Following a mysterious scream through the space-time vortex, the Doctor and Ruby discover a Cyber-gauntlet in England, 1739. The alien artifact has been programmed with coordinates. Suspecting a trap, the time travelers decide to investigate…
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I really enjoyed this one. I think that it did a great 15 and Ruby and I think that the villain worked really well as a comic villain.
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It took me a few panels to get used the art style but I quickly came to like it.
The (not actual) cybermen design was quite unique and it gave the kinda of creepy feeling that I only feel with the older ones.
The Sommelier was a really solid villain and I found interesting the way the Doctor dealt with it. Also really enjoyed the way it kept changing its appearance.
Both the characterization of Ruby and the Doctor were good and it was nice (and painful) seeing Ruby’s naivety thinking the humans would just accept the poor Cankaranka without question. It would also have been nice to see the emotional consequence of her having led them to their deaths but at the same time I’m glad they survived, I got attached.
Maria’s bit in the story was intriguing and enjoyable, with a satisfying conclusion.
It became one of my favorite stories, I feel good having read it! :D
I thought the backstory for the little girl was a bit implausible but this was pretty good! The art was nice and really worked for the story
Verdict after Issue One - This is fun. It feels really right for Fifteen and Ruby, which I suppose means the dialogue is very well written? (Still getting used to comics as a medium!) It does feel like they’re throwing a lot of concepts into the mix of one story, but I’m not writing it off for that. The vibes are fun and reading it is making me sad we didn’t get more of this team. I haven’t fully made up my mind on the art style but I think I might like it…
Verdict after Issue Two - Conceptually, this is really interesting. Although… it’s kind of Monsters, Inc.? Visually, I’m going off the style. I can’t put my finger on what it is (again, new to the medium), but it just jars with me somehow. I do love the element of the story with the Doctor and the little girl, it’s a trope so integral to revival Who and it’s nice to see it play out with Fifteen.
Verdict after Issue Three - I do love a good pocket dimension, and this was well-realised. I see the appeal of the art style now - it works for the wacky, the weird, the Sommellier in this case. It works less well for the ‘normal’ people, the Doctor, Ruby, etc. This is still a fun enough story and I like the twist of Ruby’s plan failing. I’m not sure how much longer it can carry these threads mind you…
Verdict - Hmm, and interesting ending. Story-wise, just telling a literal god to leave with the threat of destroying a bottle felt a little anti-climactic. But it was very well realised, between the truly grotesque portrayals of the Sommellier and the fun visuals of him breaking out of the comic panels and folding them up. I fully didn’t appreciate that the ‘familiar’ woman was Susan Twist until it was spelled out because of the art style, so that probably felt more shoehorned than it needed to. And the fact the insect-species survived, I’m in two minds about. It does make logical sense, and there’s something nice about it, but it does really take away from the hard-hitting twist two issues earlier.
All in all, I liked this well enough but I wouldn’t rush back to it. I think the characters are well written and there’s some very effective plotting, just a slightly off ending. The art style is divine for everything except capturing a real actor’s likeness - which isn’t always the end of the world, but does fall short when we’re supposed to recognise someone specific!
I had an enjoyable time with this collection. I found the setting interesting (an abandoned mall that reminded me of Paradise Towers). I have enjoyed both of the Fifteenth Doctor’s Titan stories more than average, which is a pleasant surprise as I wasn’t particularly enamored with his TV run. I wish the Dick Turpin prologue tied in a little better, though.
I enjoyed this one. The antagonist was pretty creepy and Maria was cute. I felt really bad for her though. I thought the Doctor and Ruby were well written and even though the art took me a moment, I thought it was almost charming.