The Weapon

"Different evils and weapons, but the same battle going on..."

Writer: Paul Crompton

Format: Comic Strip

Released: September 1980

Printed in: Doctor Who Annual 1980

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Romana I, K9

Synopsis 

The Doctor, Romana and K9 unknowingly get thrown through a time loop and end up in medieval times, believing they're in the 20th century. They got caught in a deadly war between Black and White, and a horrific weapon is in use...

Verdict 

The Weapon was a pretty entertaining and unique comic strip adventure as part of the 1980 Annual, which as I mentioned in my previous blog of Terror on Xaboi I was thrilled to purchase. The trio (ish) of the Fourth Doctor, Romana I and K9 is one we didn't see an awful lot of on screen so to see it getting more stories is a very good thing in my eyes. The more you get of a combination, or even a singular character, the better. Just look at what the Big Finish audios have done for Colin Baker's much criticised Sixth Doctor! For me, he's by a country mile the best Doctor on audio and now with these comics, despite them being primary stories (ie released at the time of the trio being on screen), they're certainly different to what we saw on air. The illustration of the comic strip was like nothing I've ever read before! It really was uniquely spectacular. Such was the quality of the artwork, I think anyway, it seemed that this story was a picture one rather than comic strip. That was something new and I adored it. The story itself did a good job for the Annuals, which never grasp too much when it comes to quality. The idea was clever with the TARDIS being caught in a time loop and the Doctor walking straight into a medieval castle expecting a tour guide and instead being welcomed to a sword! That was the comic strip's highlight. A typical funny Fourth Doctor moment. Romana and K9 being separated from the Doctor almost immediately was good as needs to be the case with the comics and their short format, something I don't think I'll ever understand! The altercations between the Black Knight and White Knight armies were terrific and I liked how the story didn't reference any historical battle by name and kept it vague, which should be the case for a story of this length. I found the narration an interesting take on the comic strip style, usually we have a little but there was massive amounts here which gave the story a different edge. Overall, a decent story and despite the story being named what it is, the weapon itself made minimal appearance. I disliked how the Doctor admitted there was evil at work but just left. That's certainly not the Time Lord we all love! I just wish the Annuals gave us longer comic strips!

Rating: 7/10