an unlikely romance, as Tegan is, frankly, Tegan, and Kyle’s just so nice. A bit too good to be true, there’s also something iffy about the way he keeps showing up.

Delap’s performance is excellent, Kyle is calm and endlessly reasonable without being drippy. It’s quickly established that he’s in love with Tegan, but she’s just not that into him.. We eavesdrop on their relationship from beginning to end, via chance meetings, dinners out, and Talking Heads tickets, and find out how Tegan lost her job in the process. Janet Fielding is great here, she has the sort of character development that Tegan was crying out for in the 80s beyond trauma and Mara-possession. Her attitude and caustic humour are present and correct as always, but giving Tegan a relationship that fails because she doesn’t want to be fawned over is her all over, and really works.

In the meantime, the Doctor explores the Rijkesmuseum and has fun playing the art critic when viewing Rembrandt’s work, kicking off a lovely running joke about how to pronounce ‘chiaroscuro’. He also notices that some of the old master’s pieces are of spacecraft. At the end of an episode of exploring and chewing the fat, they are suddenly all attacked by the Nyx, grotesque water creatures that spring from Amsterdam’s canals.

They escape with Kyle in tow to the same spot in the 17th century, where Amsterdam is in its pomp as a trading Capitol and the East India Company rule the roost. The Nyx are also here, and viciously attack anyone in their way. Tegan and Nyssa are quickly taken into the custody of the Mayor, and brought before the mysterious alien Countess Teldak (Elizabeth Morton) - whilst the Doctor and Kyle go to meet Rembrandt (a stand-out performance by Richard James), who is acting as a draughtsman for the ship she plans to escape from Earth in. The old master is proud, but also bitter and cynical about his debts and his lot in life – charging for portraits by the face, and painting Businessmen’s “Wives and Fancy Women”, before they plead bankruptcy. For him, the promise of posthumous recognition isn’t enough. Happily by the end of the story, he’s letting the light back through the shutters.

The Countess is charming, softly-spoken, and outwardly peaceful, a refugee from a dead world, and a fugitive from the Nyx. She’s a complex character, and it’s no great surprise that she turns out to be utterly amoral and ruthless, as the story goes from twist to twist, and Kyle’s true nature is revealed into the bargain. The Nyx are no angels either, but they have a code, and only kill when they see necessary. The Countess uses the Doctor’s compassion against him, and he’s tricked into taking her to an alternative 1983 where she’s manipulated events purely so she can go home and take her revenge.

Jonathan Morris’s script is excellent -  funny, moving, and clever in equal measure. It’s ironic that a recording studio could capture so much more of the atmosphere and ambience of Amsterdam than actually going there ever did, and Jamie Anderson’s direction and some clever sound design sells three distinct versions of the same place expertly. The only slight criticism is the voices of the Nyx – inventive, but sometimes quite hard to make out.

The Waters of Amsterdam is a superb example of how Big Finish can go back in time and make things right.

WRITER - GEORGE MANN
ARTIST - MARIANO LACLAUSTRA

COLORIST - LUIS GUERREROINK
ASSISTS - FERNANDO CENTURION& NELSON PEREIRA

LETTERER - RICHARD STARKINGS AND
COMICRAFT’S JIMMY BETANCOURT

EDITOR - ANDREW JAMES
DESIGNER - ROB FARMER
ASSISTANT EDITOR - KIRSTEN MURRAY

PUBLISHED: AUGUST 19th 2015, TITAN COMICS

A Nineteenth Century evening in England. Two noblewomen are rapt in conversation as they ride their horses on the highway. Charlotte and Ellen have expected just another chance to catch up, as best friends do, before returning to Lord Marlborough's abode. But suddenly a strange blue box with a lantern on top appears in the mist, and causes them to come to a shuddering halt on their journey. Emerging are a curious pair of individuals: a man with silver-grey hair and a remarkable glint in his eyes, and a very confident-looking woman with garment that possibly resembles foreign fashion on the Continent.

Later this new pair, known as Clara and 'The Doctor' - although he does not profess to be a medicinal expert - become actively involved in solving a most distressing mystery where people are losing their senses and becoming violent. Something very disturbing may be hiding in a corner of the mansion. Even the remarkably skilled Doctor may be outmatched by such an un-natural entity.

This one-issue standalone story is easily read and flows mostly without a hitch. By the same token there is little to really challenge and reward readers, as had been the case in most prior issues in this range for Capaldi's Doctor. The essential basics of having an alien force causing trouble in a period of Earth's history where no knowledge of the wider universe exist are very familiar by now, and there needs to be a special extra 'hook' I feel to really make the most of this premise.

Apart from Lord Marlborough and Charlotte, most other characters are just window dressing. People are placed in danger, and of course the hope is that the Doctor saves as many lives as possible. But not enough incentive is there for us to care, perhaps due to the near immediate effects of the 'mental possessions'. I also felt that there was something of a Hide vibe to proceedings, (and that story did itself featured Clara), but to a somewhat diminished effect in  comic format.  Characterisation for the present Doctor felt variable. He does verbally spar nicely with Clara, but some other moments are perhaps more suited to the Ninth and Tenth Doctor.

The artwork is the biggest trump card here. I enjoyed Mariano Laclaustra's a great deal in previous stories such as The Swords Of Kali and the Free Comics Day issue. Here, he now is the one assisted by an ink team - rather than the other way round -, and readers can appreciate his capabilities further. The depiction of the mansion, the grounds and the surrounding countryside around are all first rate, and the characters are well sketched also. The different use of light and shade to emphasise the suspense and horror aspects of the narrative are effective and something that is often a hallmark of what made TV Doctor Who 'behind the sofa' material.

Rian Hughes' cover for this issue is one of the very best I have seen for any comic in some time, even if it perhaps hints at a mystical story that is not really what materialises Yet, the sheer look of glee the Doctor displays in the front cover sometimes is reflected in much of the story's characterisation.

However, it will now be quite poignant to read these stories, knowing that the Doctor and Clara are on finite time together as a partnership. Jenna Coleman's committed performances in (especially) Series 8 and 9 seem to be well-reflected in her alter-ego's presence in these Titan works of fiction.

What makes this issue ultimately worth a read is the focus on unravelling just who Charlotte really is, and why perhaps the TARDIS manages to get in her way on purpose. The end pages do a fine job of making this more than just another pseudo-historical. With writer George Mann also penning the Eighth Doctor comic stories currently, there is a notable link between this story from last year and that ongoing mini-series.

BONUS STRIP The Abominable Showmen

Colin Bell and Neil Slorance continue their loosely linked arc of one-page shorts, which have featured a music contest on an alien world. The Doctor's greatest foe - the Master - is back, and this time there are five of her/him! You can't keep a good villain down. and especially not when the rock spirit is in full flight. The Doctor and Clara's aghast reactions to this turn of events are priceless.