John Smith and the Common Men

                                         

"I am the Eternal Ordeal - the Guardian of Sorrow... I am the God of the worst days."

Writer: Scott Gray

Format: Comic Strip

Released: November 2013

Printed in: DWM #467

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

The Doctor has forgotten who he is and believes he is just an ordinary man called John Smith who works in the Department of Commonality. But is everything as it seems?

Verdict

John Smith and the Common Men was my first full Doctor Who comic strip story, and it was certainly intriguing! I really enjoyed this though, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration magazine, it was very clever! The Doctor was a coward who worked in an office. He feared being noticed and doing things out of the ordinary. He was just John Smith, a man who'd a strict routine which he followed rigidly. I loved how the Doctor feared a promotion and even turned in a friend, Harry (Yes, the companion of the Fourth Doctor!) into the authorities to return to his original post, a demotion of sorts. He just didn't like his job for the public, the bearer of bad news. He turned away an elderly Brigadier, Jamie and a young Ace! But of course, knowing the insane amount of time differences between the three, things weren't right. The Doctor had such a strict and precision based life, that he was extremely angered that the clock outside, a large Big Ben-esque one of that, was five minutes too slow. So he took a huge risk, stepped out of the office and attempted to manually fix the clock face himself! But, he snapped the hand and fell to the ground some feet below... And woke up with a giant blob creature covered with tendrils! Clara soon awoke and was safe, angered and determined to put an end to the giant blob creature known as Mr. Waites. The ending was clever, putting the monster into his own false reality, but seemed a little too quick! I loved the relationship the Eleventh Doctor and Clara share, and the reason Clara knew the world she had dreamed up was fake. Not because she was the Impossible Girl, but because there was no Doctor. Beautiful. 

Rating: 8/10