A Cold Day in Hell

"Using this planet's weather control system, I have shaped A-Lux into the new Mars..."

Writer: Simon Furman

Format: Comic Strip

Released: September 2011

Printed in: Doctor Who Classics: Volume 7

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Frobisher

Synopsis 

The paradise planet of A-Lux, the perfect place for Frobisher to have a getaway and forget about the departure of Peri, is much different from the brochure. The planet is surrounded in ice, and the Ice Warriors are back. Their aim - the creation of a new Mars. 

Verdict 

A Cold Day in Hell was a fantastic comic strip adventure! A really superb debut for the Seventh Doctor in the comic strip format which also saw an infamous companion in the format, depart the TARDIS. Now, you may think that my information section surrounding the story at hand is incorrect but I assure you it is not. I always ensure that the information surrounds the edition of the story I am reading (just look at the photo and information regarding my entry for Players for example). I was recently lucky enough to pick up the American issued IDW collection of Classic Doctor Who comic strips. Man, they've got it so much better over in the States when it comes to Doctor Who comics! Darn licensing issues annoy me. Why can't we, as well as the DWM strips, have a monthly comic to buy for each Doctor? How excellent that'd be! But upon a rare visit to Forbidden Planet in the glorious capital city of wonderful Wales, I purchased this collection of updated comic stories. I just love how they've gone back and garnered up all the old DWM comic stories and colourised them! It certainly made the story modernised and much easier and pleasant to read. The cliffhanger of episode one was magnificent with the Doctor and Frobisher being faced with the Ice Warriors as the species who thrived in the cold! A-Lux had been transformed from the sun-baked paradise planet that the Doctor intended to give Frobisher as a holiday getaway and instead it www covered in snow. The Ice Warriors were back up to their old tricks of weather control, but unlike in The Seeds of Death, they weren't attempting to conquer Earth. Instead they were aiming to make A-Lux the new Mars! A restoration if you like of the red planet prior to it becoming uninhabitable. I thought the design of the comic was superb and I loved how the story jumped ahead of itself, pushing the story on nicely and having an excellent flow to things. The scene where Frobisher and Olla were being chased by the Ice Warriors was excellent! I liked how after attempting to drain the Doctor of all his heat, a survival instinct of hers, she soon got along well with his penguin companion after the arrival of the Ice Warriors! Korr saving the pair after his trap worked on the Martians was great but it was quite comical how he wasn't all that pleased with only having two creatures caught. The cliffhanger of episode 2 was astounding! The Doctor was dead! Or so we thought. Back up to his usual tricks of sending absolutely every part of him into sleep mode if you will. The mixture of Ice Lords and Warriors was good and this was a ploy that would come soon after their debut and my recently watched The Ice Warriors. Bringing the emphasis on the letter 's' into print was marvellous, even if it did seem slightly exaggerated. I loved the plan of the Ice Warriors and I actually do think it's an original one, even if it's by recycled methods. I found it intriguing that this group of Ice Warriors knew about the events of The Monster of Peladon and aspired to the leader of that party! He was an influence to them and now Arryx was leading in the same horrific example. He despised the Federation and I liked the comical reference to the Doctor not being on too good of terms with them either! Frobisher missing Peri was awfully sad to see. After her sudden and shocking departure in The Trial of a Time Lord, he really was missing her. And how could you not? She was beautiful and brilliant! Even the Doctor had changed now. The way he'd inadvertently robbed Frobisher of being the hero and messing with the siphon of the Ice Warriors was heartbreaking! Despite the Doctor preventing damage via an explosion by reversing the polarity, he basically made Frobisher looked stupid which was quite sad. The penguin did seem quite out of place with the Seventh Doctor, that was noticeable even if my only other experience of the companion is on audio in The Holy Terror. His farewell was a nice one and I liked how he wanted to stay on A-Lux and help in the rebuilding of the planet. There was a new Doctor on the pages, and things were a changing. The Ice Warriors aren't a bad scalp for your first comic strip! And their defeat was done tremendously. 

Rating: 9/10