Mysteries and paranormal events are unleashed in this new arc for the current TARDIS crew. With a rather brutal enemy overcome, the way is open for the Doctor to grapple with a rather more elusive entity which has some pretty radical methods for achieving its goal. A goal whose exact nature remains to be seen.

With Coal Hill School once again in the foreground for the confrontations to come, as well as the presence of old allies ' UNIT', there is an element of 'been there, done that'. But will something nasty rear its head?

 

This story is as complex in its own way as 'Swords of Kali', but reads in a more immediately accessible way that is also less demanding of the general reader. It remains to be seen if the concluding sections work as well as the set up that is presented here.

Rather interestingly we join the Doctor and Clara as they contend with a very large but also rather stupid adversary who barely makes the duo break sweat in achieving victory. In the process the Judoon (one of the RTD era's best creations) get a name check but don't manage to actually appear.

The adventure proper for the duo then begins, although relevant events have already been presented to the reader in the story's initial pages which certainly set a mysterious and unpredictable tone.

This story notably picks up quite a while after issue 5's conclusion as Danny Pink has gone to the great place in the sky - both literally and metaphorically - following TV Series 8's finale.

 

Clara at this point in her life is truly enjoying her travels with the Scottish-accented Gallifreyan. Yet she wants another spell at the comfortable (by comparison) day job of teaching. Before the wish can be granted, they must both respond to a problem at UNIT where a reality gate has run amok. Paul Foster, who happens to be the late father of one of Clara's pupils, was killed in a car accident, but had been working on the projects with the gate; scientific work that the Doctor is very critical of as he once again meets Kate Stewart.

By having key Who settings and supporting players recur, this is really the first in this Twelfth Doctor range to reflect the general make-up of the TV series featuring the current Doctor and his companion. 

 

Writer Robbie Morrison continues to impress me following his earlier work in the preceding set of issues. He is a great portrayer of individuals who have a certain identity and powerful emotions that flow from the trials and tribulations of their life choices. The key theme of loss and family ties is well conveyed and gives some weight to what could have potentially been a mere romp, - 'Swords' already set a standard for a lot of moving players but also telling more than just a plot heavy narrative. Hopefully Morrison maintains this quality for a good while yet.

Also welcome is some respite from the more outlandish settings and multiple time zones with the threat being focused on contemporary Earth, barring that rarely used practice of having a finale to a mostly un-told story.

I would rate, Brian Williamson, as a  competent artist for the line, maybe favouring a rather literal style, with little of the quirks or artistic licence of some other contributors to other Doctor Who titles of late. Perhaps less commendable is the choice of limited colour -- the story jumps around more than enough here but the colours don't quite match this diversity.

Nonetheless any weaknesses almost get eliminated by the end as the actual cliffhanger with the major villains revealed is striking and memorable. At the very least I hope for this story to match 'TerrorFormer's quality on the basis of the potential so far displayed, if 'Swords of Kali's level would prove a step too far.

**

Bonus Comedic Strips:

"Sewer Monster" has a clever use of the Doctor and Clara in conversation but only one of them actually appearing. Yet another creature from the RTD era is brought back by writer/artist AJ, but perhaps not necessarily the most fearsome one, despite the piece's title.

"The Partying of the Ways" is also nostalgic, whilst managing to be very strong in its principal role as a comedic mini-story. It again shows the fruits of the Colin Bell/ Neil Slorance partnership. Clara's relationship with her centuries old friend is explored to an extent, whilst also organically growing out of the somewhat chaotic scenario they find themselves in.

 

"Give thanks. Rejoice. Your feeble little lives have just gained great significance. You are the chosen of Kali, goddess of destruction. Your deaths will give her life and power beyond your darkest nightmares."  - One of the Scindia demonstrating their power.

 

   Without doubt one of the more ambitious stories from Titan in scope and thematic depth, there is no let-up and no break in momentum from parts one and two. The Twelfth Doctor once again has plenty to do, and seems one step ahead of his fiendishly vicious opposition. He however needs a bit of help given that his dear Clara now hosts a 'Goddess' hell-bent on ripping up most of time and space. This leads to him having to trust two other women who have been caught up in this chaos; which arguably makes for a typical day in his endless working week.

            Rani, who is now at least the third character in the Doctor Who universe named thus (following Kate O'Mara 1980s villainess, and one of Sarah Jane Smith's teenage assistants), has really been a stand-out personality. She can be impulsive, but there seems to be a depth to her mission in life and her value system which would make her a fine incumbent for the TARDIS crew. She also pines for her murdered girlfriend, and the story does a fine job of paying off this emotional element.

