Hunters of the Burning Stone

"You think I ever stopped being that arrogant old fool, Ian? There was a war between my people and the Daleks. It burnt the skin of eternity. Ancient, beautiful cultures were caught in our crossfire and sent screaming into hell... and I fired the first shot. Every last drop of blood... all on my hands."

Writer: Scott Gray

Format: Comic Strip

Released: January 2013

Printed in: DWM 456-461

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Ian, Barbara

Synopsis

"What is buried in Man?"

It is a question that has echoed through the centuries, one the Doctor has been told he must answer - or disaster will fall. An alien menace is resurrected, and history itself is threatened...

The creatures that have manipulated humanity for millenia are revealed, and the Doctor is reunited with his first companions - Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright...

Verdict 

Well, I'd like to start the verdict by saying an unbelievably huge thank you to Scott Gray for this incredible 50th anniversary comic strip! Hunters of the Burning Stone is something special and certainly ranks amongst my elite stories across all formats and mediums. It really is a dream for fandom Doctor Who fans! I mean, I don't even know where to start! The Eleventh Doctor was reunited with Ian and Barbara, how amazing is that? It perfectly highlights the beauty of what you can do in the comic strips. I was in complete shock when the Tribe of Gum returned! The smile on my face took some time to be removed. Not in my wildest dreams could I imagine the Tribe returning after An Unearthly Child, but here we are in present day Earth and they're back! Za, Hur and Horg wearing the beautiful illustration of skulls masked with fire. Quite incredible pictures. I thought the Prometheans were wonderful enemies and what they were trying to achieve on Earth, having started with the Tribe of Gum after the events of the first television serial, was quite something. They literally could and did revert the human race back to the Stone Age, at least mentally. The Doctor's reaction to being reunited with Ian and Barbara was just wonderful. A real heartfelt scene. You could almost hear in the words how delighted the Doctor was to see his very first companions once again. The disapproval by Ian and Barbara towards the Doctor's current TARDIS desktop theme was terrific and the reaction of the Time Lord himself was also great. The numerous flashbacks to past stories, such as An Unearthly Child, The Dakeks and The Broken Man were brilliant, as they all served relevance to the plot. The Doctor being seemingly embarrassed of his past, of what occurred in his countless incarnations after Ian and Barbara departed the TARDIS, was certainly a shock. The Doctor just thought himself a killer. However, that was in the Doctor's eyes and nobody else's. Ian showed the Doctor, after seeing terrific depictions of Pyramids of Mars, The Caves of Androzani and The Parting of the Ways, that the Doctor is a hero, a man sacrificing himself for the human race. A true gentleman. And the tear the Doctor shed was just lovely. I absolutely adored the Doctor's revelation that it was Ian and Barbara, thanks to their selflessness and desire to help, were who inspired him to favour humans as companions and frequently visit Earth. The quick visit through the Doctor's timeline and seeing how he developed as a man was staggeringly good! The flashback to The Edge of Destruction was a subtle highlight! I adored every single reference to the many First Doctor serials that were made, The Keys of Marinus, The Aztecs and The Crusade particular standouts. The fact that Ian briefly stepped on Gallifrey's surface was magical! I was pleasantly surprised by the return of Annabel Lake, now all grown up, fighting in her mother's honour after the events of The Broken Man. The tie in of many previous comic strip stories featuring the psychic metal was genius, but the ultimate genius was the way the metal along with the Prometheans and Tribe of Gum was defeated. The Eleventh Doctor went to 76 Totters Lane, entered the TARDIS and was in the unfamiliar surrounding of the First Doctor's desktop theme control room. With the Prometheans having used the metal as a symbol throughout history on Earth, with the sun at its centre as a symbol that united the human race, to revert it back to the Stone Age. But an age old question was answered. Why is the TARDIS stuck as a police box, how is the chameleon circuit broken? To my unexpected glee, we found out! Inside the TARDIS during the time of his first incarnation, the Eleventh Doctor destroyed the chameleon circuit! The TARDIS, with the endless ventures it would have throughout Earth's history, needed to be a symbol. And boy, isn't it just. The fact that the symbol of the TARDIS, due it's historical value and hope properties, was why police built the police boxes. Just beautiful! There's so much more that can be mentioned, like the amazing graphic of the Cyberman, Davros and a Zygon, but there's just too much! The wedding of Ian and Barbara was an extra special bonus and it's extremely fitting that the Doctor stood with them as Miss Wright became Mrs Chesterton. Overall, one of, if not the best, stories in Doctor Who history. Just amazing! There aren't enough adjectives to describe its greatness. Wow, an absolute pleasure to read.

Rating: 10/10