Comic Review: Doctor Who Classics Series 2 #8 (IDW Publishing) Review by Adam P.

The Doctor Encounters the Stockbridge Horror

One of the major developments in comics in the last while has been the advent of modern colouring. Comparing the current realism and detail in comic colouring with older books is absolutely astounding. Various publishers have started to release reprints with the colouring re-done according to modern methods. IDW Publishing is spear-heading this trend with reprints from their various properties (which used to belong to other publishers), such as G.I. Joe, Transformers, Star Trek and Doctor Who. Doctor Who Classics Series 2 #8 continues to reprint re-coloured tales from the Marvel UK Doctor Who series from the early 1980's.




The tale contained in this issue was originally published in three weekly instalments, so the plot has more cliff hangers and punches than we've come to expect from a typical 20-some page yarn. We find the fifth doctor (played by the blond Peter Davidson) in Stockbridge, England, taking it easy with a little rest and relaxation. Anyone familiar with the doctor’s history knows that this won't last long...

The doctor is suddenly taken aback by his malfunctioning time machine (the TARDIS) which inexplicably shows up buried in limestone. Before he can solve the mystery, a sudden brush fire attracts his attention and he meets an unknown foe who generates massive fear and trembling within his soul. The doctor escapes to space, but the being manages to break into the TARDIS, and begins to chase the doctor. Heck, even Spider-man manages to make a one-panel appearance. Meanwhile, the planet Gallifrey has intercepted an emergency signal from the doctor, and sends the artificial being known as Shayde to investigate and assist. To say the issue leaves the reader wondering what happens next is an understatement.

As is typical from multi-issue Doctor Who arcs of the period, the opening chapter leaves a large amount of questions unanswered, tantalizing the reader with clues that make little sense at the time, but that will be masterfully resolved in future chapters. It's simply old-fashioned storytelling at a breakneck speed. For anyone who finds waiting for the next chapter too excruciating long, they can always tide themselves over with the excellent three trade paperbacks IDW has already issued.

Doctor Who stories are great fun in that the doctor is constantly in real peril, and the reader has little idea how he will get himself out of the sticky cosmic situations he always manages to finds himself in. It's sci-fi, but with a down-to-earth touch at the same time.

The main negative here is that Steve Parkhouse is a better writer than artist. His work is less detailed and enthralling than that of Dave Gibbons (of Watchmen fame), which graced earlier issues in the series. Still, I would recommend this book for those both familiar and unfamiliar with the fifth doctor.

8.0/10

In Stores July 1

Adam P.
Review Co-Editor