            Priyanka is perhaps a little more generically a do-godder, but still engages us in her resolute efforts to avenge her father. One of the better one-liners is uttered when she faces danger. There is also another remark made by her of the Doctor's Scots accent which manages to come off quite well and not feel tired like it might in an all-round poorer story.

            But when it comes to any amendments to the TARDIS crew, it would appear that Titan have no immediate plans to muddy the waters of the Doctor/Clara relationship that played out on our screens last year.

            Clara is still important to proceeding however. After the wonderful closing 'hook' of Issue Four, she has become trapped in the truly imposing form of the many-armed goddess Kali. Some rather ripe puns concerning just what to call this hybrid entity make their way into the story, but are excusable given the gloom elsewhere. The outcome for the victims of Kali and the Scindia family would disturb may of the under-10s were this a fully-fledged Autumn TV effort.

            The story is effective also in how it balances certain developments which are essential for a story to have a Doctor Who formula, but also surprise us in when certain developments occur. I was definitely wrong-footed by how and when the Doctor showed his guilde in dispatching two of his foes, without barely making much of an effort. The final epilogue also may surprise some, but arguably develops organically from earlier characterisation and exposition.

Great storytelling merges with effective visuals, and suggests that Morrison and Taylor are not just on the same page, but the exact same panel too. And were this not enough, Luis Guerrero is present in making the pencils and inks look at their optimum potential. As regards the house style of Series Eight, incumbent writer Robbie Morrison achieves great dividends in keeping the spirit but also being assertive enough to make his own voice heard in the narrative. The next story once again looks promising from what little clues we have.

 

Bonus Humour Strips:

'COPY/PASTE' by AJ is a decent one character piece. The Doctor's horror in having his trusty sonic screwdriver destroyed by the Terileptil leader may be well and truly forgotten, as sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.

 Bin Dilemma' (with Colin Bell and Neil Slorance teaming up again) is a much easier humour story to follow than previous ones in this slot. Yet it smartly reminds readers just how aloof Capaldi's Doctor can be, and just how much patience Clara Oswald can muster given her double duties as teacher and travelling companion. 

 

 

"They made me an offer I couldn't refuse -- unlimited funding to pursue and recover one of history's greatest antiquities...the Swords of Kali, the ancient Hindu goddess of death and destruction."
- Tiger Maratha speaking to the Doctor in a holo-recording .

More beautiful imagery, elegant plotting and effervescent dialogue is on hand to delight all comic book fans in the second instalment of this continuing adventure for the Doctor and Clara. As the action opens the TARDIS crew are in the same location on planet Earth but not the same time zone. And both have much to deal with - not least danger, conspiracy and some mythical artefacts.

As in Part One, there is plenty of good character work achieved for two very different but equally fascinating female guest characters. Rani the warrior had shown her considerable fighting prowess and stealth in issue three, but now the reader has a chance to see what makes her tick on a more personal and emotional level. Her pairing with the Doctor - who has time-travelled by means other than TARDIS - is very well done and affords a look once again at how Capaldi's incarnation is able to show many different attributes depending on the inter-personal dynamc presented to him.

Priyanka Maratha has only just lost her father Tiger, and is by no means used to such hi- adrenaline exploits. An onslaught of six-limbed monstrosities without pity is almost too much to bear, but with help from Clara she is able to escape. However a terrible price is paid which affects all ensuing events. Later on Priyanka is privy to the holo-recording intended for the Doctor, as she discovers her father's true motives for his high-risk explorations all across the Earth. The wish to know the real inspiration behind the Thugee Cult is one of those driving forces.

The artwork continues to be of the highest calibre and leave impressions of themes and emotions as well as locations host to many incredible treasures, murals and sculptures. The addition of Mariano Laclaustra (who provides inks) only enhances what was already strong work from Dave Taylor in earlier editions. Characters are well-drawn, with distinct mannerisms and energy levels, and the colouring too is very impressive at times. Thus remarkably thorough detail is conveyed.

The likeness of Peter Capaldi never slips, which is boosted further by wonderful Doctor dialogue featured in most of his panels. This mimicry element is rather more of an issue with Morrison's other Titan Comics story featuring the Tenth Doctor. I do however think that Jenna Coleman's appearance is not the easiest to translate to the 2-d format, and at times it feels like a female relative of the Coal Hill School teacher is having a turn at substituting for her.

