This story are part of the second act of this event, telling the story of how the Daleks became part of this narrative. Although this takes place before Act 1, I recommend reading them after Act 1.
Defender of the Daleks
Titan Comics
A thrilling new adventure for the Tenth Doctor (as played by fan-favorite David Tennant) that sees the shocking return of his deadliest enemies: the Daleks! But things aren’t what they seem - time is all wrong, and something is coming that terrifies even the Daleks.
This is the first major installment of TLV I didn’t really like. It just felt kind of empty, and a lot of what it was trying didn’t work. You could also easily cut it without losing anything from the story (something admitably true for the Master short trip, but at least that establishes the koturru).
I also get the reputation 13/10 crossovers have. They are arguably not numerous, but this is the 2nd Ive done and in both the crossover was totally pointless. Also, its not a surprise if you put a 13th Doctor charicter summary on literally the first page.
I think that this is a fun story. I think most of the best Dalek stories are when they are clever and not too many, and this is one of them. I also think that the interactions between Ten and Thirteen are fun.
Defender of the Daleks is an entertaining but uneven entry in the Time Lord Victorious saga, pairing the Tenth Doctor with the Daleks against the unsettling Hond in a fast-paced adventure that takes time to find its footing. Jody Houser captures the Doctor’s voice well, with witty dialogue and enjoyable exchanges with the Dalek Strategist, while the vibrant artwork and intriguing mystery help maintain interest. However, the story’s abrupt ending, reliance on Titan Comics continuity, and confusing placement within the wider event undermine its impact. With only the loosest ties to the main Time Lord Victorious storyline, it ultimately works better as a standalone side adventure than an essential chapter.
I enjoyed it, thought it was fun. There being a threat that the Daleks are afraid enough of to have the Doctor help them and of course the moment the threat it over refocus on the Doctor being their biggest enemy was neat. I admit there are some aspects that don’t fully make sense, but I had fun either way it.
Read this today. It was good and Hond were an interesting concept. I’m still not entirely sure how this fits into the TLV arc as a whole, though it looks like it’s supposed to lead into the Eighth Doctor TLV audio trilogy. The art wasn’t amazing, but it was functional and didn’t take me out of the story. I ended up wavering between 3.5 and 4, but in the end went with 3.5/5.
Verdict after Issue One - This is interesting. It’s not the paciest story in the world, and I always struggle with stylistic choices that make the Doctor look barely like the Doctor - but aside from him, the rest of the art is really nice, and it’s intriguing enough to see him strong-armed into working with the daleks. My favourite bit was the daleks intercepting wherever the Doctor landed, that’s a fun concept that felt totally new. Little bit confusing going back to a Tenth Doctor pre-Waters of Mars, but I have to say his dialogue is spot on - not just the catchphrases, but every turn of phrase feels distinctly Tennantian, and this makes up for the fact his face looks totally wrong.
I’m confused that the intro page told us all about the Thirteenth Doctor, and then she didn’t even appear?
Verdict - Well, she showed up. I’m not entirely sure why, but it was fun seeing them interact. Generally the main story was well plotted. I was a bit disappointed at first that the mysterious foe wasn’t the Kotturuh, but the concept of the Hond was a good one and it makes some sort of sense that in an early dark time where the Kotturuh were the origin and embodiment of death, something else is the origin and embodiment of pain and suffering. Again, the Strategist persists in being totally enigmatic and intriguing, so I’m still very interested to see where everything is headed. And while the first issue felt a little bit lacking, the second justified this story’s existence in the range. Sadly though, I’ve not got the TLV audios so I’m going to have to absent myself from the next few weeks of the club… hope things make some sort of sense when I return! Debating whether or not to read wiki plot summaries…
I think that part of Thirteen showing up is because that’s where Ten has just come from. Around the same time, the Titan Thirteenth Doctor run had just ended with the story A Little Help from My Friends which saw Thirteen and Co team up with Ten and Martha against the Weeping Angels and Autons. Then we had Covid which saw the cancellation of the Thirteenth Doctor run and later the start of “Doctor Who Comic” of which the story Alternating Current which picks up immediately from Friends. According to the wiki, Alternating Current leads into Defender of the Daleks which was published a couple months previously because of production delays.
This makes a lot of sense, thanks so much (although how the average reader is supposed to gather that - and how Thirteen found him at that exact moment - is beyond me).
Was a couple days late, but glad I finally got round to reading it!
I am SO intrigued why the 8th Doctor is so relevant to the Daleks plans, out of all the Doctors…
We know he ends up working with them, and being on their ship at the end of the first TLV book…
Also, why didn’t the Kotturuh get rid of the Hond? If they just exist as blobs who are in absolute agony, why have they got a long lifespan? Why not go “alright well they don’t have much to offer. They now have 20 second long lifespans.”
Feels like the Kotturuh have kind of been forgotten. Very interested to see how we cycle back round to them.
This was absolutely fine but nothing special. I thought 10 was written (and drawn) well and even though I’m not a huge Dalek fan, I quite liked their inclusion here. As others have said, the opening scenes where the Daleks keep turning up outside the TARDIS was fun and I’ve always liked the image of the Golden Dalek Emperor.
But a team of the Doctor and the Daleks against a greater foe is, I don’t know, just a bit … obvious and, unsurprisingly, doesn’t really go anywhere.
I was also a bit underwhelmed by the Hond. It did feel like an overused cliche to have the monster who isn’t really a monster but just a creature who is in pain. It’s depiction also reminded me of other mud-style monsters.
So, an enjoyable read but not one that’s going to stick with me.
Absolutely. I went into this event with a sense of trepidation simply because I never liked the TLV concept but most of the stories in this, so far, haven’t really dealt with it in any way with the exception of the first novel.
And these last two, Daleks! and this comic strip, seem connected by the most flimsy of links.
I thought it was fine. I liked the scene between the Dalek Emperor and the Doctor, and I also enjoyed the concept of the Hond (even though I found it a bit creepy)
This one was fine. Better than the previous Dalek stuff, and the artstyle of it was really pretty! A decent Dalek story I guess. But I keep being teased with these endings man. Let me see my boy eight!(is that a spoiler idk)
