Universally Known

                                    

"The Snark method is simple. I don't need an army to take over a planet if everyone there loves me already!"

Writer: Eddie Robson
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 9th April 2014
Printed in: DWA 343

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

The Eleventh Doctor takes Clara to New York... but things aren't as they're supposed to be. An evil being has hypnotised the entire population into adoring him, and it's not long before Clara falls under the spell...

Verdict

Now this is more like it! Universally Known was a much improved comic strip from the guys at Doctor Who Adventures magazine. I haven't been too impressed with their recent comic adventures (T-Shirt Terror and Fans) but this was a very enjoyable story with a great concept. The entire population of New York (and presumably the World) were under the hypnosis that Snark, an alien being, "the most famous being in the universe", was a hero of sorts. I liked Snark's plan to sell the Earth's mineral wealth once he'd sucked the planet dry and be thanked for it thanks to the level of his influence! Judging by the title, and the fact that Snark claimed to have enslaved fourteen planets in this method previously, it's clear that he was known around the entire universe, surely as a threat. I really liked Clara's falling under the influence but the Doctor's desperate attempts to at least keep her neutral. The climax was very good, wonderfully clever and similar to Day of the Moon with the Doctor having Snark to say words he wanted, promoted from Clara's interviewing skills, to tell the population to forget him, and Snark himself even forgot who he was! Overall - very good!

Rating: 8/10