Claws of the Klathi

"How can you deny the evidence of your own eyes?"

Writer: Mike Collins 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: September 2011

Printed in: Doctor Who Classics: Volume 7

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis 

The Doctor teams up with the Lunar Society to tackle the strange happenings of the Satan Twins in Victorian London.

Verdict 

Claws of the Klathi was an excellent little comic strip! I love the idea of the Doctor travelling alone in the TARDIS, goodness knows what kinds of mischief he'll get up to, and probably into as well! I liked how upon immediately arriving he was mistaken as the burglar of Nathanial but after it was confirmed he wasn't he soon found himself getting along nicely with the scientist (obviously it's going to be a good match there isn't it!) and was invited back to his quarters. I loved how the Lunar Society, supposedly the greatest human minds of their time, were baffled and bemused by terms such as 'laser' and 'robot'. Of course, it's understandable with the words not being needed hence the lack of invention of them but I still found it quite funny. The setting of 1851 was superb, you can't really go wrong with Victorian London can you! Just look at the success of the Paternoster Gang and all the stories they've appeared in, none seem to have been anything short of fantastic whether it's on screen in the likes of The Crimson Horror or in print in Silhouette. Their success, and that of Victorian London, was rewarded with a special DWM comic strip, The Crystal Throne, also which was very good. You couldn't go wrong really and with the Dickens mention at the start I thought we may have gotten a loose prequel to The Unquiet Dead but I'm probably glad that wasn't the case. The cliffhangers of each episode (if they can be called that in a comic strip) were excellent with the second one standing out more. Although the attack of the robot did provide a nice injection of action! The portrayal of the Seventh Doctor was good although I'm struggling to imagine the flow of things as Sylvester McCoy as easily I have done with the recent Twelfth Doctor comic stories. But I guess DWM, where this story was originally printed minus the colour, improves with age and experience. The story behind Caval was probably the highlight and you felt sorry for the obviously unintelligent guy being manipulated and used by the Satan Twins so they could depart the planet which would result in their ship causing the deaths of approximately ninety-thousand people. The climax was decent but nothing spectacular I felt, and it seemed to repeat itself. Though, nowhere near as much as in Last Christmas! Overall, a very good comic strip with a great plot and some terrific characterisation. 

Rating: 8/10