The story is also paced expertly and while there was potential to wrap things up with a 'rabbit out of the hat' move by the Doctor come the latter pages, instead there is a further development that throws the scenario into a whole new stratosphere. Most cliff-hangers to comic books are well-designed - if understandably concerned with bringing repeat business - but this particular hook is truly a subversion of expectation given the previous action and yet is comfortably familiar in putting a hero into peril.

This is a Doctor Who story up there with the best of the franchise in making clear its inspiration, with a certain Indiana Jones being present at least in spirit if not in actuality. And as much as the threat facing humanity from the powerful 'Indian dynasty' in times future and past conveys the suitable gravitas, there is a strong sense of fun and optimism that also pervades. How the Doctor deals with the malignant Scindia will certainly provide for riveting reading in the near future.

Bonus Humour Strips: AJ this time employs a single panel to tell his "Ebbing Tide" story. Meaningful exploration of the TARDIS crew's latest destination is rather limited, and provokes a session of bickering (as we have become accustomed to with them!) The Doctor's fob watch is proudly on display, although Clara is quick to point out the watery threat it faces.

“The Inversion Of Time” written by Colin Bell and drawn by Neil Slorance is another fine effort focusing on time distortion. It brings to mind the full-length Eleventh Doctor story from a couple of months back but is rather more easy to grasp given that it takes place in the TARDIS console room only and features just the main characters.

"Take your time, why don't you?..shoot the distinguished gentleman with the twinkle in his eye --or the raging monster that's about to rip him limb from limb?!" - The Doctor demanding to be rescued.

The villain roster goes from one supernatural entity to another in this new multi-part story. The Doctor and Clara are ushered through India's past and future in a bid to stop a form of vampire creature which has infiltrated the country's 'premier dynasty'. Originally a deliberate break from action was planned, but the Doctor had been hailed by a gentleman called 'Tiger' via the TARDIS phone. Tiger is a friend from long ago again needs some help. 'The Swords Of Kali' features a good handful of time zones and locations with the dramatic events having one TARDIS occupant stranded in 1825 and the other in 2314 trying somehow to reach them. 

There are echoes of the Jagaroth (from 1979 TV gem 'City of Death'), in that a supernatural family have helped mould and direct Mumbai's path from a tribal nation to a cutting-edge interstellar presence. There are other nostalgic details too: the Fourth Doctor's image is featured in a picture on a wall, and the Mona Lisa has once again been affected by the Doctor's actions. There is even a cameo from Leonardo Da Vinci (who was absent from that same Classic Series story). 
And for those only familiar with modern Who, the plot is worthy of 'Blink' and other 'timey wimey' TV installments; not letting up in pace, but thankfully avoiding being rushed. There are many strong original characters once again, but the stand-out is Rani Jhulka. She is a remarkably powerful and quick woman, who saves a couple from some thugs in the pre-credits section, and proceeds to infiltrate a fortress - where she meets up with one of the regulars. With a striking look, and a distinctive way of speaking, she is a much better realisation than Jenny from Series 4 tale 'The Doctor's Daughter'. 

Morrison's writing is again fluent and full of incident, but also offering engaging themes and strong characterization. Dave Taylor reprises his memorable artwork - with sterling support from colourist Luis Guerrero. Both the regulars and the guest characters are drawn with full life and emotive range, and the pages of this comic almost seem to turn of their own accord. Imagery and symbolism are strong too: the atmosphere generated by various sources of light and energy against the backdrop of night-time is inspired. For those readers living through wintry conditions this provides an added edge.
The villains and monsters involved are certainly not the run-off-the-mill stock which Doctor Who sometimes is guilty of, and there is real sense of jeopardy and high stakes. Again this clearly demonstrates how artist and writer are getting their combined vision across.

Much complex shifting from one time zone to the other is central to the plot. This could have been clumsy, but instead is handled well and only adds to a story filled with incident and excitement. The Twelfth Doctor is typically brusque; his portrayal keeping with continuity in that he is really struggling to relate with Clara. Furthermore he is arguably chillingly indifferent to a young woman's grieving for her murdered father. Yet the Doctor is still a hero and will gain retribution for the violence perpetrated by the vampires. One downside in all this packed excitement is that fans of the Clara character will see her being overshadowed by both the actual events and some of the new protagonists featured. Yet the theme of Series 8 is maintained with her well-intentioned efforts to make startled onlookers understand the Doctor's seeming apathy for the crisis unfolding. And with her left to cope with the crisis alone, perhaps the former 'Impossible Girl' will pull off something remarkable. 

** 
Bonus Humour Strips: 'Dark Water' (AJ/RF) advertises a specialist drink that is produced on a Cyberman dominated world. Somewhat disturbingly it reminds us of the dehumanising process that the Cybermen hinge on to multiply, and yet the tone is not muddled. 
'Planet of the Diners' (courtesy of Colin Bell and Neil Slorance) uses Doctor Who's time-travel element at its most frenetic, but still succeeds as a bit of an enjoyable diversion. The lack of noses on the faces of characters is perhaps odd, but otherwise this is colourful and convoluted fun.

This review contains plot spoilers.

Ever since the first Christmas special back in 2005, Doctor Who has been a festive fixture, as much a part of the schedule as Morecambe and Wise and Only Fools and Horses once were, and the inevitable Strictly Come Dancing special is now. With all the festive trappings of the last few years, it was surely only a matter of time before Santa Claus himself showed up amidst the snow - but is he real?

In contrast to Robot of Sherwood, which presented a real-life Robin Hood as fact, Steven Moffat wisely leaves it open here. Nick Frost's Santa of course helps save the day, but he's a dream construct....or is he? That tangerine at the end leaves it open. We don't know. Arguably, we should never really know.

Last Christmas could end up going down in history as being one of the oddest things ever to go out on TV on Christmas Day. The tone moves from comedy to full out scares, via off-kilter dream-like moments and a happy ending for nearly everyone. The first ten minutes alone are quite, quite mad - but Moffat knows this, runs with it, and it all pays off over an unusually structured, yet satisfying hour. There are nods to Alien, and The Thing, and even a surprise quote from Die Hard.

Another thing worth pointing out - Doctor Who is now most definitely not for part-timers. Last Christmas acts as a sort of coda to Series Eight, if you've not been paying attention, this isn't for you. While nowhere near as merciless as The Time of the Doctor, context is all, and the fallout from the events of Death in Heaven is dealt with here. Danny's sacrifice and Clara's sense of loss, the Doctor and Clara's lies to each other about Gallifrey and Danny, and the way forward for everyone (except Danny, naturally). Christmas is often a time of change and renewal, and, sometimes, moving on - this is neatly used by Moffat as a metaphor for the Doctor and Clara's relationship.

We open with Clara meeting Santa and his comedy elves on her snow-capped rooftop, before the Doctor sweeps in to whisk her to a polar scientific outpost with a crab problem. The inhabitants of the base are struggling against the Kantrofarri, or, the Dream Crabs. It's Christmas, and the pudding brains are for pudding. The Facehugger-like Dream Crabs, a creation straight out of Alien (Michael Troughton's Professor Albert even explicitly says so, prompting a priceless response from the Doctor) are slowly killing them by inducing a dream state whilst eating their brains. The Crabs are pretty revolting, and their central conceit is grisly. The lumbering 'sleepers' they are attached to are also suitably sinister. Jenna Coleman gets her first true old school scream of terror as a Dream Crab lunges for her. It gets her, but she's unwilling to leave her dream of a perfect Christmas with Danny, with Samuel Anderson giving a strong, sad performance as Dream-Danny, who encourages her to leave him, and by association, to move on.

Moffat's script dines out on the concept of dreams within dreams and nails the skewed logic of a dream state - we're in Inception territory here. Things are ever so slightly off throughout, only the Doctor notices the clues, and even he is up the creek without a paddle until Santa helps everyone wake up, and return to real life, all except the unfortunate Albert, who doesn't make it out.

And what of Santa? Frost is used sparingly, and mostly for comic relief, he has some great moments sparring with Capaldi though. Does he convince as Santa? The hair is white, he looks the part, but there's no getting round the fact that a much younger man is in there. Frost's charisma helps sell it though. Nathan McMullen and Dan Starkey's comedy elves are somewhat less successful, and they don't get much screen time, as if subject to a last minute rewrite when someone upstairs decided they were a bad idea.

Capaldi and Coleman are excellent as always, with Coleman a slightly less dominant presence than in Series Eight, and Capaldi giving perhaps his most Doctorish performance to date, now free of all that ‘Am I a good man’ baggage. Michael Troughton as the unfortunate Professor Albert is good, but doesn’t get a lot to do, but Natalie Gumede as Ashley and in particular Faye Marsay as Shona both shine – Marsay is almost companion material.

Paul Wilmshurst’s direction is superb. He has some slightly dubious CGI to deal with where flying reindeer are involved, but otherwise shines at bringing to life a studio-bound episode that is essentially a dream within a dream within a dream in places. More from him please.

We close with the Doctor and Clara moving past the baggage of the last series, and joyfully running into the TARDIS in search of new adventures. Whether it’ll all end in tears or not, and if this really is the last we see of Danny Pink is up for grabs, but the future looks bright. Roll on 2015, and a very happy Christmas to all of you at home.

Carrying on from Issue 1 the Doctor and Clara continue to be front and centre of the main action on planet ISEN VI, where a cutting-edge terraforming has gone awry. The mysterious entity that is behind the violent disturbances is fleshed out via the opening flashback sequence. The reader learns of the core history of the Hyperions - a race of sentient sun-like beings- that have turned vicious and destructive as their natural life cycles ended up coming to an end. Such is their all-consuming lust for energy they had completely forgotten their prior placidness. They were ultimately a threat to the entire comos, and this meant that various other powerful species constituted a Galactic Alliance. One of those in the collective were none other than the Time Lords - with Rassilon himself being involved. Now there seems to be the one sole surviving Hyperion, and it wishes to devour all it can on Isen VI. The Doctor and Clara require the assistance of their current allies, and need to find a solution effective enough to stop this threat once and for all. The Twelth Doctor's wits, sharp tongue and full force of personality end up helping him as much as his technical skills and vast bank of knowledge acquired over the centuries.

The overall quality of this series is reliably consistent. Morrison is a fine hand at using pacing to full effect, and seemingly aware of providing context for any readers who may have missed the previous instalments or are just new to this fictional universe in general. Despite the flashback full of exposition opening things up, the story never really drags. Also there is just enough of a sense of the back-story being necessary for the themes, emotions and plot.

In comparison with the other new comics lines, these stories could end up being the most purely ambitious as they play out on the largest scale. Thankfully characterisation is still a strong priority - the hallmark of Doctor Who on top form. Writing also is strong in providing us a lead character who very conceivably evokes the sharp persona of Peter Capaldi's Time Lord. He is still not quite sure of who he really is, but upon facing an old enemy of his own people he is forced to bring his best efforts to bear; rather than stand about and be passive as he clearly has shown himself to be by now. And his teacher friend Ckara Oswald continues to be fully at ease in an environment fare more dangerous than Coal Hill School, but seemingly less stressful at the same time!

The climactic confrontation scenes between the Doctor and the villainous Hyperion known as Rann-Korr work on both a dramatic level as well as bringing to mind the whole lone survivors dynamic that would crop up on television on occasion (i.e. with Van-Statten's Dalek and the Master). And as with part one there are echoes of television Series 8: Clara has to fence one of the possessed robots in much the same way that the Doctor confronted Robin Hood with cutlery in episode 3.

When it comes to how Clara and the Doctor operate together, there is little overt tension other than the standard superficial bickering which can be seen even with TARDIS crews who are thoroughly comfortable together. However this would presumably change as this comic line seeks to portray stories that were not on-screen from later on in the Series 8 timeline. Dave Taylor is more than equal to the writing, with some evocative pencils here. The action scenes feel real and lively, and the range of reactions to various developments that are ethched on characters' faces is also commendable, Arguably the highlight of both issues 1 and 2 is the fiery visualisation of the Hyperion itself..

Of course we need a sound presentation of the Doctor as well, and the good dialogue provided by the writing is reinforced by familiar expressions that we all know and appreciate from the very talented Capaldi. This is a comic which has been given a lot of attention to detail, and one that is good enough to deserve a re-read later on. For whilst the main story at hand is enticing enough, there are lots of other themes and subplots to engage the reader. I especially enjoyed the contrived wedding -complete with the runaway groom, and the pair of twist codas - one of them revealing just how vicious a supposedly cute group of monkey-like aliens really are.

The next story is only tantalisingly shown but would appear to have an archaelogical aspect to it which evokes such popular stories as 'Tomb of the Cybermen' and 'Pyramids of Mars'. All those who miss their customary fix of police box and sonic screwdriver on the TV can certainly find a more than worthy substitute, thanks to these confident original stories from Titan Comics.

**

The first extra strip 'Me Time' - from AJ- is a simple enough story which reflects just how casual the Doctor/Clara pairing can be, given her whole other life working for a living in London. The jokes are reasonable enough but perhaps this could have been a touch stronger when considering the material that has been offered to us in other editions in the last few months. The second strip - from new team Colin Bell/ Neil Slorance - is both thought-provoking and amusing. The philosophical debate over how each individual senses life in a unique way is made even more interesting by considering how a humanoid alien like the Doctor has his own perception; given his infinite-seeming lifespan. But this is a bonus strip with a twist in the tale. We get a punch line in the final panel which avoids trivialising those deep concepts excessively as well as actually making this one page story sufficiently memorable.